“Do you think she was telling the truth?” 

Truthfully, her cousin’s question was the same one that had bothered Jisoo from the moment she was discovered, less than three inches tall in a pile of her own discarded clothes until now when her body finally began to show signs of recovery. A groundskeeper was the one to stumble across the lady of the house, and immediately called for assistance. Since then Jisoo had been treated as a lab rat for the past few hours, poked and prodded with every imaginable test run on her now diminutive body.

All the while she kept silent, lost in her thoughts on the stranger who had transformed her into a speck with a simple thought and then vanished. Her words stung long after she departed, when the interloper suggested Jisoo should instead direct her questions to the mother they shared. 

Jisoo searched her own feelings for several moments before she rubbed her temple and sighed. “I do.” She replied simply. “That woman is my sister. I saw the truth of it in her eyes.”

“And she looked just like Baochai?” Grace asked quietly and crossed her arms. She leaned over Jisoo’s hospital bed and cast a long shadow over her cousin, who had slowly grown from three inches to around two feet over the last several hours. “The same way you look a lot like Daiyu?”

“…She looked identical to her.” Jisoo murmured and felt a chill crawl down her spine. The doctors had pumped her full of painkillers, since initially as her body began to slowly expand the process had been excruciating.

Now she was numb all over and comforted by a select few guests. Few had been made aware of her unprecedented affliction, and even fewer had been informed of the intruder's true identity. Aunt Min was unfortunately preoccupied, however promised to pay her a visit at some point before she left the medical laboratory. Grace once she arrived refused to leave her side, and would have slipped Jisoo some alcohol if the alchemy nurse had not scolded her for it.

Jisoo took a sip of water from a small cup which to her was more like a bucket of popcorn. “I tried to avenge Suyin.” She muttered sadly. “I was too weak. I’m sorry.” 

“Never call yourself weak. You are the strongest person I know.” Grace replied firmly. 

Before Jisoo could respond, she gasped and felt her entire body tremble uncontrollably. The water sloshed out of her cup and splashed over the blanket which covered her upper torso, which soaked her all the way through. If not for the painkillers she might have screamed, but only felt a strange discomfort as her bones expanded and her limbs lengthened. 

From outside the room, a nurse frantically scribbled down something on a notepad. They had managed to predict the growth spurts, and determined they came every ten to fifteen minutes, however sometimes it took less time than that. Each time she grew a little more than the previous increase. Sometimes it was an inch, and others three or four. Perhaps by the end of tomorrow she would be at her normal height again.

As the nurse completed their notes, they touched a finger to the headset in their ear and said something indiscernible before she walked into the room. “Ma’am, your fiancé has arrived.” 

“Please, send him in immediately!” Jisoo said with a tad too much urgency and tried to sit up in bed before the sudden dizziness overwhelmed her. Instantly Grace’s face flashed with concern, and she used her amazonian arm to coax Jisoo back onto the soft pillows.

Even when I ascended it wasn’t this bad… The Peach of Immortality abated most of the pain involved. Jisoo coughed as the nurse quickly readjusted her nasal cannula. As she did so, a pair of footsteps down the hall grew closer until a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

Behind her round spectacles, Satsuki appeared rather expressionless despite the bizarre circumstances. Jisoo glared daggers at her for several moments, before she noticed the tiny person perched in her cousin’s hands like a gift. Eren’s face was a difficult blend of emotions, too many for Jisoo to decipher. 

Regardless, she was elated to see him and smiled weakly.

Satsuki strolled forward and cocked her head to the side in order to scrutinize Jisoo further. “I honestly did not believe Lihua when she told me what happened.” She mused and placed Eren on the edge of Jisoo’s bed. “Hmph. I suppose I owe you all an apology.”

“For what?”

“I assumed that given the evidence of what happened in Heilongjiang which coincided with the time of your return, your mother and you were in league with one another.” Satsuki explained very matter-of-factly. “However not only was it not your mother all along, it seems your biological sister views you as an enemy. Therefore I was wrong about you.” She said.

Jisoo rolled her eyes. “Wow. That almost sounds like an apology.”

