The night outside Shan's mansion was unnaturally quiet.
Inside, it was anything but.
Eda and Rosemary moved back and forth through the corridors, medical trays clattering, bandages already soaked red. Wheels scraped against polished wood as stretchers were rushed past half-open doors.
Then—slowly, like the moon rising beyond the open courtyard—the chaos thinned.
And the silence took its place.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Water ran through Jax's hair, tracing lines down his bare chest. He sat slumped beneath the open archway, head hanging low, the cool night wind brushing against his skin.
Haruka had crawled into the corner of the courtyard, his katana lying far from his reach.
Alice and Hana sat against the doorway, shoulders touching.
Rhea stood apart, without her cloak, half-hidden in shadow—her eyes never leaving Haruka.
No one spoke.
Everyone was fighting the battle again in their own head.
DING.
The elevator chimed.
CRUNCH.
Plastic shattered in Jax's hand as he crushed the water bottle without realizing it.
The doors slid open.
Shan stepped out first, Mika and Leo behind him. Their faces were heavy—etched with something close to defeat. Mika drifted toward Rhea, gently draping her coat over her shoulders. Leo sat across from Jax, close enough to hear his breathing, waiting for him to look up.
Shan walked toward Haruka.
His foot struck the katana.
Clink.
Haruka flinched.
Shan froze, regret flickering across his face. He didn't say anything. Instead, he turned away and sat beside Alice and Hana, eyes lifting toward the tree swaying in the courtyard wind.
"Your son is doing okay," Shan muttered.
"Is he?" Alice replied, glancing toward Haruka.
"Not that son," Shan said softly. "The other."
Relief washed over Alice's face.
"Oh. Thank goodness. Do you know when he'll wake up?"
Shan didn't answer.
His hands trembled. He slid them into his sleeves before Alice could notice.
"What a night, huh?" Alice said at last, breaking the quiet.
Shan didn't look at her.
"How did he react?"
"Fear," Alice replied, adjusting the ice pack in her hands.
"And Raito?"
"On a leash as tight as a threat," Alice said with a tired chuckle.
She hesitated.
"It was like he needed to see Haruka. Not just to kill him—like it was part of the mission itself. But… I don't know."
Her voice softened.
"I could see it. Behind the mask. Like a child crying for help."
Jax snorted suddenly.
"Jax. Come on, bro," Leo said. "Don't tell me you're sad too."
Jax lifted his head slowly.
"Huh? Why would I be sad?" he said, blinking. "Weren't we supposed to find the C-Cells?"
Leo stared at him, disgust flashing across his face. He stood.
"Yo—answer me," Jax said.
Leo jerked his wrist free.
"Don't touch me. I can already feel myself getting dumber near you."
He walked away.
"Get me another bottle then!" Jax called after him.
"So," Mika said carefully, "are we just… not going to talk about the elephant in the room?"
"Which one?" Hana asked, standing up.
"Obsidian," Mika said. "That was reckless. Direct."
"Thorne's growing impatient," Rhea said, stepping fully into the light.
"But he wouldn't risk Raito like that," Hana said. "Not unless—"
"Punishment," Leo said from across the room.
"For what?" Hana asked.
"Disobedience. Doubt. Loyalty," Rhea replied. "Take your pick."
Alice straightened slowly.
"Or," she said, "Raito hesitated. And Thorne needed to remind him who he belongs to."
Silence fell.
Haruka lifted his head.
"So there's a way," he said quietly. "I can still save him."
Everyone looked at Jax.
"What?" Jax shrugged.
Alice smiled—soft, proud, unmistakably maternal.
"Nothing," Leo muttered.
Hana laughed, jumping onto Jax.
"Holy shit. You do have brain cells!"
Shan stood.
"A girl came by earlier," he said. "Said she was a friend. Therma still exists."
Alice stiffened.
"You should meet them tomorrow. Before we plan anything else," Shan continued. "Two masks on our side could end Obsidian."
He turned to Haruka, picked up the katana by its blade, and offered it hilt-first.
Haruka accepted it and slid it back into its sheath.
The night moved on.
Clouds swallowed the moon.
The mansion slept.
Beneath the main courtroom, machines began to beep faster beneath soft blue lights.
A body stirred.
PSSSSSSS.
Steam burst from the chamber.
Long blond hair brushed the floor as bare, malnourished feet touched cold metal.
The blue lights snapped to red.
Sirens screamed.
Doors flew open as everyone rushed toward the elevator—guns raised, blades ready.
The doors parted.
Steam poured out.
Alice froze.
Her tears reflected the red alarm lights as a dark figure stood within the haze.