Chapter 4

The air above the Mizuyari manor shimmered as Alto descended from the sky, the golden light of late afternoon dancing off his iridescent wings. His hair was tied back tight, the ends bouncing with urgency as he zipped through the final stretch of airspace.

He had just finished a long meeting at Universal HQ—another logistics review about the fragment integration. Shizuku had insisted he go back to the manor to check on Lily.

ALTO (to himself, muttering):
She’s probably fine, but… I swear, if she took apart another security drone again just to see if it “tasted like candy stars,” I—

He landed lightly at the manor gates, the aura of the place quiet. Too quiet.

ALTO (calling out):
Lily? You home?

No answer.

And then, his eyes darted upward.

Perched casually on the roof, legs dangling, hair catching the breeze like a scene from an old Terran painting, was his 15-year-old daughter, biting into a burger and reading a book. No wings. No aura. No tension. Just vibes.

Alto’s heart stopped.

ALTO:
LILY?!

She looked down, blinking in slow confusion.

LILY:
Oh, hey, Papa.

In a flash, Alto took off again—wings out, panic flaring.

ALTO (shouting):
WHERE ARE YOUR ANGELIC WINGS?! OH NO. DID YOU LEARN HOW TO FLY WITHOUT THEM?!

He landed next to her in a blur of light and stardust, grabbing her by the shoulders like she might vanish at any moment.

LILY (deadpan):
Papa, I climbed a ladder. You know, the thing attached to the garden trellis?

ALTO (frantic):
That’s worse!! You’re fifteen and have like—negative regard for safety boundaries!

LILY:
I’m also a demigod and your daughter. You taught me how to do a backflip through an asteroid belt when I was nine.

ALTO (pausing):
...That’s not the point!

He sighed, finally letting go, flopping beside her.

ALTO:
I thought you’d sprouted void wings or learned unassisted gravitational lift or—gods, I’m turning into him.

LILY (grinning):
You're sounding a lot like Dad right now.

ALTO:
Good. Maybe one of us needs to. He told you to take the day off?

LILY:
Yep. So I cooked. And read. And made my own version of Shizuku’s burger. It’s better.

She handed him the foil-wrapped creation with a smug look. Alto took a bite, then blinked in stunned silence.

ALTO:
...Okay yeah, this is good.

They sat side by side for a while, the sun dipping lower into the horizon. From here, the distant shimmer of Minamo could just barely be seen through the clouds—seven hours away by train, five by hovercraft, three by ark, one by flight, 30 minutes by car, 1 minute by teleportation.

Alto leaned back, sighing.

ALTO:
You know, sometimes I forget you're not a little kid anymore.

LILY: Don’t worry. I’m still chaotic. Just upgraded.