“Don’t think that I’m immature enough to hold a grudge for the sake of spite. I can admit when I am mistaken. In any event, I brought your fiancé to pay you a visit.” Satsuki replied with an elegantly raised brow. 

From the corner of the room Grace cleared her throat. “Well. How about we let these two have some alone time?” She suggested and tugged at the hem of Satsuki’s jacket. “We’ll be in the next room if you need us Jisoo.”

“Thank you Grace.” Jisoo said graciously as the two women along with the nurse left the room shortly afterwards. Before she shut the door behind her, Satsuki cast a glance over her shoulder at the two lovers at the bed with a peculiar expression. It lasted only for a moment, then the nurse ushered them away so they could have some privacy. 

Although she was around the same stature as a young child, Jisoo still completely dwarfed Eren. Just not to the same degree as was customary. She could no longer curl him up into her fist if she so wished, however the rest of their interactions were likely still possible. Not much had really changed for Jisoo since Eren remained the same, however she imagined that compared to how she normally was, Eren thought she was tiny. 

She waited for a few moments to think of something to say before a chuckle escaped her lips. “I almost wish you got here a few hours ago!” Jisoo giggled. “We would have been exactly the same size.”

“Y-Yeah.” Eren agreed numbly, but the joke didn’t seem to land as well as she would have liked. 

It’s okay. I’m healing slowly and getting back to normal. Jisoo extended her hand towards him and touched Eren’s thigh with the tip of her finger. “Hey… It’s alright. The pain is mostly gone now.” She insisted. “Grace has me hooked up with water and whatever snacks the nurse lets me have. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Did they mention how long it would be until you are completely healed?”

“By tomorrow evening is what they currently predict. However the alchemist in charge wants to run some more tests afterwards to make sure I’m alright.” Jisoo reassured him. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.” She told him.

He nodded slowly. “I’m just… I was really scared when they told me what happened.” Eren said with a shiver. “I can’t express with words how grateful I am to see that you’re okay.” He said truthfully, yet somewhat distantly. 

Jisoo frowned.

Something else is bothering him. She knew her fiancé well enough to know when he was distracted, although this time was different and it was clearly not work related. “Is everything alright? You don’t look so well.” Jisoo asked pointedly in concern. “I already told you I’m okay. By the end of the week I’ll be able to make you kimbap if you like.” She offered.

Eren glanced away and bit his lip. “N-No. Let’s talk about it when you feel better.” He decided and turned back to her. “So it was your biological sister who~?”

“Eren.” Jisoo cut in, her attention entirely fixated on him. He gulped in trepidation as she shifted in bed to look more closely at him. “Please. Tell me what’s bothering you so I can help.” She demanded.

They locked eyes and she could see the inner turmoil written across his face. Now she was absolutely sure that this was not work related stress, or even about her current condition. His lip quivered slightly and opened for a moment before he shut it, as if unable to come up with a way to say whatever was on his mind.

Patiently Jisoo waited, now more than a little curious to know what was wrong and why he had been so distracted. Finally after what felt like several hours she saw him reach a conclusion with his internal argument, although he was unable to face her when he spoke.

“Right before I got the call about what happened to you I was on a video call with Maddie.” He explained in a low voice. “She was… She was being chased by someone.” Eren muttered.

“Oh dear, is she alright? How about Maeve? Should I-!”

“She said you were trying to kill her.” Eren interrupted. 

Jisoo blinked in obvious confusion. “Umm… Eren I don’t know how to break it to you but… I’m in a hospital bed right now.” She told him as if it wasn’t perfectly clear already. “And she’s in Philadelphia on the other side of the planet.”

“Look I know me and her don’t exactly get along very well but it’s pretty ridiculous that she would try to claim~.” She began before Eren cut her off.

“You ordered someone to kill those people in Eureka I told you about, didn’t you?” Eren cut in and stared at her with an alien expression. Not anger or even disappointment. Rather it was a look of betrayal, which cut Jisoo down to her core as she heard the words roll off his tongue.

