The room fell silent.
Not the comfortable kind of silence, but the heavy, suffocating kind, one that pressed down on the chest and made even the smallest movement feel intrusive. Faces around the table shifted in real time as Evelyn's words settled in. Horror etched itself into some expressions, others betrayed uncertainty, brows knit tight as their owners tried to reconcile the implications. A few scoffed outright, lips curling with disbelief, as though the threat being discussed were little more than an exaggeration or a poorly constructed myth.
Several long moments passed.
Yet amid the growing unease, two figures stood apart from the rest.
Barbatos sat reclined in his chair, posture loose, expression unreadable, as though the conversation held no personal stake for him at all. Rose mirrored that same unsettling calm, hands folded, gaze steady, neither fear nor surprise flickering across her face.
The contrast did not go unnoticed.
Vale frowned slightly. Dagon, he remembered, had wiped out half of humanity in a matter of hours during his own era, the largest genocide in recorded history. Cities turned to ash. Oceans choked with debris. Civilizations erased so thoroughly they survived only as fragmented legends.
And Chimera possessed the very real capability to repeat that catastrophe.
Yet Rose and Barbatos appeared unconcerned.
After what felt like an eternity, Rikin exhaled slowly and broke the silence. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, and turned his attention toward Rose, who remained seated beside him.
"Well," he said evenly, his voice carrying just enough weight to command the room, "that is precisely why we invited you all here. And more importantly, why we invited Rosemary herself."
Rose's eyes widened, just slightly. It was a fleeting reaction, but Vale caught it. She already knew what was coming.
Rikin's gaze hardened. "Would you like to explain, Miss Rose," he asked coolly, "or should I do it for you?"
For a long moment, Rose simply stared back at him, bewilderment flickering across her features before slowly giving way to frustration. Her jaw tightened. She clenched her teeth, then finally looked away, exhaling sharply through her nose.
"…I suppose it's about time anyway," she said.
She rose from her seat, the movement deliberate, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Conversations ceased entirely. Even those who had appeared indifferent before now watched her closely.
Rose took a deep breath.
"The reason there are no files on Chimera," she began, her voice steady but low, "and why there is no recorded history beyond the so-called 'famous story'…"
She paused.
"…is because I destroyed everything."
A ripple of reaction passed through the room.
Levianthe's head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. A few others murmured quietly among themselves. But many, Tharion, Fe, Samuel, barely reacted at all. They studied Rose with detached expressions, as if filing the information away rather than judging it.
The silence returned, thicker than before.
Finally, Cleo spoke.
"Why?" she asked, her voice sharp with suspicion. Her serpentine eyes locked onto Rose. "Why are you only telling us this now?"
Rose sighed deeply and met Cleo's gaze without flinching.
"I have my personal reasons," she replied. "In truth, I had hoped I would never have to reveal this to any of you. However, given the current situation, I believe silence is no longer an option."
She clenched her fist at her side, frustration bleeding through her composed exterior.
"I hid everything to keep Chimera safe," she continued. "Safe from…" She hesitated, jaw tightening further. "…from someone you all already know."
The room grew somber. A collective understanding settled in without a name ever being spoken.
Vale's thoughts drifted to the image he had seen earlier, the woman in the photograph. 'Is that who she means?' he wondered. He couldn't be certain, but the implication felt unmistakable.
Rose straightened.
"Chimera's real name is Alexandria," she said firmly. "She is not a weapon. She is a child I helped raise. Like many of you here, she is an official member of the Rose family."
Several heads turned.
"She is the daughter of a dear friend of mine," Rose continued, her voice softening almost imperceptibly. "Someone who has since passed on. Her official title is Rose of Hope though she lost that title due to circumstances I am certain you can all understand."
She inhaled slowly.
"I destroyed every record because I memorized them instead. Every detail, every safeguard, every failure." She tapped her temple lightly. "The true challenge ahead of us will not be restoring her morality, it will be reintroducing her to a modern world she no longer recognizes. The G.V.O. has changed. Society has changed. Everything has."
Her gaze swept across the room.
"For that reason, I propose that Alexandria's reeducation becomes our highest priority."
She then turned toward Barbatos, who had remained silent throughout.
"Barbatos," Rose said, finally drawing his attention. "Can I trust you with Alexandria's combat training?"
He raised an eyebrow, studying her with mild curiosity.
"I suppose," he replied after a moment. "But that kind of training can't happen on Earth. It would have to be off-world."
Rose nodded without hesitation. "I anticipated that."
She returned to her seat.
"Are there any further questions?"
No one spoke.
Vale had several, but he knew better than to voice them now. He lacked context, history, and authority. His role here was limited: he had healed Chimera, or Alexandria, though even that felt surreal to admit. How he had done it remained a mystery even to himself.
The discussion continued for hours.
