Ethan dropped into a leather sofa in the center of the room. The silence within Royal's headquarters was so thick you could hear the faint hum of the fluorescent lights. No one moved. Jason, Lena, Alexandria, and even little Emily stared at him with a mixture of gratitude, fear, and a burning curiosity.

Finally, Ethan broke the silence.

"I know you have questions," Ethan said, his voice weary but steady. "What happened at the Celestial facility… what you saw out there. It wasn't personal that I kept it from you; there are just things that are better left unseen until the time is right. But that time has come."

Ethan extended his right hand in front of him. Suddenly, the air began to crackle. Electric blue sparks danced between his fingers, intensifying until his entire hand was shrouded in a lightning glow that bathed the room in a spectral hue.

"I am a mage," he declared, maintaining the lie with absolute conviction. He would take advantage of their recent encounter with Celestial so everyone would assume his power came from the same "supernatural" source as the Union. It was far easier than explaining the existence of a System.

The expressions on Jason and Lena's faces froze. But Ethan wasn't finished. He stood up with a menacing slowness, feeling the System's power surging through his veins. He approached a reinforced concrete pillar in the center of the hall. Without warning, he threw a sharp, heavy punch.

BOOM!

The impact sounded like a controlled explosion. The concrete shattered, sending stone fragments flying across the room as the pillar was reduced to rubble at the point of impact. Ethan pulled his hand back; there wasn't even a scratch on his skin.

"And I am also a knight," he added, turning back toward them. "I carry an ancient legacy that I recently discovered. I am not just a man with money or weapons; I am something more."

Jason took a step back, instinctively reaching for his sidearm before realizing what he was doing. Lena stood breathless, her mind racing to process the fact that the man she worked for was, quite literally, a one-man army.

However, the most unexpected reaction came from the youngest. Emily, who had been shielded behind Alexandria, let go of her mother's hand and stepped forward. Instead of panicking at the destruction of the wall or the crackling lightning, her eyes sparkled with pure adoration.

"That's incredible!" Emily exclaimed, her voice filled with an excitement that shattered the tension in the room. "You're like the heroes in my books! You're a magic warrior!"

Ethan looked at the girl and, for the first time all night, his icy expression softened into a small smile. She didn't see the monster who had dragged Axhel on a chain; she saw the savior who had pulled her out of the darkness.

"Something like that, little one," Ethan replied. Then, he looked at the others with renewed seriousness. "Now that you know the truth, you must understand that Royal is no longer just a security firm. We are entering a war against entities that aren't human. And for that, I need this place to be impenetrable."

The echoes of the crumbling concrete died down, leaving a heavy dust hanging in the air. Alexandria was the first to move; she stepped forward, her eyes wet with tears, and bowed her head deeply.

"I don't care what you are, Ethan," Alexandria said the woman. "Mage, knight, or something else... you brought my family back from a nightmare. Thank you. For everything."

Lena, still staring at the shattered pillar, finally found her voice. "This... this changes everything about our tactical protocols," Lena said the executive. "If you can do this, what can the enemies we're facing do? How long have you been hiding this?"

Ethan didn't answer immediately. He turned his gaze toward Old Falcon. The veteran soldier hadn't flinched when the wall exploded. He was leaning against a desk, his arms crossed, looking at Ethan with a strange, knowing expression. He wasn't terrified like Lena or awe-struck like Emily.

"You don't look surprised, Old Falcon," Ethan said the young man. "Why?"

The old veteran let out a short, dry chuckle and pushed himself off the desk. "Because I've seen things like this before, boss," said Old Falcon. "I told you I've crossed paths with Celestial in the past. I knew men who could set a room on fire with a thought and others who could catch a bullet with their bare teeth."

The room went silent as the old soldier walked toward the rubble, his boots crunching on the debris. "In fact," Old Falcon continued, his voice dropping into a raspy, solemn tone, "I spent years trying to find a way in. I hunted for their manuals, their scrolls, their training methods. I wanted to become more than just a man with a gun. I wanted to be a 'Mage' for the Union, to have that power for myself. But no matter how many files I stole or how many bodies I stepped over, I never found a way. Their world is closed to people like us—or so I thought."

He looked at Ethan with a newfound, profound respect. "To see a 'Legacy' like yours manifest in someone who isn't one of those arrogant Celestial bastards... it's a hell of a thing. I knew what they were, but I never could reach that level myself," said Old Falcon.

"So you knew about the supernatural world all along," Lena said the woman, her voice rising in disbelief.

"I knew it existed. I just didn't know the man paying my salary was a goddamn titan," said Old Falcon, a smirk playing on his lips.

Ethan looked at his team. The fear was fading, replaced by a grim determination. They were no longer just mercenaries; they were the inner circle of something much larger.

"Old Falcon is right. That world is closed and arrogant," Ethan said the leader. "But I'm going to kick the door down. And I'm going to start by making sure they can never find us again."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Sanctuary Fragment. The translucent stone vibrated against his palm, sensing the weight of his words.

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