How the hell did he find out?! Or even Madeleine Lacroix for that matter?! Ruiwen wasn’t even supposed to kill her! Although she was a talented liar, Jisoo could not keep the truth from flashing across her eyes. Eren noticed the sudden change in her demeanor, and seemed to internally accept that it was the truth, whether or not she had even said anything yet.

He stared deep into her soul with mournful eyes. “Why? Why did you kill those people?” Eren asked softly, his voice almost a plea.

“Eren… I didn’t…” She began to lie but realized he already did not believe her. “I-I didn’t want Maddie to get hurt. That’s the truth. I would never put her or Maeve in danger so I really don’t know why she became involved.”

“So you really had an assassin go after three innocent people?!” Eren said incredulously. He hopped off the edge of the bed and onto the cushion closest to her in order to scale it, until he was able to clamber from the pillow towards her knee to look down on her from across her midsection. 

You don’t understand yet why their lives don’t matter. Jisoo shifted uncomfortably. “All three of them were equally awful. They despised specks.” She muttered. “Eren, they are the exact same kind of people who made our lives miserable! Don’t you see that?!”

“Those three never killed anybody as far as we know! The only thing they were guilty of was being jerks on a video call with me.” Eren shot back. “That doesn’t mean they should have been killed. And you ordered someone to kill them, even after I specifically told you to just let it go. How did you even get that information?”

“Eren please calm down-!”

“Did you hack into my computer?!”

“What? No, of course not I~!” Jisoo caught herself before she nearly blundered into another flagrant lie which undoubtedly Eren would have caught onto as well. “I… I know what your password is. Remember I was the one to set up your desktop.” She admitted sheepishly.

He shook his head. “Between Smith… Giulia… and Adrian…” Eren muttered. “And it was more than just them.”

“Eren I swear those three are the only ones.” Jisoo proclaimed. “Look, I have no idea how Madeleine got involved but we can help her! I’ll speak with some people and make sure she is okay and compensated tenfold for whatever damages happened to her or her property.”

“Did you do the same for all the others?” Eren interrogated with his arms crossed. “All the people in Norwich who you killed behind my back?” He asked.

Once more Jisoo was taken aback, however this time her mouth actually dropped in surprise. Eren hung his head. “So it’s actually true… You actually did all of those things.” 

“Who told you about that?” She pressed. “Tell me.”

“Does it matter?”

“It absolutely does!”

“Will you kill whoever told me the truth about what you were up to in Norwich whenever you had an errand to run?” Eren said in a voice just above a whisper. 

Jisoo looked as though she had just been slapped and furrowed her brow. “I am not that kind of person, Eren.” She hissed while he looked away in shame. “Are you really defending people who killed children? Or the group of thugs who murdered an innocent speck girl from your commune?”

“Those people can burn in hell.” Eren replied hotly and turned back towards her with a deadly serious expression. “But I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the bartender from the night we met. And the guys from Delphi’s who bullied us.”

“If those people saw you in the street Eren, they would have killed you.”

“We don’t know that. There’s a fine line between being an asshole and being a murderer.” Eren said firmly. “And you know what? There’s also a fine line between ‘defending a mass murderer’ and doing exactly what a normal older brother would do for his little sister.” 

Before she could retort, Eren continued. “Do you know what the last thing Alice said to me before you killed her was?” He asked. “She said she was sorry. After what you and Grace put her through, she realized that she was a monster. And even after I lashed out at them she insisted that we could talk things through.”

“Bullshit.”

“Alice had most of her damn face melted off in your stomach! You swallowed her, and then regurgitated her for no other reason than to torture her to insanity.” Eren accused. “That’s not a fate anybody deserves no matter how evil they are.” He proclaimed. 

I was right not to tell you everything before. You don’t understand. How do you not understand after all you’ve been through?! Jisoo grit her teeth. “We are trying to build a perfect world Eren.” She told him. “And you know what? When you’re making the king of all omelettes you can’t fret over every broken egg.”

“Those were people Jisoo. People with families and loved ones. They weren’t just vermin for you and the Amrita Corporation to exterminate.”

