Curiosity filled the air.
Ross sat on his bed near the window, two cups of hot chocolate on the table. Milo occupied the office chair, eyes focused. This was his real chance to learn what truly happened that day.
Hours earlier, after Milo's failed attempt, they struck a deal—Ross would tell him everything he knew only if Milo helped fix the fence and kept his real identity a secret.
Milo had been so desperate that the idea of a sixteen-year-old knowing something about his father's death didn't even sound crazy anymore.
Ross took a sip of chocolate and asked, "Oooookay… How much do you know about the Great War?"
Milo leaned back. "It was started by two sides—the Ambassadors and the Genki. The Ambassadors fought hard but were outmatched. They ran out of options, so they struck a bargain with powerful outlaw clans. The clans would be freed from all charges in exchange for fighting alongside us."
Ross smirked. "Huh… Guess you know a good chunk of it already."
He set his cup down. "Then it's time you knew the truth about me."
For hours, Ross spoke.
"I'm actually over 100 hundred years old," he began. "Back then, I was the captain of the Black Thanes. When we eradicated the Genki's ending the war , we had heavy casualties—Ambassadors, outlaws… even my own clanmates.
"We wanted to revive them—at least those whose bodies hadn't rotted. We owed them that much."
"So what did you do?" Milo asked, hanging on every word.
"There's a sealing technique the King of Earth taught the first Barrivion Ambassador. Risky stuff. You take a massive amount of Kyoku, seal it then embed it into an emitter, direct it into a corpse. It forces the body's systems to start again.
"At the time, only the Barrivion and I could survive performing it. I volunteered—people needed the Barrivion more than they needed me."
Ross' eyes darkened.
"We prepared for days. On the fateful day, he extracted and sealed a huge portion of my Kyoku into a single relic. It worked—at first. But minutes later, my power became unstable. There was only one solution: keep draining it until it stabilized.
"It took four months of pain—draining, sealing… over and over. By the time we reached relic number six, my Kyoku finally stabilized.
The Chairman had already revived everyone, including my clanmates.
The relic he activated had a residual of kyoku left, attracting darkness everywhere it went
"We thought we'd won. Freedom, friends… But the revived had no memories."
He took another drink of chocolate.
"The process took a toll on me. Days later, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up six years ago—body reduced to that of a sixteen-year-old. I've been like this ever since."
Ross leaned forward. "Before I slept, the Barrivion promised that the Ambassadors would keep the artifacts safe. So if you sensed my power… it means—"
"My father was keeping it," Milo cut in.
His heart pounded. The truth hit like a blade to the chest. This was why his father was killed. Step one of his revenge—completed. Now only the killer remained.
Ross nodded.
"A while back, when I was investigating, I found out that the same month your father died, six other Ambassadors were killed. I thought it was the same assassin, but I never saw the connection… until now.
"They're collecting the relics. If they activate them… we're in trouble."
Meanwhile — In Blantyre City
A sleek limo rolled to a stop in front of a skyscraper. A beautiful woman in a red dress beneath a black coat stepped out. Black shades hid her eyes; her long, straight crimson hair shimmered in the light.
She entered the tall building, its walls of opaque glass reflecting nothing. A frozen sign above the entrance read: Blantyre City Bank.
The first floor was empty except for red flowers in white vases, their intoxicating fragrance filling the room.
"It's good to be home," she murmured, taking a deep breath.
To her left stood accounting panels. Ahead—a single elevator with the label MVP.
She entered, pressed U27, and began her ascent to the highest room.
Ding!
The doors opened into a large lounge, unlike the barren lobby below. Here, Genki in human form filled the space.
"You're late," said a man lounging on a couch. Black hair framed his vacation shirt and shorts. A novel sat in his left hand; a black pen rested behind his ear.
Name: Aikow
Rank: #11
Kyoku Element: Paper
"Being over one hundred years old is starting to take its toll," teased a little pink-haired girl at the dining table, braces flashing as she grinned.
Name: Bridget Aikow
Rank: #10
Kyoku Element: Bones
"You kept a hairy man waiting!" a tall teen complained, wearing a pink shirt with buttons undone—revealing a chest with exactly one hair. His slim white trousers looked tailor-made.
Name: Fernando Vonzilez
Rank: #8
Kyoku Element: Pride
(Elements weren't always physical. They could be emotions, luck, actions… untouchable forces. In such cases, K.Y. Weapons were used to channel them. Conor, for example, used dice to manipulate his Rigged Luck.)
"I went for a celebratory drink!" the woman replied, taking a seat beside Aikow.
Name: Janet Gregorial
Rank: #5
Kyoku Element: Blood
"I'm horny. Wanna take me for a ride?" Janet teased, leaning against him.
"I can't be distracted—I'm on chapter four, they're introducing the villains!" Aikow muttered without looking up.
"I can take you for a ride if you want," Fernando grinned.
A voice interrupted as a woman emerged from the floor itself. White-tinted hair framed blue irises with red pupils, and she wore transparent glasses and a short white dress with black stripes. A lollipop swirled in her mouth.
Name: Ayanda Olamide
Rank: #2
Kyoku Element: Intermolecular Forces
"She'd just kill you halfway through," Ayanda remarked.
"Quit underestimating me!" Fernando huffed.
"How'd it go?" Ayanda asked, spinning her lollipop.
"Better than expected," Janet said. "Even made a new Genki on the way—figured we could speed things up."
"You love torture, don't you?" Ayanda commented, opening a kitchen cabinet. Inside were six carelessly hidden relics.
"I thrive on it," Janet said with a smile.
"Soon… we'll revive our Lord's," Ayanda said. "And then the real fun begins."