It felt odd to wander around her home without the company of a speck. Months spent with her fiancé, a man less than three inches tall had made Jisoo hyper aware of her surroundings at all times. By force of habit Jisoo carefully observed the floor directly in front of her wherever she intended to step. Although Eren liked to tease her and claim she was ‘clumsy’ from all the times he found himself smothered beneath her sole while she walked, or pinned beneath her butt when she sat down on the couch, Jisoo was always very aware of what she was doing and would never accidentally step or sit on her fiancé. However she did like to use her immense size to play pranks on him occasionally. 

That was one of the many perks of a mixed size relationship. So long as she acknowledged and respected his boundaries as a human being, there was no issue with horseplay. Eren was a speck, but that did not mean he was made of glass and had to be handled like a delicate object. Madeleine Lacroix had made that common mistake with her new roommate and Eren when she first began to handle specks frequently. No online guide would ever suggest that a normal person carry a speck on their shoulder, however those guides were not written by specks. Jisoo had been a speck once in her old life, she knew better than most ‘normal people’. 

Today was an unusual day where it was Eren who was out of the house and Jisoo was left behind to twiddle her thumbs. A casual lunch with Nishidate Satsuki. How he had managed to convince her to even meet him was beyond Jisoo, since the woman was about as approachable as a thorny hedge with the personality of wet clay. 

I shouldn’t be so worried… It’s not like she has the audacity to hurt him or anything like that. As my fiancé Eren is untouchable. Jisoo thought and tossed the random book she had selected from a shelf aside. Still it has been awfully long for just a quick bite to eat. I wonder what they are talking about? 

Outside of her history with Satsuki from many years ago when she had been assigned to uncover whether or not Jisoo knew anything about her mother, they had spent almost no time together. Satsuki was an internal investigator and traveled the world. And as an internal investigator she was not exactly an open file. Although she supposed the only thing that mattered was how much her cousin distrusted her. 

As for Nang Yai, or Jade as she evidently preferred to be called, she was on her own assignment which came directly from Aunt Min. It had to do with the military, however the finer details were currently classified. With Jade’s unique ability Jisoo could venture to guess what that plan was, but could only assume that it directly coincided with Operation Deliverance. Soon events would be put in motion to undo the world as it currently existed. The hellish, pathetic excuse for a civilization would come to a blessed end. Humanity would finally be freed from the shackles of its own insidious nature, and be allowed to blossom beneath the divine radiance of their bloodline. 

It feels surreal. So much progress was made last year, and it all happened without me. That’s a shame. Jisoo thought remorsefully. Perhaps in the next few centuries she would come to regret that decision the most. 

When she had first ascended, it had been the first steps taken towards divinity. Jisoo was not human. She was a xian. By virtue of her birth she was meant to be immortal. A goddess. The Peach of Immortality was simply the catalyst to reveal the power of her maternal bloodline. Soon she would consume another, and regain the power she once held. 

Nothing had changed in regards to her plans for the future. Her current troubles with Satsuki were simply a roadblock. Once it was overcome, and Eren was allowed to become her husband he would consume a Peach as well. Without the potency of her bloodline unfortunately he would always be small, but at least he could enjoy eternity together with her. He would live to see the world become ideal, and one day would learn to relish when those that opposed them were administered justice. 

That was the only other ‘roadblock’ she could foresee. Unfortunately Eren was still quite squeamish when it came to her more carnal pleasures. There had almost been a crisis when she revealed her true nature to him some time ago. At the time her explanation had served to provide reason for seemingly senseless, decadent violence towards helpless people. What Eren was not ready to know at the time was that the reason for why she had killed Thomas and Alice Evans was far simpler, and far worse than he believed.

She killed them because it felt good. 

It was difficult to describe why she felt that way, but Jisoo knew she was not alone in that mindset. She derived an incredible amount of pleasure exerting her divine will unto lesser creatures. That’s exactly what humans were. Lesser. It was them who transformed the world into the hellscape they now wallowed in. Through their greed, arrogance and unrepentant evil. For that reason they had to be utterly dominated and forced to obey, otherwise they would destroy themselves. 

Now I see why Aunt Min allowed me to leave and spend time alone in the company of human beings. She wanted me to experience them for what they truly are. I needed to see with my own eyes the truth. Jisoo thought and strolled out of the bedroom. Humanity is irredeemable. It is a mercy that we will let them continue to exist under our decree, and the pleasure we extract from their otherwise meaningless lives is merely payment. 

Without the blessings from one of their artifacts, human lives ended in less than a century. Meanwhile Jisoo and her kin would live to see the world crumble apart in the coming eons. They would watch as their influence spread across the stars above. Perhaps they would even see the universe itself end. So what real value could a human have? In a few thousand years Eren would forget all about Thomas or Alice. Once he consumed a Peach of Immortality, such trivial matters would mean nothing. 

This is who I really am… It feels good to have finally come to terms with it. Jisoo thought blissfully. I’ve finally forsaken what little speck of humanity that still clung to me like a disease.

Her stroll throughout the palace allowed Jisoo to get lost within her own head. She was rarely so introspective, although recently now that her mind was not constantly muddled by alcohol and other vices let her think clearly. Once there was a time she would have been horrified to imagine how naturally these thoughts came to her. She had become the monster that ‘Tae Park’ had run away from. 

Eventually her aimless walk took Jisoo to a large room she had never stepped into before. The housekeepers kept the room free of dust, however aside from them it was not a very well traveled alcove and therefore was quite barren. However there was a single object of interest within that caught her dark eyes. 

