Vale's gaze settled on the wooden desk in his room, lingering on the computer resting neatly atop it. A gentle smile spread across his face when he noticed the small robot lying beside the screen. His phone was there as well, something that surprised him for a moment, he had completely forgotten it existed.
Ember leapt from his shoulder and fluttered toward the bed. The small wyvern landed softly, curled up without hesitation, and immediately drifted into slumber. Vale chuckled quietly at the sight before turning back to the desk.
Chrome's frame shifted as it finished rebooting. The small spider-like robot rotated its lens toward Vale and scuttled closer, its metallic legs tapping lightly against the wooden surface.
"Vale! Are you okay?" Chrome asked, its familiar metallic voice carrying genuine concern.
Vale smiled and nodded. "I am."
He glanced back at the computer and then at Chrome.
"Hey… what exactly did you do with the computer?"
Chrome remained silent for a moment, as if processing the question.
"I uploaded my data into it," the robot replied at last. "It now contains everything you might want to search for."
Vale looked at Chrome with gratitude. "Thank you, Chrome. There actually is something I've been curious about for a while."
"No problem, Vale," Chrome replied quickly, its tone bright with pride. "I am your friend, after all."
Vale smiled again and sat down at the desk, powering the computer on. As it began loading, Chrome climbed up beside him.
"What are you curious about, Vale?" the robot asked.
Vale glanced at Chrome before answering.
"Dynasties. Specifically… the Oceanis Dynasty. Or whatever Eskar called it."
The name alone stirred something uneasy in his chest. Vale had been curious about the place Eskar grew up in ever since their encounter. The emotions that had overwhelmed Eskar, his rage, his despair, had been powerful enough to drive him to attempt murder simply because Vale had been stronger.
Yet when Vale thought back on it now, he couldn't bring himself to hate him.
If anything, he felt pity.
Chrome reacted immediately.
"You mean the dynasty ruled by that tyrant, Tericon."
Though Chrome's voice was metallic, Vale could clearly hear the distaste behind the words.
'Tyrant?' Vale thought.
He turned toward the robot. "Why is Tericon considered a tyrant?"
Chrome tilted its frame slightly. "I think it would be better if you discovered that yourself," it replied. After a brief pause, it added, "Is there someone specific you're looking for?"
Vale nodded. "Yes. Its leader. His son tried to kill me the other day… but I don't think he was entirely in the wrong. I just want to understand how bad that place really is."
Chrome's lens snapped upward with surprising speed. It didn't answer right away. After a few moments, it lowered its gaze.
"I see."
One of Chrome's metallic legs slid into the computer's interface. The screen instantly filled with rapidly scrolling data. File after file opened in quick succession.
Vale leaned forward.
Then his breath caught.
Images appeared.
In them was a young boy with crimson hair and tanned skin.
Vale knew instantly who it was.
"Eskar…" he muttered, his jaw tightening.
Behind the boy stood a tall man with deep brown hair, a whip clenched tightly in his hand. The next image showed the whip mid-strike.
The boy couldn't have been older than eight.
Vale's hands clenched into fists.
"Who is that?" he asked, his voice trembling with barely restrained rage.
Chrome shifted closer to view the image.
"That man…" the robot said slowly, "…is the boy's father."
The words struck like a blow.
Vale pressed his hands together, his teeth grinding as everything suddenly fell into place. Eskar's hatred. His desperation. His uncontrollable rage.
He hadn't simply been abandoned.
He had been abused.
By his own father.
Vale looked back at Chrome. "Does the Rosemary Organization have these files?"
Chrome shook its frame. "No. I hacked directly into the dynasty's main server to retrieve this footage. And even though I am mostly machine…" it paused briefly, "…I believe I feel the same way you do."
Vale slammed his fist onto the desk, the impact echoing sharply through the room. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to steady his emotions.
"I'm going to keep searching," he said.
More files opened.
And with each one, Vale's anger grew.
"Is this man a monster?" he shouted.