They debated reintegration strategies, psychological stabilization, ethical oversight, and contingency planning. Eventually, a consensus was reached: Alexandria would be reeducated directly by Rose, and once she regained her sanity, and her full power, she would begin controlled combat training with Barbatos on Uranus or Saturn.
Vale glanced briefly at Eskar.
The automaton stood exactly where he had before, but now his gaze was lowered to the floor rather than hidden behind closed optics. The shift was subtle, yet unmistakable.
Vale scoffed quietly.
As he did, Fe raised his hand.
"What if Alexandria doesn't want to save anyone?" Fe asked carefully. "What if she decides she wants to kill instead?"
The room tensed instantly.
Barbatos sighed. "If that happens," he said flatly, "I can take care of her."
Rikin shook his head. "By the time you kill her," he countered, "half the planet will already be gone, assuming the confrontation happens on Earth."
Callum nodded in agreement, unease evident in his posture.
"We need a failsafe," he said. "Something that guarantees we can get Alexandria off-world before civilian casualties occur, or a method to capture or neutralize her immediately."
No one spoke after that.
For a long while, no one spoke.
The silence was absolute, broken only by the faint hum of the room's systems. Each person seemed lost in their own thoughts, weighing possibilities, calculating risks, searching for a solution that did not end in catastrophe. Minutes dragged on, the tension slowly coiling tighter with every passing second.
Eventually, Mister Wolfgang cleared his throat.
"Well," he began cautiously, folding his hands behind his back, "we do not currently possess such a mechanism. However, given sufficient time and resources, I believe I could develop one."
Rikin raised a hand almost immediately.
"No."
The single word cut through the room like a blade.
Wolfgang blinked, clearly caught off guard. He turned toward Rikin, confusion evident on his face. "My apologies, General," he said carefully, "but what exactly do you mean by 'no'?"
Rikin did not answer right away. Instead, his gaze shifted, slowly, deliberately, until it settled on Vale.
Vale felt his stomach drop.
Rikin inhaled, then spoke with measured precision. "We already have something like that," he said. "Or rather… someone."
A murmur rippled through the room.
"Vale," Rikin continued, his eyes never leaving him, "would you please stand up."
Vale sighed quietly, his shoulders tensing as he pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. He forced himself to meet Rikin's gaze, though unease churned violently in his chest.
"Is there something you would like me to do, sir?" Vale asked, his voice betraying a hint of nervousness despite his effort to remain composed.
Rikin's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"No," he replied. "Not at all."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Just try not to die."
Before Vale could even process the words, the air around him detonated.
A violent surge of energy erupted outward as bolts of crackling thunder spiraled into existence, encircling Vale in an instant. The lightning formed a tight, rotating cage, each arc snapping and roaring with barely restrained power, sealing off every possible escape route.
Vale froze.
His heart hammered in his chest as he glanced back toward Rikin, confusion etched across his face. But as his eyes focused, that confusion turned instantly to shock.
Rikin was no longer alone.
Nearly every member of the Rose family had moved, so fast Vale barely registered it.
Evelyn stood inches from Rikin, a blade of condensed shadow pressed firmly against his throat, its edge trembling with restrained fury. Callum had already positioned himself behind him, steel drawn, the tip of his blade resting against Rikin's spine. Cleo extended a single finger toward his face, raw energy gathering at its tip, her expression twisted with barely contained anger.
Fe was in the process of removing his blindfold, the air around him warping ominously as his power began to surface. Samuel had shifted into a combat stance as well, muscles coiled, eyes locked on Rikin, prepared to strike at the slightest provocation.
Even Eskar had moved.
The boy stood directly behind Rikin, one hand raised to the back of his head, flames threatening to erupt at point-blank range.
The only one who had not moved was Rose herself.
She remained seated, hands folded calmly in her lap, watching everything unfold with an unreadable expression.
Cold sweat trickled down Vale's face.
Then, finally, words cut through the chaos.
"He," Evelyn began, then stopped herself, her voice hardening. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
Rikin did not flinch.
Instead, he grinned.
"Relax," he said casually. "Those were meant to be lethal."
That only made things worse.
Fury burned brighter in every direction. Cleo's face twisted further, her composure cracking as her voice rose. "Then what the hell are you trying to say?" she snapped.
Before Rikin could respond, Barbatos spoke.
He hadn't moved from his seat.
Still leaning back, still calm, he glanced sideways at Rikin before addressing the room. "He confirmed the effectiveness of our failsafe," Barbatos said evenly.
The room stilled.
Suspicion spread like wildfire.
One by one, eyes began to shift, not toward Rikin, but toward the large reinforced window lining the far side of the chamber.
Vale followed their gaze.
The moment he did, his breath caught.
His eyes widened, his body beginning to tremble as memories he wished he could forget surged violently to the surface. His hands clenched at his sides as he stared through the glass, dread pooling in his gut.
He already knew what he was about to see.