An old family portrait. 

Jisoo had seen countless portraits over the years of her family, however this one was brand new to her. It pictured five women, all immaculately dressed for the occasion. At first Jisoo was very perplexed to see herself as one of the five women in the picture, until she realized that the woman she had thought was her was actually her grandmother. 

Fang Daiyu. Jisoo thought and gazed up at the portrait, which must have been very old if Daiyu appeared to be in her twenties when the picture was taken. Well… We really do look exactly alike. 

It was almost uncanny, the resemblance between herself and Daiyu. Had she not seen the rest of the people in the photo Jisoo could have sworn that the woman there was her. They had the exact same heart-shaped face, their eyelids were both double-lidded, and their cheekbones, nose, lips were identical. No wonder everybody I meet from the older generation says I look just like her.

Although she did not receive credit for it, Daiyu was a genius without peer in history. She graduated college and achieved a doctorate in biochemistry at the tender age of six. It was her work that had first led to The Diminution. She created the original formula. 

To the left of Daiyu was her famous younger sister. Fang Baochai. She was just as gorgeous as the stories about her suggested; her beauty was one part of her legacy that certainly had not been exaggerated. At first it seemed like a trick of the light reflected in her eyes, but closer inspection confirmed that Baochai’s eyes were a shade of dark gold. Baochai was the better known of the Fang Sisters, even though her academic achievements, at least on paper, were less impressive. She also acquired a doctorate at a very young age, although it was when she was fifteen years old whereas Daiyu was much younger when she received hers. However Baochai most certainly leveraged her talents better than her sister, hence her immense financial success. In front of Baochai were several children. Three of her four daughters. Yuanchen, Xifeng and Zhilan. Curiously, the oldest of her children was not there. A shame. Jisoo would have liked to see what Aunt Min looked like as a little girl. 

Her mother was a toddler in the portrait. She sat on Daiyu’s lap and tried to appear stoic like she was clearly supposed to, but as children normally did, was unable to hide a small smile. Who could have guessed that Keqing would have grown to become a rogue variable which interfered with the perfection of the world? Whatever had happened, it must have been in these very halls in the final days before her disappearance. When she sent away her servants and would sit for hours in front of her poorly carved wooden statue of the Buddha in a trance like state. 

Perhaps the loss of her mother to illness had destroyed Keqing’s sanity. She was an only child after all, a rarity in their dynasty. Alone. That must be it. Her mother sought to ensure the world would share her grief. 

Or maybe she is simply an obstacle to be removed and I should stop caring. Jisoo decided. Soon she will be lured out of hiding, and when she does I’ll~!

From the corner of her eye Jisoo noticed something amiss in the central courtyard beyond the window. Passed the koi ponds and gardens which had been meticulously maintained by the groundskeeper. Although the person who stood there near the shrine which housed her mother’s sculpture was most certainly not her groundskeeper or gardener. 

What had the description been from their forces in Heilongjiang? A dark hooded figure? Currently one such figure stood in the central courtyard. Blissfully unaware that they had been spotted from inside the home. 

Jisoo blinked several times. Dumbfounded. She took a few steps closer to the window and touched a hand to her temple, unsure if this was all a hallucination. It had to be. They were so far away from the base Heilongjiang, in the heartland of where their family was at their absolute strongest currently. When the hooded outline did not fade no matter how many times she blinked, Jisoo came to the realization that she was really there in the courtyard. 

Simply standing there with her back to the window Jisoo espied her from, her full attention fixated squarely on the carved Buddhist shrine. Oblivious. Her mind was hit by a tidal wave of sudden emotions. Shock. Confusion. Hate. As the befuddlement dissipated, hate became stronger than ever before. She was now confronted by the woman who had betrayed their family. The same woman who had made the first sixteen years of her life miserable. 

Her mother.

Once when she had been in high school, Giulia had been required to perform at least seventy community service hours in order to graduate. At her papa’s suggestion, Giulia decided to volunteer at a nearby rehabilitation facility. Her responsibilities were to change sheets, bed linen and blankets for all the rooms along with some basic quality of life work for the patients. It was not a difficult job, however some of the people who sought treatment still lingered on her subconscious years later.

Patients with severe eating disorders who were like living skeletons. Their bodies, gaunt and thin. With sunken cheeks and exposed rib cages. Those were treated as severe medical conditions and a single patient needed constant supervision and care from licensed professionals. 

It made no sense then how some of the specks she saw at Jefferson Commune were still able to stand. Some of the specks there appeared even thinner and weaker than the people at the rehabilitation center, and somehow they were able to walk and greet Maddie and herself when they approached. They smiled faintly when they saw Maddie. Their otherwise miserable existences just barely made tolerable by the gifts she brought.

Maddie got on her haunches and began to pass out treats while Giulia looked on in shock. “Every few days I try to bring something homemade.” She said softly and passed a wrapped cookie to a family which accepted it gratefully. “Other than sweets I’ll make stew, fresh bread, noodles, curry, stir fry…” 

“And we have savored every morsel Maddie.” An elderly speck woman said and touched Maddie’s index finger affectionately with her proportionally tiny hand. 

Meanwhile the family that had been passed the cookie loaded the heavy, doughy confectionery onto a pallet and hauled it away. It was greater in diameter than they were tall. A single chocolate chip could probably serve as a super sugary lunch. Aside from the cookies she had brought, Maddie had cooked a savory vegetable casserole for everybody to share. One by one the specks came to collect some and returned to their homes.

