"If I have Charm, and she has Clone... then what is your power?"

Rose leaned forward curiously while asking the question.

Beside her, Tansy also quietly stared at Tyler.

Stareeeee.

The two girls simply kept staring at him without blinking.

Tyler immediately felt uncomfortable.

"...I can’t say that," he replied quickly.

Tansy raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"You already know about our powers," Rose added.

Tyler rolled his eyes.

"The whole world knows about your powers now," he replied casually. "You literally used them in public."

Rose puffed her cheeks.

"So what? Can’t you just tell us?"

"No."

The answer came instantly.

Tansy narrowed her eyes slightly.

"So you don’t trust us."

Before Tyler could answer, Rose suddenly lowered her head sadly.

"...I see..."

Her eyes quickly became watery.

Tyler stared at her blankly for several seconds.

Then he sighed deeply.

"First of all, stop acting pitiful."

Rose’s teary eyes immediately returned to normal.

"...Aw."

Tyler rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"Even without memories, you’re still unbelievably mischievous, Manhunter."

Rose grinned proudly.

"So you noticed."

Tansy looked speechless watching Rose switch emotions instantly.

Tyler crossed his arms.

"You two aren’t my enemies," he explained calmly. "But you’re not exactly my friends either."

The atmosphere became quieter.

"In the real world," Tyler continued, "we only clashed a few times."

Rose blinked.

"Wait... so we actually knew each other?"

"Unfortunately."

"Hey!"

Tyler ignored her complaint.

Rose suddenly leaned closer with sparkling eyes.

"Ohhh... then we can become closer in the real world too."

Tyler’s mouth twitched slightly.

"Sure," he replied dryly. "After several soul contracts."

Rose immediately stuck out her tongue.

"Scary."

Even though she still didn’t fully understand everything Tyler was talking about, she could tell one thing clearly—

Whatever Tyler’s secret was, it was dangerous enough that he wouldn’t reveal it casually.

Tansy noticed the atmosphere becoming awkward and quickly changed the topic.

"So..." she asked, "what happens after we join the Rebels?"

Tyler leaned back slightly and thought for a moment.

"I actually do have a plan."

Both girls looked at him curiously.

"I need to meet Mrs. Ariel first."

---

A few minutes later.

"You want to visit our research center?"

Ariel looked slightly surprised after hearing Tyler’s request.

The group was now sitting inside Ariel’s private living area. The room looked surprisingly modern despite being hidden deep underground. Artificial sunlight entered through large transparent windows while soft music quietly played in the background.

Tyler nodded calmly.

"You probably already know this," he said, "but I’m the person who figured out how to refine Carbonyx Ore."

Ariel’s eyes flickered slightly.

"Yeah," she admitted honestly. "That discovery helped us tremendously."

She had already conducted a background investigation on Tyler earlier.

And the more information she found, the stranger he became.

A young orphan with almost no formal education somehow solved one of the Rebels’ biggest technological problems.

Carbonyx Ore was notoriously unstable.

The Rebels had spent years trying to refine it efficiently. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Yet Tyler somehow succeeded alone.

Ariel crossed her arms thoughtfully.

"You were originally one of the outer foot soldiers assigned to gather information in the wilderness," she explained slowly.

Tyler remained silent.

"According to old reports, you disappeared after an encounter with mutated beasts near Sector 11."

Rose and Tansy quietly listened.

"One injured survivor claimed you were swept away by a river after the attack."

Ariel’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"And according to Lady Veena, you seemed to have forgotten almost everything afterward."

Tyler simply listened quietly.

No reaction.

No denial.

The truth was complicated enough that even he didn’t know anything about the past of original ’Tyler’ belonged to this world anymore. He doesn’t care.

Ariel continued speaking.

"You also don’t have any known family."

Her tone softened slightly.

"You were one of many war orphans raised by the Embers organization."

The room became quiet.

Then Ariel hesitated briefly.

"Your real name is actually—"

"I don’t want to know."

Tyler interrupted calmly while waving his hand lightly.

Ariel paused.

Then she nodded slowly without continuing.

Some people searched desperately for their past. Tyler seemed completely uninterested in his.

"Anyway," Ariel continued, "the research center isn’t located here."

"It’s another hidden base?"

"Yes."

Her expression became more serious.

"And unlike this place, the research center is considered top secret even among Embers."

Tyler nodded.

"That’s understandable."

"If you truly want access," Ariel said, "then you’ll need to officially join us completely."

Tyler didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he pointed toward Tansy and Rose.

"I don’t really mind joining," he said. "But I need to know what will happen to them first."

