Kaede narrowed her eyes as Selner blinked rapidly, disoriented, as if she were unsure of where she was.
Just moments ago, Kaede had taken her hand and met her gaze, expecting something to happen. Yet nothing had.
'No… that's not quite right,' Kaede thought. 'I felt something just now. And her eyes, they're not pale green anymore. They're crimson.'
Selner blinked again, confusion clouding her features as she glanced around the room. The faint hum of the fluorescent lights overhead filled the silence.
Behind her, Michael cleared his throat and coughed softly into his hand. "Ms. Selner, are you alright? Is something the matter?"
Selner turned toward him, her red eyes flickering faintly in the light. "Michael," she whispered, her voice distant, carrying an almost nostalgic weight.
"Yes?" Michael asked cautiously, his brows knitting. "Did something happen? Is it like what happened with Sung Jin-Woo?"
Selner slowly swept her gaze across the room before shaking her head. "No. Nothing happened. It seems our abilities can't affect each other. I can't upgrade her, and I doubt she can upgrade me."
Michael exhaled, a trace of disappointment on his face. "I see. Then I suppose it can't be helped."
Kaede turned to Iz, who stood quietly beside her.
"She's saying the upgrade didn't work," Iz translated softly. "That it's impossible between them."
Kaede nodded once, then faced Selner and Michael again. "I understand. Still, thank you for trying. The idea of getting even stronger sounded… amazing."
Michael gave a small, respectful bow. "No. We should be the ones apologizing for wasting your time."
Kaede nodded lightly, though her eyes lingered on Selner. The woman still looked distant, as if a part of her mind hadn't returned from wherever it had gone.
The crimson in Selner's eyes was fading now, slowly bleeding back to their natural green, but not entirely. A faint red ring remained around the irises, pulsing faintly with every breath.
Selner rubbed her temples, forcing a faint smile. "Forgive me. I must've overexerted myself. It happens sometimes when I reach too far with my ability."
Michael frowned. "If you're unwell, we can postpone the remaining evaluations. We don't have to meet the rest of the hunters at this time."
She shook her head firmly. "No need. I'll be fine." Her tone was calm, but her fingers trembled slightly as she lowered them from her face.
Kaede frowned, but before she could speak, Michael clapped his hands softly. "In any case, thank you again for cooperating with us, Ms. Kaede. Your cooperation means a great deal to the Bureau."
"We'll be heading out, then."
Kaede nodded and watched as he turned toward the door with his companions.
Selner glanced back one last time.
And in the faint reflection of the polished table beside her, Kaede caught a glimpse of crimson eyes staring back at her again.
Only this time, they weren't Selner's.
'Why does she have my eyes? What exactly is going on here?'
---
Michael watched silently as Selner stepped out of the Maple Guild building, her movements slow and deliberate, as though she were seeing the world for the first time. Her eyes darted around with an almost childlike wonder, but something about it unsettled him deeply.
When they finally entered the sleek black car waiting by the curb, Michael couldn't contain himself any longer.
"What did you see, Ms. Selner?" he asked, his tone cautious but urgent.
Selner turned to face him, and Michael's breath caught. Her eyes were still crimson, brighter now, gleaming with an eerie inner light.
"Everything," she whispered.
No, screamed. The sound wasn't loud, yet it tore through the silence, echoing inside his mind.
"The White Nothing and the Black of Everything," she continued, her voice trembling with reverence. "I witnessed the tapestries that flow through the abyss."
Her pupils dilated until her eyes seemed to glow entirely red. The light washed over the car's interior, painting the walls and windows in crimson.
"I watched existence die," Selner said softly, her lips curling into a serene smile. "And it was beautiful."
Michael swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. "Was it… another vision?" he asked carefully.
Selner's expression shifted. The smile deepened, but her voice became oddly steady, almost mechanical. "No. Not a vision." She tilted her head slightly. "Instructions. My purpose."
Michael hesitated. "And what purpose is that?"
Selner's eyes flickered brighter, as if answering him without words. When she finally spoke, her tone was filled with quiet awe. "To ready this world… for the coming of the new one. Led by the..." She stopped mid-sentence, her lips parting slightly. Then she chuckled. "It will be glorious."
Michael felt his pulse quicken. "What about what you saw within Jin-Woo?" he pressed. "You called him a king. One without limits. Surely there can't be..."
He froze as Selner's gaze locked onto him. Her eyes were wide, luminous, and utterly devoid of humanity.
"He doesn't matter," she said, her words sharp as blades.
"For what is a king," she whispered, leaning closer, "before a God?"
Selner smiled faintly, more to herself than anyone else, as she leaned back in her seat. The motion felt almost foreign, after what she had endured.