“The Amrita Corporation wants a united civilization where people aren’t killed for just being born a certain way! We want to end senseless bloodshed on a global scale.” Jisoo argued. “So yes! In order to achieve that vision, we have to get our hands dirty. But it’s for the greater good of not just us, but the entire world.”

“So why not use your political influence to make that happen? Why do you install politicians who go against exactly what you claim to want?” Eren demanded.

Someone from inside our organization must have told him all of this. There is now way he could have come to these conclusions entirely on his own. Jisoo realized as Eren continued to argue with her. 

But that doesn’t make any sense! No way would Grace tell him so much with all that’s been going on with her, and there isn’t anybody else who-! Jisoo suddenly stopped as the realization dawned on her. “Eren… If Satsuki was the one who told you all of this, surely you wouldn't believe a word she says?” Jisoo inquired. “She hates me. Her goal is to make sure we can’t be together.”

“You’re wrong. I think she’s the only person in this entire family I’ve ever met who's been honest from the day I met her.”

There had been a few occasions where Maddie asked her speck roommate what it was like to be so small in a world built with tiny people as a complete afterthought. Maeve tried her best to answer but explained that since she had no basis for what it was like to be big, she could not frame it in a way Maddie could understand. Part of her thought it might even be fun to live as a speck for a day or two in a hypothetical scenario. 

Now that she had the opportunity to look at the world with an entirely new perspective , Maddie realized just how brave the average speck had to be to simply remain sane. Her kidnapper had a coffee maker in the small apartment she had rented out, which was about the size of a three-story house for Maddie. She freaked out when the machine automatically began to brew on its own, and produced thousands of gallons of boiling hot black liquid to form a gargantuan pool. Everything else was equally terrifying. Whenever the gigantic woman who had murdered Giulia strolled around the flat, it shook Maddie to her bones. 

Ruiwen deposited Maddie on the kitchen counter. She glanced off the edge and gulped to see the dizzying drop a few hundred feet to the ground. The giantess glanced at her so close to the edge and suddenly extended a massive hand towards Maddie to push her backwards away from the drop. 

“Careful now. A fall from that height would be fatal.” Ruiwen warned and returned to rifling through the fridge. “Adrian found that out the hard way.” She chuckled.

Maddie gulped. “I-I’ll keep that in mind.” She murmured softly as Ruiwen closed the fridge door, then placed an icy cold bottle of beer on the counter next to the red- headed speck. “So… You aren’t going to kill me?”

“I lost my temper at the warehouse, I’ll admit.” Ruiwen shrugged and popped the cap off the bottle with her bare hands, which made Maddie wince. It was far too easy to imagine her head being popped off just as easily by her enormous fingers. “You ruined my outfit and set an entire factory of machines against me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not. If those machines had managed to kill me you wouldn’t be in this predicament.” Ruiwen dismissed and took a long draft from her drink. She exhaled in relief to feel it wash down her throat then turned her attention back to the speck in her shadow. “But I can’t exactly hold that against you. If I were you I probably would have done the same thing.” She mused. 

I half expected her to have started torturing me by now. Maddie thought, slightly surprised by how casual the giantess was about all this. “May I ask your name?” She asked politely. 

“Ruiwen.” The titaness replied. “But you can just call me Ren. Most Americans find it easier to pronounce.”

“…I don’t suppose there is any way you can return me to normal if I promise not to tell anybody.” Maddie asked with a small iota of hope that she could talk her way out of this. 

To her disappointment Ren shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I’ll just be blunt and admit that from now on you are my pet.” She informed Maddie pointedly and finished her beer. “But don’t look so sad. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” 

I doubt that. Maddie thought but held her tongue. “H-How so?”

“Do you abuse cats, dogs or hamsters?” Ren inquired, to which Maddie frantically shook her head in response. “Exactly. Just be a good girl and listen to what I say and you’ll find that being my pet is much easier, and frankly better than the miserable life you’ve lived up until now.”

“I have a grandfather who needs me.” Maddie said softly. “What will happen to him? He doesn’t know anything about what happened or~!”

“Relax, I'm not about to kill your grandpa for no reason.” Ren cut in and crossed her arms. “As a matter of fact, if it makes you feel any better I’ll even make sure he’s well taken care of.”

