CHAPTER FOUR

The tavern was filled with noise—laughter, slurred chatter, clinking glasses—but all I could focus on was the glass in my hand, slowly tipping as the bitter taste of beer lingered on my tongue.

Across from me, Uncle Van poured himself another. His coat hung loosely off his shoulders, his expression unreadable like always.

"I wonder where he is today..." I murmured, my voice barely audible over the buzz. "Maybe… he's working as a guard in the Fallen City, or—"

"You'll find him one day, son. When the time is right," Van said, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder before standing to leave.

He walked out with the weight of a man who had seen too much.

"You seem troubled."

The voice was raspy—feminine, but rough around the edges.

Across from me, a woman slid into Van's seat. Her presence wasn't soft. Her body was built like a soldier's, and her short blonde hair framed sharp, intelligent eyes. A cigar rested between her lips, smoke curling into the low light of the tavern.

"Take a look at this," she said, sliding a paper across the table.

It was worn, crumpled... but unmistakable.

A wanted poster.

Scene Shift: Lunaris — Aragon's Tower

Amara's heels clicked against the marble floor as she entered the grand office overlooking the twin cities.

Zane stood there, arms behind his back, eyes fixated on the horizon—the jagged skyline of the Fallen City burning into his gaze.

"Did you manage to print out the posters?" Amara's tone was casual, but laced with curiosity.

"Yes. It was successful. The culprits should be caught in a nick of time," Zane replied, voice flat.

She took a sip of her wine, her red lipstick leaving a faint kiss on the rim. "You seem... distracted."

Zane gave a slow exhale, then a smirk. "I'm just fine, Amara. Just fine."

But his hand gripped a crumpled poster—eyes locked onto one face.

A boy cloaked in charcoal.

"Do you still believe it was your elder brother you saw?" Amara asked gently.

Zane said nothing. But the look in his eyes?

Hatred. Hope. Conflict.

A man unable to move forward… because he was still chasing ghosts.

Back to the Tavern — The Fallen City

"Where did you get this?" I asked the woman, voice low.

She leaned back, dragging from her cigar, exhaling smoke through her nose like a dragon.

"They're everywhere. And I'm assuming it was you. You and your little crew."

My heart skipped a beat.

"You're mistaken," I snapped, a bit too defensive.

She raised a brow.

"Ren Tanaka. The boy Van took in after the fire. Funny… he's always been protective of you. Wonder why that is."

The blood drained from my face. Her words cut deep—too accurate to be coincidence.

"What do you want?" I growled, every muscle in my body tensed.

"Name's Elara. I work for Quinn Rome. My boss has eyes everywhere... and he's heard quite a lot about the little group you run."

She slid another piece of paper across the table—handwritten, confidential.

"Moonris Serum," she whispered. "We don't know what it really does. But the guards? They're hiding something. I want you to find out."

Her voice echoed in my ears long after she walked away.

Akito's voice pulled me back to reality. The memory faded, like mist breaking under sunlight.

"Ah, yeah… sorry."

I forced a smile, but the guilt gnawed at me. There was too much I hadn't said. Too much I didn't want to admit.

Before I could lose myself again, our attention shifted.

Jun had just finished the last vial of the serum.

At first, nothing happened. Then—

Blue electricity exploded from his body.

Sparks danced wildly across the air as his feet lifted from the ground. His back arched. His mouth opened in a silent scream that soon shattered into a howl of pain. The raw energy surged around him, thrashing like a storm in human form.

"Jun!!"

We all screamed in sync, rushing toward him—

A shockwave blasted us away like ragdolls.

We hit the floor hard, wind knocked from our lungs. The blue current surged one last time, then faded.

Jun collapsed to his knees, panting, steam rolling off his body.

I was the first to scramble up and rush to his side. Kenji and Akito followed behind.

"What the hell was that? Are you okay?!" Kenji barked, panic laced in his voice.

Akito didn't say a word. He stood frozen, horror painted across his face.

"This… this is too dangerous," Akito finally muttered, walking to the far end of the room, putting as much space between him and Jun as he could.

Jun slowly stood, brushing the dust from his clothes like it was just another Tuesday.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just feel... different."

His eyes sparked. Something was awake in him now.

"Pass me that gun," Jun added, voice steady but… curious.

Kenji and I exchanged a worried glance. Akito hesitated, but eventually tossed him the weapon.

Jun caught it one-handed. Then he disappeared.

No, not disappeared. Moved.

He zipped across the room at lightning speed—so fast we barely registered the blur.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Every target in the room exploded in rapid succession.

He stopped at the far end, just behind the combat dummy. One punch.

BOOM.

The dummy didn't just shatter—it launched out the window, leaving nothing but whirling shards behind.

Jun stood motionless, staring at his hands. The crackle of blue lightning still lingered in the air.

"Holy shit…"

We all said it. At the same time.

Jun looked at us, dumbfounded. "It's… a power boost?"

Akito spoke next, his tone hollow. "But those guards said it would suppress our powers. Take them away."

Something clicked. My blood ran cold.

"That doesn't make sense…" I muttered, storming to the nearest cabinet. "Why would Lunaris create serum that makes us stronger unless—"

Drawers slammed open. Paper flew. I searched for the one thing I didn't want them to see.

"Looking for this?" Kenji's voice was hard. Cold.

He held the crumpled wanted poster—Elara's poster—the one I had hidden.

My stomach dropped.

"Were you ever going to tell us we were wanted?" Kenji demanded.

"Of course I was… just not yet."

"When? When they dragged us in chains?" he snapped, slamming it down on the table. Jun's eyes dimmed. Akito looked betrayed.

"Why would Lunaris create a power-boosting serum?" Kenji repeated, his glare burning into me.

I looked down. My voice dropped.

"...Unless the Rebellion also has Fallen people on their side."

The room fell silent.

"They've been hunting our kind for years," Akito argued, shaking his head. "That'd be a contradiction."

"Exactly," Kenji said, tone softening. "That's why no one would expect it."

Jun crossed his arms. "The guard who warned the other solider… maybe he only meant one crate. What if there are two types of serums?"

My breath caught.

"The Rebellion's creating a serum to steal our powers…" I whispered.

"While distributing another to take them away from the rest of us," Kenji finished.

I nodded, staring into the void.

And then it hit me.

"My brother… he was always good at science. Always the one discovering something new. His passion—unstoppable."

"You think he's still alive?" Akito asked gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. "And that he's on the other side?"

I looked up, eyes burning.

"It's not the Rebellion behind this…"

I clenched the poster in my fist, veins shaking with rage.

="It's Zane. Avander Zane. My younger brother."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Jun stepped forward.

"What do you want us to do?"

I exhaled slowly. My eyes met each of theirs—Kenji, Jun, Akito. My family.

"We take down Aragon Hunter. We dismantle the Rebellion."

A pause.

"And we find my brother."

Anger surged in my blood. Betrayal twisted in my gut. But underneath it all…

Guilt.

Because I knew, deep down, this was my fault.

I clenched my jaw and stared out the broken window.

"Life is a mystery… it can either be the best moments of your life, or the worst memories playing on repeat."

"That's why I intend to change the future of the Fallen City."

"Our future."

I took one last breath.

"And this… this is when our story begins."