Evening, Bernia, headquarters of the Steel Heavy Industry Consortium.
The heavy doors of the office building slid open without a sound.
Aaron Ball emerged from the cold metallic glow, his steps steady but carrying a barely perceptible weariness. Instead of heading to the Top-Floor Office to see Robin as she wrapped up her daily work, as he usually did, he neither went there nor responded to the respectful bows and greetings of the staff and security personnel in the corridor.
"Lord Ball!"
"My lord..."
He merely nodded slightly, his gaze directed straight at the heavy isolation door at the end of the corridor. As he passed the bowing figures, the ionized air lingering around him, not yet fully settled, made everyone nearby unconsciously hold their breath, feeling an almost instinctive awe and pressure.
The researchers already inside the elevator immediately had the sense to hurry out and make room for him, until the alloy doors closed again, sealing off the inside.
Fingerprint authentication passed. The elevator descended silently into the core area fifty meters underground.
Click.
Driven by hydraulics, the silent airtight door made of special alloy slowly opened inward. Soft, dim, warm yellow light spilled out, sharply contrasting with the cold white fluorescent lighting outside.
The quiet room was maintained at precisely twenty-four degrees Celsius, with comfortable humidity. Its light came not from the ceiling, but from indirect lighting strips concealed along the edges of the walls and furniture. Diffusely reflected, the light created a relaxing haze. The air circulation system produced an extremely low white noise, adding to the stillness.
In the center of the room, Nico Robin lay on her side on a broad, dark gray sofa.
She seemed to have just finished a nap. She wore only a light, cream-colored sleeveless knitted crop top and matching