The records were relentless. Eskar hadn't only been beaten, he had been experimented on. Starved for the smallest mistake. Denied food for days at a time. Tericon was known to kill without hesitation, taking lives over trivial disobedience. Fear ruled the Oceanis Dynasty, silence enforced through blood.
Tericon did not merely rule.
He oppressed.
Vale finally understood why Chrome had called him a tyrant.
And why no one had stopped him.
The reason became painfully clear in the final reports.
Tericon was powerful.
Terrifyingly so.
He was a man who had cleared the Fourth Trial.
Just like Callum.
Vale leaned back in his chair, his chest tight, the weight of the truth pressing heavily down on him.
Yet even with this realization, Vale could not shake the sense that everything he had just learned was profoundly unjust.
It was not only Eskar who had suffered.
An entire dynasty had lived under that man's rule, people beaten into silence, lives erased without consequence. Children raised in fear, families broken, and despite all of it, despite the cruelty and the bloodshed, Eskar had still said that all he ever wanted was his father's acknowledgment.
Vale's hands tightened into fists.
"Who would want acknowledgment from a monster?" he whispered under his breath.
Chrome's metallic lens fixed itself on him, unblinking.
"He grew up there," the robot said quietly. "He does not know any different. He was manipulated from a young age. He likely believed what happened to him was normal, that it was his fault."
Chrome paused, its frame stiffening slightly.
"I will inform Miss Rose about this soon," it continued. "I can only hope she orders his termination."
There was no hesitation in its voice.
No malice either.
Just cold resolve.
Vale raised an eyebrow. "They don't already know about this?"
Chrome shook its frame. "These are private documents. Believe it or not, they are very skilled at erasing their tracks. Until now, I was the only one aware of this, at least to my knowledge."
Vale studied the robot for a moment before asking carefully, "Can any of this be traced back to you?"
"No," Chrome replied immediately. "It cannot."
Vale let out a slow, relieved breath. The last thing he needed was someone like Tericon hunting him down. He was still weak. If that man discovered him now, Vale would not survive long enough to understand what had killed him.
Vale's eyes hardened.
"Chrome," he said.
The robot turned its lens toward him.
"Can you kill him?"
The room went still.
Seconds passed, Then more seconds.
Finally, Chrome answered. "Yes. However, it would be unwise to act immediately. Bringing down the leader of a dynasty is not a small undertaking."
Vale blinked. He had expected resistance, hesitation, anything but that calm certainty.
"You can really do that?" Vale asked quietly.
Chrome did not elaborate.
Vale hesitated, then spoke again. "Chrome… what are you?"
Silence fell over the room like a heavy curtain.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
When Chrome finally answered, its voice was softer than Vale had ever heard it.
"Something I do not wish to be."
That was all.
Vale did not press further. Whatever truth lay behind those words, it was clearly a wound, not a secret to be pried open. Instead, he extended his hand and rested it beside the small robot.
"I'm going for a walk," Vale said. "I need to cool down. Want to come?"
Chrome turned its lens toward him.
"I would like that," it replied quietly.
In the next instant, its body dissolved into liquid metal, flowing seamlessly into Vale's prosthetic arm. Vale flexed his fingers once, feeling the familiar presence settle in place.
A sorrowful smile touched his lips.
He had found it, his purpose.
For now, his only goal was clear, Tericon had to fall. People like that should not live, much less rule. Not in Vale's world. Not in any world.
Vale picked up his armor and fitted it carefully over himself. He glanced at the time.
Eleven at night.
The armor retained warmth well, so he left it on like a coat. Before leaving, he walked over to the bed where Ember laid curled in peaceful sleep. Vale sat down beside the small, pale wyvern and gently stroked its scales a few times.
His hand lingered.
Something about Ember made his chest ache, a quiet sense of loss he couldn't quite name, as if the creature had lost someone important long before they met.
Vale sighed softly and stood.
He walked to the door, resting his hand against it for a moment before stepping out, carrying both his resolve and his anger with him into the night.