GAME HALL – SOUTH DISTRICT – A FEW WEEKS LATER
The dim light of the arcade illuminated tired faces. Dead machines. Cables on the floor. Empty cans.
Silva sat on a mattress laid directly on the ground, a first aid kit beside her. Midas lay there, shirtless. His arms shone — not with sweat, but with gold.
His forearms, his elbows, his hands — everything was solid gold. Gold replaced flesh, bone, blood. Where Amaru had cut them off, gold had grown. Not prosthetics. Not grafts. An extension of the body. A transformation.
Silva ran a soft cloth over the junction between the gold and his skin. The area was sensitive, almost painful.
"You shouldn't get up too quickly," Silva said.
"I know."
She applied a balm to his shoulder.
He winced.
"Do you want to stop?"
"No. Keep going."
She kept going. She finished bandaging him, then packed up the kit.
"Midas."
"Mmh."
"I'm pregnant."
He looked up.
"For a few months now."
Silence fell. The neon lights buzzed. The sound of distant rain filtered through the cracked windows.
Midas looked at his golden hands. He turned them, opened them, closed them.
"Then we stop."
Silva blinked.
"What?"
"The revenge. All of it."
He placed a golden hand on her belly. The light reflected shards of brightness onto her skin.
"After the war against the Diamond Platinum… I'll stop."
He looked at her.
"I'll give everything to Sharky."
Silva didn't answer. She laid her head on his shoulder, against the cold gold.
---
THE NEXT DAY – FAMILY HQ
Midas announced the news.
His golden arms crossed over his chest, he spoke in a calm, almost soft voice.
Sharky didn't flinch. Daek crossed his arms. William raised an eyebrow. Takuya raised his hand.
"Are you serious, boss?"
"Yes."
Perfecto smiled. But his teeth ground together.
He has to find a solution.
Not now. Later.
The meeting continued. They discussed logistics, neighborhood control, cash flow, protection of shopkeepers.
William's phone vibrated.
He answered.
His face went pale.
"What?"
His hand trembled.
"Hello?"
He listened. He didn't answer. He hung up.
"My father…"
Everyone looked at him.
"He's dead."
---
ARMSTRONG MANOR – DAY
The immense building was empty. No more butlers. No more servants. No more family.
William walked through the corridors. His footsteps echoed on the marble.
He entered his father's office. The books were still there. The trophies. The photos.
He picked up a photo. He and his father, smiling, in front of the academy gates.
He was proud of me.
He put the photo back down.
He sat in the armchair. The patriarch's armchair.
Now, it's me.
He looked out the window. The gardens were gray under the winter sky.
I'm alone.
---
FLASHBACK – IN THE GARDEN
William was small. His father was tall. He carried him on his shoulders.
"You'll be the boss someday."
"Like you?"
"Better than me."
William laughed. His father laughed.
They walked among the rosebushes.
"A hero must be indestructible."
"Who said that?"
"Captain Man."
"Is he strong?"
"Very strong. But you'll be stronger."
William clenched his fists.
"I'll be stronger than everyone!"
His father smiled.
"I know."
---
BACK TO THE PRESENT
William cried. Alone. In the big, empty office.
Then the door opened.
Takuya entered.
"Willy."
William didn't answer.
Daek entered. Then Sharky. Then Midas.
His golden arms gleamed in the dim light.
"You're not alone, dumbass," Takuya said.
He placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're never alone."
William looked up. His friends were there.
Midas sat on a chair, his golden hands resting on his knees.
"We're not going to abandon you."
Sharky crossed his arms.
"A boss deserves respect."
Daek nodded.
"We're family now."
William wiped away his tears.
"Family…"
He looked at his friends. Their tired but determined faces.
He smiled.
"Yeah."
He stood up.
"Family."
Takuya patted him on the back.
"Come on, let's go for a drink. I'm buying."
"You have money?"
"I have savings."
"You have savings?"
"Yeah. 500 yen."
"That's not going to get us far."
"We'll share."
They walked out of the manor. The rain had stopped. The sky was clearing.
William closed the door behind him.
He didn't look back.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…