I stared at my knife as I put it into a pile of sand for cooling. Was it possible to make a prosthetic arm in class? The Hierarchians seized our assets, so my family was poorer than Ayawamat's. If not for the support of Wahkan, Mina, and Kyuu Seishin, we would be in worser straits right now. They could probably get my brother a standard replacement arm, but as the king, he needed something more. Else, he would be unable to use magic on his right side.

"Is something the matter?" Xue asked.

I blinked. Not particularly.

She sighed. "You were zoning out again, so I thought maybe you were worried about something."

I rotated my knife. If not for it still cooling, I probably would've written on the black sand with it. Writing in the sand... It had been years since I'd done that.

***

[Years ago]

"Yahoo!" my big brother said as he jumped from a cliff, creating a wave that wiped away my sandcastle.

"Argh! Stupid big bro!" I yelled, standing up. "We worked hard on that!"

Mom giggled as she pushed back her jet black hair behind her ear. She had helped me build it, yet she still laughed.

"Mommy, aren't you gonna punish him?" I pointed at my brother as he swam toward us.

He gulped. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Mom smiled as she put her hands over the wet sand. "I know."

I pouted. "Aren't you being too lenient on him, Mommy? He destroyed our hard work!"

She patted the sand. "True, but he didn't mean it. Also, nothing lasts forever. If not your brother, the natural course of the waves and wind would've knocked it down."

Hmm. That seemed too defeatist for me.

"Then does that mean I don't have to eat as I'll die one day too?" I asked, poking the wet sand.

She frowned. "Of course not! That's like saying that building the castle in the first place was a waste of time."

I blinked. "But we didn't even get to take a picture with it."

She raised the sand more and put the fallen blue flag on top. "There! Now we can!"

But it was a dinky hill.

"Think we should work on it a bit more," I said, giggling as I picked up some more sand with my bucket.

She grinned widely. "Okay!"

"I'll help, too!" big bro said, kneeling next to us.

I pouted. "You better work harder than us to make up for it."

He laughed awkwardly. "O-okay."

With Qing's help, we rebuilt our castle, bigger and better than before!

"You're good at this," I said, staring at our handiwork. The tiny flag fluttered above me.

He grinned. "Thanks!"

"Alright, let's take our picture!" Mom said, raising her polaroid camera.

I glanced around. "Is Papa still working?"

"Last I checked, yeah," Qing said, scratching his head. "Papa can sure be a workaholic."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You could afford to be little more like him. If you're to be king one day, you have to start being less lazy."

"Hey! D-do not be so blunt!" he said, turning away from me.

"Kids, don't fight," Mom said, sighing.

I tilted my head. "Fighting? We're not."

"Yeah, it's one-sided attacks against me," Qing said, sniffing.

Clown!

Mom sighed and took a picture. "There we go!"

"Aww! I wanted Papa to be in it too!"

Mom beamed. "If it's still here when he returns, we can take one with him."

"We got it!" a voice yelled, causing Mom to jump. A blue blur rushed at us from the direction of the steel and glass tower in the center of the island. It was the only building on the island apart from the lighthouse by the cliff my brother had jumped off of.

"Honey, you scared me," Mom said, putting a hand on her cheek.

A tall man with short blue hair laughed. "Sorry about that. Also, sorry for taking so long. Jianguo was going over the details of the loan. Seems we got it." 

Mom put a hand on her cheek and frowned. "Is it a good idea to get loans from another country? We could use a domestic bank for that."

"True, but the interest is much lower, so less debt."

Qing crossed his arms. "That makes sense!"

I agreed with Mom. Something didn't sit right about asking foreigners for help when we could get it from home.

"Why not cut interest rates then? Makes borrowing cheaper," I said.

Dad patted my head. "You've been reading up on economics again, huh? Sadly, that can cause inflation."

True, but it could also cause growth that offsets the inflation. It was a fine balance.

"Jianguo is that boy from H.E.H., isn't he?" Mom asked.

"Yeah."

Mom laughed. "He really must be smart to be handling international bank matters at such a young age."

"Wish brother were that smart!" I exclaimed.

He put a hand on my head and squeezed it. "And I wish you were cuter, little sis!"

"Wahh! Stop that!"

"Qing, be nice to your little sister," Dad said, glaring at him.

I jumped at Daddy as soon as Qing unhanded me, hugging him. "Yeah!"