The two girls looked slightly surprised hearing that.

Ariel immediately understood his concern.

After all, Tansy and Rose were unstable variables in the eyes of many Rebel factions.

Two girls with mysterious supernatural abilities suddenly appearing together?

Of course some people would panic. Some might wants to dissect them and look inside them.

But Ariel answered confidently.

"Don’t worry."

Her voice carried authority now.

"As long as I’m here, with mine and My husband support, nobody will touch them."

She paused briefly before adding,

"And Lady Veena is supporting them too."

Rose blinked.

"That old granny is really have influence, huh?"

Ariel smiled faintly.

"Much more than you think."

The room relaxed slightly afterward.

Then suddenly—

"Wait..."

Tansy looked toward Tyler with widened eyes.

"What did you just say earlier?"

Tyler looked confused.

"You were really the one who figured out Carbonyx refinement?"

Her expression became complicated.

Back in Sector 11, she had personally seen Tyler experimenting with ores inside an abandoned shed countless times.

At the time, she honestly thought he was wasting time.

Yet somehow...

He actually succeeded.

Tyler shrugged casually.

"It wasn’t that difficult."

Ariel nearly choked hearing that sentence.

"Do you know how many researchers spent years failing?" she asked.

Tyler remained shamelessly calm.

"I just had better ideas."

Tansy looked at him strangely now.

The more she learned about Tyler, the less she understood him.

He fought well. Knew impossible things. Has memories of previous world. She

And somehow casually solved a energy crisis.

She was glad about not being his enemy in Real World.

Then another question suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Wait," Tansy said while turning toward Ariel, "if the Rebels only recently learned to refine Carbonyx..."

"How were you powering everything before?"

The artificial city outside alone clearly consumed absurd amounts of energy.

Ariel sighed deeply.

"We bought refined Carbonyx through black-market channels connected to the Capital."

Her expression darkened.

"Those greedy capitalists nearly drained our entire treasury over the years."

Rose snorted, "Greedy."

Actually, many private companies also buys refined Carbonyx. And some companies doesn’t mind selling them to Rebels.

Ariel nodded bitterly before looking toward Tyler again.

"But now things are changing."

There was genuine appreciation in her eyes.

"Since you solved our energy crisis," she said seriously, "there’s a very high chance the higher-ups will approve your entry into the research center."

Tyler leaned back calmly.

Good.

That was exactly what he wanted. Only then he can start his true goal.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

"The war between the Liberals and the Embers may never truly happen."

A deep voice echoed through the dark chamber.

"Because we all know how terrifying the Capital truly is."

The room fell silent.

Inside the underground hall, several elderly figures sat around a massive circular table made of black metal. Dim crimson lights glowed along the walls, barely illuminating their faces. Some wore long coats while others hid themselves beneath dark robes.

This was the highest authority of the Embers.

The Council of Embers.

One of the elders slowly tapped the table with his fingers.

"Our true goal was never open war," he continued calmly. "We only wanted the King dead."

Another elder nodded slightly.

"If the monarchy falls, democracy can finally rise in Libria."

"But dreams alone won’t topple the Capital," a woman sitting at the far end, she was wearing a Rabbit Mask.

Her sharp eyes swept across the room.

"The Royal Army alone could erase half our bases if they truly decided to move."

Nobody refuted her words.

Because everyone inside this room understood the truth.

The Capital was monstrously powerful.

Even after decades of resistance, the Embers still survived mostly because the Capital viewed them as a manageable nuisance rather than a true threat.

But now...

Things were changing.

One elder slowly leaned forward.

"These mysterious powers appearing among the younger generation..." he muttered. "They might become the turning point we’ve waited for."

The atmosphere became heavier.

Rose’s charm ability.

Tansy’s cloning power.

None of it fit within normal science anymore.

"It’s easier said than done," another elder spoke while adjusting his glasses. "We still understand almost nothing about these abilities."

He paused briefly.

"But for the first time in years..."

A faint smile appeared on his old face.

"...we have hope."

Several elders quietly nodded.

No matter how advanced the Capital’s weapons were, unknown powers always created uncertainty.

And uncertainty created opportunity.

"We must secure these gifted individuals before the Capital does," the woman said coldly. "If the King obtains control over them first, the balance of Libria will completely collapse."

"As elders of the Council of Embers," another man declared solemnly, "we all agree."

One after another, the council members nodded.

The decision had already been made.

They would gamble everything on this new era.

The room slowly became quiet again.

Then finally, the eldest person sitting at the center of the table opened his eyes.

His aged voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"Then..."

He slowly stood up.

"Let us reach the climax of this revolution."