A New Direction (1/3)

Lyon POV:

The doors slammed shut behind me as I made my way to the steps leading up to the tall chair. It had been a long day, but I did everything that I needed to do.

I wasn't sure why I decided to make that teddy bear for Ness. I knew I wanted her to feel special, but it was a strange feeling. Her face popped into my mind after a couple of weeks of secluding myself away, and I suddenly wanted to hear her sweet voice.

I recalled how we first met and how one-sided those conversations were, yet when I spoke to her now; it was almost like she didn't want the conversation to end. Her eyes would light up, and she would struggle to hide her excitement. I regretted not spending the same amount of time with her like I did with the others, and before I knew it, I wanted to give her a gift.

I visited Grandma Yin shortly after and asked her to teach me how to make stuffed animals. She happily agreed and walked me through the process step by step.

Grandma Yin never asked about my condition; she treated me just the same, though I could see the sadness in her eyes every time her gaze swept over my feeble body.

"I hope my grandson isn't giving you too much trouble."

"Your... Grandson?..."

My throat was coarse, making it a struggle to speak normally. Each word required a noticeable amount of effort to enunciate clearly.

"Yes, dear. His name is Miles, and though we aren't related by blood, he's still my only grandson. Hoho, you can still call me Grandma though."

I watched her put her hand to her mouth as she chuckled lightly. Despite her old age, Grandma Yin didn't have a lot of wrinkles on her face, nor did her spine curve forward—it was perfectly straight.

She wore large clothes over her small frame, and a thin pair of spectacles rested on her petite nose that complimented her light violet almond-shaped eyes.

It was quite surprising, but I couldn't help but smile at her words. Somehow her eyes resembled Miles both in shape and size. I never saw the two of them interact, but I could tell that they were very close.

I remembered looking down at the half-formed body of the teddy bear and thinking: would this really be enough to let Ness know that she's special to me?

My head throbbed as I reached the bottom of the steps. I didn't understand it. Even when I tried to think about it logically, it still seemed so out of character for me to do. I needed to be a Leader. I needed to prepare for the upcoming war, yet I was worrying about giving a girl a teddy bear? It was... unfamiliar. It wasn't right.

'...'

I shook my head and cast aside those thoughts. That period had passed, so there was no need to dwell on it any further.

I received a report a few days ago from Kumo that one of the refugees from District 3 overheard Enigma call the red mist a name.

They called it Tengu's Breath.

Tengu's Breath had covered most of District 3 for weeks without showing any sign of disappearing. I didn't know if they were constantly using more of it or if that's just how long of a duration it naturally had.

If the Ruler chose to invade while utilizing Tengu's Breath, the casualties would be incredibly high. That was why I visited Skorr in District 2 in order to assess the situation clearly.

Skorr modelled his Organization after mine, so our fighting power was continually increasing as time went on. The Ruler's unwise decision turned into a perfect shield for us in the long run. It was just frustrating that I didn't wait.

If only I didn't agree to send the Senior Vices to District 3, we would have gotten the same information, without any risk, at a later time. Due to this, it felt like their efforts were invalidated, and that made me feel worse.

I ascended the steps and stood beside the chair that had a section of it blown off from my previous outburst. I didn't know how to cope with seeing the people around me permanently injured—it affected me in ways that I couldn't clearly understand. But as the weeks went by, I felt like there was something else going on inside of me.

My gaze shifted to the cast that hung in front of my abdomen. This was the first time it had taken me so long to recover from an injury... Or maybe I wasn't recovering from an injury?

I narrowed my eyes while I raised the cast high into the air. A thunderous boom echoed around the room as I smashed it against the side of the chair. It burst into dozens of tiny white fragments that scattered themselves across the ground.

I shifted my gaze to my arm, that could finally breathe again, to the skin cleaving to the bone, almost devoid of any substantial muscles. However, I felt no pain from my sudden action.

I unzipped my sleeveless hoodie and turned around. The war in District 3 with Enigma would come to an end soon, and I didn't plan on missing that opportunity.

The hood dropped over my forehead as I left the room. Frida was already waiting outside with her head bowed. She had probably rushed over here out of concern for my condition.

"Frida, let everyone know that the area containing those abandoned buildings in the South side of District 4 are off limits."

She raised her head, and I saw a faint smile spread across her lips.

"Yes, Master Lyon."

The corners of my mouth rose as I headed downstairs. A storm was coming, and I would be in the center of it.

***

??? POV:

I clicked my tongue while I sat alone in the dark. Three weeks. It had been over three weeks since I responded to his request, yet there was still no reply.

"How disappointing."

I tapped the arm of the chair as my back rested comfortably against the pink cushion. Once I heard that the 'Mad Wolf' himself returned to the underground scene in Inner Astril; it piqued my interest.

You see, rumours fly around places like here quickly, and I heard something intriguing. It was something along the lines of the 'Mad Wolf' becoming sane, turning over a new leaf.

Ludicrous. It was so ludicrous that I had initially dismissed it as nonsensical rubbish.

But then a question popped into my mind—what if it were true? What if that man dyed in darkness was truly trying to pull himself out? I wanted to see it. I wanted to see what kind of person he'd become.

For any change to occur, there had to be a catalyst; there had to be someone willing to give him a chance. I believed that his change was related to the new District 4 Leader I had heard about months ago, and that also interested me. What type of person could make the mad wolf come to his senses? I wanted to know. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that I'd cross paths with him anytime soon.

As for the mad wolf, everyone knew that he had sold his own sister, but no one knew who or what his sister looked like; no one except me.

"Nana."

I threw my leg over my knee as the quiet sound of the door opening and closing crept into my ears. Her footsteps camouflaged with the rain beating against the glass window.

"Milady, why do you insist on staying in the dark?"

I ignored her question as I didn't call her in here to get nagged at for having my own preferences.

"Still no word from the spies we have in Border Patrol?"

"None so far, Milady. Perhaps he really doesn't care at all."

I rested my fist against my cheek while I pondered over the situation. It would be sickening if he did this as a mere joke—there'd truly be no humanity left in him at that point.

"One week. He has one week. If he still doesn't show up in Inner Astril after that, burn the information."

This was his final chance. I planned on sending word to Outer Astril the very moment the deadline passed. There were still plenty of things I had to attend to, and quite frankly, my patience was beginning to run out.

"...Yes, Milady."

Nana bowed her head courteously before leaving the room. She probably wanted me to save the child anyway, but that's not how I operate.

The sound of the raindrops battering the window was somewhat comforting. Bad things happened on rainy nights—it was a requiem of torment that I had grown accustomed to. The dark clouds that loomed over the sky were the same those in Outer Astril saw when they looked up.

Inner Astril wasn't some utopia, even with it being a part of the Cotis Empire. Corruption, black markets, sex trafficking, child labour... The list went on and on. The problem was that you couldn't blatantly see it; it happened behind the scenes in unexpected locations through unorthodox means. One of those ways was the Underground.

The Underground was a network that helped link the two sides in a more... depraved way. It was a place where those of any social standing could make a name for themselves as long as they produced results. Once your skill is recognized, you're given a black card, and that's where most people stop.

"..."

I pulled out a black card with three gold stars engraved on it and twirled it around my fingers. In order to beat the darkness, you had to step into it.

I moved my fingers nimbly over the black string that pressed against my forehead. It connected to a small black and red rose that jutted out noticeably.

The embroidery was attached to the surface of a leather patch containing further flat roses as part of its intricate, custom-made design. It blocked the vision of the outside world from my right eye and sat comfortably over the majority of that area. I caressed it gently as my lips parted.

"It's rude to keep a lady waiting, Mad Wolf."