The night, heavy with secrets, slowly faded as the sun rose to greet a new day. Lian had remained awake ever since his conversation with Bhairin.
"I'm going to be transferred to a military prison," he whispered to the air. His thoughts drifted back to Serenity. I might never see her again.
Outer drifted closer, manifesting as a low, faint, unsettling sound—like breathing.
Outer, I know you don't like her, Lian thought. But maybe…maybe thanks to her, I got the octagonal symbol and met you.
Outer turned toward Lian. "Does Lian still wish to see her?" Outer grumbled.
If I could, I would, Lian thought, his gaze fixed on the hospital window. I want to know who I really am. I want to know the truth about you and her.
Lian's eyes began to water. There's an emptiness in my heart, Outer. Even though Mr. Arie at the orphanage was kind, and my friends there shared everything they had... it wasn't enough.
"Lian… there are things even Outer cannot explain yet," Outer trailed off. Lian stared at Outer's back in the silence.
"If Lian wants to know more about Outer, then Lian has to leave this place." Outer turned around, unblinking white eyes locking onto Lian's.
Lian fell silent, his handcuffed hands gripping the hospital blanket. He looked at Outer with determination. Outer, can you make this room disappear?
Outer perked up, excitement flickering through the form. "When?"
At the first light of dawn, Lian thought, clenching his jaw. Make the walls, the ceiling, and these handcuffs vanish into nothing.
"As Lian wishes," Outer's voice resonated with dark delight.
***
Meanwhile, in the ICU, a nurse recorded Nox's vitals. "His temperature is stabilizing, his heart rate is steady, and his face color is returning," she noted with a small smile.
In the waiting room, Ron was reaching his breaking point. "Leuliang, you will pay for this," he muttered, his eyes bloodshot and cheeks stained with tears. He stood up, intent on confronting the suspect, but the nurse intercepted him.
"Lieutenant Colonel Eosvile, your brother is more stable," the nurse said softly. "He truly deserves to be a world champion boxer."
"Ah... thank goodness, thank you," Ron smiled in relief.
"I was just doing my job," the nurse said happily. "I'll take my leave, Sir."
Ron lost all the tension he had been feeling. The wrinkles on his forehead slowly disappeared, and then his head bowed slightly against the wall of the ICU waiting room. "Nox, you're really tough." Tears welled in Ron's eyes, threatening to fall, but he held them back.
***
In the control room, panic erupted. "All CCTV feeds in Leuliang's ward are down!"
One of the CCTV operators widened his eyes. "Quickly contact General Bhairin and raise the alarm!"
A distinctive ringing sound came from Bhairin's cell phone. He immediately picked up the phone and answered the call from the CCTV operator.
"Sir, we've lost the visual on the suspect!"
"How is that possible? You're monitoring all areas. Don't lose track of Leuliang!" Bhairin shouted, already sprinting toward Lian's ward with his counter-terrorism squad.
"Tighten security at every post! Now!" Bhairin's voice was hoarse, and his face was covered in sweat.
***
WEE-OOO WEE-OOO.
The hospital alarm blared, cutting through Ron's brief moment of peace. "What now?" His expression sharpened. "Don't tell me... Leuliang."
On his way to the ward, Bhairin ran into Ron. He saw the fury in the Lieutenant Colonel's eyes, but he had orders to follow. "Eosvile! You are still relieved of duty. Stay with your brother."
Ron lowered his head, his voice a low growl. "Yes... Sir."
Bhairin and the counter-terrorism squad rushed to Lian's room. As soon as Bhairin was out of sight, Ron punched the wall.
BAM.
A dull crack echoed as Ron struck the wall with his left hand, blood beginning to ooze from his knuckles.
***
Bhairin reached Lian's ward and threw the door open. He froze. There was nothing there. No walls, no floor, no ceiling—only the biting dawn wind howling through a gaping void of debris.
Bhairin's eyes widened, his mouth slightly open, and his hands trembled. "What did he do?"
Bhairin contacted the CCTV operator. "What exactly happened?" He couldn't hide his fear any longer. He had witnessed Lian's power with his own eyes.
"Were there any signs, such as sounds or actions, before the CCTV cut out?" Bhairin tried to remain calm in this precarious situation, filled with absurdity.
The CCTV operator replayed the footage and examined every second of the scene in Lian's room. "Sir, we found no signs or clues as to why the CCTV was cut off."
"Keep searching, don't miss a single clue!"
Bhairin glared at the counter-terrorism squad. "Find him! Alert every post! You are authorized to use military force if he is spotted!"
"Copy that, Sir!" The counter-terrorism squad immediately split into two squads.
The alarm continued to echo nonstop. Lian walked leisurely through the chaos, unconcerned. Every wall in his path simply dissolved into nothingness.
Outside, a guard spotted Lian. "You monster," the guard post leader raised his sniper rifle. "Target detected. Ready to fire," the guard post leader reported to Bhairin.
"Fire!" Bhairin shouted without hesitation.
The guards fired bullets at Lian.
"Outer, please?"
"Calm down, Lian," Outer grinned.
All the bullets vanished without a trace.
"No one can hurt me with Outer by my side."
Without pause, the troops continued shooting at him. Lian didn't even flinch. He reached the massive concrete perimeter wall of the Serion City Military Hospital and continued walking.
With no sound and no effort, a massive hole opened in the concrete. The troops stood paralyzed, watching as their grenades, tear gas, and ammunition failed to even slow him down.
"Is that the power that obliterated Vellion City? This isn't just destruction," a guard whispered, his face pale. "It's erasure."
The guards shivered, frozen in disbelief. "Sir—" Bhairin interrupted the guard post leader. "We have been utterly defeated and powerless before the figure of Leuliang Esculenta."
Lian looked back after erasing the wall. "Outer could erase objects without sound or trace, reducing everything to nothing," Lian muttered.
He glanced briefly at the partially vanished area of the Serion City military hospital. "So Outer was right."
Outer smiled with satisfaction.
"If I wanted to erase them, it would have been easy." Lian walked slowly out of the Serion City military hospital area.
The guards watched Lian slowly leave the military hospital grounds with their binoculars.
"Sir... should we chase him?" The voice was filled with fear.
"No, what happened in Vellion City must not happen again," Bhairin whispered. All his logic failed to find a way to restrain or destroy Lian.
"Leuliang, you are truly a wolf in sheep's clothing."
The tension had dissipated, only the bitter sting of failure remained.
He confirmed the condition of the guards who had attacked Lian, "Were there any casualties?" He looked around the hospital area.
"No, Sir, just a damaged facility."
"I see..." Bhairin was both relieved and devastated by the guard post leader's words.
"This was the beginning of something bitter." He looked at the rising sun.
The alarm began to subside, and now silence began to greet him in the warm morning sunlight of Serion City.
***
In Ipsix, the morning sun also shone on the Peaceraft residence, its reflection dazzling to the eyes of those who saw it. Honest stood alone in a garden of white lilies.
"They say I am the heir to the cold Peaceraft." He clutched his chest tightly.
"But why is this invisible pain so excruciating and suffocating when the truth is revealed?" He released his grip.
"Esculenta, Serenity... All my actions will return to me," he said softly.
He gazed at the clear morning sky in Ipsix, "If sadness and happiness are two sides of the same coin, then I am in the middle, the paradox."
To be continued...