Homes which were mostly dilapidated. Unfit to keep out the bitter wind chill. However there were several recent additions which were considerably more sturdy. Instead of cheap plastic milk boxes lined with more plastic to keep out rain or shoddy wooden structures, Maddie had handmade numerous houses with quality steel support beams and concrete. Giulia recognized some hardware from Eureka which had been used to provide better heat sources, ovens, and a stable electrical grid which did not require constant repairs and recalibration. 

She felt a tug on her pants leg and looked down to see Maddie’s roommate, the speck with a robotic leg there. “You look just as flabbergasted as Maddie when she first saw this place.” 

“This… This is horrible.”

“It’s better now than it was when I still lived here. Before Maddie started to bring us supplies we didn’t have half these homes, no lights, and few warm clothes to go around.” Maeve replied softly and crossed her arms. 

Speck Communes are supposed to be nice residential areas where they can all live without needing to work for a living. Giulia thought despondently. I thought they were paid for simply existing! Why is this place so destitute?! 

She grimaced. “Why don’t we tell a local news source about this? People don’t know how you all are forced to live.” Giulia suggested.

Maeve shrugged. “That wouldn’t change anything.”

“Of course it would! If people saw this then~!”

“The news sometimes does segments on homeless camps in big cities. Some brobs are forced to live in conditions like this.” Maeve cut in. “Reporters show how deplorable it is, and do you know what people do when they find out? Maybe one percent of them decide to volunteer in a soup kitchen. The rest say ‘oh that’s so awful’ and then return to their dinners.” She replied.

Giulia looked down at her boots. “We should at least try. People think specks live luxurious lives.”

“You assume that people will act logically when it comes to prejudice against specks.” Maddie murmured when she returned from handing out some more food. “One moment people are killing specks on the streets whenever they see them, or refusing to let them work for our companies, because we think they are scum and vermin. Then we also somehow perform the mental gymnastics to say they live exuberant lives which are carefree while the rest of us have to work for a living.” 

“There’s no logic in any of that. Just hate.” Maddie said with a sigh. “Sure, for some people ignorance plays a larger role. For myself and evidently you as well that much is true. But what about people like Smith? If I took him here do you think he would have the same reaction?” She inquired.

Around half an hour later they bid farewell to the Commune. Giulia frankly did not want to go. She wanted to stay and make sure the little speck boy ate his fill of food, or ensure the one armed speck mechanic who had just recently been given a prosthetic by Maddie made it home safely. However Maddie urged her to leave them be for now. They would be back in a few days, or they could always call Maddie with one of the custom phones she had built them. 

When she joined Eureka, Giulia had declined a possible career with a big company which promised competitive salary and great benefits. She could pay off her student loan payments in under a year there. However, like Maddie, Giulia wanted to help people. She wanted to use her talents and skills for the benefit of others directly. Somehow along the way she forgot why their company existed. It wasn’t to make profits. It was to provide assistance for those who needed it most.

The car ride was mostly silent. “I owe Eren an apology. And you.” Giulia said quietly after some time to think. “Please let me help you and the rest of the team. I’ll make it up to you I~!”

“I also owe you an apology.” Maddie cut in and came to a stop at an intersection. “I judged you harshly earlier today when I myself was in your exact situation not too long ago. That was hypocritical of me and I should not have raised my voice at you, nor said the things I said.” She said profusely.

Maeve frowned and noticed the direction that Maddie took. “This isn’t the way home. Are we going to the warehouse?”

“Yeah, I want to show Giulia everything that I’ve been working on since she left.” Maddie noted with a smile. 

Giulia had never been to the Eureka warehouse. It was a rudimentary space without many modern amenities found in other locations, especially for the kind of work Maddie and her team needed. However it was cheap enough for Maddie to afford to rent for over a year even with the precious little money they had from their startup investors. The space was a few thousand square feet, and when Giulia stepped inside noticed that it was segregated into two sections. 

The main floor was filled with robotic arms and other machinery. Franklin Model Epsilon was also stored inside, currently inactive and attached to many wires. Aside from that there was a sectioned off warehouse gallery which overlooked the main floor, and acted as a control station for the robotic arms and machinery. Since it was too dangerous for workers to be on the floor while the machines were in use, everything was remote operational from the central control station. 

Giulia coughed and noticed that there was a fair bit of dust inside. Evidently Maddie had no real use for the bigger arms which she had built alongside others throughout the past year or so. Most of the work she did currently was for specks, which only needed a single desk and some specialized tools for. Unfortunately that meant everything else was dusty and in desperate need of a broom.

She looked over a few blueprints Maddie had done. “This design. It’s for Maeve’s leg?” 

“That’s the most recent update. I’ve changed it quite a bit since the original model since there was a uh… problem with the kinetic system which short circuited from overuse.” Maddie said with a nervous chuckle. “Obviously this one is highly personalized for Maeve and is not indicative of the entire line of prosthetics.”

“It’s remarkable work! But carbon fiber would probably work a little better for some of the parts than the current metal alloy. The clanking when you walk must get a bit annoying?” Giulia asked Maeve.

The speck shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to it honestly. I can jump super high with it which is really cool though!” Maeve replied. 

Do I even want to know the story behind how she lost the leg to begin with? Giulia thought with a shudder. Probably not. 

Giulia put her hands on her hips. “It might be more effective to develop a routine for the machinery on the floor to construct prosthetics based on designs. That way we can mass produce them much faster.” She recommended. “Let me go check and see the specifications on the stuff on the main floor~?”