Qing grumbled and looked at the sea.

His fiancee and friends still hadn't shown up. So he must've been lonely. Not that I minded! I liked having only my parents around! Though, I wouldn't have minded if Nia were around. I had invited her as I had promised to show her the sea before. Sadly, she got really sick.

"Mommy, can we get some starfish to take home?" Nia wanted one. She loved stars.

Qing grinned. "How about we write her a get-well message?"

I spun around. "That's a great idea!"

He touched his chin and chuckled. "Thank you."

Mom raised her camera. Did she have something in mind for it?

"Want to draw on the sand like we were kids?" Dad asked, grinning at her.

Mommy blushed. "Yeah." She giggled. "That reminds me of what you wrote outside my window. It made me feel a lot better."

"Woah, what's the story there?" Qing asked. "Was Dad some kind of Romero?"

Dad laughed as he shyly rubbed the back of his head. "I wouldn't say that. All I wanted was to make your mom feel better."

Brother smirked. "I see. Aww, young love!"

Mom buried her face behind the camera. "Let's get to work on that get-well message."

"Wait, how are we going to send it to her?" I asked.

Qing grinned. "Easy, by fax!"

"Oh, yeah! Daddy's tower office has one!"

Dad patted my head and chuckled. "Someone is unusually excited today."

I pouted. "No teasing, Daddy!"

He let go of me. "Okay."

Qing smiled as he came back with a huge stick.

"When did you leave?" I asked, blinking.

He laughed. "Your big bro is super fast!"

"Can you teach me how to be that fast?"

He rubbed his chin. "I don't know. I am pretty lazy, according to someone. So no way this lazy prince would want to teach." He grinned. "Plus, his little sister is a smartypants already."

I huffed. "Daddy said to be nice!"

He shrugged. "Okay, daddy's girl. I'll stop."

I grumbled.

Big bro laughed and squatted. "Anyway, go and get those starfish with Dad. Mom and I will write the get well message."

"Okay, but you better not mess it up, or else I'll put sand in your swim trunks!"

He laughed. "You can trust me. Also, it's not a good idea to give away your cards, kiddo."

Drat! He got me there! Would have to come up with a new punishment. Maybe a crab in his bed? 

"Let's go, Daddy!" I said, taking my dad's hand.

"Okay!" Dad said, laughing as he ran to keep up with me. He picked me up and put me on his shoulders.

I laughed my hair fluttered in the wind.

***

I sighed. The pictures we took that day had to be gone now, destroyed in the palace's collapse. Same for the copies we had sent Nia.

"Were you thinking of Sera again?" Nyima asked, walking over with an unfinished mask. Why was she making that for?

I nodded.

Xue frowned. "Worried for your country again, huh?" She lowered her head. "If only I had accompanied Iah, then maybe I could've helped him and the others win the war."

"I've been running a lot of ifs in my mind, too," Nyima said. "But no matter how much I think of alternative scenarios, we're stuck with this one. What ifs are for those with time powers."

"Like Hikaru and Orion?"

Too bad they weren't strong enough to go back that far.

"Yeah. Although, Orion doesn't strike me as that kind of guy," Nyima said.

Ayawamat chuckled as he joined us. He took the mask from Nyima and put it into the sand. "Indeed. Unlike you, he focuses on the present."

"How can he be so carefree?" Xue said, sighing.

He shrugged. "I ask myself that too. My only guess is it's in his genes. His father is just as carefree."

Nyima spun around as Orion and Ulissis put the finishing touches on their sword. Her gaze lingered on him for a while.

I yanked her hand lightly. She and Kun said to do it whenever something concerned me.

She smiled faintly. "It's nothing to worry about. Was thinking again about how his father seemed familiar."

"Still can't recall?" Xue asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She shook her head. "Nope. But he reeks of The Abyss."

Huh? The Abyss? Wouldn't that make Orion part abysmal?

Xue gasped as well. "You sure?"

Nyima closed her eyes. "We need to tread carefully around that boy. He could be a spy."

"I've known Orion for years. He isn't dangerous in the slightest," Ayawamat said, sighing. He put the mask down and walked away.

Xue smiled.

Ny sighed. "He seems harmless, but so did Yuta and Iah."

Right. We had to keep our guard up.

Mrs. Akiyama's ears twitched at the mention of her son's name.

"Nyima, don't bring that up here," Xue whispered.

Ny bit her lip. "Oops."

