The morning sun gleamed off the city's glass skyscrapers, but in front of the building where Aryan and Kabir stood, the light seemed to stop.
Roxius Headquarters.
It wasn't a Hunter Guild. It wasn't a government office. The massive structure, built of matte black metal, looked like a silent predator perched in the middle of the city—one that doesn't attack, but merely watches.
"There's no mana signature here," Kabir whispered. The screen on his wrist-mounted device blinked incessantly. "A building this size… and not a single energy trace. This isn't normal."
Aryan said nothing. He simply pressed the black card in his pocket—Devendra Verma's invitation.
"Let's go," he said. "There's no point in turning back now."
[Inside Roxius]
Stepping inside, a strange silence greeted them. No guards, no receptionists. Just a long, echoing corridor leading to an open, modest hall. At the center of the hall stood a simple wooden table, and sitting behind it was—Devendra Verma.
There was no aura, no crushing pressure. Yet… something shifted deep within Aryan's chest. It wasn't the feeling of being in the presence of a powerful Hunter. It was as if the man sitting before them wasn't even part of the 'System.' Devendra's power didn't lie in his aura, but in his absolute control and his empire of information.
"Sit," Devendra said without looking up. "And Kabir… give my regards to your father."
Kabir's expression hardened. Aryan's gaze was now fixed entirely on Devendra.
[Identification of the Void]
As Aryan stepped closer, the Void within him reacted subtly. Not aggressively, but… alert. Devendra finally looked up. His eyes were ordinary—no glow, no artificial color. But they had the habit of looking through things, not just at them.
"Your Void… it's strange," Devendra remarked. "Neither wild nor entirely obedient. It's as if it remembers how it is supposed to behave."
Aryan was taken aback. "Remembers?"
Devendra offered a faint smile. "Some powers aren't learned, Aryan. Some are… handed down as legacies."
Kabir immediately interjected, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I am saying," Devendra continued, "that the power inside you isn't random. And this isn't the first time I've sensed this specific Void frequency."
Aryan's fist clenched. "Where?"
Devendra didn't answer directly. He simply said, "A long time ago."
[The Incomplete Truth]
"So, what do you want from me?" Aryan asked point-blank.
Devendra pulled a thin holographic file from his desk drawer. It was marked with old gates, destroyed zones, and erased data points.
"I want you to understand your power without rushing it," Devendra said. "Because if you force it too soon… the people who are watching you will react."
"Which people?" Kabir asked.
Devendra looked directly at Kabir for the first time. "The ones who don't know who you are… but know that this power has returned."
Aryan's heart skipped a beat. He felt as if something was staring at him from the shadows. "And if I refuse?"
Devendra stood up from his chair. "Then the story will continue regardless. Just… without you."
[Final Scene: The Call]
After Aryan and Kabir left, the hall fell silent once more. Devendra pulled a secure communicator from his pocket.
"Yes," he said. "You were right."
A voice came from the other end—calm and heavy. It was Sahil. "The same one?"
"Yes," Devendra replied. "The Void felt exactly the same… but when he was standing right in front of me—for a moment, it didn't feel like it was him."
A short pause followed. Then the second voice spoke— "Neither did I."
Devendra took a deep breath. "We have to call A.K. If we don't tell him now… there will be problems later."
"Where is he?" Sahil asked.
Devendra looked out through the glass wall of Roxius, toward the distant horizon. "Where he always is," he said. "Inside some S-Rank dungeon, sitting on a pile of corpses."
The call disconnected. And above the city, no one had any idea that the shadows of the First Generation were beginning to stir once more.