Right as she said that, the power in the facility suddenly cut. Not just the machinery and robotic parts on the main floor, but the lights and air conditioner as well died. Both Giulia and Maddie could hear the generator outside fade away and were sealed in inky black darkness.

“Well you’ll need to get that glitch in the system fixed before any of that I suppose.” Giulia quipped and turned to Maddie, who had a frown on her face. 

The redhead strolled towards a computer screen and tapped it a few times. “I’ve never had an outage here. Not even during a blizzard a few weeks ago.”

“Do you have a high powered flashlight?”

“Um… I think there might be some in a toolbox down on the main floor? Don’t bother though, let me see if I can figure something out here with the internal wiring.” Maddie suggested and selected a wireless laptop which still worked. 

Who knows how long that will take? It will get really cold here without power. Could damage the systems. Giulia thought and activated her phone flashlight. It was at least possible to see now, but in such a massive warehouse Giulia would have much preferred an actual flashlight.

She glanced out the window to the main floor. “I’ll go check to see if I can find one in that toolbox. And check out the specs on the stuff down there while I’m at it.”

“Watch your step on the way down there. Insurance doesn’t cover injuries here.” Maddie half-joked as Giulia strolled outside and down a set of stairs which led down to the main floor.

Shit it’s really cold! Please tell me we did not accidentally leave a door open somewhere? She cursed to herself and rubbed her hands together for warmth. The main floor was not much better and was a sea of jumbled electronic machines. Giulia carefully side stepped a set of loose wires and cables until she was in the center of the room. It’s so dark… with the dust even my flashlight on the phone makes it hard to see! I can hardly see Maddie in the upper deck control station. 

*clank* 

The sound of something nearby jostling amidst a wide assortment of robotic skeletons sent a chill down Giulia’s spine. Some more primal part of her human instinct began to inundate her system with a slight dose of adrenaline. For several moments Giulia was quiet and stood still, like a deer in a dark forest with a tiger lurking nearby.

Gah what’s wrong with me? I’m not a little kid, afraid of the dark. Giulia thought and suddenly remembered why she had come down here in the first place. Although she could not see where Maddie was too well, she could at least assume it would take her a few minutes to manually restart the power system with her administrative access to the warehouse electrical grid. 

I just need to find~! Giulia gasped in pain from a sudden fiery hot sensation in her neck. Instinctively she swatted her hand at something sharp which had penetrated deep into her skin, like the stinger of an enormous wasp. To her shock, Giulia felt an unbelievably powerful hand clasp around her wrist tightly like a shackle. 

She was falling moments later. Another hand slammed over her lips to render her silent in the darkness, while a knee was pressed into her abdomen to keep her still. Not that it would have mattered if her assailant attempted to restrain her or not. The pain in her neck was indescribable. White hot agony that throbbed as if struck by a blunt object, yet it reverberated throughout her entire nervous system. 

Giulia looked up fearfully at a pair of eyes she had never seen before. They most certainly belonged to a woman, with delicate lashes and dark irises. The rest of her attacker’s face was hidden by a mask and hood. Everything began to spin. Strangely Giulia felt as though her clothes were almost suffocating and heavy. Then the hand around her mouth began to grow bigger.

T-That’s not it… I’m… Shrinking? Giulia thought in horror as everything temporarily went black for her, just as the lights in the warehouse reactivated. 

It would have been wiser to inform the rest of her family. Jisoo had a smartphone in her pocket, in mere moments she could have requested for every operations specialist in the hemisphere to rush towards their location. That would have been the best course of action since she already knew she was outmatched by her mother in every conceivable way. 

Instead Jisoo numbly left the room she had strolled into previously and stepped outside into the central courtyard. She did not make any attempt to hide the sounds she made in the process. Her shoes crunched the thin layer of snow and dead grass which had built up loudly, and almost certainly alerted the hooded outline of her mother to her approach from several meters away.

Chen Keqing likewise made no attempt to react to her daughter’s presence. Her back was still turned away and her attention focused squarely on the statue of the Buddha. She assumed a seated position with her legs crossed, as if in deep meditation or contemplation of the carving. Jisoo continued to walk towards her mother until finally she seemed to take note of her presence and turned her head slightly. It was still impossible to make out her face.

“…Mother.” Jisoo whispered quietly as the hooded figure slowly rose to her feet, her back still towards Jisoo. She uttered the word with a mixture of surprise and disgust. 

Why did you come back here?! Jisoo desperately wanted to ask, but wondered if there was any point in conversation with Keqing. Would she even learn anything? And why is she so focused on that stupid statue?!

Cautiously Jisoo began to pace back and forth behind Keqing, like a predator stalking their prey. “It was a mistake to come here. You don’t have anywhere to run now.” She hissed. “Did you expect it to be abandoned here?” Jisoo inquired.

No response. 

Jisoo clenched her fists. “You know I dreamed of this day. I spent hours thinking of what I wanted to say to you when we finally met. I thought of what I might ask you, or tell you to make you understand exactly what you did to me for so many years.” She took a deep breath and fought the urge to charge the woman right there and then. “Now I realize I don’t need to tell you anything. I don’t need you at all.” Jisoo proclaimed.

A small laugh. A short, derisive sound that seemed to dismiss everything that Jisoo had claimed up until that point. “I always wondered what kind of person you would grow up to become.” Her mother finally spoke.

