In the Tehran metro, in the underground section of Mirdamad Station, there is a part with two guards and an entry gate.
Above that section, unlike other gates, there is no sign indicating lines or stations. The only writing above the gate is "Security and Control".
A black-clad man with a wide-brimmed hat takes a glass card from his pocket and enters the gate.
After a spiral of white stairs and a brightly lit environment, he enters a station that looks old.
Other men and women are also waiting at the station. An old, noisy train arrives with carriages that seem to belong to the 1990s.
Without any words or sounds except the sound of their footsteps, they board the carriages. The train is slow, but it hasn't stopped for a long time! Now the train finally stops in front of a station. Everyone looks at the black-clad man. The black-clad man gets off and, with the only light in the station coming from that old carriage, enters the darkness as if he knows the way well.
Another world, after another spiral of stairs:
Guard: "Hello sir, can I help you?"
"I am ***, I have a meeting with the Deputy Commander of the General Staff."
The guard looks at his office: "Mr. ***, can I see your ID?"
He had already prepared it: "I know the way."
An armed soldier sitting as a secretary in the office: "Do you need something?"
He shows his ID: "I'm here to report. Tell him I've come from the overseas operation on the Red Sea front."
"Then please wait a moment."
The secretary enters the room and after a few moments leaves the door open as confirmation for the black-clad man.
The Deputy Commander of the General Staff was sitting in the office. The office was so large that it was hard to believe it was underground.
The Deputy looks at the man: "Did you find it?"
"Yes."
"What about the remaining remnants?"
"The locals said the Chinese arrived earlier. A few things remained in Yemen because of the warlords' greed, but I could only get this by spending five thousand allied troops."
The Deputy lights a cigarette: "Capturing Marib was impossible. Besides, even if it were possible, the skies of Marib weren't ours, so it would have just become a quagmire."
"My allies don't think so."
Cigarette smoke: "But now they have a stronger position. Isn't that right?"
"You said the same thing five years ago. I remember clearly. Now that an agreement has been reached, the network must be dismantled. You sent me to hunt down our own ally."
"Now is very different from five years ago."
"Back then, the government interfered a lot in our affairs, and intoxicated by the agreement, it began cutting off its own hands."
"Why did that boy have to die?"
"Which one?" He extinguishes the cigarette.
"Arslan."
"Why shouldn't I have arrested him?"
"Oh, he had many abilities. 'Liquidating' that guy—he wouldn't have lasted two months in prison either. But that's all in the past. Give me the sword."
The black-clad man reaches into his long coat, takes out that rod-shaped object, and hands it to the Deputy. "Here it is. Take it."
He takes it: "It works just by thinking?"
"Yes."
Light up. "Stranger than I thought."
"What did the Chinese take?"
"We don't know. But now that we have the sword, we can ask them what they took from our forbidden archive."
---
Now the children have turned five years old and must undergo the first coming-of-age ceremony. The mother, the midwife, and almost everyone else in the villa are busy preparing something for the ceremony, and they have forgotten to explain anything to the children.
So there is only one person who can give a full explanation.
Lan: "What is the first coming-of-age ceremony, Seon?"
Seon has surrounded herself with books and is annoyed by the interruption of her studies: "I am sure the Lady will guide the young masters well. You just need to wait a little."
Zhan places his hand on Lan's shoulder and indicates that it's his turn now.
Zhan has a book in his hand: "What a pity. We could have talked about the ceremony first and then read this book about stone architecture. What a pity that Seon seems too busy."
Seon jumps a little: "W-Wait! I am your teacher, so if I explain, the Lady won't be upset."
Lan and Zhan sit down and eagerly wait for Seon to begin.
"Huf."
"The Heavenly Demon Sect is a sect based on power, so the Heavenly Demon must be the strongest."
"The heirs must also be the strongest and walk the path of power."
"The first step on this path is the first coming-of-age ceremony."
Zhan shudders slightly: "Are we going to duel so that only the stronger brother survives?"
Lan: "Like in Battle Royale?"
Zhan: "..."
Seon continues: "No. Don't think about strange things. It's just the beginning of learning basic skills, so that later you can choose which path to take."
Lan: "Is that all?"
"It's also for the formal presentation of the heirs to all members of the Inner Palace and Outer Palace, and to representatives of affiliated clans."
Lan, looking at Seon with suspicion, asks what really matters to him: "So all my aunts and uncles will be present too?"
Seon freezes.
"What's wrong? Does only father come and everyone else is busy?"
Seon reluctantly answers: "The Heavenly Demon, exalted, has no living siblings."
"Really? Was he an only child from the start, or did he lose them?"
Seon wants to evade further and knows where the questions will eventually lead: "No. He wasn't an only child. It's just that over the years, his relatives have passed away."
Zhan knows why Lan is asking these questions. Lan wants to know when the succession competition will truly begin and how long they will remain protected. It's fine to continue this game a little longer.
Lan puts more pressure on Seon: "You said that over the years, the number of father's brothers and sisters gradually decreased, right?"
"Yes..."
"When do you think those years will come for us?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Huf. From what age will our deaths no longer matter? How much time do we have?"
Seon recognizes those eyes. Lan and Zhan's eyes are not from fear, but like the eyes of a snake looking sarcastically—no fear, no joy, no concern for anything except what is in front of them. "After ten, you must choose which auxiliary to become a master in. And after thirteen, you must go to the academy to begin the competition."
Zhan: "Academy?"
"Yes. The Heavenly Demon Academy, where rank and class don't matter, and everyone is admitted based on talent."
Zhan: "Then why did you speak as if it's a slaughterhouse for heirs?"
"Because unfortunately, it is. When everyone is equal and there is no outside interference, there and then the heirs begin to retaliate, so that in the end only one strongest heir survives, and among the selected heirs, a first successor is chosen."
Lan: "Let me guess. Their war continues after the academy too?"
"I don't know about the sect's past, but I know the customs of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and what I've said has been the sect's customs and traditions until now."
Lan and Zhan look at each other. They know such a thing is possible. They understood everything they heard and learned everything they saw. Competing with a few strange children wasn't difficult for them.
The midwife forcefully opens the door and says frantically: "You've been here the whole time? Everyone is looking for you, young masters!"
Zhan: "Don't lie! You were so busy choosing clothes that you didn't even notice us."
Lan: "I say she realized we were missing about ten minutes ago."
Choi grabs Lan and Zhan like handbags and leaves, scolding them as she goes.
Seon breathes a sigh of relief and picks up the stone architecture book from where Zhan had placed it: "In the end, they're just children. I haven't seen many children, but I was like this myself too."
"...."
"I hope you don't turn your swords against each other like your father."