She couldn't remember how many times she had died in that red desert. At some point, she stopped counting after the five hundred thousandth death. The endless cycle of burning, suffocating, and reviving had dulled even the pain.
What unsettled her most was that she didn't know when she'd regained her sanit, if she ever truly had. Somewhere amid the screaming winds and shifting dunes of blood-red sand, she had simply… stopped breaking.
But when she saw her. She understood. Her mission. Her goal.
"Yes." She whispered.
=I'll be waiting... Maple
"She's waiting."
---
The International Guild Conference... Is an important event where representative guilds from each country are invited to discuss the current trends and future prospects of the hunter industry.
A few days later, the federal bureau of hunters released the list of invited guilds...
And two new guilds were sere added to the usual list this year to represent their this year.
Maple Tree and Ahjin Guild. This made headlines all over the world as the rumours began to fly.
Two prospective National Level Hunters might be decided very soon.
Ahjin's only top ranking hunter was Sung Jin Woo, the guild master of Ahjin Guild.
And Maple Tree's strongest hunter was Kaede Tawata who was also the guild master of Maple Tree Guild.
So the federal bureau's decision to invite them was basically an official seal of approval. They had recognised that Sung Jin Woo alone was strong enough to rival other guilds with top notch hunters.
And Kaede Tawata. She has displayed powers beyond what any Hunter has shown. Even national level hunters.
---
"Kaede Tawata will be arriving tomorrow," the blonde-haired woman said with a small bow of her head.
"Already? Time sure flies," Thomas Andre remarked, his eyes scanning the cityscape from the clear glass of his suite. "That means Sung Jin Woo is coming too, right?"
"Yes," the woman confirmed.
Just as she spoke, the door opened. "You called for me, sir?"
Thomas grinned, turning to face the newcomer. "Perfect timing," he said with a slight smile. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Alright," the newcomer replied, his tone neutral.
Thomas stepped forward, his expression turning serious. He stopped just in front of the figure. "I'll get straight to the point." He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. "Don't mess with Sung Jin Woo... Mr. Hwang."
Hwang Dongsoo froze. He hadn't anticipated Thomas standing so close. His heart rate quickened, but he didn't speak a word.
"I know what happened between Sung Jin Woo and your brother," Thomas continued, his voice steady and calculating. "I'm sure you have your suspicions and are curious about what exactly went down."
Hwang's mind raced, but Thomas wasn't done. "But..." He started to say.
Thomas raised a finger, the tip coming dangerously close to Hwang's nose before he even had a chance to react. "I don't recall giving you permission to speak."
The coldness in Thomas's smile sent a chill through Hwang as the pressure in the room thickened. "I repeat, do not mess with Sung Jin Woo. Go take a vacation at the guild's villa or something."
A silence hung in the air, broken only by Hwang's shallow breaths.
"Alright," Hwang gritted, his jaw tightening. He wanted to say something, but the weight of Thomas's words kept him silent.
"Good. You may leave now," Thomas said with a chuckle as he stepped back, allowing Hwang to turn and leave the room.
As the door closed behind him, the blonde-haired woman approached Thomas, her expression unreadable. "Do you think he'll listen?"
"He better," Thomas answered, his tone laced with a quiet intensity. "Although, I doubt it. He's not the type to let go easily. I finally get to meet the girl of the hour. I'd hate to have to share my attention to him and Jinwoo."
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do?"
"Keep a close eye on him until Sung Jin Woo leaves the state," Thomas said, the edge in his voice sharpening.
"Will he accept that?"
Thomas's grin returned, though it was colder now. "Well, I'm sure he'd rather be frustrated than dead."
---
____U.S.A____
"Now we're going to be late, sis," Kaede whined, slumping slightly in the passenger seat as the car sped down the highway.
Kanae, hands steady on the wheel, let out a light chuckle. "Will you relax? The conference doesn't even start until tomorrow."
In the back seat sat Iz and, surprisingly, Mari Ishida, an S-Rank Hunter and former member of the now-disbanded Draw Sword Guild. The hum of the engine filled the silence until Iz spoke up, swiping through her phone with a smirk.
"You're the hottest topic on the internet right now, Kaede," she said. "The news won't shut up about you."
She leaned forward, holding her phone between the two sisters. A stream of articles, headlines, and clips flashed across the screen, each one showcasing Kaede and Vivi emerging from the massive S-Rank gate without so much as a scratch.
"Whoa…" Kaede breathed, eyes widening as she stared at one of the photos, her armor still faintly glowing, the shattered remains of the dungeon gate behind her.