“R-Really?”

“The Amrita Corporation produces the best medicines and treatments in the world. He will be fully covered under our best plans.” Ren assured her. “See? I’m not so bad! I know this isn’t how you thought your life would turn out but believe me there are far worse fates out there than being my pet.” She proclaimed.

She could be full of shit and just saying this to make me obey her. But even if she is, there is nothing I can do about it. Maddie thought to herself. It doesn’t seem like she knows about the messages I sent through the Eureka VPN or that I managed to get through to Eren. 

Maddie clenched her fists. Although Maeve is still in the cold near the warehouse. I told the group chat to come get her but I don’t know if that will happen or if Maeve will be in trouble before then. If Ren is telling the truth and is serious about using a softer touch, she could bring Maeve here and make sure she’s safe… But ultimately I don’t know. I’ll have to trust that someone goes to help Maeve and leaks that information on my behalf. Otherwise I’ll never see the light of day again.

That was what really terrified Maddie. The thought that she might spend the rest of her life as this woman’s pet. She didn’t care if she was coddled or pampered, it meant she would never see her friends or family ever again. It was one thing to belong to someone else, but another thing entirely to be forever isolated. 

Gather more information. But be polite and obedient. Maddie cleared her throat. “Is it okay if I ask you questions?” She pondered. “About… All of this I guess.”

“Go ahead. I doubt you’ll believe anything I say though.”

“May I please have some clothes? I’m really cold.” Maddie asked sheepishly. The entire time she had crossed her arms over her exposed, naked chest to hide herself from the giantess, who seemed apathetic to her nudity. 

Ren burst out in laughter with enough intensity to blow Maddie back a couple of feet. Her minty breath was like a powerful whirlwind. “Oh here I thought you would ask me the usual questions! Like ‘how did I shrink’ or something like that.” She giggled. “Instead you want something to wear.”

“Would I even understand half of what you told me?”

“Someone as smart as you could probably figure it out. Although there is a strong difference between the concepts of ‘alchemy’ and ‘science’. The former is not beholden to the laws of physics but rather the decrees of the divine.” Ren explained. “I’m not an expert on the subject beyond the basics required for my work.” She professed.

Alchemy? If I wasn’t three inches tall right now I would think she’s joking. What the hell are the ‘decrees of the divine’?  Maddie pondered. However with the information I do have I can hypothesize a few things. Namely that the Amrita Corporation was likely the source of The Diminution. And if what I remember Eren telling me about his girlfriend is true, then Tae is a descendant of Baochai and Daiyu Fang. It’s likely Ren is as well. This must all be a part of their family legacy.

Maddie shook her head subtly. Never in a million years would she have thought The Diminution was intentional. It destroyed the old world order as they knew it and plunged so many nations into a dark era. With the exception of certain superpowers the underwent a transformation into global powerhouses. 

There was likely a reason behind why The Amrita Corporation had initiated The Diminution, however Maddie figured it was best not to pry too much. The more she knew, the more incentive there was to track her down should she ever escape. And if that happened she doubted she would receive fair treatment like this. Ren grabbed another beer from the fridge then went away for a few minutes. When she returned, she placed a bundle of speck clothes in front of Maddie who quickly put them on. 

Once she was dressed, Ren placed her open palm on the counter in front of Maddie expectantly. “Well, let’s introduce you to your responsibilities.” She said.

There isn’t exactly much I can do at this size. Maddie thought, but obediently stepped onto Ren’s palm. It was difficult to balance, especially when the giantess began to move. Almost immediately Maddie toppled over flat on her face, which elicited a bemused chuckle from Ren. Maeve makes that look easy…

Ren took a seat on her couch, then placed Maddie on the floor in front of her sock-clad feet. She rifled through a nearby bag to locate a bottle of nail polish and a brush. “Do you paint your nails?”

“No but I’ve taken art classes.” Maddie replied while Ren peeled off her socks then flexed her toes. There was a slightly earthy smell from her sweat, but it wasn’t as bad as she had feared. “I know how to paint.”

