Luna and Yuna were speaking with Dalia, both clearly puzzled by what she had just told them.
Yuna crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"Let's say we believe you. What's your motivation for joining us? Isn't the Fauvism the Fighter Division powerful, well-connected and frankly, safer than teaming up with strangers like us."
Dalia looked them both in the eye.
"I have a strong reason. I'm sick of their extremism—of how they slaughter innocent people, even their own followers. I've started to fear that one mistake from me could make me their next victim."
"That's... harsh," Luna muttered.
"Yes and the best example is how they used my comrades—Lucian, Maria, Kiki and Taosho—as tools to uncover your powers, Luna."
Luna blinked. "They used them… to discover what kind of powers I had?"
Dalia nodded solemnly. "Yes."
She wasn't lying. Her words resonated with the truth. Recently, Murphy and the elite members had grown increasingly ruthless. They punished and executed side-followers over the smallest failures. Who's to say Dalia wouldn't be next? Or worse—used just like Lucian and the others?
Luna and Yuna had been skeptical at first but they sensed her sincerity. She truly wanted to rebel… and help them.
Meanwhile, Warren was wandering through the building where Shiro's office was located, clearly searching for someone. Shiro had just stepped out of his office and spotted him.
Shiro smirked. "Hey, Warren. Missed me?"
Warren scoffed. "No."
"You're such a jerk. So? What brings you here?"
"I was looking for Dalia. She's been missing for a while and I haven't been able to find her."
"Did you try calling?"
Warren rolled his eyes. "What kind of question is that? Of course I did. But apparently, her phone's been smashed or something."
"Think someone kidnapped her?"
"I'm not sure but I'll send out a few of the guys to start looking. She vanished too suddenly."
"Alright," Shiro said simply.
Elsewhere, Tristan and his group had just buried Maria. Somber and exhausted, they made their way back to reunite with Jayden and the rest of the team. There, they exchanged updates—Sam's cryptic message and the painful confirmation of Maria's death.
Eventually, each of them retreated to their rooms, weighed down by the gloom of recent events. The situation was only growing darker.
Later that evening, Tristan headed out to feed his dog, Badwin. As he was pouring the food, he spotted Luna and Yuna nearby—accompanied by a girl he didn't recognize.
He tilted his head.
"Hey, Luna, Yuna—who's the brunette with you?"
Luna smiled faintly. "This is Dalia. She's thinking of joining us."
"Welcome to the team, newbie," Tristan said with a friendly grin.
Dalia replied, "Thank you for the warm welcome, Tristan."
His brows drew together. "Wait… how do you know my name?"
Dalia smiled. "That's a long story."
Luna and Yuna quickly explained everything to Tristan—Dalia's background, her reasons for defecting and that she could be trusted and Tristan believed them
"So, how exactly will you help us, Miss Dalia?" Tristan asked.
"I can share some very valuable information," she replied.
According to Dalia, both the National and Fighter Divisions were supposed to possess forty eight silver connectors each. These devices filled slots required to activate the Golden Cube. But oddly, both sides had only managed to gather thirty-two connectors—leaving them short by exactly eight each.
It was strange that the missing number was the same for both sides.
Over time, however, both Divisions managed to recover their missing connectors and hide them in a secure location. The National Division found twenty, while the Fighter Division secured twelve. All were stored together in a cave located in a different country. The two Division leaders were to retrieve them personally.
But then came the shocking twist: eight elite fighters who had been guarding the cave were found dead and every silver connector that had taken so long to gather—was gone.
Both Yossan and Murphy were enraged. They immediately dispatched search teams but in the two months since, not a single missing connector had been found.
That was the story Dalia told to the Ribwan twins and Tristan.
Tristan frowned. "But why hide them in a cave? That's bizarre."
Yuna nodded. "And why did the leaders have to go in person to retrieve them? Why not just send someone?"
Dalia shrugged. "Believe me, I don't know. Leader Murphy refused to tell us anything more. Maybe he kept it secret for a reason."
"Well, thank you for the information," Tristan said. "This confirms there's a weak spot somewhere in their system."
"You're welcome. I know you don't fully trust me yet but I promise—I truly want to join you. To help bring down the Fauvism."
Luna stepped forward. "I believe you, Dalia."
"Thank you," Dalia whispered, her voice genuine.
Later, the Ribwan twins introduced Dalia to the rest of Team Kaos and shared everything they had just learned.
Afterward, everyone retired to their rooms in the team's headquarters.
Their base was a large rural property with a building that had six rooms and six private bathrooms—one for each of the founding members: Luna, Yuna, Merrick, Salvador, Clara and Sony. The ground floor featured a large kitchen and lounge area, with a basement below. Near the main building were a workshop, two gardens and a storage shed full of old tools.
Newer members had built their own small rooms attached to the main structure. William, however, hadn't built one. Since neither the Fighter nor National Division knew about him, he simply returned to his house after completing missions with the team.
As usual, William headed home and collapsed on his bed his mind spinning from everything that had happened.
A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. He opened it to find one of his neighbors.
"Good evening, Will," said the man.
"Hello "
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, and you?"
"Doing well. I came to tell you something. It's about our neighbor Terry—you know, the one across from us. He was hit by a car two days ago. He's in the hospital."
"Oh no… is he alright?"
"He's got a lot of injuries, but yes, he's stable."
"We should visit him soon."
"Actually, I already did—yesterday."
"You didn't wait for me?"
"I stopped by your place last night but you weren't home."
"Sorry, I had some work."
"Work, huh? You're gone all day—even on your days off. That job of yours must be something strange."
"It's… complicated. Sorry for snapping. I'll visit Terry tonight. Thanks for telling me."