"They're saying Japan's S-Rank gate might actually be the highest-rated one in the world," Kanae said, raising an eyebrow.
Iz nodded, grinning. "And yet only two Hunters cleared it. Alone. Without injury. They're already calling you and Vivi unofficial National-Level Hunters."
Mari leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her hand. "I didn't realize the gate's ranking was that high," she said quietly, her expression unreadable.
Kaede puffed out her cheeks, half-embarrassed, half-proud. "That's… kinda cool, I guess. But I didn't do much. Vivi did most of the work."
Iz immediately groaned. "You always say that, and it's always a lie," she muttered, scrolling through another article. "Look at this one. 'The Silver Fortress Returns, Maple Tree Guild Leader Kaede Honjou Reshapes the Meaning of Defense.'" She snorted. "They're calling you a fortress now."
Kanae chuckled under her breath.
Kaede crossed her arms and turned toward the window. "I would like to be on time…"
The teasing died down as the car approached the sprawling skyline of Los Angeles. The sun was already dipping low, streaking gold across the horizon, while helicopters circled far above the conference grounds. Giant holographic billboards displayed footage of notable Hunters from all over the world, Thomas Andre, Liu Zhigang, Christopher Reed, Siddharth Bachchan… and finally, Kaede Tawata and Sung Jin-Woo.
Kaede blinked. "...That's kinda weird, seeing my face that big."
Iz smirked. "Get used to it, boss. You're global now."
Mari's gaze lingered on the billboards, her voice calm but quiet. "They've placed you right next to Jin-Woo."
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?"
Kanae turned to her sister. "Seriously? The guy from back in Jeju Island."
Kaede had a thoughtful look. "Did I meet someone like that?"
"With the shadows!?" Kanae basically yelled this time.
Kaede's eyes perked up with recognition. "Oh yeah. The pet dragon. Oh now I remember him. The odd guy. He had a lot of shadows too."
"The odd guy." Kanae chuckled. "Only you Sis. Only you."
"It makes sense to put them together." Iz clarified quickly. "Politically. The Bureau's making a point. The East's 'rising powers', one from Korea, one from Japan, both young."
By the time the sun had vanished beyond the horizon, night had already settled in. The streetlights flickered to life, bathing the congested road in a dim amber glow. Oddly enough, the traffic was far heavier than Kanae had anticipated, and their convoy hadn't moved in nearly ten minutes.
"This is exactly why I said we should've left earlier," Kaede grumbled, leaning back in her seat as she shook her sister's arm. "But nooo, we had to make an entrance. Now we're stuck in the middle of this mess."
Kanae exhaled softly through her nose, trying not to rise to the bait.
Mari Ishida, seated by the window, tilted her head as she peered outside. "I wonder what's causing this traffic anyway."
Iz, ever the pragmatic one, was already scrolling through her phone. "Nothing on the news. No accidents, no detours."
Kaede glanced up from her window, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I can just fly us there, you know."
Kanae turned sharply. "No, Kaede. Just because you can doesn't mean you should."
Kaede smirked. "I thought you wanted me to make an entrance?"
Kanae narrowed her eyes. "You little..."
Her words died as a sudden, suffocating pressure filled the air. It rolled over the car like a crashing wave, thick and oppressive enough to make the glass tremble.
Iz blinked in disbelief, looking up from her phone. "What the hell is that?"
Mari swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple. "This pressure… it feels like my life's in danger."
Kaede's expression turned serious. She looked out the window, eyes narrowing as the faint flicker of gold and purple energy reflected off them. "Two people," she murmured. "They're about to fight."
Iz's gaze followed hers. "Can you tell who?"
Kaede's hand was already on the door handle. "No," she said simply, pushing it open. "But I'm about to find out. They'd better have a damn good reason for causing traffic like this."
"Kaede, wait...!" Kanae called out, but her sister was already gone, vanishing in a flash of crimson light that left the car door swinging in her wake.
---
"It's not too late," Thomas Andre said, his golden energy rolling off his body like thick mist. His long brown hair lifted in the air under the sheer force of his aura, and the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure. "If you admit your mistakes and surrender, I'll spare your life."
Across from him stood Sung Jin-Woo, expression unreadable. The deep violet of his aura pulsed like a heartbeat, filling the air with a suffocating chill. Without a word, Jin-Woo raised his hand and gave Thomas the middle finger.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Behind the two men stood their respective armies, a clash of power and pride waiting to erupt.
On Jin-Woo's side, the ground rippled as ranks of shadow soldiers emerged, eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
Opposite them, Thomas's Scavenger Guild members stood ready, golden energy flickering over their weapons as they braced for the inevitable storm.