As the elevator ascended, the thought of meeting the old man on his way back down made Zeke feel sick. An acidic sensation rose from his stomach, forcing him to cover his mouth.

"The last time I felt something like that was," Zeke thought, as the visage of Haze's demonic form popped into his mind. Fleshy tentacles sprouting up and down the skeletal frame of a demon, covered in sharp bony protrusions, with flaps of loose viscera hanging off its body. A cross between a knightly grace and a nightmarish terror. A protruding snout with sharp jagged teeth and eyes that could swallow you whole.

"That man," Zeke stumbled. "Just who is he?" Zeke asked.

"I don't quite know myself, but he always takes care of me. My grandpa told me to treat him as a guardian of the safe zone," Violet explained.

"A guardian!" Zeke thought, visibly surprised. "So Lower Babel has them too… This complicates things."

Suddenly, the elevator stopped, upon reaching the last 10 floors of the building.

"Entering restricted area, please confirm identity," a robotic voice spoke.

"Restricted area?" Zeke wondered.

"Yes, the last ten floors all belong to private owners, so stepping foot on them would essentially be breaking in," Violet explained.

"Verify identity – Violet Erina Blaine," she spoke.

"Identity verification pending," the robotic voice replied.

"So your second name is Erina?" Zeke asked, with a smile.

"Yes, well it depends on your definition of a second name," Violet laughed. "You see, my father wanted to call me Eris while my grandpa requested that I be called Violet. They tossed a coin, and my grandpa won, making Eris my second name. Well, my mother ended up changing my second name to Erina because she liked how it sounded," she explained.

"What kind of father would want to name their child after the goddess of strife and discord?" Zeke accidentally blurted out.

"I know, right!" Violet laughed.

"Verification successful, proceeding to transport the passengers to the top floor," the robotic voice said, as the elevator once again started to move.

"According to him, it is because my life will be full of strife and discord and I better get used to it," Violet explained with a sad tone.

"Well, it seems fine to me," Zeke remarked.

"That's because it recently got better," Violet giggled.

"So what changed?" Zeke wondered.

"I made a friend," Violet smiled warmly, slightly tilting her head towards Zeke.

In a flash, the doors of the elevator opened, revealing the lavish interiors of the penthouse. The top appeared to be encased in a glass wall, opening an expansive vista of the city. The main hall was furnished with various antiques: modern abstract paintings strewn up on walls, immaculate Greco-Roman statues placed on top of glass pedestals, painted pottery decorating the tops of shelves, masks, swords, and armor gathered from various parts of the world, placed for everyone to see. The furniture appeared sleek and modern, a mixture of the metallic uniformity of industrial textures with the natural grace of wood. The living room was well lit, separated by a bar section. On the sides of the circular glass front window were two staircases suspended by cables from the ceiling, leading to a large mezzanine section housing the living quarters of the house. Beside one of the stairs was a lift, which Violet used to get up and down from the second floor.

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As the two entered the house, they were immediately greeted by Violet's mother. A woman who appeared to be the spitting image of her daughter, the only difference being her hair and eyes. Her hair appeared pale brown with a slight, natural pinkish tint that could only be noticed when light fell on it from a certain angle. Her eyes were piercing blue, like two immaculate zircon gemstones. Her face appeared extremely attractive, devoid of any signs of aging, with only a slight tint below her eyelids blemishing its spotless appearance. Her body, partially revealed by her home sports attire, was athletic and well-trained, with toned muscular arms and a strong lower body. "Eris, you're home," her mother called out.

She raised her eyes, noticing that her daughter was not brought in by her usual chaperone.

"Who is this?" she wondered with a great deal of surprise.

"Hello, my name is Zeke. I'm Violet's friend from the academy," he extended his hand.

"I'm Amanda, Violet's mother," she placed her hand gracefully inside of Zeke's for a brief moment before letting go.

"Her mother," Zeke thought. "She's a contractor," he locked eyes with her. "But for some reason I can't feel anything coming from her. Unlike the old man, there is no oppressive atmosphere around her, only a slight feeling, like she's someone I definitely shouldn't mess with."

"Are you kids hungry?" Amanda asked.

"Mom, we had a snack on the way here," Violet explained.

"A snack is not a substitute for a proper meal," Amanda crossed her arms. "Come have dinner with us, Zeke."

And so he did. They sat down in the living room, eating food that tasted fresh just like the one Fredric cooked before. As they conversed about bland and pointless things like traffic, weather, and elections, Zeke couldn't help but look at the expansive vista of the city opening up before him, reaching beyond the horizon, with only the space elevator casting a shadow in his periphery.

"I'm feeling sleepy," Violet remarked, yawning as they finished having dinner.

"Should I bring you your motorized wheelchair?" her mother asked.

"No, I want Zeke to carry me up," she explained.

"If you have a motorized one, why don't you use it?" Zeke asked.

"Because I want to keep my upper body strong," Violet explained, yawning for the second time. "Come on, Zeke, carry me up. I want to feel like a princess one last time before you leave."

Zeke briefly looked at Amanda, almost asking for permission.

"Go ahead," she smirked, walking off to pick up dishes off the table.

Zeke lifted Violet, carrying her in his arms and brought her up the stairs.

"Take a left here," she whispered, almost falling asleep.

Zeke carried her into the left room, opening the door into her room. Inside, it was painted pink, full of stuffed animals and pictures. Her bed was soft and large, with frog covers.

"Goodnight, my princess," Zeke smiled warmly, placing Violet down on her bed, and quietly walking off so as not to wake her up.

As he quietly descended the stairs, he saw her mother cleaning the dishes.

"Now that she's asleep, care to explain what happened to my daughter's face?" Amanda wondered with an angry expression.

"Why don't you ask her bodyguard?" Zeke sighed.

"I'm asking you," Amanda glared.

"She was being bullied by her classmates, because 'Someone like that doesn't deserve to be ranked first,' their words, not mine," Zeke explained.

"Sick bastards," Amanda frowned. "And Nia, what did she do about it?" She locked eyes with Zeke.

"She took a bribe," Zeke grunted.

"For fuck's sake," Amanda sighed. "Alright, I'll deal with it first thing tomorrow. Getting revenge comes first, but I can't exactly punch a student," she thought out loud.

"You don't have to punch them," Zeke remarked.

"I know that violence is not the way out, but in these situations, it really is the best way to deal with these things. I can't let someone hurting my daughter go unpunished," Amanda explained.

"That's not what I meant," Zeke shook his head. "I already punished them."

Amanda put down the plate she was washing, letting it drop into the sink and placed her hand on the table, leaning forward, revealing her cleavage which poked through the sports bra she was wearing.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I slapped them," Zeke said.

"How hard?" Amanda whispered.

"Hard enough to kill them if they weren't a contractor," Zeke whispered back.

Amanda laughed.

"You're a good kid!" she approached Zeke and hugged him tight. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter.

For a brief moment, he was overwhelmed by emotion. Warmth filled his chest, reminiscent of his mother's embrace. It was bittersweet, as he longed to see her again, knowing he never would.

Amanda let go of Zeke, clearing her throat as she walked away, zipping up her hoodie.

"By the way, where do you live?" she wondered.

"Mega-building 17 of Winston Alley," Zeke replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I'll take you home. But I'll warn you, I drive hella fast," she smiled, jingling her car keys in front of his face.

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