Bond of Love and Promise

The sun had long disappeared into the horizon, and the two moons shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the city below.

Nox stood atop the clock tower, wearing his white mask and a new assassin's cape, fluttering in the cool breeze.

"I didn't expect you to be able to escape," commented the man, who had just appeared behind him.

"What's the current status?" Nox asked, turning towards the man.

The man nodded before explaining all that had happened after Nox blasted the bar's entrance.

According to what he said, the knights soon arrived to check the commotion, but till then, most of the people related to the crime were able to run away and later meet together at another one of the organisation's hideouts.

Even though a few days had passed since all this had happened, the head of Daniel's team, commonly known as the supervisor, was yet to be seen.

The vice supervisor, Layla, had been on edge since the event and was cautious and suspicious of everybody in her team.

Right now, he and the rest of his team members were lodging at an inn at the corner of the city, in a kingdom region where lawless activities were in full bloom.

As such, guards didn't frequently visit that place, allowing Daniel and his team to plan their next move.

"I see… The slave organisation is led by the blood fang, right?" inquired Nox.

Blood fang… They were the people who attacked Nox as soon as he entered the Tower, intending to make him a slave.

"It's one of its many subgroups. Blood Fang is a guild which extends its presence high up in the Tower," Daniel replied, staring up at the two moons.

A short period of silence followed their brief conversation.

"Sir, even though I work for you now, I don't even know your name," Daniel said, breaking the eerie silence.

"Just anything," Nox said, waving his hand around, "Call me anything you want."

"Very well… In our group, you're commonly referred to as the 'White Mask'," Daniel replied.

"That'll do," the masked man replied. He had a lot of things to take care of, so he couldn't be bothered to waste time on a triviality such as his name.

Taking out a pouch from his inventory, he handed it to Daniel.

It contained four hundred thousand gold coins, necessary to keep Daniel loyal to Nox until the next time they met, which could be a week or a month.

'I guess I made the right decision by serving under him,' Daniel thought, sliding the pouch into his pocket.

"Is there a way for me to contact you when I wish?" Nox inquired.

Daniel nodded, swiftly taking out a card and extending it to Nox.

"It' contains my teleball ID," he replied, "If you ever decide to send me your location, I'll try to arrive as soon as possible."

Nox nodded, putting the card in his inventory.

Daniel finally remembered something before slipping his hands into his pockets.

"This fell down from the pocket of the boy you were looking for that day," he said, handing something to Nox.

'How interesting.'

"Well then, I'll contact you the next time we need to meet," the masked man said, jumping down the clock tower.

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"Is that the boy," asked a gruff-looking aged man wearing a white lab coat and round spectacles.

He and a few others like him were standing behind a one-way mirror wall, observing the playground on the other side, where more than twenty children played together.

The field was alive with the cheerful laughter of children, all of them under the age of ten, dressed in matching white onesies. Their youthful energy propelled them into joyful leaps as they played together in the open field.

The playground itself was quite spacious, having trees and bushes spread around. The walls that surrounded the playground were in the shape of a dome, and due to technological advancements, the walls displayed the sky, creating the illusion of an open area.

Amidst the children, a single boy sat alone under the shade of a huge tree at the corner. For someone as young as him, he was obese. His short black hair and charcoal-like eyes stood out on his pale skin and chubby face.

"Yes, sir. He showed incredible promise just a few months ago, but now he can barely move," replied a middle-aged woman standing behind the old man.

"What went wrong?" he inquired, staring at the boy under the tree.

The woman shook her head before glancing at the file she held.

"We don't know, sir. As of right now, the only explanation is that something went wrong in the mutation process, leading to the exponential growth of his fat tissues," she replied.

The man adjusted his glasses, 'Obesity is a lifestyle product. But, since all the subjects here were given the same food and do the same exercises each day, a mutation flaw is the only explanation for his rapid weight gain.'

A short silence followed the conversation as the man snatched the file from the woman and began going over it.

"Are these achievements accurate?" he inquired, stopping to examine a page.

The woman nodded, "Yes, sir. Even though that boy hasn't displayed physical or mental traits out of the ordinary, his sharpshooting skills are beyond what we are able to explain at the current moment."

After a short silence, the woman continued, "He mainly uses a bow. We had planned to give him a gun after making him physically fit enough to handle its recoil."

