Golden Melody (Editing)

Chapter 90

Chapter 90 - Evening Chaos
Wayne Academy Silver Island Field Trip - Day 2

Silvery Water Park Hotel

Laughter and music spilled through the student quarters.

Pool lights shimmered across marble floors.
Teenagers cannonballed into the infinity pool, their cheers echoing into the night like something bright and careless.

It felt like freedom.

But far beyond the neon glow—

Behind a heavy STAFF ONLY door, past filtration chambers and humming pressure valves— Another world existed.

One was not printed in brochures.

Beneath the park lay the heart of the Silvery Aquarium.

A quiet tunnel lined with towering jellyfish tanks, glowing blue. Their slow pulses painted the walls in shifting light.

This was where performers entered before every show.

Where illusions were prepared. Where magic was faked.

Tonight— One of them wasn't part of the act.

Because she wasn't an actress.

She was real... And she was angry.

In the moonlit dome pool, beyond a curved glass arch, a lone figure circled. Slow.

Her long blue hair drifted through the water like ink.
Her green eyes tracked the ceiling as if daring it to crack.

Her tail shimmered in impossible colors—silver, seafoam, violent pink, and flickers of violet.

Seleina Meriden.

And the water around her was beginning to heat.

Inner Lounge

Deeper inside, in a velvet-paneled room far removed from the tanks, two figures sat across from each other.

A chessboard between them.

Soria Meriden sat with quiet elegance, dressed in a simple white gown.

She's a Marine biologist. Former owner of Silvery Aquarium.

Zenips royal. Which meant— Not human.

Across from her sat Zaren Wov.

Charcoal suit. Relaxed posture. Eyes that missed nothing.

Soria moved her queen.

"Check."

Her voice was soft.

"That makes it official," she continued.
"Silvery is yours. Damian takes the Blue City Museum. Ashel controls the Yellow City Zoo."

Zaren studied the board.

"Three major sites," he said slowly.
"Three... rifts beneath them."

A glance up.

"That's a strategic retreat. Your hands are clean now."

Soria's lips curved faintly.

"Let's not call them 'rifts,'" she said.
"They tend to attract attention."

A pause.

"Let's call them... gates."

Zaren leaned back slightly.

"Fine. Gates it is."
"But why hand yours to me?"

His gaze sharpened.

"I don't even have a water attribute. I could've just helped you guard it—like before."