Sister

"Are you sure you can move around on your own?" Ellie asked with some worry as the taxi slowly pulled up in front of their location.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He nodded with a slight smile.

The meeting ended around half an hour ago, so certain things were being prepared. However, Osho had something he needed to attend to before he could join in on the planning.

His sudden desire to go somewhere despite the plots being uncovered did cause some dissatisfaction, but he made it abundantly clear that he'd still go despite any of their protests. Moreover, he didn't plan to take too much time.

Seeing his expression, Ellie just nodded slowly, and Osho got into the taxi with a small wave. A few moments later, Ellie was out of sight, and Osho sighed.

'Are you sure it'll be quick? Everything happening seems pretty serious.' Gale asked with some skepticism, and Osho rolled his eyes. He knew the bird was making sure due to his tendency to get sidetracked, but he assured him.

'It will be quick, I'm sure.' Hearing this, Gale just shrugged. In the grand scheme of things, Gale didn't really care for much of what was happening, he just didn't want Osho to make a regretful mistake.

As the taxi drove, he took in the Citadel.

Everything looked so... calm.

People were going about their business. Kids were playing, students who recently acquired their beasts were training them, some went to restaurants, and so on.

It's hard to believe that there was a possible terrorist attack about to happen.

'Hopefully, Fredrick can set things up in time.' Osho thought before his mind wandered a bit.

After talking about the Outerplanar, the wider universe, and the Warp Dimension, and laying everything out plainly, Osho couldn't help but feel a slight existential crisis.

He felt... kind of small.

Who knew the extent of power these high-level civilizations possessed? How long would it take to reach such levels of power? Was anything they had even worth mentioning?

He glanced at Gale, the small bird relaxing in his arms.

He believed he was strong. Time and time again, Gale has exceeded his expectations for what he thought was normal or ordinary, and he would only continue to do so.

... But would that be enough? Would Gale or Bedrock have sufficient strength for what was coming?

Doubtful.

'It seems... like I've gotten complacent.' Osho thought.

He'd gotten comfortable.

He stopped feeling the urge to evolve Gale and Bedrock as much as possible. He still intended to do so, but he stopped feeling like there was any rush.

After all, Gale was already treating ranks or potenti caps like an afterthought, and Bedrock's abilities made him the perfect tank. So there was no rush, right?

Wrong.

'This must be rectified.' Osho told himself.

He would continue to evolve his beasts. Then he would hatch his third beast and continue to evolve that, and he would continue to evolve the beasts of his friends and those who knew about his ability.

Not just that, he would make use of their conduits, too.

'No more complacency. Most of all, no more being slow. The Outerplanar won't wait for us. I need to speed up. Whatever resource I need, I will procure it and continue to raise the potential of my beasts. That way, even if we get jumped by something stronger than a Mythical Rank Beast, we will be able to handle it at our current ranks.' Osho told himself.

His ambition flared.

No more playing around. No more taking things slow

***

Eventually, the taxi arrived at a building.

It was a tall skyscraper that was 60 storeys tall and resembled a tall spire.

It was a luxury apartment building, and from what Osho could gather, it was one of the main spots where significant individuals visiting their Citadel tended to stay.

Since there was a chance the people they were watching were staying here, Osho was a bit prepared.

He asked Gale to meld himself with his domain before he put on a mask, and his clothes changed to become a simple suit.

The taxi driver was a bit surprised by the change, but the man wisely kept his mouth shut as Osho paid him and stepped out.

Osho walked into the building and approached the front desk where a receptionist sat. They asked him if he wanted to visit someone, and he said yes, explaining that they were in a room on the top floor.

"Alright, can you tell us your name so that we can call the person there?" The receptionist asked, and Osho was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Isaac. Just Isaac." He replied.

"Alright..." The receptionist made a call, and after a few seconds, they nodded.

"Alright. You can go up." Hearing this, Osho thanked them and took an elevator that took him to the top floor.

When he arrived, he immediately went to the room. Room 88.

He rang the doorbell, and a moment later, it opened to reveal a young woman wearing a maid's outfit. As soon as she saw him, she bowed and moved out of the way for him to enter.

Osho entered and took in the place. It looked like your conventional luxury apartment with everything one would need. Large holographic television, aesthetic light, comfortable chairs, and so on.

His gaze stopped on a figure sitting on one of the sofas.

Unlike him, her skin was pale and milky, and from what he could see, she wore a set of pajamas with cute bunny patterns on them.

The most striking thing about her, though, was her hair.

Other than the snow white color which was already pretty unnatural, it was long. So long, in fact, that as it fell behind the sofa, the strands reached the floor and sprawled messily like a carpet.

Osho stood there for a few seconds, simply taking her in.

"Hm? Has my little brother missed me so much that all he can do is stare after so long?" She suddenly spoke, her voice as pleasant as bells chiming in the wind.

Osho was snapped out of his stupor and watched as she slowly turned to face him.

She was stunning.

If perfection could be personified, it would be her.

Her features were simply sublime, from the shape of her jaw and cheekbones, to the arch of her nose, the slant of her eyebrows, and those indigo-colored eyes that shone like crystals. There was no, flaw, no blemish.

And that was simply her face.

Her body... oh her body.

It was enough to light an unquenchable fire in the heart of any man who had the fortune of looking at it. Her pajamas weren't particularly fitting, but they did little to hide the unfair curves beneath.

Nothing was exaggerated in terms of size, though it was still larger than average. But their shape was simply heavenly.

And yet, when Osho took her in, he felt no just or desire. No, he felt something else.

When she saw him, she smiled, and it was like every bit of darkness in the world faded under its light.

"Well? Are you just gonna stand there? And in a mask no less?" Hearing this, Osho moved his hand to the mask and slowly took it off, and if someone like Ellie saw his expression, she'd be shocked.

He was smiling, which on its own wasn't odd.

No, it was the sheer levels of familial affection in his gaze. It was a look one only reserved for their most valued family members, and Osho was showing it right now.

"... Hey, Belle." He finally said after a while, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Haha, there he is." The woman, Belle, slowly stood up, her hair trailing behind her like a bridal gown, but it somehow didn't get tangled in anything, nor did it seem to weigh her down.

At her full height, she was at least a head taller than Osho, making it so that she looked down on him.

When she got close, she leaned forward until their foreheads were touching.

"It's nice to see you again, Osho."

"Mm."

If there was one thing the rest of the stars were completely sure of. It was that, in terms of pure familiarity, Osho and Belle, the 4th and 1st star, were the ones who truly seemed to be siblings.

In fact, it was probably more than even that.

They held their position for a few seconds before Belle slowly pulled back, her smile widening.

"Look at you, all grown. I can vividly remember when you were still shorter than a shelf." She said teasingly, and Osho rolled his eyes fondly.

"Yeah yeah. Just because you were born first doesn't exactly make me short." He shot back.

"But I'm still taller, aren't I?" She pointed out.

"And older. How does it feel knowing that you'll be in your thirties soon?" He grinned, and Belle shot him a scandalized look.

"I'll have you know that I'm still young and beautiful, brat."

"Hag."

"Why you...!

"Haha..."