The Author's POV

A new morning arrived.

As soon as I woke up, I washed up and had breakfast with my family. After that, I got changed and left the apartment. Not going to lie, the last part took me a little longer than expected due to some unforeseen circumstances. Nevertheless, I was still on time. 

“Are you ready?”

I was greeted by Amanda when I arrived at the front of the flat. She looked quite vivacious with her long white skirt and a black turtleneck that hid her neck. 

Upon seeing her, I apologized immediately. 

“Sorry, Nola was giving me a hard time.”

“What happened this time?”

“…She had a nightmare, and she didn’t want to let go of me.” 

Amanda covered her mouth and laughed.

“That’s adorable.”

“Not when you’re in a hurry.”

“It’s fine, let’s go. I’ve got the driver waiting downstairs.”

“Thanks…”

Thanking Amanda, my mood shifted. Not in a good way as I was reminded of my purpose. 

‘…It’s been a while since I last paid a visit.’

To Smallsnake’s grave. 

About a year or so.

I just couldn’t bear to go. It reminded me of my failure. My failure in saving someone that was dear to me.

…But I also knew that this couldn’t go on anymore. 

As I was getting ready to leave for Immorra, I thought I should pay him a visit. It was about time I moved on. 

“It’s alright.”

I felt Amanda squeeze my hand as she looked up at me. Meeting her gaze, I felt my heart calm down a little as a smile spread across my face.

Then, squeezing her hand back, I leaned my body forward and gave her a peck on the cheek._.

“You…”

“Thanks.”

I let go of her hand and moved away toward the elevators. Pretending ignorance to her bewildered expression.

It was about time I got her back because of how cheeky she had been acting lately. I was satisfied with just seeing her reaction. 

…and it was exactly because of this feeling that I was experiencing that my face turned somber.

‘I can’t lose this.’

This little joy in my life.

It was probably the only thing that was stopping me from losing it. 

So…

I had to do everything to not lose it.

***

Amanda stared at Ren’s parting back with her hand pressed against the side of her cheek. 

‘It’s hot.’

She inwardly mumbled to herself while she felt the heat rise on both sides of her cheeks. 

Ren’s unexpected actions shook her more than she expected. Most likely because this was the first time he had ever taken the initiative. 

Typically, it would always be her who initiated. She didn’t blame him, however. 

She was completely aware of his feelings and never attempted to force her emotions on him. Even though their progress was extremely slow, it was nonetheless still progress, and Amanda could see from Ren’s behavior that he was gradually coming around to accepting her. 

His actions were testimony to this, and her heart warmed up a little. 

But…

Covering her mouth with her arm while her other hand touched her cheek, she stuttered. 

“…b-but..but…It was just a peck.” 

***

Tap. Tap. Tap.

All sorts of tabs flashed across Ryan’s screen as his fingers danced on the keyboard.

One had to wonder if Ryan was actually able to see what the tabs exhibited given how quickly they arrived and disappeared. Unexpectedly, it seemed like he could see them clearly. 

Darting his eyes over the five monitors in front of him, Ryan’s hand paused. Then, with a furrow of his brows, he mumbled under his breath.

“There seems to be an external generator that is powering up the system. If I disable the system, the generator will activate and the enemies will be alerted of our presence…how troublesome..”

Shifting his head to stare at one of the monitors, Ryan pressed his ear.

“It appears that I won’t be able to assist you any longer, guys. They have a backup generator for their system. You must act quickly since the only thing I can assist you with is preventing any communication from leaking out.”

[No problem]

A crisp voice echoed inside of his ear.

It belonged to Ava. 

[Hein and I can handle this without a problem. I’ll get back at you in ten minutes. We should be able to finish the mission by then]

“Got it.”

The communication shut off after that.

Shifting his head back toward the main screen, Ryan took a pen from the side of his desk and signed something off.

“With this, we should be able to meet our monthly quota.”

Being mercenaries, they unavoidably had to perform tasks from time to time. They were required by law to meet certain monthly targets in order to maintain their rank.

Since they were of the lowest rank in the past, it wasn’t an issue before, but when their mercenary organization rose in status, they were required to accomplish missions each month to maintain the rank.

The perks that came with being a highly ranked mercenary group weren’t something to be trifled with. It wasn’t just the fame that came with it, but they were also granted priority to certain dungeons. That alone was a great incentive to rank up. 

Regarding the missions, everyone in the group took turns, and at the moment, it was Hein and Ava’s turn to complete the missions.

“With this mission complete, we can relax for another month.”

Ryan dropped the pen on the table and reclined on his chair.

He then blankly stared at the ceiling.

“This job sure is tough…”

Inheriting his connections and role, Ryan tried his best to make up for his absence, but even after two years had passed, he was not as efficient as Smallsnake was.

