Green leaves drifted in the air and landed at every footprint Leon’s boots left behind as he and the three Ghost Soldiers followed the officials of Agatha.

’I can’t wait to be given the honor of a lieutenant,’ Eun-woo said in his head while his shoulders moved up and down as he shook his body slowly.

Kim’s eyes kept shifting from Lord Luo Fang to Hei Yung, and then to the new face she had no name for, while keeping her paces slow and formal.

Seo-jun kept his right hand at his back while rubbing his chin, following Lord Luo Fang’s steps as if the rest were walking without direction.

Hei Luo and Lu Wang walked by Leon’s sides, their eyes moving over the boy’s physique as they stepped into the second floor of the Blackscale Citadel.

Hei Luo glanced at Lu Wang once, then smiled and shifted his gaze back to Leon. ’This boy will one day surpass all of us, if he continues with the same mindset and courage.’

Leon’s head snapped toward Hei Luo, then nodded once, as if he could read straight through the man’s head.

When they reached the hall door on the third floor, Hei Yung turned and looked at the three impending lieutenants.

"Carry on to the rest room. For now," he paused, then turned toward Leon. "We need Leon alone."

Seo-jun dropped his left hand from his chin and nodded once. "Okay sir."

He turned and walked toward the brown door at the far right without looking back once.

Eun-woo turned to Leon, shook his hand firmly, then jogged after Seo-jun.

When Kim turned to Leon, she placed a hand on his shoulder and bowed her head slightly. "You can join our team if you want. But," she paused and looked at Hei Yung’s face. "We’ll be honored to have him as part of our team."

She took the wrapped body from Leon’s hands, then walked toward the brown door.

Kim’s figure disappeared through the door, leaving Leon with a sudden, lancing sense of relief.

’So Kim is asking him, no, she actually wants him to be part of the Ghost Soldiers, wow,’ Lord Luo Fang said in his head, tracking the exchange with a raised brow while his eyes stayed on Leon with a curiosity that hadn’t been there before.

The hall looked different to Leon when he and the four officials entered. Countless tables and chairs stood arranged in clean order, and a mix of colors blessed the floor as sunlight pushed through the rainbow-tinted wall windows.

"It’s so good to see you back, Leon Storm."

A familiar voice rose from the far end of the arranged chairs and caught Leon’s attention before he had taken two more steps.

He stopped when he saw Lieutenant Hayes standing there with one arm at his back, smiling.

Lu Wang doubled his steps without hesitation and crossed the floor to shake Hayes’s hand, pulling him into a tight embrace the way men do when time has been too long between them.

"It’s been years, brother," Lu Wang said, his voice warm and low.

"It’s been a few days and hours, not years," Hayes said, then burst into laughter.

Lord Luo Fang glanced at Leon, then at the two men lost in their reunion, then cleared his throat. "Are we done?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Hei Yung pulled a chair back and gestured at Lord Luo Fang to take his seat. "No. We are now about to start."

When all four of them sat down, Leon remained standing, a confused look on his face. ’Why am I being called into an officials’ meeting?’

"Leon. Leon."

Hei Yung’s voice came twice and pulled Leon’s mind back into the room. "Take a seat."

Leon lowered his head slightly and pointed at his own chest. "Me?"

Lu Wang looked at him and laughed. "Yes, you. Who else is still standing? Or do you want us all on our feet for the meeting?"

Hei Luo pressed his lips together, holding back a grin at the look on Leon’s face.

When Leon’s chair scraped back against the floor, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Even Lord Luo Fang’s gaze moved to him, and for a moment Leon was no longer just a survivor who had made it out. He was something else now. A player at the table of giants.

The blades of the three weapons clicked against the tabletop when Leon set them down. "Sorry."

"No need to be sorry. They’re part of you now," Lieutenant Hayes said, his eyes moving over the war disc and the two swords.

Leon looked at the weapons, then shook his head. "No. I only used them to get out of that land. I can never use them as my own from now on."

"It’s okay," Hei Yung said, placing a hand on Leon’s right shoulder. "They serve as memory now. They should be kept, not used."

Leon shifted his gaze to Hei Yung and nodded once. "Thank you."

Outside the hall, Kim carried Liu Yan’s wrapped body to the preservation chamber of the Blackscale Citadel and handed it to the doctors waiting there.

"Please make it neat," she said, her eyes moving to Po, the doctor in charge.

"Don’t worry, Kim. We’ll make it purer than it was," Po said as he ran the face detection scanner over Liu Yan’s pale face.

When Kim stepped out of the preservation chamber, she walked to the corridor window and leaned against the wall. The tears came before she could stop them.

"I’m sorry mom. I’m sorry dad. I should have protected her like you said. She wasn’t my blood, but I failed. I failed," she said quietly, her right palm pressed flat against her chest as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Kim."

Eun-woo’s voice came from somewhere behind her. She brushed the tears off quickly and turned with a smile already in place.

"Mm, yeah, Eun-woo," she said, blinking fast.

When Eun-woo reached her, his steps slowed. He looked at her face for a moment. "Kim, your eyes."

Three words. That was all it took. The tears she had been holding broke free all at once. "I failed to protect her. Eun-woo, I failed."

Eun-woo stepped forward and wrapped both arms around her, his hand moving slowly through her hair. "It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you."

He held her in a tight hug while his mind worked quietly behind the stillness.

’Is Liu Yan the adopted sister she always talked about?’

...

Dust and weak plaster dribbled from the walls of the Black Ops room as Tiger kept on slamming his fist against it.

"WHY! WHY!! WHY!!!" The sound of his scream echoed loud in the room and chased off three white doves that had found refuge at the sill of their window.

Samir sat there, laughing while tapping the tip of his boots on the ground. "You’re no match for him now, just accept it."

Tiger’s eyes blazed with blue flames as he turned a sharp gaze at Samir. Sparks began to fly out of the cracks he had created with his fist as the flame emitting from him splashed in the room.

"I will only accept it when he is dead!"

Samir lifted his shoulders slightly, then stood up. He glanced at the flames engulfing the room, then smiled. "Then, there is only one way left to make that happen."