The elderly man took out a few photos from the file. They were pictures of archery target boards ranging from ten to a hundred metres.

An arrow was stuck in the dead centre of each board, no matter its distance.

"Did someone teach him?" the man asked, placing the photos back into the file.

"No, sir. We were made aware of this talent of his when he first picked up a toy bow and started shooting toy arrows with suction cups attached to their end. That was three years ago; his proficiency with the bow and arrow has increased significantly since then," the woman answered, looking blankly at the fat boy.

'What a waste. If he hadn't been struck with obesity, we could've used him on field missions starting next year. That would've surely made our sponsors pour in more money in this operation,' the man thought, handing the file back to the woman.

During their conversation, a girl, a little older than the obese boy under the tree, approached him.

"Who's that?" the elderly man asked, pointing to the girl.

"Subject twenty-four. Even though she hasn't displayed mental traits above average, her physical strength has far surpassed that of normal," the woman replied, glancing at the little girl talking with the boy under the tree.

"I see. For now, make the boy undergo a much more exhaustive exercise regime than the others; I'll come again to check on the progress of the children in a year," the man said as he exited the observation room.

"My name's Ignis, but most people here call me twenty-two. What's your name?" the girl asked, bending towards the boy and smiling brilliantly.

"Liam," he answered as a smile appeared on his face too.

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"Liam! Liam! Liam!" the soft voice of a woman rang in his ears as he jolted awake.

"Thank God you're awake!!" the young woman exclaimed, embracing him in a tight hug.

Both of them were in a considerably sized room. The window revealed a beautiful blue sky outside, and the air conditioning unit in the room provided just the right temperature.

Three single beds were placed in a line, with bed tables between each. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, which wasn't too high up, and lamps were scattered around the room.

The floor was covered in a maroon carpet with beautiful embroidery, while the walls were covered in beautiful orange wallpapers with numerous designs.

"I-I can't breathe," Liam managed to say as Ignis tightly hugged him, relieved that nothing had happened to him.

Tears slid down the cheeks of both the siblings as they happily stared at each other, joyful that they could be together once more.

Elizabeth, who was already awake, sat on a couch beside the window, observing the siblings.

'They really love each other,' she thought, a slight smile visible on her lovely face.

After a few minutes, the siblings finally stopped tearing up and leaned on each other.

"You didn't need to buy me a gift, dummy," Ignis mumbled, gently smacking her brother's head.

After all, all this had happened just because he wished to buy something for her.

He didn't reply, just giggled a little bit, happy that he was finally back with his sister.

Knock! Knock!

"It's you," Elizabeth mumbled as her face lit up, seeing the man outside the door she just opened.

The man wearing the black suit entered the room before stealthily and swiftly slipping something into the pockets of Elizabeth's jeans.

She glanced at the object before pushing it deep inside her pockets.

"Nox!!!" Ignis yelled, happy to see the one she believed saved her brother, even after he refuted it numerous times.

"Hey there," he replied, making his way to the small dining table kept at the other end of the room.

He took out a colossal double-decker cake from his inventory and placed it on the table before taking some candles, sticking them into the cake and lighting them.

"Happy Birthday, Ignis!" he exclaimed, extending his arms, trying to make a grand gesture, which just ended up looking weird in the end.

"Happy Birthday!" Elizabeth exclaimed behind her.

'It's today?! Just how long was I unconscious for?' Liam thought before jumping to his feet, wishing his sister a happy birthday.

Ignis, overjoyed by the gesture of her friends, sprung up to her feet and embraced Elizabeth and Nox in a tight hug before cutting the cake together with her brother.

"I wanted to give you a gift, but-" Liam was interrupted by Elizabeth stealthily placing something into his hands.

His eyes gleamed and shone brightly as he glanced at the gift, which he had thought to be lost until now.

He placed one of his open palms over the other, with the object over them, and extended it towards his sister.

It was a yellow necklace with a little shining green gem attached to its end.

"Remember how you used to want something like this!?" Liam asked, smiling ear to ear.

Tears flowed down the young woman's soft cheeks as she hugged her brother in a warm embrace. She thought back to the time when she told her brother about her wish to have something like the emerald necklace that one of the women who raised them used to wear.

"Th-thank you-" she managed to thank him in a wavering and soft tone amidst the flood of salty water flowing down her cheeks.