Confused, unsure—those emotions coursed through me like a storm, unsettling in their weight. I had killed before. Dozens total. I never hesitated. Never second-guessed myself. It was always clear: kill or be killed. But this was different.

  The men before us weren’t outnumbered. They weren’t weak. Yet, their will to fight had crumbled, shattered by something deeper than fear. They weren’t resisting. They weren’t even pleading. They just stood there, eyes hollow. They had loved Endo, that much was clear. His death had stolen their purpose, for now. And now, all they wanted was to leave. I swallowed hard, my fingers twitching. Killing more than a hundred men at once—unarmed, demoralized men—was that something I could live with? Could I justify it when they were so far removed from their main force? It felt like an execution, not a battle.

  Zhen’s voice cut through my hesitation like a knife. "Screw this! If you don’t do it, I will!" His frustration was palpable, his stance rigid with barely contained aggression.

  I turned to Emma, hoping for some clarity, some reason to justify this. "What do we do?" I asked.

  She frowned as if the answer should have been obvious. "They're enemy combatants that we cannot control," she said plainly. "they're the others to us. I say we just do as Zhen wants, sir. It helps us both." Her words were clinical, detached. She saw no shades of gray, no weight to the decision. Just logic. Just survival. Like most in Sun.

  I looked back at the defeated soldiers, my grip tightening. They were the enemy. They had done terrible things. Evil bastards through and through.

  Two men broke from the group, their boots pounding against the dirt as they sprinted for the treeline, desperation fueling their escape. They barely made it a few strides before Zhen intercepted them with brutal efficiency. Using both arms, he swung forward, his sheer force clotheslining them mid-run. Their bodies snapped backward, hitting the ground with sickening thuds. Neither moved.

  "Don't even try!" Zhen roared, his voice filled with finality.

  I clenched my jaw. As strong as an officer. Even now, my mind instinctively analyzed his strength. Was this really the time to be thinking like that?

  I forced my thoughts back to the situation at hand. "Detain these men!" I commanded, my voice sharp, cutting through the tension. "We will allow the city of Trivoko to punish them!" Zhen smiled at that idea. The soldiers immediately moved to follow my orders. They began rounding up the remaining enemy combatants, forcing them into lines before shoving them down onto their knees. None of them resisted. None except one.

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  One of my men moved in, kicking the enemy in the knee to force him down. The man didn’t budge. He stood firm, unfazed, his body eerily relaxed.

  Then, with a lazy demeanor, he lifted a hand and lightly tapped my soldier on the head.

  My soldier collapsed.

  Every soldier snapped to attention, fists or blades raised.

  Before anyone could react, the enemy moved.

  He weaved between the soldiers like a ghost, his body zigzagging effortlessly through their attempts to stop him. Two more men lunged to intercept, but he slipped past them with ease, his movements fluid, unbothered. His hands remained in his pockets the entire time.

  He's at Endo's level—no... above!

  His speed was unreal. And me? I was in no condition to fight. I was easy pickings.

  He yawned, stretching his neck lazily. "I guess I am lazy."

  My stomach twisted in recognition. Him. The fourth-ranked of Obsidian. Leo had warned me—never fight him.

  Haet Leacett. The Lazy Roach.

  Emma reacted first. With a sharp motion, she lashed out, her hand grasping Haet’s wrist in an attempt to stop him. But the moment she made contact, she froze—her body shuddered as if an unseen force had slammed down on her shoulders.

  She dropped, collapsing as if crushed beneath an unbearable weight. Haet sighed, barely sparing her a glance before kicking her away like discarded trash. She tumbled across the ground. Emma is strong, strong enough to lead a Major Clan. A transcendent, however, can single handedly wipe multiple Major Clans from the map.

  My soldiers scrambled toward me, but they were too slow. Some were still struggling to control the prisoners, while others hesitated, realizing the shift in battle.

  Haet’s voice rang out, sharp and taunting. "Don't you want revenge for Endo?! Do your job as a representative of Obsidian!"

  He reached for my throat. My body refused to move. My limbs felt like lead. My breath came in short, ragged gasps. The enemy soldiers—once subdued, once defeated—began to rise. Their empty eyes now burned with renewed purpose. A second, this time, all-out battle was about to break out. At least half of my men would die.

  A blur shot past my vision. A furious cry rang out.

  Zhen.

  He launched himself from the side, his body an unrelenting force. "Get away from the savior!" he roared, his foot smashing into Haet’s outstretched hand.

  Haet barely reacted, and he withdrew his hand.

  Zhen stood between us, his stance unshaken. His fists clenched. His eyes burned with fury. "I want revenge!" he bellowed.

  Haet glanced down at his hand, flexing his fingers experimentally. A faint redness swelled across his knuckles, the first sign of injury he had taken so far. His eyes narrowed—not in pain, but in mild curiosity. It piqued my curiosity too, since Zhen wasn't transcendent. Zhen and Emma were near equals, but Zhen did more than Emma in mere seconds.

  I forced myself upright. I could barely stand, my posture hunched. I must watch this. Something is nagging at me, a premonition. A premonition of an ascension.

  An ascension to transcendence.

  Zhen exhaled through his nose, rolling his shoulders. Then, slowly, he spread both hands wide. His fingers curled inward like claws.

  "It starts with you."