The silence in the lower city wasn't ordinary…
It was a silence that felt like awaiting a death sentence.
The Fallen Heroes Alliance stood atop the stone platform like living statues, their bodies bearing the marks of unforgettable battles, their eyes fixed on Kyle… not as a savior, nor as an enemy… but as an unresolved catastrophe waiting to happen.
Kyle was about to speak—
But…
Everything stopped.
Not the world around him…
But within him.
His breath froze instantly, his eyes widened, and he fell violently to his knees, clutching his chest as if trying to rip his own heart out with his hands.
It wasn't pain…
It was worse.
A ringing.
A cold, metallic sound began echoing deep inside him, as if his body had been forcibly turned into a device being rebooted.
His body trembled, and his vision blurred.
"Aaahhh—!!"
A muffled scream escaped him as he tried to hold himself together.
On the opposite side, Rio's smile faded for the first time.
He slowly lifted his head, his eyes narrowing with an unusual seriousness.
"It's the frequency… the head of the organization activated it."
⚙️ Elsewhere…
Where there was no chaos… and no mercy.
Inside a sterile glass hall in the heart of the Organization of Balance, cold light reflected off soulless faces.
A woman sat on a metal chair, her restraints not on her wrists… but in her eyes.
Next to her, Lina trembled silently, trying to understand how a place so pristine could hide such terror.
The door opened.
The Leader entered.
His presence was not loud…
But it was enough to choke the air in the room.
He stopped in front of a massive screen displaying live data—
A pulsing diagram… a heart glowing a dark red.
Kyle's heart.
"Finally…" he said, his voice devoid of any feeling. "The Restoration Protocol is beginning to respond."
The woman raised her head toward him, her eyes a mixture of anger and heartbreak.
"He's your son…"
She paused for a second, then continued in a trembling voice:
"How can you turn his blood into a tracking device?"
He didn't look.
He didn't hesitate.
"My son?"
His hand hovered over the screen as if considering the word for a moment… then wiped it from existence.
"That emotional definition is meaningless."
He slowly turned.
"What stands before you isn't a son… but a fully functional 'tool.'"
He took a single step toward Lina.
She trembled instantly.
"The only vessel capable of containing infinity…"
He stopped in front of her, looking at her as if she were an extraneous number in an equation.
"And you…"
A short pause.
"A mistake… now useful."
Lina's voice caught in her throat.
"You will be the catalyst."
---
Lower City
"Kyle!"
Rio's voice reached him like it was coming from underwater.
But Kyle wasn't fully there.
His eyes had lost focus…
His body was no longer his own.
Suddenly—
His vision opened.
He saw—
His mother.
Bound.
Silent.
He saw—
Lina.
Afraid.
Broken.
Then…
The face.
The head of the organization…
"Kyle, listen to me!"
Rio rushed forward, gripping him tightly.
"This isn't a call… it's a tether! It's pulling you toward him!"
Kyle slowly lifted his head.
Pushed Rio's hand away.
Slowly… he stood.
His body was exhausted, but his eyes were unnaturally alert.
He turned toward the Fallen Heroes.
"You told me, Rio… they chose."
Silence.
Then he wiped the blood from his face.
He turned toward the exit leading upward.
Toward the organization.
Toward its leader.
"…And I have chosen as well."
He paused for a moment.
Then said:
"I will return… as a nightmare to shatter the cage."
At that moment—
The ringing stopped.
But not because it vanished…
It had changed.
It became a pulse.
Deep.
Steady.