Chapter 30 — Iron, Silence, and the Wolves Within
The grip was hard.
Not cruel. Not angry.
Just firm enough to remind Lee Kung that, in this place, power belonged to uniforms and keys.
Sergeant Harris's hand clamped around Lee Kung's arm as he marched him down the narrow corridor, boots striking the concrete floor with a sharp, echoing rhythm. The station lights hummed overhead—long white strips buzzing faintly, some flickering like they were tired of pretending to be stable.
The walls smelled of disinfectant and old metal.
Lee Kung walked calmly.
Too calmly.
Beside him, Sio Jun moved with rigid restraint, her wrists bound behind her back. Every step she took felt like an insult carved into her bones. Her senses were screaming—too many sounds, too many scents, too many heartbeats trapped inside a box of stone and steel.
The wolf inside her paced.
Not snarling.
Waiting.
Behind them, Mia struggled to keep up. Her breathing was uneven, fear tightening her chest. She wasn't used to places like this—places where walls closed in, where authority spoke louder than reason. Her eyes darted between Lee Kung and Sio Jun, silently asking the same question over and over.
Are we still safe?
Sio Jun finally broke the silence.
"What's all this?" she muttered, her voice low, edged with restrained fury. "Lee… you said we couldn't hurt them."
Lee Kung didn't answer immediately.
"I said we shouldn't," he replied at last.
"But they hurt us," Sio Jun shot back. "And now we're arrested. On the first day in this world."
Mia swallowed hard. "This… this isn't how it was supposed to go."
Lee Kung stopped walking.
The sudden halt jolted the line.
Harris yanked his arm. "Move."
Lee Kung didn't resist—but he didn't stumble either. He turned his head slightly, voice calm, almost thoughtful.
"I think it would be better not to show our real powers yet."
Harris snorted. "Your powers?"
Lee Kung glanced at him, eyes steady.
"I mean," he said, tone casual, "I could bring this whole building down. But that would only make things worse."
The corridor went quiet.
Even the lights seemed to hum softer.
Harris laughed, though the sound came out stiff. "You've got jokes, kid."
"Are you serious?" Harris pressed, irritation creeping into his voice. "You saying you could level a station?"
Lee Kung met his eyes.
There was no threat there.
No arrogance.
Only truth.
Before Harris could say more, they reached the holding area.
Iron bars.
Thick doors.
Cold spaces built to hold fear, not beings like them.
Harris shoved Lee Kung forward. "In."
The cell door slammed shut with a metallic echo that reverberated down the hall.
Sio Jun was forced into the adjacent cell. The moment the door locked, she spun, fingers curling tightly around the bars. For a split second, her eyes flashed gold—sharp, feral—before she forced it down, jaw clenched.
Mia was placed between them, separated by bars but close enough to see both faces.
The corridor settled into silence.
And that was when Sio Jun felt it most.
The weight.
The confinement.
The insult.
Her breathing slowed as memories rose uninvited.
Stone walls.
Chains.
The Wolf Realm.
She had been caged before.
She lowered her head, bangs shadowing her eyes, fists trembling as the wolf pressed harder against her chest.
Not again.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
Different from Harris's.
Authority didn't rush.
Commandant Pius emerged from the far end of the corridor, coat hanging neatly from his shoulders, eyes sharp and observant. He stopped several paces from the cells, studying the three of them without a word.
"There was something wrong about them," Harris said quickly, stepping forward. "They weren't normal suspects. One carried a sword. And the girl—she moved faster than our elites."
Pius said nothing.
He walked closer.
His gaze settled on Lee Kung.
And then—
To Harris's horror—
Pius knelt.
One knee to the floor.
The sound echoed louder than any alarm.
Harris's heart skipped. "Sir?"
"I am sorry," Pius said quietly, bowing his head. "My men were uninformed."
Sio Jun lifted her head sharply.
Mia's breath caught.
"What does he mean?" Harris whispered. "Why is he—"
"Bow," Pius said without turning. "Now."
Harris hesitated.
Then obeyed.
Shock flooded his face as he lowered himself, confusion twisting his thoughts. Kneeling? For kids?
The air vibrated.
Vvvvvv—
A faint hum spread through the corridor.
Lee Kung's sword—sealed, unseen—responded.
Then Lee Kung heard it.
A voice.
Old.
Vast.
Not spoken aloud.
Tell the old man to take you home.
Lee Kung exhaled slowly.
"I wonder who that was," he murmured.
He stepped closer to the bars.
"Old man," he said politely, "can you take us home?"
Pius rose instantly.
"With pleasure," he replied.
He turned sharply to Harris.
"Release them," Pius ordered. "Now."
Harris didn't argue.
The locks disengaged.
Metal doors swung open.
Sio Jun stepped out slowly, every muscle coiled, eyes never leaving Pius. Mia followed, relief washing over her like air after drowning.
"You are not ordinary," Pius said quietly. "And this world is not ready for what walks within you."
Lee Kung nodded. "That's why we're careful."
Sio Jun said nothing—but the wolf finally lay down.
For now.
Somewhere beyond steel and sky, unseen forces stirred.
The cell had not held them.
But the world soon would try.