Her voice was strangely youthful. Of course the Peach of Immortality had sustained her youth considerably, however Jisoo had still expected Keqing to sound a bit more like Lihua or Suyin who were older. She was over a hundred years old by this point whether her body demonstrated it or not. Jisoo felt a chill crawl down her spine once more and tried to keep her composure. She was in the lion’s den and still had to be very careful. 

“You grew up to be a twisted… wicked person.” Keqing said. “A monster.” She murmured. 

You’re the one who made me this way! If you hadn’t abandoned me I wouldn’t be filled with so much bitterness towards the world. Jisoo thought, but shook her head and refocused. Right now she had a chance to make everything right with the world. She could remove the greatest obstacle that stood in the way of the world becoming pure and good, their ideal vision for the future. 

If she could kill Keqing now then all her problems would dissipate. It would prove her value and loyalty to their dynasty to be absolute. Even Satsuki would be unable to reject her request, and nobody would question her resolve ever again. 

It was now or never. Without another word Jisoo took a deep breath and lunged forward. She was not as strong as Keqing, but had the advantage of experience as a fully trained operations specialist. So long as she fought carefully and employed what she had learned with Grace she could win. Her plan was to avoid whatever counter Keqing would no doubt use in an attempt to win their duel before it even began, then attack her vital areas. 

That was her best chance, and she could not afford to let it slip through her fingers.

The one expenditure that Madeleine had not skimped on for the warehouse she rented out was the power grid. She ordered several ultra-modern generators and replaced the wiring system of the facility to ensure that the odds of an outage were essentially zero. A glitch in the system that knocked out power or wireless connection would hamstring their operation, and every second she waited for a technician would have been thousands of dollars potentially lost.

Fortunately in the rare case that there was a power outage, she had installed a manual override system hard reset key into her administrative access of the warehouse power grid. She did not even need to go directly to the electrical room and could instead reactivate everything remotely, so even on a day she was not at the warehouse and was instead in her apartment, Maddie could run diagnostics. Eren had actually been the one to optimize the settings, so a hard reset which would have normally taken half an hour instead took mere minutes.

Odd… everything is green. It’s almost like someone just shut off the switch inside the control room or something. Maddie pondered and browsed the different systems and confirmed she wanted to reactivate them all. Well it’s a good thing I can just reset it from here. Saves me a walk. 

She turned to Maeve. “This is going to return all the settings to factory mode so shut your eyes. It’s about to get super bright.” Maddie warned and tapped a button on her laptop.

True to her word when the lights reactivated it was almost blinding. Maddie’s eyes had adjusted to the dark and now that everything was back in its default factory setting it was almost painful to keep her eyes open. 

“I’ll just need a second to turn them down!” Maddie said and squinted at her computer screen to lower the illumination. “That was weird. Let’s hope I don’t need to find a new warehouse now.”

“Ummm… Maddie?” Maeve said despondently and hopped onto her palm to get a better look at something through the window on the main floor below. Her voice was unusually faint, as if she had seen a ghost. Maddie blinked several times to readjust her eyes to the brightness when she realized what Maeve was talking about. 

Giulia was no longer there on the main floor where they had last seen her go. In her place her empty clothes were now strewn across the floor. Right next to the discarded clothes was a young woman. She was quite tall, with dark hair in a ponytail and almond shaped eyes. Her fair skin contrasted the black hoodie she wore, and a fabric mask had been tucked under her chin. 

She was a complete stranger who Maddie had never seen before, however what shocked her more than the woman’s sudden appearance was the object in her gloved fist. Or rather, the person in fist.

Maddie’s heart jumped into her mouth with terror and she took a step backwards. If not for the sudden burst of adrenaline in her system she would have likely fainted from surprise alone. “I-Is… that speck…”

“It’s Giulia…” Maeve finished for her, equally astonished and her face now ashen white. 

It made no sense but the fact that Maeve also confirmed what Maddie saw convinced them both it was not a hallucination or a trick of the light. Giulia was still there on the main floor, however she had somehow been shrunken to the diminutive size of a speck and was now in the clutches of the mystery woman who suddenly realized that she had been seen.

Her gaze shifted upwards to the main deck where Maddie was and they made eye contact. Ruiwen smiled teasingly and returned the now depleted syringe to her pocket and took out another. 

That woman shrunk Giulia. She must have used whatever is in that needle to do so. Maddie realized with a remarkable degree of rationality. How it happened was less relevant than any information which would keep them all safe. She could not afford to panic. That smile on her face means I’m next! She’s probably a lot faster than me, I can’t just run!

Maeve was taken aback when Maddie suddenly began to frantically type away at the computer in front of her. “What are you doing?! We need to go!”

“Just give me a moment!” Maddie hissed back as her fingers blitzed across the keyboard. Her heart was beating out of her chest so hard she could hear it reverberate within her ears. 

On the floor Ruiwen placed Giulia in her pocket and began to walk forward, much to Maeve’s despair. She watched desperately as Maddie continued to fiddle with the settings on a different screen. 

Finally she recalibrated the correct system. “This should slow her down a little!” Maddie exclaimed.

As she spoke the machines on the main floor where Ruiwen was suddenly whirred to life. The operations specialist looked to her right side just in time to avoid a massive mechanical arm which thrust in her direction. Inches above her head the robotic claw slammed shut, after a failed attempt to grab Ruiwen. 

Her eyes widened as every other machine on the floor activated and began to rapidly move towards her. Left with no choice Ruiwen had to leap out of the way again, only to stumble right into the old Franklin Model Epsilon which feebly tried to wrap its arms around her in a bear hug. Angrily she punched the robot several feet through the air, where the prototype collapsed into a million pieces. 

