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Prologue

The Astor Tunnels were deserted. Explosions and floods had wreaked havoc here years before. Silence had since reigned over the tunnels...

Until today.

A low sloshing broke the silence. Most of the water had subsided over the years, filtering out slowly, eroding its rocky captors. The sloshing continued, ripples slowly played out from the figure, dancing about floating skulls and large chunks of cement. The figure came upon an intact pile of skulls; pausing before wading through them as if they were dead leaves.

He — definitely a male — grinned to himself as he came upon a small notebook. It was tucked inside a skull that was stranded upon a rocky ledge, jutting from the icy black water like and iceberg. Long slender fingers reached out, shaking slightly from emotion, to grab the notebook, open it, and begin turning pages, gingerly, lovingly. The notebook had been wet several times, but the ink — miraculously, considering the circumstances — was relatively intact.

After standing motionless for a few moments, the figure glanced up, eyes searching the water. The restless orbs landed upon a green skull — just like in the book. Amazing. The figure rushed forward, grabbing the skull and reaching inside to pull out a single white lily. Another grin. It was still alive!

The figure knew this was no ordinary lily. No, it was the last Mbwun lily — at least in the northern hemisphere. Hadn’t that worthless fool destroyed them all?

Turning, the figure threw the lily over his shoulder and adjusted it so it wouldn’t fall. Notebook in hand, he began to slosh through the water, on his way out. This tiresome journey had been much more fruitful than he had originally believed it would. The future now looked very bright for him and his plans.

Very bright indeed.

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