“Well if you do a good job, you get a treat.” Ren explained and removed the cap from the bottle.

And if I make a mess, I get punished. Maddie thought. I really am a pet. 

The titanic pair of feet in front of her were well taken care of, with neatly trimmed nails and free from calluses. Maddie had never painted her own nails before, or anybody else’s for that matter however she was doubtful that experience would have been useful in this situation. What mattered more was an even layer. 

Wisely she decided to use less polish than the brush could handle, since it was very big and quite unwieldy. Ren said nothing when Maddie hopped onto the top of her foot and then began to apply the paint gradually, careful not to spill any on the carpet. While she worked, Ren continued to guzzle down the rest of her beer and scrolled through her phone absentmindedly. 

I suppose this isn’t that bad. So long as I’m willing to abandon my self-respect that is. Maddie considered as she moved onto Ren’s other foot. There isn’t anything I can do on my own to get out of this. I’ll have to wait for help and in the meantime not give her any reason to hurt me. 

Maeve… Please be okay. I could live the rest of my life like this if I knew you were safe. 

“Do you want to end things?” Jisoo asked quietly after several minutes of tense silence. Tears had dried to her cheeks, same as Eren who had not been able to keep things together once they began to shout at one another. “If you hate me… I understand.”

“No. I still love you. And I will always love you.” Eren proclaimed firmly and wiped his eyes. “But you aren’t the same woman I fell in love with.” He murmured.

I’ve always been like this Eren. You just never saw it until recently. She thought and sighed. However she was relieved to hear that it didn’t have to be finished between them. “What changed with me? Where did I go wrong?”

“…When you started killing for pleasure rather than to protect.” Eren said. “You enjoy the feeling of being powerful and dominating others. And you used whatever flimsy justification you needed to excuse your actions.” He mused.

Jisoo averted her gaze and looked away. “I suppose that’s fair.” She admitted. “I did most of those things because it felt good.”

“That was not always your motivation.” Eren mentioned. “You ran away because you were horrified by what you had become. When you first went after the girls who tried to kill me it was because you wanted to do the right thing.”

“Then you went down a dark path until you ended exactly where you first started.” He concluded. 

Jisoo scoffed. “Don’t try to paint me as a better person than I am.” She muttered. “I’m a terrible person. A monster. But I’ve come to terms with~!”

“Tae-yeon was wrong about you.” Eren cut in and crossed his arms. “You’ve done terrible things and you’ve lied to me constantly. But there was a point in your life where you became aware of that and tried to lock yourself away out of disgust at your actions.” He said.

You are so fucking dense Eren. I’m not who you think I am. That naive girl you first met is gone. She was never real to begin with. Jisoo thought and refused to meet his gaze. Tae-yeon had over twenty years with me to learn the truth. 

She rubbed her temple. Over the past few minutes she had developed an intense headache. “Why are you doing this?” Jisoo whispered. “Why aren’t you doing the sensible thing and walking away? Moving on with your life and forgetting that I exist. It would be better for you if I wasn’t a part of your life anymore.”

“I love you, and I refuse to abandon you.” Eren declared and touched her hand. “You can still be redeemed.” 

“What if I don’t want to be redeemed? I may have done horrible things… But ultimately I serve a greater purpose to my family.”

“Do you really believe in the goals of the Amrita Corporation? Or do you see it as the lesser of two evils to enslave the world rather than let it fester on its own?” Eren inquired pointedly. “Is it not true that the politicians your family controls willingly let specks suffer?”

“That is a necessary evil. As are we.”

“Is that what you really think?” 

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” Jisoo replied. “We’ve come too far to stop now. And I truly believe that our rule would be just and good.” She said, although it was impossible to hide the hesitation in her last remark.

Eren noticed her reluctance as well. “You’re conflicted. You know deep down that those first sixteen years of your life wouldn’t have been so miserable if your family had actually cared from the start and made it so specks are treated well.” He murmured. “What Grace told me in Norwich was a lie. If your family wanted my Commune could have easily been given funds. Food. Supplies.”

“…We do care. But it’s necessary for specks to develop a deep resentment towards normal people for our plan to work.” She replied after a long delay.