That robot is over five hundred pounds! How the hell did she launch it that far?! Maddie thought as she watched Ruiwen begin to overpower some of the factory machine arms, which each had the strength to bend steel. The only other time I saw that happen was… 

“Tae Park.” Maddie suddenly blurted. There was not much time that the machines could buy them at this rate, so she snatched Maeve from the table and made a dash for the exit. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she put the time she had spent on the treadmill to good use, and sprinted across the catwalk to the second floor stairwell. 

From her fist, Maeve managed to mutter a confused reply. “Tae Park?! What does Eren’s fiancé have to do with this?” She interrogated as Maddie burst through the door and began to descend the stairs three at a time. 

“She’s super strong just like that woman! Back in Norwich she kicked me halfway across a room like it was nothing.” Maddie explained. “And… I think she has it out for me. Last time we spoke in person she said I would regret it if I ever hurt Eren.”

“So?! You haven’t done anything to Eren!”

“No… but Giulia did.” Maddie muttered and finally reached the bottom of the stairwell. It took a few attempts to find the right key to the door, and when she did had to use her shoulder to barge through to the other side. Distantly she could hear that the machines were no longer operational. 

Giulia mentioned that neither Smith nor Adrian spoke with her anymore. That’s not like either of them to just cut off contact like that. And all three of them were the most vocal against Eren in that conference. Maddie considered and continued to run now that she knew her attacker had won against the robots. Tae Park seems like she holds a grudge… I really thought she was going to kill me some of the times we met in person. Now that she’s in China, she sent an assassin after Giulia and the others and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Maddie shook her head several times. That woman is going to kill me. She’s going to kill me and Maeve if I don’t get away! Now that I’ve seen her shrink someone there’s no doubt about it. I can’t help Giulia if I die here, I have to get help!

Maddie fished her phone out of her pocket to call the police. Moments after she dialed the number the operator picked up. Please don’t redirect me like that one asshole did!

“You’ve reached~.”

“There’s a person trying to kill me at the Watercrest Warehouse! They’re following me right now, please I need help!” She shouted desperately. Wisely she chose to omit the part where that person had shrunken a person. That would likely get her written off as a crazy prank caller. 

The tone on the other end of the line suddenly became very serious as the operator realized the danger the caller was in. “Alright ma’am I need you to remain calm and tell me exactly where you are so we can send you help. We can have squad cars at your location in three minutes.”

“Three minutes?!”

“Ma’am please find somewhere to hide. Do not try to run. I repeat, do not try to run and find somewhere to hide.” The operator insisted. “The police will neutralize the threat and locate you afterwards.” He continued.

There were not many places to hide in the warehouse. Maddie wanted to jump in her car and make a break for the highway, or maybe downtown when there was a bunch of people. To hide in the same place where her attacker was felt counterintuitive. She had a head start thanks to her trick with the machines on the floor. Why wouldn’t the operator want her to continue to run until she was safe and around more people? 

No. Something is wrong. She was a woman who lived alone in a big city, her natural instincts had been honed to detect when things were off. And right now they told her that if she hid it would be more dangerous. 

Maddie bit her lip. “Who the hell are you people?” She suddenly blurted, when she received silence she continued. “You’re working with that woman right? You figured I might try to call the cops.”

“Ma’am I understand you are in shock right now but I need you to listen to me and~!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! You were after Giulia right? Look I won’t tell anybody what you did just let me go!” Maddie pleaded. “I have a grandfather in a retirement home who needs me. I’m not a threat to you or anybody else and I haven’t done anything wrong to Eren Klein either!”

“I’m sorry Miss Lacroix.” The voice on the other end of the line suddenly switched from the insistent emergency services operator to a considerably more calm, collected tone. Maddie’s heart fluttered at the mention of her name. 

Damnit! Maddie thought despairingly as she realized not even the police could help her right now. “This is nothing personal and we do not intend to kill you. Please stop running now and you won’t be harmed~!” The operator began right as she hung up the phone. 

Maddie was almost at her car, she just had to cross the parking lot outside. Hopefully the cold outside did not force her old station wagon to defrost for a little first. She tried to call another number, but this time was informed her phone had no reception. 

Did they cut off my phone?! Shit I’m not connected to wireless or cellular and can’t make calls… Maddie realized and frantically tapped on the icon to get it to work. Between her sprint and constantly checking her phone she was astounded that she had not fallen yet. Please let the Eureka Private Network work! 

At this time of night she was doubtful that anybody was online, however Maddie was able to send messages and calls. Instantly she opened the general chat and began to spam it with pleas for help, saying she was being chased and it wasn’t a joke. Anything that would hopefully demonstrate she needed help. Since Eureka had downsized, less than a dozen people would receive her messages, but it was something. 

However one employee’s yellow activity icon switched to green shortly after her first few poorly spelled messages went through. It was likely some time in the afternoon in Beijing, which explained why Eren was online. Suddenly her phone began to ring right as Maddie reached her car. Only when she tried to open the door did she realize that the tires had been slashed. 

Maeve gulped and noticed the hope in Maddie’s face wither away. The assassin had thought of everything.

Left with no other option, Maddie had to resume an all out sprint, right as the door to the warehouse opened up and Ruiwen stepped out into the cold. Her clothes were tattered from her battle with the robots which had been programmed to treat her like a piece of steel to be crushed for easier use. Instantly her eyes found Maddie across the parking lot and she gave chase at superhuman speed. 

