The wind carried the faint scent of ash and salt remnants of the battle that had scarred the Tashi plains.

Khael stood with his blade lowered, his breath steady but his eyes locked on the one man before him.

"Master Vince… the Shard of Flesh, where is it?"

Vince's single arm trembled slightly as he reached into his robe. His movements were slow, deliberate, carrying the weight of someone who had seen too much. Then from a hidden pouch, he revealed it.

A fragment.

Small. Pale. Beating faintly like a heart.

The very air seemed to bend around it the Shard of Flesh, one of the Seven Forbidden Organs. Its pulse synchronized with the rhythm of the world, making everyone feel their own heartbeat echo in their chests.

Vince looked at Khael and the others Juno, Andromeda, Matthew, Ceyla all eyes drawn to that faint, grotesque light.

"Here is the shard," Vince said quietly. His voice carried neither pride nor fear, only acceptance.

"But this shard… is for me to take. For now."

Khael nodded solemnly, trusting the old man's judgment. His hand fell to his side, and he looked around at the others.

Behind them, the medic ward shimmered faintly where Selene and Alaric lay side by side, both unconscious but breathing.

Andromeda crossed her arms, her tone firm.

"What about those twins?"

Matthew frowned. "Should we… imprison them? Just in case?"

Khael's eyes softened. "No. They can change."

Master Vince's gaze flicked toward him, as did Juno's.

Ceyla narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'they can change'? After everything they've done?"

Khael's voice was calm, but deep. "Those kids were manipulated. Controlled. You saw their eyes, they weren't fighting of their own will."

Vince nodded, his tone weary but resolute. "Aye. When I fought them… that was when I lost this arm. But just before it happened, I saw it."

He touched the scar where his left arm used to be. "That boy's eyes, they twisted. Something inside him snapped. It wasn't his power. It was something else foreign. Hollow."

Khael's fists clenched.

"As expected… those bastards."

Ceyla clicked her tongue. "Tsk."

The air shifted. A new voice cut through the silence firm, feminine, and clear.

"Now, attention everyone."

The group turned.

A woman cloaked in faded green stepped forward. Her hair swayed with the breeze. Her eyes sharp, sorrowful seemed to carry a thousand untold stories.

Khael tilted his head. "Now that I think about it… who is this girl, Master Vince?"

Vince looked at her with rare gentleness.

"This woman saved my life. When I was left bleeding after my battle, she found me. Nursed me back to health."

The woman bowed slightly. "I'm Mari." She hesitated, then added, "And I'm here to ask for your help."

Khael frowned. "About what?"

Mari's gaze lifted, her voice trembling just slightly.

"My brother, Ryn."

A tense silence fell.

Master Vince's expression hardened. "Her brother… is Ryn. The Messenger of the Hollow Nine."

The room stiffened.

Matthew's jaw tightened. "The Hollow Nine?"

Vince continued, "If we capture him alive, we may finally gain intel about their structure — their movements, their leader's plans."

But Khael's thoughts drifted far from the conversation.

(Ryn… that name…)

He remembered the panels — the ink and paper of another world.

(In Kaen Eclipse… Ryn was one of the antagonists. He died with regret. He said if he could go back, he'd kill that man and save his family…)

His eyes flicked toward Mari, who stood silently, her fingers trembling as she held the edge of her cloak.

(Could it be… this woman he meant? And that man… who was it? No. Don't overthink.)

He pushed the thought aside. That knowledge belonged to another lifetime one he couldn't explain here.

Ceyla broke the silence. "Why would we need to help you?"

Khael snapped softly, "Ceyla."

She turned, glaring. "What? She's suspicious. You can't just trust anyone who walks in."

Matthew sighed. "Ceyla has a point."

Andromeda crossed her arms. "Yeah. We can't risk a trap."

Juno stepped forward, his tone calm and disciplined. "Everyone, calm down. We need to hear Master Vince first."

Vince's one hand clenched into a fist. His voice carried a rare weight not command, but faith.

"Trust this woman. I swear by my honor, she speaks the truth."

A long silence followed then Khael finally said,

"Then we help her."

Ceyla's eyes widened. "You're serious?"

Khael looked past them all at the horizon beyond the ward.

"Because if Ryn really is tied to the Hollow Nine… then this isn't just her problem. It's ours. The Hollow are moving again. And they're not done with Tashi yet."

The wind howled through the ruins as the light dimmed.

Above, the Shard of Flesh pulsed faintly in Master Vince's palm like it was listening.

The dim chamber flickered with pale violet light torches of warped Shinrei burning like wounded stars. Shadows swayed against the stone walls, their movements whispering like ghosts.

At the center of the room stood K, the Tactician of the Hollow Nine his orange hair cascading wildly, his coat torn from the last battle. Even wounded, he radiated calm arrogance, a man who turned loss into calculation.

Before him, Ryn knelt. The air between them was suffocating a predator facing his trembling hound.

K's voice was low, deliberate, each word cutting through the silence.

"Ryn."

The young man lifted his head slightly. His red eyes, once bright with conviction, now flickered with guilt.

"Sir..."

K's expression didn't change. "You failed my plan. That bastard Master Vince appeared in the Tashi village."

Ryn's fists clenched. He bowed deeper until his forehead touched the cold floor.

"I'm sorry, sir… I lost track of Vince after he went missing. I never thought he would stay near Tashi… I— I failed."

The room pulsed faintly with the sound of K's breathing. Then a sharp click of the tongue.

"Tsk. Enough of that."

Ryn froze.

K turned slightly, walking toward the obsidian table at the center of the room maps, shards, and old scrolls sprawled across it. His hand brushed over a broken crystal, its black veins humming faintly.

"I don't need your apologies, Ryn. I need your usefulness."

Ryn slowly raised his head. "Sir?"

K's eyes glimmered like coals hidden beneath ash.

"I have a new mission for you."

Ryn swallowed hard. "What is it, sir?"

K faced him fully now, the faint light outlining the countless scars across his neck and jaw. His tone was calm, almost amused but his gaze could kill gods.

"Go. Find the strongest mercenaries across the southern nations. Hunters, assassins, ex-Veinwalkers anyone with blood on their hands and no master to serve. Hire them. Bring them to me."

Ryn blinked. "Mercenaries, my lord? What for?"

K smiled faintly the kind of smile that chilled even fire.

"To build a legion. One that even Vince and his pets in Tashi won't see coming. The Hollow Nine must grow teeth again."

A beat of silence. Then, Ryn bowed deeply once more, his voice steady despite the tremor in his chest.

"As you wish, my lord."

K leaned back against the table, one hand clutching his side where the wound from Vince's strike still burned faintly. His thoughts churned.

(Lucere… you said. That patience was power. But even you can't see everything, can you?)

The torches dimmed. The air grew colder.

K's gaze fell on Ryn's retreating form as he vanished into the corridor's darkness.

(Go, Ryn. Fail again, and I'll feed your soul to the Void. Succeed, and you may yet crawl your way out of the gutter you were born in.)

And as the last ember of violet light died, K whispered softly to himself — almost reverently:

"All for Lucere… the mind above all."

To be continue

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