I took out my tablet and typed, 'I'm going to go see Mr. Suzuran.'

"What for?" Xue asked.

'I want him to see my magicum Organum. His conversation with Lei reminded me that I haven't had a check up in a while.'

Nyima chuckled. "You're getting a check up without anyone reminding you? That's a first."

I furrowed my brow. That wasn't... Wait. Last time, Kun had to drag me to Koukyuu's office. And the time before that, it was Vermeil. Prior to that, it was Xue...

"We better get going before Lei beats us then," Nyima said as soon as the bell rung.

On second thought, maybe I shouldn't. Lei had a match today. Although, either of us could see Koukyuu too. But there were a few things that I wanted to ask Mr. Suzuran.

Xue grabbed my chair by the handlebars. "There's a lot of people. You really should've gotten a headstart."

Yeah. But it felt wrong to leave class earlier than the others.

"Don't you have a teleporation pass?" Nyima asked.

Oh, right. I dug into my bag and took out a blue slip.

Nyima took it from me and warped the three of us away. 

"Oh, hey. If it isn't my good old friends," Hal said as we appeared in front of him.

Adela smiled. "What brings you here? Forgot something earlier?"

"Sarah wanted a check up done."

Hal glanced at Mr. Suzuran. "Oh, can I do it?"

Mr. Suzuran smiled. "If you think you're can do a good job, go ahead."

I frowned. 

Adela sighed. "Allow me to do it instead."

Hal grumbled. "Fine."

Adela placed her hand on my lower back and closed her eyes. Pink energy streamed out of her hand and into my body. No matter how many times I did this, I probably wouldn't get used to it.

"The permanent scars from your battle with Aida are still apparent," Adela said. She smiled. "But that was expected. Beyond that, your recovery is coming along well."

I tapped on my tablet and held it up. 'Does that mean that I can use cultivation pills again?'

"Yeah, but only the lowest grade ones. Given your growth was essentially reset, they probably would have more notable effects than they otherwise would."

I beamed.

Hal chuckled. "That's great!"

Xue nodded. "Hopefully, An can do the same soon."

I wasn't so sure if that was a good idea. An had no need for them. His potential was already too great. What he had to focus on was control.

I'm here!" Lei said as he barged into the room with Yen and Hikaru in tow.

Mr. Suzuran smiled at Hal. "Since Adela handled Sarah's check up, want to give stabilizing Lei's prana a try, Hal? It probably will help him if someone close to him can do it."

Adela blushed. "That would be better than letting me handle it."

Hal nodded. "Sure! Gives me a chance to study the abysmal's energy up close!"

Adela narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't mess anything up. Abysmal's aren't to be toyed around with."

"Yeah," Yen said, crossing her arms.

"I will do a good job, promise!" Hal said, raising a hand while putting the other over his heart.

Lei laughed. "You and Adela really are something."

"W-we aren't," she mumbled.

Ny turned around. "I wish that I could stay a bit longer, but I better get going. The matches are about to begin soon."

Adela gasped. "I had forgotten about that!"

'I'll stay here,' I wrote. 'There are a few things that I'll like to ask Mr. Suzuran.'

"Alright," Nyima said, waving.

"Let me know if you need another checkup. Know that one was pretty quick," Adela said.

I nodded. Although, I did prefer quick. Made me feel less nauseous.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" Mr. Suzuran asked as Hal had Lei sit down in a comfy looking seat.

'Do you know how to make an artificial arm capable of using magic?'

Mr. Suzuran put a hand against his chin. "I haven't tried making one, but I am aware of the process itself. It requires making vein-like indents within the arm. Said indents are coated with either a wood like those used in your wands or with oricalcum, allowing for the flow of prana."

'Do you think you can make one?'

He tapped his head. "I could give it a try, but like I said, I haven't made one. Mayu would be of more help with that. She and her sister took up their late mother's research."

"Maybe Hal knows something too," Xue said. "One of his teammates did use a puppet. The process must be similar."

Mr. Suzuran nodded. "That's right! It is the same! Asahi used to put together puppet shows for the girls."

Hal grimaced as he held his hand against Lei's abdomen. Black energy flew out of it. It was best not to interrupt him. Mayu had graduated, so I had no idea where to find her. The only one I could ask was her younger sister. Or I could wait. I had to get my brother's arm measurements anyway.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the episode ^^. Sorry for another long gap between updates.**