The rays of the moon shone bright on the roofs of the large white building, where most of the remaining soldiers of Bion City found refuge.

Bats moved beneath the clouds, following the direction of the sound waves that echoed not.

Flying past the canopy of a tall tree, two of the six bats paused, tilting their reddish eyes at the men sitting under the tree.

The tree shook, letting fragile leaves that hung on only a tiny line of roots fall from the lowest branch.

The leaves drifted downward, spiraling with the direction of the night wind. They circled each other like Spanish dancers.

Reaching the center of the two men, the leaves departed, one landing at the white-haired lady's side, and the other falling at the side of the man with a badge with the name "S.C Max" inscribed boldly on his chest.

"Do you think Oin can be cured?" Jinx tilted her gaze at the leaf that fell beside her and gasped.

"Oin, huh." Max shook his head shallowly, tilted his gaze to the stars appearing in the sky, then sighed.

"Maybe." He closed his eyes and lowered himself to the ground.

He crossed his hands, placed them at the back of his head, then cracked his eyes open.

"Do you still think about Mike?" He turned a soft gaze to Jinx.

"Mike, who! That boy who always wants to find a way to sleep with me?" Jinx's temper rose as she looked at Max.

"Calm down," Max smiled and flapped his right arm like a fan. "He's not the one I'm talking about."

"I'm talking about our old Mike. Your Mike."

Jinx's hardened face softened as she tilted her gaze to the sky. She lowered her back, crossed her palms at the back of her head, and sighed.

"I miss him every second." Her voice echoed in a breeze that made the leaf resting beside where she placed her head jolt up.

"You mean, you're even thinking about him now?" Max's tone tensed.

"Yeah. He's the second person who treated me with love, care, and…" Jinx paused when she saw a change in Max's facial expression.

"…you mean I don't treat you in that manner?" Max raised his upper body from the ground and stared at Jinx.

"You do, but Mike was different."

"…different? How?"

"…see how you talk to me? He never talked to me in this manner. Secondly, your…" Jinx paused and pointed a finger at Max's waist, "It's slightly smaller than his, so you should understand."

Countless leaves fell from the tree they sat under and dressed them whole.

"The world even understands and knows that I'm saying the truth." Jinx paddled the leaves away from her and stood up.

Max stood up fiercely from the leaves, slapped his palm on his chest, waist, and thigh, clearing the leaves from him.

"Well, whatever you say. I'm heading inside." Max moved three steps forward, stopped, and tilted his gaze at Jinx.

"I can see you're not pleased with the manner in which I make you scream my name. So, go find someone you can sleep by." Max tilted his gaze back and continued toward the direction of the green building on the right side of the white one.

"Hey, this is exactly why I will always miss Mike. You have less knowledge in pampering a lady. I hate you." Jinx said, frowned, then folded her arms at her chest.

She watched Max enter through the door of the green building, then spat on the green leaves she stood on.

"Fuck you! You think you're the only one that wants me?" she chuckled and moved forward.

Taking five steps away from the tree, she saw Mike, the one she always treated badly, closing in on her.

'What's this guy up to this time?' thought reeled in her mind as she stopped moving and stared at the guy.

…

Far away from Bion City, to the western side, bamboo trees shook as heavy wind shoved through them.

Leaves flew from the canopies and drifted in the air like bead feathers. Some landed at the front of the large mixture of wood and metal gate, closed.

The rest floated above the walls at which the gate served as its pathway, and landed at the center of the large courtyard behind the closed gate.

"Why do I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen?" Elion said, stopping at the center of the courtyard, the moment he spotted the leaves landing softly beneath his boots.

"Well, since I'm not confident enough, I think nothing will happen this time." He shook his head, brushing the idea from his mind.

He tore his gaze toward the building that had three pillars at its front and moved toward it.

A wood-screeching sound erupted as he opened the door. "Wow!" he screamed.

"This room is cleaner than most of the rooms I've attended to throughout the years." His face lightened with joy as he entered and began scanning the room.

"Wait, why are there markings on the wall?" He squeezed his eyes, spotting countless markings on the bedside wall.

He traced his index finger on the lines until he spotted a list of names written vertically: Arya. Lieutenant Gray. Max. Oin. Jinx. Ryo. Jane. Clara.

"Wait," Elion paused, retraced the last name, and squeezed his face.

"Isn't that the name of the lady who got buried recently?" He stood there nodding as thoughts kept on reeling in his mind.

"Yeah." His eyes widened. "…then, that means this is the room of the Shadow Cult boy."

His facial expression tensed.

"No wonder this door hadn't been opened for years." He giggled softly, moved to where the clothes and the small drawer were.

With force, Elion tore the drawer open after five failed attempts. "Fuck, nothing! Why waste my strength for nothing?"

He chuckled, stood there for a while, then exited.

Elion slammed the door shut. Debris kept on falling from the ceiling even after he completely moved away from the building's side and entered his own room.

…

Master Hu's heart skipped a beat as the echo of a bang reached the meditation chamber. "What's that sound?"

He broke the lotus posture, stood up, and exited the meditation chamber, placing his steps like a tortoise.

"When will this guy stop looting other people's rooms?" He shook his head as he noticed Elion's door swinging slowly.

He coughed, forcing him to tilt his gaze from the swinging door to where he stood. Blood spilled on his white beard, and the floor, the moment he removed his right arm from his mouth.

"Hmm," he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

Hu cracked his eyes open, tilted his gaze upward, and focused on the seven stars that had arranged themselves in the sky—the Orion constellation.

He stood there for a while, then smiled. "I've lived long enough to feel sad at this moment."

His smile turned into laughter as he spotted a leaf drifting toward him.

He closed his eyes and moved his head, following the breezing wind that carried the leaf. His beard dangled, moving like the arm of an orchestra conductor.

When the leaf moved from the front of the meditation chamber and reached the top of the stairs where the fences were, a heavy wind blew, shoving it to descend the stairs.

As the leaf moved through the fog, sunlight shone bright on it as it reached the center of the stairs.

Far away on the land at the base of the stairs, three men moved, placing their steps slowly as they moved through a half-moon arc door.

Silver light gleamed as the rays of the sun glittered on the handle of the sword resting at the back of the third boy with black and blue long hair.

"This place really has secrets," Kai said, remembering how the atmosphere at the land they exited was nearing evening time.

Seeing his reflection and the handle of the sword, Kai's facial expression tensed as his jaw tightened.

"Brother Gray," he paused, letting a gap come in between him and his masters.

"I will hold it, use it like you did, become the person you always told me to be, and protect all those I will meet."

A bone-crackling sound erupted around him as he clenched his fist.

"Kai!"

Hearing the voice of Yung Mai mentioning his name, Kai broke the silent ritual.

"Master," he answered and dashed toward the direction the voice came from.

When he closed in on Yung Mai and Jack, Kai looked at Yung Mai and smiled. "Sir, you called me."

Yung Mai stared at the boy's face and smirked. "From now onward, I will be your personal trainee."

He tilted his gaze at Jack, gestured for him to leave, then closed in with the boy. Yung Mai placed his right arm on the boy's shoulder and lowered his head.

"With the sword you have been given, you'll need intense training before you can properly use it for its purpose."

Yung Mai exhaled, closed his eyes, and tilted his head toward the building far behind the meditation chamber.

"For now, you'll need to have the longest rest you could have." He tilted his gaze to the boy.

"But why?" Kai asked, his face shimmering with confusion.

"When we start," Yung Mai paused and smiled, "there is no stopping."

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