5:30, Earth Idenis Time.
In a secret realm not so far from the guardian islands, Julius was touring a research facility.
It was a large blue block with a green interior design. The block had a hundred floors and was about half a mile in radius.
Each such block occupied dozens of miles in radius and the whole secret realm was covered by a few dozen blocks.
These were centers of research of the Xander family. As the strongest of the three prime families, the Xanders were a force to be reckoned with, humbled only by the military.
However, even the military couldn't discount the Xanders' research wing.
Be it funding, talent scouting, nurturing, resources—ask for it and you'd have it all. Of course, the prerequisite was that you were talented enough.
The top scientists could even move their scientific bases to the guardian islands and marry into the Xander family.
To any earthling, this was considered to be the most honorary thing. Such fame was carefully crafted by the previous Xander heads and continued even under Julius' reign.
Julius peered through an enforced glass window and scanned the vials with a blue liquid.
While his eyes never left the vial, his ears seemed to have detected someone approaching. "Are there any possibilities of failure?"
He sounded very casual as if he asking about the weather on a Sunday evening.
But the old man who was under question stiffened and hurriedly bowed. Blood drained his face as he felt his heart pound in fear. Not the fear of death, that would be much easier. But the fear of wishing to die but unable to.
He saw the fate of those that Xanders weren't satisfied with and vowed never to be one of them.
"There is absolutely no possibility of failure once we check up the testers, Sir." He said with the utmost respect.
"Uh-oh." Julius nodded casually.
Then, with the old man's company, he strolled through another block where the ingredients to the gamma potion production were stored.
Out of the hundred floors of the block, Julius checked one out of every ten floors.
Special herbs, aura crystals, ores, beast cores, special liquids, and so on.
As they reached the eighty-ninth floor, Julius muttered. "My sister was a genius, wasn't she?"
"Ah! Yes, sir." The old man bowed and replied in an excited tone. "Without her notes, we'd have never been able to make an omega potion. If omega potion didn't exist, then gamma potion is impossible."
Julius' lips curled up and he smirked lightly.
Omega Potion was initially the promise Roxanna gave to all the major powers to erase a girl's existence out of the records.
Surpassing all expectations, Omega Potion was much better than anyone could've imagined.
So, they all agreed.
But the problem came after Sia escaped. Even though they had samples of her blood, it obviously wasn't enough.
So, Xanders cited many reasons, and somehow canceled the Omega Potions they had to deliver a few months ago.
Still, it couldn't be stopped forever.
After months of intensive research, they found a way to replace Sia's blood with another ingredient.
"Brilliant, I must say." Julius smiled and looked inside one of the top floors. His eyes showed satisfaction that was hard to see on the Sovereign's face.
"With gamma potion, we'll be game-changers. The whole humanity will be under our lead." He declared proudly.
The old man hesitated when he heard the words 'whole humanity'. It seemed like his conscience, which he thought he killed not long was somehow still alive. It prompted him to open his mouth despite the potential danger and say.
"Sir…the side effects."
"Huh?" Julius glanced at the old man deeply and the next second, the old man was stuck to the ground, his limbs twisting in weird angles.
"Arghhhh….forgive! Forgive me, sir!" The old man pleaded.
Julius crossed his arms and walked away.
"Your! Your decisions are the best for humanity! Please, sir!" The shout caused Julius to pause and snap his fingers.
A bot instantly attended to him and performed emergency treatment.
Julius, on the other hand, exited the building and strolled in the garden areas.
'Side effects?' He smirked. 'What side effects? For what they are gaining, the price they are going to pay is minuscule in comparison.'
Of course, he knew the chief researcher's worry.
If the side effects were found out, then they'd be pretty much fucked up. He'd be fine since he's a Sovereign, but Xander family would inevitably fall into disgrace.
'But that takes years to happen. By then, I'd have already…' Julius smirked and shook his head.
{5:40}
He checked the time and decided to reach the avenue before 9. Until then, he decided to practice.
"After this expo, the world is going to change forever."
*** *** ****
"After this expo, the world is going to change forever."
The anchor announced with burning enthusiasm while Varian and Sarah cuddled on the couch.
"It's dangerous," Sarah muttered, feeling his arms around her waist.
"Hm." Varian nodded, his breath brushing past her ears, tickling her and causing her to shift her body in his embrace.
"But I won't stop you…not that I can. Even if you get caught, I will make sure you're safe. Just don't die." She turned around and looked at him seriously.
"Hm." He nodded again, but it seemed to assure Sarah as she smiled brightly.
And that smile sent Varian into a trance.
His heart raced as he was suddenly aware that he was holding a stunning woman in his arms as she looked at him with a smile that caused his heart to skip a beat.
Varian slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips on hers.
"Mhmf!" Sarah cried out in surprise, but her protest was cut off as he pulled her deeper into the kiss.
Feeling the soft sensation on his lips, Varian looked into her blue eyes. At first, they shyly dodged him, but soon they gazed at him with deep affection.
Varian responded with a deeper kiss, and Sarah cooperated awkwardly. Since it was a first for both of them, it was a bit awkward but fulfilling.
It was an odd feeling for both of them. They both knew that Varian participating in the expo in the presence of so many high awakeners was a huge risk. They both wanted to express their concerns and seek assurance from the other.
However, words didn't do their emotions justice. But it was completely conveyed through this simple and intimate action.
For a moment, Varian forgot his every worry. His mother's wish, the memory of Sia, the abyss emperor, Julius, Kreo, Enigma's problem…everything vanished for a moment.
Amidst all the struggles, all the troubles, and all the worries, he was at peace. His heart was racing with the sensation of the wet softness he was experiencing, but it was never so calm.
"Hme~" Varian felt a small, slippery thing trying to poke in and he instantly realized what it was.
With a smirk, he chased after it, and soon, their first kiss turned from light to a passionate one.
Varian raised his hand and was about to go a step further when—
Ting!
An alarm rang, startling the couple.
As Varian and Sarah separated, a thread of silver line connected them.
Sarah hurriedly used a water ball to move it away and moved away from him.
With her blushing cheeks, she looked adorable. But Varian somehow felt that she also had a question.
"What is it?" Varian asked with a smirk, lightly licking his lips.
"You!" Sarah pointed at him with an embarrassed expression, but in the end, she too sneakily licked her lips and snorted.
"Come on."
"You will laugh at me."
"No. I won't. Trust me."
"At end of every kiss, they gasp in the movies. Why didn't we?" Sarah asked with an innocent expression.
">…<" Varian looked at her blushing face and couldn't hold it anymore. Clutching his stomach, he ended up laughing.
"Hahahaha."
"You! I knew you would laugh!" Sarah punched him on the shoulders softly and snorted.
"Sorry, sorry." Varian raised his hands and leaned dangerously closer to her face.
"Sarah, we're both level 6 body awakeners. We can hold our breaths for hours. If you want a kiss that will leave you gasping for breath once it ends, we can do it in three, no, four hours." He leaned closer and stretched out his arms.
'He's really about to do it!' Sarah jumped onto her feet and ran off to another room in the ghost ship.
"It's time for the expo. I'll see you later. And don't tell anything that happened here to my father or he might call up entire earth's army to kill you."
She disappeared with a playful warning.
Varian simply laughed it off, but neither he nor she knew how close she was to the truth.
*** *** ***
Five minutes later, Varian's smile disappeared as he stood in front of a large white building along with ninety-nine peak level 4 'testers'.
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A/N: Apologies if it didn't come off properly. I'm a novice in writing sensual and intimate acts (For Now). I will improvise similar scenes in the future.