Master Avalon's words cut like a knife gently into Serenity's chest. Her polite smile remained, but her left hand was clenched tightly beneath the folds of her skirt, holding back the emotional waves that threatened to break out.
"Father, it's true they were only experimental subjects," Serenity said softly but without hesitation. "We'll use them if necessary, and when it's over... we'll leave them."
"Hm." Avalon's smile widened, containing something she didn't say.
"Yes," Serenity replied, maintaining her composure.
"I wanted to tell you, your brother has returned. You can go back to rest."
Serenity was barely breathing. "Brother Honest..."
"What's wrong?"
"No, Father. It's just... it's been a while."
"Say hello when you see him," Avalon said, sinking back into the files on his desk.
"Okay."
Serenity left the room. Ashil and Vashil saluted, but she simply passed without replying. She didn't head for her room. She descended into the back garden, the only quiet place uncontaminated by the clink of marble and the rules of Peaceraft. White lilies bloomed along the path, their serene scent a stark contrast to the turmoil within her.
There, a young man stood among the flowers, his back toward her. It was a silhouette she would recognize even after a thousand years had passed. Serenity quickened her pace unconsciously. The young man turned around. His face was clear, handsome, and his eyes were like brown garnets. He looked so much like Serenity, emerging from the shadows of the twilight.
"My little sister," Honest said softly.
"After two hundred and forty months you are in Oblivion Tower... we finally meet."
Serenity's stomach tightened. "Yes... even though I was only in exile for two years in Oblivion Tower."
Honest's gaze drifted away, his voice turning stone cold.
"And after that punishment, you still dared to interact with him, Serenity Peaceraft, The Regulator of Time and Space."
Hearing her full name and title made Serenity's heart drop. "Brother knows I met Lian. And he's angry."
Honest stared at her for a long moment. "Do you understand the meaning of 'the pen has been lifted and the page has dried'?"
Serenity fell silent, refusing to answer.
"Silence is golden," Honest continued, stepping closer. "But can silence solve everything?"
Serenity just lowered her head. Every word hit her hard, because they were all true.
"I'm an observer, and I have to be rational and measured," Honest's voice lowered. "But I'm also your brother. It aches my heart to see you entwined with something so dangerous... so irreversible."
Serenity couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"My little sister," Honest gently touched her face. "Let your tears today be a reminder that every decision... will cost you."
He turned to leave, his steps disappearing among the leaves. Serenity stood alone, crying, facing the fading twilight sky.
"Lian... to me you are bliss. But to you... I am a disaster."
She returned to her room, accompanied by the dark night sky.
Meanwhile in Syntax, another life, dusk glowed red over Serion City.
Leuliang awoke suddenly. The smell of antiseptic, the blinding white lights, and an IV drip stuck in his left arm. He trembled.
"This... is a hospital?"
He looked at the IV needle. His first thought wasn't safety, but the bill. "Is the insurance... still active?"
He looked toward the window. His gaze was blank, like someone who no longer had a place to return to.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in," he said weakly.
Nurse Aida entered with a clipboard and a Military Medical uniform. While she was checking his blood pressure, another knock sounded.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The nurse opened the door, and two men in military uniform stood steadfast.
"Is patient Esculenta awake?" asked the blond man, nametag, Ron Eosvile.
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Eosvile."
The dark-haired man stepped forward, Nox Eosvile.
"We're taking over. You know the procedure," Ron said.
"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel Eosvile." The nurse left and silently closed the door.
Ron and Nox approached.
"Leuliang Esculenta, is that correct?" Ron asked.
Leuliang stared blankly, his body still unsteady. "You..."
Nox immediately grabbed his collar, lifting him slightly.
Ron quickly grabbed Nox's hand. "Nox, calm down!"
"He's the mass murderer of a city! The murderer of our parents, Ron!" Nox snapped.
" That is an accusation, not a conviction," Ron retorted calmly.
Leuliang's patience broke. He slapped Nox's hand away and pulled back at his collar, his strength small, but his anger ripped through the air.
"SUSPECT! MURDERER!" Leuliang screamed, his voice raw. "IF YOU WANT TO KILL ME—DO IT NOW!"
Nox's expression went cold with a grunt of disgust. He pushed Leuliang with all his might.
BAM—
Leuliang's body slammed into the IV pole. The pole fell with a deafening metallic clang. At that moment, the monitor on the wall screamed in a high, piercing tone. He was thrown to the floor, his head hitting the hard ceramic tile.
CRACK.
Light exploded behind his eyes. Blood poured from his temple. The IV was pulled out, leaving a stinging wound. He groaned, gasping for breath, his body shaking violently.
Ron exploded. "Enough, Nox! You're out! Now!"
Nox froze, then walked away, cursing.
Ron knelt beside Leuliang. The man slumped against the wall, breathing heavily, his eyes blurry.
"Sorry," Ron muttered.
Leuliang laughed wryly. "You're so good at apologizing to the most defenseless one."
"I didn't mean to—"
"I'm a wildflower on the side of the road. Wither or bloom, no one cares."
Ron paused, taking in every word.
"I'm Ron Eosvile," he finally said. "Chief of the Military Police and investigator of Vellion's destruction."
Leuliang lifted his face slowly. Empty. Broken.
"I don't want to hurt you," Ron continued. "I just want to understand."
"What I need... isn't that, Sir Ron."
Ron sighed. "Fine. I won't force you. I'll come back tomorrow."
He left.
In the corridor, Nox waited, his face held in anger.
"Nox," Ron said coldly, "You know my next course of action, punishment and a warning letter, are non-negotiable."
"You're punishing me for encouraging a mass murderer? Seriously, Ron?" Nox hissed. "He killed our parents. And you can still speak gently to him?"
Ron took a step closer.
"This isn't about who killed whom. This is about procedure. You violated it. Period."
Nox snorted, but didn't answer again.
Ron went to call the doctor. A few minutes later they entered the room and found Leuliang still on the floor.
"Sir Leuliang! You're injured," the doctor called out.
He was moved back to the bed. The lump on his head was examined; a thin dribble of blood was seeping out. Leuliang winced as the doctor pressed on the area.
"This is clearly trauma due to violence," muttered the doctor. "He needs a sedative."
The doctor decides to give an injection at Leuliang. Slowly Leuliang's breathing stabilized. His eyes were closed.
Ron came back to Leuliang's room. Staring at the wound. His face hardened, then softened, full of guilt and something deeper.
To Be Continued...