Eren raised his brow. “What plan is that?”

“I-I can’t tell you. You aren’t one of us yet.”

“Jisoo I want to see the best in you. I really do.” Eren groaned. “But you need to be honest with me.” He told her.

She bit her lip. “It’s not that simple, Eren.” Jisoo claimed. “So much of what I’ve already told you before marriage is already forbidden. It would be very dangerous for you to learn even more.”

“Fine. If that’s how it has to be.” He said and hopped off her thigh across the narrow gap to the edge of the hospital bed.

Her heart jumped into her chest. “W-Where are you going?” She asked and reached for him, but was too weak to move from her spot. “Please don’t leave me alone here.” Jisoo pleaded.

“I won’t let you keep lying to me about everything. If you aren’t even willing to try becoming the woman I fell in love with again, then maybe I was wrong to think you could ever change.” Eren muttered in disappointment. “It’s been a long day. You should get some rest~.”

“Operation Deliverance.” Jisoo suddenly blurted when she realized he was deadly serious. “Our plan. It’s called Operation Deliverance.” She repeated and hung her head in shame. 

Eren turned around right and stopped. “What is the endgame of it?” He demanded to know. 

I shouldn’t be telling him this! I need to come up with something to keep it a secret. Was Jisoo’s first instinct until she realized how horrible that was. Her first thought when asked a genuine question by the man she supposedly loved and trusted was to lie to him. 

That was not a healthy relationship dynamic in the slightest. Constant lies and half-truths to keep him quiet and happy. Whether or not her family disapproved, why did she care so much? Did she value their beliefs more than her own lover? Was that the kind of person she was in addition to a killer? A manipulative liar?

Jisoo took a deep breath. “Operation Deliverance is the plan to turn humanity against itself, to ensure that our rule is never threatened.” She explained. “The purpose of The Diminution was to create a population which would be discriminated against systemically, so they would build resentment towards their oppressors.”

“That was the first part of the plan. The second is yet to happen, but very close. We have developed a more potent version of the formula used to create specks, which are much smaller than specks are.” Jisoo said. “The newly formed ‘microspecks’ will be at the mercy of the very same people they had tormented for over a century.” 

“What purpose does that serve? How is that any better than the current world?”

“The Amrita Corporation cannot rule over a population that despises us. So we have to direct all that hate elsewhere.” Jisoo explained. “The people at the lowest rung of society, the microspecks, would feel like their true oppressor are the ordinary specks and not us. Meanwhile the specks would feel like they are the masters, the ruling class. Neither group would have any incentive to rebel or quarrel with us. Only each other.”

It isn’t ideal but it’s better than the alternative of endless human conflict. Microspecks won’t be that small compared to ordinary specks so it’s not like they’ll be killed in droves. Jisoo thought to herself. That’s the only way… It’s mankind’s only hope.

Eren stared at her for several seconds. “Do you really want that to happen? Do you want to shrink the rest of humanity and rule them as your slaves?”

“I~!”

“You hate most ordinary people because of how they treated you when you were a speck. That’s how most specks will look at microspecks.” Eren noted. “Jisoo, you don’t want to ‘build a perfect world’, you just want to unleash revenge upon all of humanity.” He told her.

T-That’s not true! Jisoo could feel herself becoming flustered. Nobody had ever challenged her beliefs like this before, and it felt strange to debate the ethics of their plan with a speck no less. By all means Eren stood to gain a lot from Operation Deliverance. He would be a part of the upper echelon of society. Yet he opposed it.

Why? Why couldn’t he see that? This was the best plan for humanity. She was sure of it. So much of her life had been dedicated to its fruition. Yet she had never felt so conflicted before now. 

All that’s happened to me and specks in general, it began because of my family…. Jisoo thought before she shook her head vigorously. Don’t think like that! Humanity is responsible. Not the Amrita Corporation. 

Eren took a deep breath, for now satisfied with how forthright she had been. “We need to help Maddie.” He proclaimed. “Once she’s safe we can see what happens next.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Jisoo promised. “I-I’ll prove that you are right about me.”

