(Planet Caorn- Jasmin Island)
(Mariena Hotel)
"If I were a sailor... I'd roam the seas looking for treasures..."
"Capturing the one who stole my heart... for we shall never be apart..."
"The woes of life... the sorrows of hell... with you all will go well..."
A young woman sang softly under her breath as she walked through the hotel's corridors towards the cafeteria.
She was a cute girl with deep dimples on the sides of her cheeks when she smiled and a small button nose.
She wore a vibrant purple uniform along with a long cape that was tightly wrapped around her lower back.
And her eyes...
Cloudy, unfocused, and pure white.
Jessie continued to hum playfully as she paused every couple of moments as if searching for something or someone.
Today was a day of rest.
Tomorrow would be the final round of the Inter University tournament that would decide the brightest star among the younger generation.
It was just a shame that the opponent that Jessie had wanted to fight the most had decided to drop out of the competition.
Without her... everything just seemed... boring.
Jessie let out a heavy sigh under her breath and her smile faded quickly. She briefly considered whether to drop out herself.
She didn't want to fight anyone else.
Yeah the darkness girl was pretty interesting... maybe the Mer University representative as well but...
They weren't her.
They weren't Sophie Peterlor.
Jessie had not told anyone, but she could sense it. She could sense that the hybrid girl was transitioning to the void stage.
A remarkable accomplishment for someone at the age of nineteen.
It was a record that matched her father who was the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation.
"Where are you going?" a rough masculine voice interrupted Jessie's musings.
The blind girl turned in the direction of the noise and her bright smile returned to her face as she recognised the voice.
"Hi Max! I was just on my way to the cafeteria... want to join me?" Jessie asked cheerfully.
Max shrugged his shoulders with an unhappy look on his face but still stepped forward and gently took Jessie by her arm.
They made an odd pair.
A blind girl and a delinquent looking boy with short spiky hair and dark tattoos printed across his face.
"I'm sorry that you got knocked out last round," Jessie chatted casually as the pair walked towards the south wing cafeteria.
"Not as sorry as me..." Max grumbled as his expression shifted to one of annoyance.
"Got paired up with that pompous asshole from Atlas university. What was his name again? Ryan Willdick or some other shit..."
"Thought that I would be at least able to knock that smirking look off his face but the fucker is pretty fast."
"Ryan Wilhelm," Jessie corrected her companion but the giggle in her voice made it clear that she enjoyed the nickname.
"Well... he is the representative of Atlas University."
"Yeah that's another thing... Atlas and Zrudread they both got the highest number of people left in the tournament," Max noted unhappily.
"Hmm... let's see... there are twenty people left... seven from Zrudread... seven from Atlas... I believe four from Mer and then... two from us," Jessie replied thoughtfully.
"Yeah. All those bitches who were looking down on you for barely qualifying all got knocked out," Max chuckled darkly.
"So, you have to win. Listen... You. Have. To. Win."
Jessie smiled but did not reply to her friend's order. Truthfully her cultivation was not high, she was only in the early stages of the qi tide stage.
Every single person in the final round had a higher cultivation level than her and most of her opponents in the previous rounds as well.
Still... she had won thanks to her ability.
It was a powerful ability and yet...
Jessie shook her head and tossed those thoughts to the back of her mind.
She leaned against Max's shoulder as the pair walked towards a set of large metalloid doors at the end of a corridor.
The doors automatically slid open to reveal a large open hall where dozens of restaurants and food stalls circled the outer walls.
In the middle of the hall were hundreds of tables and chairs for the students of Tantibus University to relax, socialise and eat.
There weren't many people in the cafeteria at the moment as most were enjoyed spending time at the beach outside the hotel.
Max led Jessie to a table in the corner of the hall behind a large pillar. Jessie sat down and leaned against the back of the chair.
"What do you want to eat?" Max asked lazily as he pointed at the restaurants before awkwardly dropping his finger.
"Just give me the usual," Jessie replied with a wink. Her cloudy white eyes teared up slightly so she reached into her pocket for a tissue.
"So... a large seafood feast with a cup of steaming carbonated water?" Max replied with a bemused grin on his face.
"You got it!" Jessie said happily.
Max left the table leaving his companion all by herself.
Jessie tilted her wrist communicator upwards and then placed two metalloid devices on her temples.
Her wrist communicator powered on and the information on the screen was transmitted directly into her mind.
Her source of blindness came from her pupils, irises, and corneas.
Surprisingly her optical nerves were fairly healthy which meant that with the aid of some technology it was possible for her to 'see'.
The devices attached to her temples would beam electric signal to her brain that would serve the same purpose as her eyes.
It was a bit inconvenient but Jessie appreciated being able to read the Virtual Net and play videogames.
She opened up the main page of her wrist communicator and began to browse for the latest news.
There was one hot piece of gossip on every news website.
Every page that she visited contained one of the hundreds if not thousands of articles written about the new duchess of House Peterlor.
Sophie Peterlor was the first hybrid individual to take the rank of duchess in the entire history of the Federation.
It was a momentous occasion and the reactions varied across the Virtual Net.
Some praised this as a sign of progress while others cursed and claimed that this was the end of human civilisation.
And of course, there were many who were in the middle of the two extremes.
Jessie read a few of the articles and realised that most were fluff pieces speculating and talking nonsense about the succession ceremony.
Journalists and reporters had been banned from the actual ceremony and all recording and electronic devices had been banned from entering the place where the ceremony was held.
As a result only the nobles who attended the ceremony knew what had taken place and all so far had refused to talk to the media.
Well... except for one.
A viscount claimed that the crown prince had stood up and made a fool of himself. A bold statement that Jessie immediately knew was nonsense.
