Waiting

The upheaval that came later arrived with extreme suddenness—or perhaps it had not been sudden at all. Its arrival had long been premeditated, hidden in the fathers' sudden habit of being gone all day, concealed within the tense atmosphere of the research institute, perhaps even buried in Jin's inexplicably abnormal emotions that Chi Li had failed to notice.

In Chi Li's final memory, within the dim research institute, he saw several unfamiliar figures force their way onto the institute's grounds.

Those people were unfamiliar. They were neither from the institute nor members of Loran's Royal Family.

Chaos reigned all around. Chi Li was trapped inside a hidden compartment within the wall, unable to move.

As though he had anticipated something long ago, Jin had told him to stay there. Chi Li's body refused to obey him. His heart pounded as if it would burst from his chest, and his limbs followed Jin's final command. He could only watch helplessly as an unfamiliar man drove a syringe into the back of Jin's neck.

Jin's expression twisted in pain. Moments later, his clothes tore apart, and a fish tail emerged from beneath him.

Chi Li struggled to breathe. Tears blurred his vision, and an uncontrollable whimper escaped him.

The man seemed to hear the movement from this side and was about to follow the sound when the fish tail coiled around him. The next second, a sharp, specially made blade pried up a corner of the scales and plunged into Jin's tail. Blood spilled across the floor, yet Jin did not make a sound.

Perhaps sensing the danger and knowing he could not waste any more time, the man stabbed the fish tail several more times with force. Even at the very end, Jin never looked in Chi Li's direction again.

With