“Until that happens… I think we should call off our engagement.”

In order to build a proper cover identity, it was important to first establish oneself as a normal member of society. While most people would never look too deeply into a person’s background or question where they came from with a careful eye, it helped to have a foundation of actual local connections built upon a false persona. Otherwise all it took was one nosy individual who found it odd that a young woman in a big city would have almost no relationships, and seemingly exist in a vacuum. Then the consequences would snowball out of control until the entire operation had to be called off. 

When she first arrived in Beijing, Takano Keiko began to develop a routine. Every morning she would go for a jog along the same route, and make sure to wave hello to the same elderly woman who went outside on her porch to hide that she smoked from her grandchildren. Then she stopped at a small cafe which sold bubble tea and got to know the owner a little. That was the first person she ever expressed her alias to. Her name was Yuxi and she recently moved to Beijing to enjoy the perks of the big city compared to the countryside. Afterwards she would go about her day until she had to go to work.

Her job at the surface level did not seem enviable. She was a housekeeper and tidied up beds and floors all day long in a gargantuan palace. The house was so big, an entire week could go by and there was a chance Keiko would never see the homeowner. Or her tiny boyfriend turned fiancé.

The noodle shop Keiko occasionally went to for dinner was not exactly very popular. It had poor reviews online which mentioned a rude owner, terrible customer service and mediocre food. Whenever asked why she liked the place, ‘Yuxi’ claimed that their dishes tasted very similar to the ones made in her small hometown. In reality it was a safehouse which had remained in business for a few decades.

Once inside the elevator behind a hidden panel, Keiko allowed her outwardly shy and bookish demeanor to revert to her normal self. After a few seconds she stepped out of the lift and strolled down a dimly lit subterranean hallway, and knocked thrice on a door at the end. A sharply dressed woman with a round pair of glasses and dark eyes let her in. 

Keiko bowed. “Good afternoon Satsuki-sama.” She said graciously in their mother tongue. “I hope the information I have gathered has been helpful.”

“It has been acceptable.” Satsuki said tersely and welcomed her inside a small office uncharacteristic for a woman of her position. 

Comfort was of little concern in exchange for utility. There was only an office table and a pair of chairs, with a lamp that kept everything lit. Satsuki had ordered a pot of tea from upstairs which still provided a trace amount of steam. She passed Keiko a cup, not filled with tea currently, but rather a few hapless microspecks too small to crawl their way out of the smooth surface. 

For merely ‘acceptable’ work this is quite a reward. Keiko thought as Satsuki poured the still hot tea over the specks, who screamed in utter agony as they were scalded. “Did everything go as you thought it would?”

“More or less.” Satsuki murmured and sipped her drink. She swallowed a few of the microspecks, and let the rest sit in her tongue for a few seconds, before she downed them as well. “That nanowire you placed on Eren will need to be fine tuned, there was some static feedback.”

“I’ll be sure to have it fixed the next time I do the laundry.” Keiko promised. 

As she took a sip of tea and in turn drank down some of the helpless tinies within her cup, Satsuki continued. “In their conversation Jisoo shared highly classified information with Eren. He now knows about Operation Deliverance in its entirety.” She explained. “Jisoo had the opportunity to lie, but she chose not to. He is no longer the catalyst for her loyalty, but rather has started to corrupt her resolve.”

“That is grounds to have him terminated and her re-educated!” Keiko said almost excitedly. Was that the reason for the microspecks? They had finally accomplished their mission proven that Jisoo was a ticking time bomb. Something that Satsuki-sama had known all along but nobody else could accept.

To her surprise Satsuki remained unenthused. “I will bring this information to Min, however I will advocate that we do not act so hastily.” She mentioned. “If we do that right now and bring Jisoo in for a reset, we will lose our golden opportunity to find Keqing… or Jisoo’s sister.”

“But I’m certain that Jisoo does not know where either of them are.”

“Not yet. Jisoo is a lost little girl who needs her mommy to give her advice… Sooner or later she will seek her out and I have no doubts that she will find a way to locate Keqing.” Satsuki explained. “And when that happens we will do what should have been done when we first found her.”