A house. An ordinary house. Nothing new.
Zun blinked in confusion as he stood before the plain structure. Weathered wood, a slanted roof, and a small yard littered with overgrown grass—it looked like it hadn't been touched in years.
"What are we doing here?" Zun asked, brow furrowed.
"This is the base of our organization," Richard said calmly.
Zun's face twisted. "This *shitty house* is your organization? Fuck, I regret my decision already."
Richard let out a dry cough. "Ahem… not quite." He stepped forward and pointed down at the ground, to a patch of slightly disturbed grass. "Down here."
"Eh?" Zun followed his finger, blinking.
Suddenly, a faint hum emerged as Richard reached into his pocket and tapped something on a remote-like device. The grass parted, revealing a hidden hatch, square, metallic, and sealed with a thick lock system that clicked open on its own.
The hatch creaked open.
A short ladder led downward into dimly lit steps.
Zun hesitated for a second before following Richard down.
As he descended into the hidden basement, his eyes widened. Beneath the old house was a high-tech laboratory, bustling with quiet movement. Scientists in coats moved across the wide room, holographic screens floating in mid-air. The whirring of machines and soft beeping sounds filled the air. A long corridor stretched through the middle, with a raised platform at the center.
And on that platform, encased in individual glass containment units, were three glowing objects.
Three shards.
Each shard pulsed faintly, as if breathing.
"That's…" Zun gasped, breath catching in his throat, "are those the shards you were talking about?"
Richard grinned. "Yes. The real thing."
Each shard hovered slightly in its containment chamber. Their shapes weren't symmetrical—raw, jagged crystals, but each radiated a different hue and aura.
"The first is the Warrior Shard," Richard pointed. A deep red shard flickered like a flame. "Its aura enhances strength, resilience, and combat ability. It fuels fury and channels it into raw physical prowess."
"The second," he gestured to a pale violet shard, "is the Diviner Shard. It grants insight, foresight, and mental clarity. Some say it allows glimpses into possible futures. Others claim it communicates with remnants of the divine."
"And finally," Richard motioned to the last shard, one glowing with a bluish-silver tint, "is the Lancer Shard. It sharpens speed, agility, and piercing precision. Users say it turns the body into a living weapon."
Zun stepped closer to the glass, his reflection flickering on the surface. "So… each shard has its own identity… and ability."
"That's right," Richard replied. "Each one carries a fragment of the true creator's aura, Kayakz. They are remnants of his divinity, split and scattered before his sealing."
He turned to Zun with a serious look. "Even just being near them, you should feel something… familiar."
Zun stared in awe, unsure if the chills in his spine were from the shards or from the realization that he might be connected to them.
"I'd like you to meet someone," Richard said, snapping Zun from his trance.
He stepped aside and gestured to someone approaching.
A person with short, fiery red hair and sharp blue eyes strode toward them. Their presence was striking—lean and athletic, dressed in a black combat uniform. The light caught on the contours of their face, giving them an almost otherworldly glow.
"This is **Alex Vandina**," Richard introduced. "They're part of our core team."
Zun nodded politely. "Nice to—"
Before he could finish, Richard leaned in and whispered with a chuckle, "Don't get fooled by the charm. He's a boy, Sir Zun."
Zun's body froze. His pupils dilated, and a cold sweat trickled down his neck.
"E-Eh?" he stammered.
His brain processed the words slowly. Red hair. Blue eyes. A smooth face. Wait—hi.. his a boy?
Zun's body became stiff as a statue.
Alex noticed the reaction and smirked. "Don't worry, I get that a lot," he said coolly, voice smooth but with a rough edge. "You'll get used to it."
Zun nodded robotically, still unable to look away.
Richard laughed. "You'll meet the rest of the team soon enough. But for now, just know—this is the place where we'll rebuild the legacy of Kayakz."
Zun turned back toward the shards, his thoughts swirling.
The aura inside me… different from these?
Warrior, Diviner, Lancer. Each is so powerful. Yet my aura… it wasn't like any of those.
Pitch black, and a whitish ash.
Richard had called it *unknown*.
That meant it wasn't tied to any shard.
Then why was it inside me?
As if hearing his thoughts, Richard clapped a hand on Zun's shoulder. "Don't overthink it. Your aura it might be the key. Not a shard, but something else. Something pure. Something… forbidden."
Zun looked down at his hands.
"I'll make it useful," he muttered. "No matter what it is."
Richard grinned again. "That's what I want to hear."
From the surface, it looked like a run-down house. But beneath it was a chamber of secrets, of purpose, of power.
And now, Zun was part of it.
The Sunshine Organization.
His path forward was unclear. But one thing was certain.
He had something inside him.
And whether it was a curse or a gift…
It was the beginning of something big.
---
**End of Chapter 6**