It was only after he took over his role that he understood just how good Smallsnake was at his job.

‘Let’s not think about it.’

Ryan felt his chest tighten whenever he thought of Smallsnake.

Even after all this time had passed, he couldn’t move on from what happened.

His death agonized him every day. Maybe because he was still a teenager, or maybe because Smallsnake meant so much to him, but every day, he would force himself to learn and improve his methods. It was the only thing that kept his mind busy. 

Never again did he want such a situation to happen again.

Ding—!

Right then, Ryan received a message. It was from Ren. 

[Tell the others to drop whatever they are doing. We are going to another planet in two days’ time. I want everyone to be present.]

Ryan blinked a couple of times as heavy silence fell upon the room.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down, but when he saw the words ‘another planet’ he couldn’t stop himself from trembling.

…It brought rise to memories he wanted to forget with all of his might. Unknowingly, his foot started to shake in a nervous manner. 

‘Calm down Ryan.’

It took several seconds for him to quell his rough breathing, and even then, he could feel his heart beating uncontrollably inside of his chest.

“Huff…huff…”

Clenching his teeth, he brought his fingers to the phone. 

[Okay.]

He sent a simple message. One that only contained a single word. And one that took all of his energy to send.

Ryan stood up from his seat once he sent the message.

He carefully raised his head to look at his mirror while resting both of his hands on the desk to support his body. He said, staring at his swollen eyes.

“…This can’t go on, I need to move on.”

***

“We’re here.”

I exited the black car and stretched my body. A familiar chapel appeared in the distance. 

I closed my eyes while breathing in the air.

‘Here I am.’

It had been a while since I had been here. Honestly, everything felt so familiar yet so unfamiliar at the same time. 

I couldn’t quite put how I was feeling into words, but…it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

It almost felt like it was eating away at the little sanity that I had left. 

“The weather’s nice today.” 

Amanda’s voice reached my ears. From the tone of her voice, I could tell she understood how I was feeling and was trying to shift my thoughts to something else. 

“…You’re right.”

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes. 

“The weather is indeed nice…” 

Cloudless and azure blue. It was the best weather one could ask for.

Then, smiling slightly, I proceeded to head toward the cemetery. 

Contrary to what movies portray, the cemetery was actually quite beautiful. In addition to its short green hills, the cemetery was surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers that livened up the place. 

The fresh smell of cleanly cut grass permeated the air, as the sun brightly lit the surroundings.

A peaceful yet sad vibe enshrouded the area as I quietly walked around the cemetery with one direction in mind.

Yes, the setting was lovely, but that didn’t lessen the sense of loss I experienced as I passed the tombs and saw the writings on the tombstones. 

‘Treasured husband, dad & grandad’ 

‘Treasured wife.’ 

‘Treasured daughter.’ 

It wasn’t long before my heart started to feel heavy. The sense of loss I felt only intensified the more I looked around. I still nonetheless continued to move forward. 

“Hm?” 

Soon enough, my feet came to a stop. My brows furrowed. 

“Isn’t that Smallsnake’s grave? …Or am I remembering wrongly?” 

I turned back to look at Amanda and pointed to a particular tomb. 

“That is his grave.” 

She stopped right next to me and wrinkled her brows as well.

“I’m certain it is.” 

“…Is that so?” 

When I heard her affirm it, I looked back toward the tomb. My gaze then fixed on a particular person in the distance, who from the looks of him appeared to be a guy.

He silently knelt on the ground without moving, his long black coat reaching all the way to his knees, and his long black hair covering his face. Although I didn’t know who he was, I could tell from the texture of his coat that he was from an affluent background. Also, the way he continued to kneel on the ground without caring if the coat became soiled, made me think that perhaps he was someone who was quite close to Smallsnake in the past. 

‘Who is he?’ 

The only thing that confused me was the fact that I had no idea who he was. Realistically, speaking, anyone apart from a select few knew that Smallsnake was dead. The fact that there was someone else that I didn’t know made me feel somewhat confused. 

“Eh?” 

Then, just as I was about to move, we briefly locked eyes as he gently raised his head and turned to face him.

My foot came to a sudden halt and my heart slowly started to sink. 

The man…

Those devilishly handsome features that only Kevin and Jin could rival…

That tremendous pressure that made the hair at the back of my neck stand… 

“It’s him…” 

I thought to myself as I swallowed a mouthful of saliva. 

Malik Alshayatin.

***

A/N : I’m just got back home. Regarding the mass release. I will be releasing 3 batches of 5. The first batch will be tomorrow, Saturday, the next one will be Monday, and the last one will be Wednesday. So, one every other day. 

And yes, chapters will return at the regular rate starting tomorrow. 2 a day. 

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