The forest beyond Tashi Village was quiet, too quiet. The wind rustled through the silver-leaved trees, carrying only the faint echo of the recent battle. The air smelled faintly of ash and blood.

Juno tightened the straps on his gloves and looked at the treeline.

"I'll go look for him in the woods."

His voice was low, but firm, the same tone he used when he had already decided something.

Khael turned to him. "They said Master Vince had the Shard of Flesh… if that's true, then he's being hunted."

He clenched his fist, his knuckles whitening. "Where did he go..."

Ceyla, who had been quietly cleaning her blade, sheathed it and looked at Khael with a calm smile.

"Don't overthink too much, Khael."

He blinked, surprised by her steady tone. "Ceyla..."

She stepped closer, brushing a bit of dirt off her cloak. "Let's go back first. Andromeda and Matthew are still with the villagers, you know how they are. I don't trust Andromeda not to start another fight with a tree or tell more of his dad jokes."

Khael's lips curved slightly. "Ceyla..."

She gave him a playful look. "Come on, don't be so serious. I'm just trying to make you laugh."

For a moment, the tension in the air softened.

Khael sighed, a small, tired breath that carried more gratitude than words could.

"Thanks, Ceyla."

Ceyla smiled faintly and started walking ahead. "You can thank me later. Right now, let's regroup. If Master Vince is still alive, he'll find a way to contact us. He's that kind of man."

Juno glanced back over his shoulder, eyes still sharp.

"Yeah… but I won't sit still while he's missing. I'll search the woods."

Khael looked at him, then nodded slowly. "Be careful. If what they said is true — if he really has the Shard of Flesh — then the Hollow Nine will come for him."

Juno smirked faintly, his usual reckless confidence returning.

"Then let them come. They'll regret it."

As he vanished into the trees, Khael turned his gaze toward the horizon — the light of dawn just beginning to break through the mist.

"Master Vince... where are you..."

Ceyla stopped beside him, her eyes narrowing toward the same horizon.

"Let's move. We can't lose hope now."

The two of them started back toward the village unaware that, deep in the forest, a faint pulse of crimson light flickered between the trees…

the same color as the Shard of Flesh.

The path back to Tashi was quiet except for the sound of their boots brushing against the grass. The forest mist hung low, and tiny motes of light floated like dust in dawn's breath.

Khael walked a few steps ahead silent, gaze fixed on the horizon. His eyes were sharp but distant, the same look he always wore when his mind spun with thoughts heavier than words.

Ceyla followed beside him, her cloak fluttering slightly with the wind. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her lips curving into a small pout.

(You always have that face when you're thinking...) she thought. (That same stupid, serious look... like you're carrying the whole world again.)

Khael's hand brushed against the hilt of his weapon, his expression unreadable.

(The Hollow Nine... if they're truly moving, then this village was only the start. Lucere won't stop until he gathers all the fragments.)

Ceyla sighed softly, looking down.

(I hope... you'll learn to rely on me too, Khael. Not just fight alone like always.)

But instead of saying that, she said, with a sarcastic grin,

"You know, if you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles before you even become a master."

Khael blinked, glancing at her. "Wrinkles? At my age?"

"Yeah, you'll look like Sensei Kurozawa before thirty," she said, smirking.

Khael chuckled faintly, shaking his head. "That's impossible Sensei's wrinkles are from stress, not age."

Ceyla's smile softened a little.

(He really doesn't get it...) she thought. (I tease him, I joke, and he just—smiles like that. So dense hmmp.)

Khael suddenly stopped walking, staring off into the distance — eyes hardening.

"If they're after the fragments... we'll have to prepare. The Hollow Nine aren't just evils. They're coordinated, dangerous."

Ceyla tilted her head. "You're already planning how to fight them again, aren't you?"

He nodded once. "If we face them next time, I won't let them harm anyone else."

Ceyla crossed her arms. "And what about you? You're part of 'anyone else,' you know."

Khael blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ceyla sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. You're hopeless."

He smiled slightly. "Thanks for worrying though, Ceyla."

Her face went red instantly. "W-Who's worrying?! I'm just saying someone has to stop you from being an idiot!"

Khael just laughed softly and kept walking ahead.

Ceyla glared, then looked away her expression softening when he wasn't looking.

(Idiot... you really don't know, do you?)

The two of them continued down the misty trail, the wind carrying faint whispers of the woods around them.

And somewhere beyond that calm, the world itself trembled

as Lucere's next move began to unfold.

Meanwhile Juno side

The forest stretched endlessly dark, damp, and heavy with fog.

Juno's breath came in quiet bursts, his boots pressing into the damp earth, each step echoing in the silence that seemed to swallow everything.

He stopped by a stream, the moonlight glimmering faintly across its surface.

No trace.

No scent.

No broken branches that would hint that Master Vince had passed this way.

Juno clenched his fists.

"...Master Vince… where are you?"

The forest didn't answer. Only the soft rustle of leaves like the whisper of ghosts.

He looked at his reflection in the water, sweat trickling down his face. His expression twisted frustration, sadness, and guilt intertwining.

(If I was stronger... maybe he wouldn't have gone missing in the first place.)

And then

The world around him blurred.

The wind grew warmer.

The trees faded into the golden light of memory.

He was standing once again in the Taishin Grounds, the training field behind the old dojo.

The smell of incense and dust filled the air, the clatter of wooden dummies echoing as he punched through them.

"Lower your stance, Juno. Feel the earth don't fight it."

That voice.

That calm, resonant tone that carried both authority and warmth.

Juno turned.

There he was Master Vince.

Hair tied in a rough mullet, streaks of gray catching the morning light. His expression was sharp, but his eyes those calm, storm-gray eyes held something deeper: quiet approval.

He stood there with his arms crossed, his robe loose, his bare feet grounded in the dust.

The faint swirl of Taishin energy pulsed around him, bending the air itself.

"You rely too much on power, Juno," Vince said, his voice steady. "A real Taishin doesn't shout at the wind, he becomes it."

Juno gritted his teeth. "But Master, I can't control the fifth gate without force. I have to"

Vince stepped forward, faster than Juno could react, and his hand landed lightly on Juno's shoulder.

The touch alone sent a wave of calm through him.

"Power is not control. It's permission," Vince said. "Permission to act. Permission to protect. But never permission to lose yourself. Understand that... and you'll surpass even me."

Juno's eyes widened. "Surpass you? Me?"

Vince smiled faint, knowing.

"You're my disciple for a reason. You don't need to become me. You just need to be better than who you were yesterday."

The memory shimmered, the image of Vince fading like smoke.

Back in the forest, Juno stood frozen, his fists trembling.

The sound of the stream returned, along with the weight of reality.

He stared at the moonlit water once more, whispering

"...Master Vince... if you're out there... I swear I'll find you. And I'll show you that your disciple didn't forget your words."

He tightened his stance.

The Taishin aura flared faintly around his arms faint golden threads of energy rippling through the night.

"Gate 3… steady. Breathe. Move forward."

He exhaled.

Then stepped into the darkness once more following the faint whisper of wind that, somewhere deep inside, still carried his master's voice.

To be continue

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