France, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Lucas tightened his newly bought tactical jacket on top of his favorite gray hoodie. He already dressed quite warmly, but the drastic temperature change from Australia still fazed him a bit. His body truly went back to its former shape, weak and feeble. It would have been nothing if he had the body that he already tempered in the abyss. Moving to a warmer spot, Lucas took a look at his phone.

Today was January 15th.

According to his memories, an airplane departed from France to Marrakesh would disappear exactly today. 

This incident would have the media turn their attention from the kidnapping case in Bali. Every news channel and the internet would be talking about it, that Lucas himself still remembered the date and the plane type. Though it wasn't all. Lucas particularly remembered it after years passed, since he knew someone who was a survivor of that plane.

Garnet.

Lucas met her in the abyss.

Lucas fiddled with his phone, turning off the airplane mode. The moment he did, notifications came one after another. Most of them were from Conrad, but the rest were from his college friends and the professor from last time. He had been ignoring them ever since he gained his memories, but some of them just wouldn't give up.

Lucas scrolled over his notifications.

33 missed calls

10 new chats

Conrad: Hey you fucker, where the hell are you going?

Conrad: Aren't you going on holiday? So why are you giving me your bank account? You better get your ass here if you're thinking of dying

Conrad: I heard about your mother and younger bro from miss Irina. So just come back you lil shit

Lucas frowned the moment he saw those messages. It was from yesterday, right before he departed to France. He did leave his bank account to Conrad, telling him to do whatever with it through a little note. After all, he wasn't going to use it anymore. So why the fuck did this guy assume that he was going to commit suicide? And who the hell was miss Irina?

Too lazy to straighten things up, Lucas put his phone back in his pocket. Closing his eyes and sighing, he just suddenly reminded of Conrad's words from a month ago.

"Morals or not, the monster will kill us both eventually no matter what I choose, right? Might as well run together than to feel regret from sacrificing one of us."

Conrad was someone that he had long forgotten ever since he lived in the abyss. From the moment Lucas entered the crack, until the last moment he breathed, Lucas had never once met Conrad there. The answer was simple. That guy must be dead somewhere along with the trials, or simply gone the moment the earth had fused to the abyss.

Thus, his existence itself never had anything to do with Lucas.

Yet, Lucas smirked.

"He said 'regret'? Let's see..."

He took out his phone and quickly typed something, sending a reply to Conrad. Then, Lucas immediately put it in his pocket without waiting for a response.

Lucas then turned his gaze to his "first pawn".

She was the lady with a long black coat that he had been tailing from the corner of his eyes. Her dirty blonde hair was curled loosely, complemented with her burgundy red  lips. She was a beautiful lady with voluptuous figure, just like what Lucas remembered.

Garnet.

Lucas was lucky enough to find her the moment he entered the gate for his flight.

In his memories, Garnet was a troublemaker. She had quite an influence, as her followers was worshipping her. Rumor had it, that Garnet was a swindler on earth, and her name was something to watch for in the business world. Though, it had nothing to do with Lucas. The reason why Lucas wasn't that fond of her was the fact that she was tricky to control. Even the guild, which had more influence and power than her, was having a hard time.

Lucas didn't need a pawn who had a tendency to backstab him in the future.  But, he came here with a plan.

***

The plane departed, and Lucas felt his emotions stirred up.

It had been a while since he was stuck on earth, wasn't able to do anything. The fact that he was coming back to the abyss was something that he had been looking forward to in the past month.

Just as he was filled with joy, he sensed Garnet moving from her seat. Following her figure from the edge of his eyes, Garnet seemed to head for the restroom.

However, she unexpectedly turned around and sent a smile towards Lucas.

Lucas was taken aback. That smile was surely for him. He thought he was being cautious enough, but perhaps she was just too meticulous.

Understood what she meant, Lucas rose up from his seat and went after Garnet. Standing beside the restroom door, Garnet, who was waiting for Lucas, stared at him with her honey-colored eyes.

Lucas knew that Garnet was beautiful. But finally looking at Garnet up close, Lucas noticed that Garnet looked even more enticing in her younger days. He somehow understood why most men were bewitched to her back then.