"No problem, neighbor."
They shook hands and the neighbour went home , he wasn't the only one suspicious of William's strange schedule. Other neighbours had noticed too. William often claimed his job was complicated—but of course, he wasn't going to tell anyone he was an heir to wonder stone.
That night, William walked to the small village hospital to visit Terry. He didn't plan to stay long—just enough to show he cared.
As he strolled down the corridor, his eyes caught a strange poster at the end of the hallway: a large green eye.
He stopped.
The iris… was moving.
Right to left… left to right. In the dim hallway, it was eerie.
William's instincts screamed. That poster hadn't moved before.
Suddenly, he felt the unmistakable presence of another heir behind him.
He turned sharply.
A man stood there, leaning against the wall, gazing at William with an unreadable expression.
"So… you can see the eye move," the man said quietly.
William didn't answer. Instead, he drew his weapon and infused it with fire.
The man raised a hand. "Wait—we're in a hospital. There's no need to fight."
William narrowed his eyes. "You'll just let me go without hurting me?"
"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to protect you, William."
"…How do you know my name?"
"Come with me. Let's talk outside."
They left the hospital and walked to a secluded area.
The stranger finally introduced himself. "Listen to me, William. I swear I mean no harm. Your father was a close friend of mine. He was an heir, just like you."
"You're lying. My father never told me about you. And he died when I was a child. I didn't inherit his powers—I received mine through a transmission."
"You really don't know, do you?" The man paused. "That man wasn't your real father."
William froze. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother was divorced. She had you from a previous marriage. The man you called your father was infertile but he loved her and raised you as his own."
"Shut up," William snapped. "I won't fall for your tricks."
"I'm not lying. Your real family name is ( Hallen ). Look it up."
There was something about the way that man spoke that struck William. If he meant harm, he had the perfect opportunity earlier. And what Dalia had said… lined up with this.
"…What's your name?" William finally asked.
"( Milo ) "
"Alright, Milo. What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you. I want you to join us."
"Us? Who exactly are you?"
"We follow the son of one of the three candidates for a unique title… the Guardian of the Golden Cube."
William blinked. "What?"
"I'll explain."
A very long time ago, the Scholars of the Archive discovered a method to prevent the complete extinction of the Heirs of the Wonder Stones. That method was to fill forty-eight slots with the powers of chosen heirs, using a special golden cube.
There were three individuals deemed worthy of carrying this tremendous responsibility: ( Yossan Endar ) , ( Murphy Wong ) and ( Lilian Taylor ) . Their blood was rare, their abilities remarkable and thus they were chosen. But a problem arose—there were only two golden cubes, not three. Which meant that only two of them could be entrusted with the task of filling the forty eight slots
Conflict soon followed. The three of them were equal in strength and skill, none lesser than the other. Yossan and Murphy proposed leaving the matter to chance, suggesting a lottery to decide who would be granted the golden cubes. But Taylor objected fiercely. According to his principles, such a sacred duty could not be entrusted to luck; it had to be chosen by a just measure.
The Scholars did not intervene, leaving the decision to the three contenders. Yet, not long after this quarrel, tragedy struck—Taylor suddenly fell ill and died. Or so it was said. With his death, the choice was made for them and the cubes went to Yossan and Murphy.
But the truth was darker. It was clear to many that Lilian Taylor had not died of natural causes. He had been poisoned—murdered—by Yossan and Murphy themselves. Still, the two found themselves confronted with a problem they had not foreseen. The Scholars had already prepared thirty-two silver connectors, special devices linked to each of the three chosen heirs through their blood. Upon Taylor's death, his connectors scattered, vanishing into distant places.
The Scholars then demanded that Yossan and Murphy recover all of Taylor's missing connectors, gather them within a cavern and fuse them into their own blood. Only then could the connectors become theirs, not Taylor's. But the ritual could not begin unless the full number was collected first.
What Yossan and Murphy did not know, however, was that Taylor had left behind a hidden legacy. Long ago, in secrecy, he had married and fathered a son named him (Aiden)
The boy inherited his father's powers and when his mother lay on her deathbed, she revealed to him the truth: that his father's death was no accident. Burning with vengeance, Aiden swore to avenge Lilian Taylor. With the aid of three skilled heirs of the Wonder Stones and a handful of novice followers
It was Aiden who stole from Yossan and Murphy—snatching away the silver connectors they had worked so hard to recover because he think that it rightfully belonged to his bloodline
These were the events Milo recounted to William. And William knew Milo was not lying
Milo concluded, "We believe the cubes hold the key to preventing our extinction as heirs."
William was silent. Milo's story echoed things Dalia had mentioned too.
William : "So what does any of this have to do with me?"
Milo : "Nothing directly. But I believe you've met others like you—heirs. Right?"
William didn't answer.
"Your silence says I'm right," Milo said softly. "Don't worry, we're not here to harm your friends. We want you with us."
William : "What makes you think we'll agree to that?"
"I don't know . I just have a feeling you will. And if we succeed, we might even win one of the golden cubes ourselves. We can save our kind."
"We're not looking for trouble. We just want to live in peace."
"How long will you keep hiding? Don't you think using your powers to fight evil is better than running from it?"
William didn't answer. Again.
"I won't force you or your friends," Milo said finally. "But think about it. You have these powers for a reason. Maybe that reason… is to protect the innocent."
He turned and vanished using teleportation—leaving William alone in the darkness.
Would his friends agree to join Aiden's group? Was this a trap? Or was Milo truly sincere?
And what about the National Division who had already discovered the Kaos Team's hideout—the one place they thought was safe?
Questions churned in William's mind. And none of the answers were simple.