This is my last chance! Maddie thought and answered Eren’s video call request while she was still running. Unlike most other times they had spoken through webcams, he was not in his home office but instead appeared to be in a speck car seat.

He frowned. “Hey Maddie I just got your messages… Is everything alright I’m pretty confused by~?”

“Your girlfriend is trying to fucking kill me!” Maddie shouted before he could finish. Her attention was not even on him anymore, rather the chain link fence she needed to hop over to reach an alleyway between some nearby warehouses that had not been rented out yet. Abandoned unfortunately with nobody to help her as Ruiwen closed in. “A woman came out of nowhere and shrunk Giulia! I think she killed Smith and Adrian too.”

“Maddie what on earth are you talking about?!”

“If she wants to kill me that’s fine! Just don’t hurt Maeve; she had nothing to do with this.” Maddie insisted as Maeve shouted something indiscernible in protest at that last comment. 

Eren blinked. “Maddie, I-I don’t know what to tell you, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He replied. “Jisoo would never…” Suddenly Eren trailed off. From the corner of her peripheral Maddie noticed that he had a faraway look in his eyes.

Before Maddie could say anything else she felt a searing pain consume her upper body, as if her skin had been set ablaze. She screamed and stumbled, but managed to keep herself upright. Right then the phone was ripped from Eren’s hands by some unknown force and deactivated. 

Maddie did not need to diagnose her symptoms to realize what that pain must have been. At a guess the assassin must have thrown the syringe at her, or used some other delivery system to get the poison into her system. She only had a few seconds before trust like Giulia, she became a speck as well. 

If nothing else… I have to save Maeve. Maddie thought to herself and rounded a corner around an empty warehouse. She collapsed onto the ground and indelicately tossed Maeve as far as she could beneath a stack of wooden factory pallets. “Maeve… no matter what, don't come out until she’s gone.”

“Maddie please don’t-!” Maeve began with tears in her eyes before Maddie cut her off by pulling a protective fabric tarp over the pallets. It was extremely difficult to do so. She was now only four feet tall and her clothes got in the way.

Willpower alone allowed Maddie to resist the effects of the speck dose for a considerably longer time than most. However once she completed her objective to hide Maeve, it was inevitable that the poison would run its course in her body. 

Maddie put some distance between herself and the wooden pallets where she had hidden her best friend. She made it almost to the other warehouse when finally her legs were so small that even the half inch of snow in the ground became too difficult for her to cross quickly. Each step without shoes in the frigid wet material was painful, and Maddie shivered in the cold. 

Suddenly the world around her was enormous in every conceivable way. Her clothes which were now abandoned behind her seemed like miniature fabric mountains of wool and cotton. The shoes which normally enclosed her small, slender feet were now brobdingnagian. It was too much to take in all at once and finally, Maddie fell to her knees as the earth rumbled beneath her. 

Ruiwen sauntered towards Maddie with a cold glare and brought her massive boot towards her naked figure. “You know originally I thought you would make a really nice pet.” She murmured and kicked Maddie onto her back. The redhead squealed in pain as the giantess tenderly pressed her boot into her body until she was forced deep into the snow. “Although seeing how rebellious you are… I think you would make a more suitable appetizer.”

“Please don’t…” Maddie managed. Ruiwen removed her enormous shoe from her torso and squeezed Maddie between her fingers, then brought the diminutive woman up to her mouth. 

The newly created speck cringed as Ruiwen extended her enormous tongue from between her lips, like a gigantic wet mattress which licked her from head to toe several times. A chill went down her back as she realized that she was being tasted. Sampled. Like a morsel of food. 

Ruiwen dragged her tongue across Maddie’s face one final time and then returned it to her minty scented maw, which whenever it opened was like a big wet cave. “Hmm… Cinnamon? Or a flavor more like cardamom?” Ruiwen ruminated. “Either way I must say you are much tastier than your other friend. Whatever body wash she used was extremely bitter on the tongue.” She cooed.

Maddie was in too much pain and shock to react to the news of Giulia’s death. She had never been so completely overwhelmed before. Ruiwen’s fingers each held more strength than her entire pitiful body could hope to exert. Was this how helpless specks felt? Now she felt guilty over how claustrophobic Maeve must feel whenever they traveled together.

Although the volume of everything was easily the worst part. Even when she spoke in a soft, patronizing tone the giantess’s words rolled off her tongue like cannon fire. Maddie’s insides rattled like a shack in a hurricane, jostled around by every syllable. 

“You are quite an exotic find however. Such pretty red hair… is it natural?” Ruiwen inquired. Maddie simply nodded meekly. 

If it meant she could avoid a one way trip down the cruel woman’s throat into her stomach, then she would accept the compliment. Even though it made her feel like a cow at a slaughterhouse auction. 

Ruiwen smiled. “Well I have always wanted my own pet. My mother thinks it’s too much of a hassle to train one, however I personally appreciate the challenge.” She declared. “That doesn’t sound so bad, right? I’ll be very gentle, and if you behave you’ll be treated quite well.” Ruiwen promised.

With that she shoved Maddie into her pocket and strolled away. She would allow the rest of the team she had assigned to the task to clean up. There had been a few hurdles along the way, but what mattered was that she had fulfilled the tenets of her contract with Aunt Jisoo. 

Meanwhile, still quiet as a mouse beneath the stack of pallets Maddie had hidden her beneath, Maeve watched with tears eyes as her friend was taken away and vanished moments later.

Jisoo blinked several times in befuddled confusion. 