"Do I know you?" She asked. Lucas could see wariness and curiosity in her eyes.

She probably noticed that Lucas had been watching her from the start. Yet she chose this moment to confront him. Perhaps, she thought Lucas would run away the moment he realized that Garnet actually noticed him.

Looking at how confident she was, she probably knew how to defend herself already. To be this confident even before entering the abyss, Lucas somehow wanted to praise her. Moreover, she chose a smart move, though Lucas wasn't here without any preparation either.

"I'm sorry, am I being too obvious?" Lucas scratched his head, trying to look flustered. "Actually, I think you are gorgeous... sorry if I make you uncomfortable."

Perhaps didn't expect that answer, Garnet went silent. She scanned Lucas from head to toe before opened her mouth again.

"I am not interested in a brat, I'm sorry."

She seemed to be only half-convinced, as Lucas still could see some doubts in her eyes. What a pain. Rumors about her being a swindler seemed to be true, looking at how guarded she was.

"But, I am turning 21 this year," Lucas smiled sheepishly.

Staring at Lucas, Garnet raised her right brow.

"What age do you think I am?"

"twenty?" 

By this timeline, Garnet should be around twenty-seven years old. But, what Lucas just said wasn't completely a lie either. Lucas was half genuine when he said Garnet looked younger than her real age. She did look like somewhere around twenty-two.

"You are funny," Garnet scoffed. "Flattery won't take you anywhere." Garnet walked approaching Lucas and drew her face closer. The atmosphere was getting heavier as she was staring straight at Lucas's eyes.

Though he wanted to step back, Lucas didn't yield.

Perhaps satisfied with Lucas's resolve, Garnet touched his chin softly with her manicured hands. "You look cute, but I advise you to stop leering on me. Or... I might eat you up."

That suggestive comments might sound sweet if Lucas didn't know her. But Lucas knew very well what she meant. Once this plane was landed, she would probably try to do a background check on him and eliminate him if she found something suspicious. Though, Garnet wouldn't have that chance at all.

Out of sudden, Lucas felt chills down his spine.

It didn't have anything to do with Garnet. He just suddenly felt unpleasant energy, along with the feeling of nausea that crept up to his throat.

It felt.... exactly like the day he entered the crack. 

Looking around, Lucas realized nothing was happening yet. Ignoring Garnet who looked at him strangely, Lucas quickly grabbed Garnet's arm and dragged her back.

"Hey! You!"

"Go back to your seat, fast."

They didn't have that much time. According to the last radio communication aired on the news, the plane went through a violent turbulent before vanishing. Standing around without any safety measure like this was definitely a death wish. There was no way they could get away unscathed in this situation, not when they were still normal humans.

However, the path to the passengers' seats was closed off with a snack cart. Before Lucas could do anything, the plane started to shook violently.

"Shit."

Lucas took a glance around and promptly reached the jump seat beside the emergency door, pushing Garnet down there. 

He was confident he could survive by his instinct. But not Garnet. He couldn't lose his pawn when he already went out of his way to meet her like this.

Garnet, who was still surprised by the strong turbulent, didn't resist him. Lucas fastened her seat belt with difficulty, as the plane was rocking stronger. The passengers started to shriek and prayed, most of them cried. Meanwhile, the flight attendants were holding everything they could with their life, afraid to be flown off from the intense turbulent.

Lucas strongly held onto Garnet's seat, facing the confused Garnet who was looking pale. Four of the flight attendants already seemed to be knocked unconscious, as fresh blood gushed down from their wound, letting their bodies rolling around.

The cart from earlier started to roll over, knocking everyone on its way. Lucas quickly blocked it with his body as he saw it coming towards them.

Just when this would be over? As Lucas thought that, the plane crashed with a loud sound. At the same time, the whole plane became dark. The machine seemed to be shut down.

Everything became silent for a second. Anyone could feel that every single soul in that plane was horrified to death.

However, Lucas felt a surge of excitement.

They made it into the abyss, after all.