Second Genesis

"Have you heard of the Silver Moon Wolf?" Grey asked.

Amunet jumped. "Where did you hear that name from?!"

"So you have. Interesting."

Amunet took a step back and Grey’s head tilted, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"Let me guess. This is the last piece you need for your little Frame, isn’t it?"

Amunet went completely stiff.

"The same Lineage you backstabbed me for, is that so?"

Amunet still didn’t reply.

"And now I have the last piece, don’t I? What an interesting little game your Producer is playing. It’s quite funny, don’t you think? I can already imagine what they thought would happen.

"They thought you’d bat your eyelashes and I’d just fall head first into your lap again. Or maybe I’d realize that of all the assholes around here, you’re the strongest, so of course I should use Mon Amie on you, shouldn’t I?

"Then I’ll have to decide whether I should pay you back for the backstab and take the Frame for myself, or let you have it.

"No matter what I choose, the ending will be cinema because that Frame is almost definitely going to kill the both of us in a tragic rain of fire.

"Absolute Cinema, indeed."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Amunet asked.

"You don’t get it, do you? You can’t control your Frame at all. It’s not your power."

"How do you know that?" Amunet sounded half defensive, half in shock. There were certain things that Grey knew that he had no business knowing.

"Don’t worry about all that." Grey said. "But I’m very interested in your Frame."

Amunet stood in silence for a long while. She clenched her fists and looked down at the ground.

The last piece of her Frame would be her only shot at being at the level of power Grey and the aliens had displayed. It was the reason she had backstabbed Grey in the first place, the reason she had even ended up in the situation where she was practically in the palm of his hands to begin with.

There was no denying it. Grey wasn’t exactly threatening her right now, but with his strength, even if she was hundreds of meters away, even kilometers, it wouldn’t make a lick of difference unless she used that ability. And just like Grey had said...

She couldn’t control it at all.

Amunet took a deep breath. "Grey, I really—."

"Don’t give a damn." Grey said, cutting her off. "But, you will come with me anyway. I think having you there will be more convenient than not having you there. You’re probably a key or something."

Amunet stiffened again, the words she was going to speak lodging in her throat.

What choice did she have?

Her gaze dimmed. The only slight chance she would have was pulling one over on Grey at a critical moment.

What were the chances of that?

"Great. Glad we’ve come to an understanding. Now, let’s go."

Grey brushed past Amunet and began to walk ahead. He didn’t even need to look back to confirm that she was coming, not because he was using his Radiant Sense, but instead because he knew she wouldn’t dare to not listen to him.

That was the confidence that came from strength.

Grey had always had a strong self confidence, but this was on a completely different level. He felt like a god, and at the moment, a lot of his previous angst was finally being satiated a bit.

He didn’t expect such an opportunity for revenge to fall right into his lap.

No matter how hard he tried, the thought of killing Amunet just left a bad taste in his mouth. It just felt different to kill someone he had had a good relationship with at some point.

While she had betrayed him, all things considered, at that time she could have just chosen to drive a blade through his heart instead.

Of course, he would have just come back to life, but she didn’t know that.

As betrayals went, this was pretty low on the list of worst things she could have done to him.

That was part of why he had struggled so much. He didn’t even really need her answer to why she had done it, he already knew why, he wasn’t an idiot.

He had just been hoping that something in her answer, anything, would have either justified it to him or given him good enough reason to kill her.

It had done neither and just left him more frustrated every time until he eventually grew strong enough to take out that rage on the aliens.

But this... now this was poetic justice.

She was probably just one piece away from completing that precious Frame of hers, and he was going to take it.

Before, he would have given it to her for free so long as she asked. Now, he would rip her hard work up from the roots themselves.

She could only blame herself, and as bad as she was probably feeling now, he had the biggest smile on his face.

Not only because he could screw her over, but he would definitely be screwing over the cute little plans of her Producer as well.

Did he know for a fact what her Producer was planning? No, not at all.

But what he did know was that all those asshats were probably the same, and Producers and writers who could come up with something that wasn’t a cliche cookie cutter, piece of shit plot everyone had seen a million and one times before were few and far between.

He had a feeling he could read whichever bastard it was like an open book.

And he hoped they were watching right now.

Grey’s grin widened and he stuck up a middle finger to the skies.

"Go fuck yourselves. I can’t wait to commit mass genocide on every one of your sons of bitches."

Amunet’s gaze was focused on the ground and she chose not to say anything at all. Maybe she deserved this.