One moment she had been halfway across the shrine, prepared to strike at the outline of her mother who still had her back towards her. Then a split second later, she was deaf and blind. Everything was dark and strangely warm, and she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she was now naked.

There were some sounds. All muffled however. So she could still hear, however not very well. Whatever soft wall of fabric which had materialized around her created a barrier between herself and the outside world. At the very least Jisoo could see her own hands, and realized that she could still see, but everything around her was pitch black even with her heightened senses. 

What happened? Her rage at the sight of her mother right before her eyes was gone. Now Jisoo was simply confused. It did not register in her mind that this was a somewhat familiar sensation at first, until the ground began to shake beneath her feet with enough intensity to knock her onto her butt. 

Over ten years had passed since Jisoo felt those familiar vibrations in the earth. Her mind may have forgotten what the footsteps of a giant person felt like, however her body had not. She was able to readjust her balance and quickly rose to her feet despite the earthquakes, albeit in utter shock.

N-No… That’s not possible! She thought, horror-struck as she realized where she was. 

Trapped underneath a pile of her own clothes that had not shrunk with her. Just like any one of her victims throughout the years. She pinched her wrist to confirm this was not another night terror, and the pain which flared up confirmed her fears that it was not. She had been shrunken back into a speck. 

I possess the xirang! I should be completely immune to the effects of the zhìyù! Jisoo thought and slowly backed away from the footsteps which boomed closer to her. What did she hit me with? I-I didn’t see a syringe or anything…

Suddenly a powerful gust of wind bellowed all around Jisoo’s now tiny body. Bright light suddenly flooded the previously dark enclosure of discarded clothes as they were torn away to reveal her feeble nude body. She looked up past a set of pillar-like legs and an expansive canvas of black to meet the bemused gaze of the woman who shrank her. The giantess chuckled. 

A simple action that shook Jisoo to the core. “I wondered whether or not that trick would work on you. Hmph. Not much of a ‘goddess’ now are you?” She teased cruelly. “I must say you are a lot less insufferable at that size.”

“H-How is this possible?” Jisoo stammered dumbly. “I-I should be immune.”

“Oh don’t worry. You’ll return to your normal size in a few hours.” The giantess boomed from miles above. A more rational part of Jisoo breathed an immense sigh of relief that this was not permanent. 

The hooded figure got on her haunches. “Consider this an act of mercy. That’s something you people could never understand. You don’t have to end every encounter with murder.” She quipped and jabbed Jisoo with an elephantine finger with the width of a tree trunk. “I suggest you stay here. Otherwise you might be trampled by one of the house staff.”

“In the meantime I have some things to collect. This house never meant anything to you, so I’m sure you won’t miss them if I take them back.” The titaness declared and stepped over Jisoo. 

Jisoo watched in awe as her massive leg, like a skyscraper in motion swung directly over her and planted firmly on the floor proportionally several meters behind her. The woman began to walk away, and might have left without another word from Jisoo until she realized this might be her only chance. 

She stood up and ran after the giantess. “Wait! W-Why did you leave me behind when I was born?!” Jisoo demanded in a shout. “Why did you give me to Byung-ho and just leave? Who is my dad?”

“…Why was I even born?!” Jisoo begged to know. 

At that last statement the woman came to a sudden stop. She remained silent for several tense seconds and Jisoo feared she might simply ignore her and leave the shrine without another word. If nothing else, she had to know the truth behind her own existence.

She didn’t care if the answer was hurtful. Jisoo didn’t care if she had been an accident, or an unwanted child for whatever reason. All she wanted was to know why her mother had brought her into the world then abandoned her before she could even remember her face. 

The giantess turned around and met Jisoo’s gaze. Her eyes were just like Jisoo's, she now realized. However everything else was hidden by a mask and hoodie. It was impossible to discern anything more of her mother’s face. She appeared to contemplate something for several more seconds until finally the giantess sighed. Reluctantly, she pulled the hood down to reveal a carefully maintained ponytail consisting of jet black hair. Then, she pulled her mask off to reveal the rest of her face to Jisoo for the first time. 

She was beautiful. With a heart-shaped face and soft lips which betrayed the immense strength she clearly wielded. Like Jisoo, her eyelids were double lidded and her irises the same dark brown. 

However Jisoo knew immediately that her face was… wrong. Jisoo had never seen her mother’s face in person before, however had seen pictures from the same time period she disappeared. Almost thirty years had passed since Chen Keqing abandoned their family, and if she had consumed a Peach of Immortality then nothing about her facial features should have changed so drastically. 

“Y-You…?” Jisoo stuttered as the woman tossed her mask aside. Evidently she had no further use for it. 

Slowly the giantess nodded. “I am not Keqing.” She said simply. 

This was not her mother. It was someone else entirely. The realization fell on Jisoo as if the world around her had collapsed onto her shoulders. She collapsed to her knees, unable to express with words or any other emotion the intense emotions that had washed over her. 

She’s not my mother…? Jisoo repeated to herself and took in the stranger’s appearance, and etched it into her mind. Then… Then why does she look so familiar? She looks exactly like~!

“Fang Baochai.” Jisoo blurted numbly as the giantess across the shrine cocked her head and raised her brow elegantly. “Your face. You look exactly like Baochai.”

“Hmph. And you look exactly like Daiyu.” The woman replied knowingly and placed her hands on her hips. “Curious how that works out.” She murmured. 

Jisoo rubbed her temple. “…I-I don’t understand. Who… Who are you?” 

“I’m not the person you thought I was. If you can accept that, then perhaps one day you will be able to accept that our mother is not the person you think she is either.”