The heavy wooden door clicked shut, leaving Ambo completely alone in the dim, torch-lit quiet of the medical ward.
The evening shadows stretched long across the stone floor, the distant groans of the Kampilan fortress settling in for the night.
Ambo gripped the edge of the mattress, his teeth grinding tightly together as he slowly tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed.
Every single muscle fiber in his body screamed in protest, a violent, deep-seated ache throbbing behind his ribs.
He was still limping heavily, his physical frame thoroughly broken from the back-to-back blunt trauma inflicted by both Jenkins siblings.
He dragged himself forward with great difficulty, his breath ragged as he leaned his weight against the edge of the wooden center table to look at the clothes Jahek had left behind.
His dark eyes scanned the messy heap of fabrics until they locked onto a vibrant purple, oversized jacket.
He pulled it from the pile, running his thumbs over the thick cloth.
For some reason, the deep shade of violet felt right.
He carefully slipped his arms into the wide sleeves, pairing the oversized outerwear with a simple pair of loose black shorts and sliding his bruised feet into comfortable white clogs for footwear.
CREAK.
The door slid open again as Jahek bounded back into the room, holding a final, separate piece of clothing he had retrieved from the lower lockers…
As he finished adjusting the jacket, Ambo noticed Jahek was holding a separate piece of clothing, preparing to toss it into a metal waste bin by the door.
It was an old, tattered black oversized t-shirt.
The fabric was practically falling apart, riddled with jagged rips, tears, and rough slashes from whatever unknown horror had occurred before the cave.
It was the exact shirt Ambo had been wearing when he first woke up in the limestone cavern.
Ambo’s brow furrowed, his split-tongue vein lines tightening against his jaw.
“What is that?” “Oh, this?” Jahek paused, holding up the shredded cloth with two fingers.
“This is your old tattered shirt from the cave.
It looks like total shit, honestly.
I was planning to throw it away since I just gave you a whole new wardrobe anyway.
You don’t need this garbage anymore, right?” Ambo stared at the tattered black shirt.
A strange, unexplainable weight settled into his chest, a lingering, warm static humming beneath his skin.
He didn’t know why, but looking at those jagged tears made the dark void of his amnesia vibrate with an ominous, heavy pull.
“No,” Ambo said softly, extending his hand.
“Leave it.
I think I will be pairing it with what you just gave me now.
I don’t know…
it just feels like there’s something in it.
A sentimental value.
It might help me remember my past, or eventually point to where I originally came from.” Jahek shrugged, his jolly demeanor returning as he handed the tattered garment down to Ambo.
Ambo quickly pulled the ripped black oversized tee over his torso, layered beneath the deep violet jacket.
Just as he finished pulling the fabric straight, the heavy wooden door of the barracks was thrown open with mechanical precision.
Zaiden stood in the threshold, his cold brawler posture radiating an unyielding urgency.
He didn’t say a word of greeting, his sharp eyes scanning their casual outfits before he gestured toward the empty alley with a tilt of his head.
“Time’s up, rookies.
Follow me to Xan’s office immediately.
The priority meeting is starting.” Jahek scurried to grab his butcher gloves, falling into a hurried sprint alongside Ambo as they struggled to keep up with Zaiden’s rapid pace down the stone corridors toward the command tower of the guild.
“Hey, Captain!
Where are we going anyway?” Jahek whispered loudly, nervously shifting his weight as they navigated the deeper alley sectors of the guild.
“I thought we were heading straight past the perimeter gates to hunt the drug labs!” “We are meeting someone before going on another mission,” Zaiden replied flatly, not even turning his head.
“It is a top priority requirement before we deploy, but the mission parameters are highly urgent.
Al will provide you with the exact details when we arrive.
Come on.” The heavy doors of the central command center unbolted from the inside, swinging open to reveal Xan standing behind her massive desk.
She looked utterly exhausted, her short dark hair messy as her eyes tracked the trio’s arrival.
But she wasn’t alone.
Sitting perfectly still on a wooden stool in the corner of the room was an unfamiliar individual the rookies had never encountered within the guild halls.
The figure wore a bizarre, full-body headgear mask shaped exactly like a green dinosaur costume, completely obscuring their facial features to only show a pair of sharp, glowing eyes peering through the fabric slits.
A massive, oversized collared jacket hung loosely over their frame, emblazoned with a prominent, stylized letter K printed directly over the left chest plate.
The stranger wore matching, loose pajama trousers and standard shoes, remaining completely silent as the door clicked shut.
Xan rubbed her temples, her tone dropping into a sharp, clinical register as she gestured toward the corner.
“Listen to me very carefully, you two.
This is K.” Ambo and Jahek blinked, tilting their heads in complete confusion at the dinosaur-masked stranger.
“Do not refer to it by a gender, and do not ask about its identity,” Xan warned, her eyes flashing with a dangerous, cold seriousness.
“Within the guild, K is officially classified as an it.
This individual’s entire existence is highly classified among the highest tier of the guild high-ups, and the only persons permitted to meet or interact with it are myself, Zaiden, and the true Master of the guild.
Its information is strictly confidential.
And the reason for that absolute secrecy…
is its capability.” Xan nodded toward the stranger.
“K.
Fix the rookie.” Without uttering a single syllable, K stood up from the stool.
It marched forward with a quiet, completely detached posture until it stood directly in front of Ambo.
K raised both of its hands high above Ambo’s curly black hair, positioning its palms in a rigid, preaching-like stance.
HUMMM.
A sudden, brilliant wave of pure, luminescent green energy violently erupted from K’s palms, filling the entire room with a heavy, soothing warmth.
It was a manifestation of its signature Segonda ability—a supreme, flawless healing attribute that was phenomenally, unbelievably rare among human populations.
Ambo gasped aloud as the green light washed over his skin.
In a matter of seconds, the agonizing aches inside his body completely vanished.
The fractured bones inside his ribs re-stitched themselves with fluid precision, the deep muscle tears healing at a tremendous, impossible velocity that completely defied standard medical science.
“Holy crap…” Jahek stammered, his jaw dropping to the floor as his single missing tooth showed in absolute shock.
It was the first time in his entire life he had ever witnessed a biological reconstruction happen at that speed.
Ambo stood up, testing his weight.
The limp was entirely gone.
His legs felt perfectly light, his stamina pool completely refilled as if the brutal beatings from Leeroy and Kai had never occurred.
“Keep your mouths locked,” Xan snapped, her voice cutting through their awe like an iron blade.
“Anyone inside this room who just witnessed K’s ability is strictly ordered to keep it an absolute secret.
If a single whisper of a human-tier healing Segonda leaks out to the surface gangs or the sky, this guild will be torn apart by wolves.
Do you understand?” Ambo and Jahek both nodded instantly, their expressions hardening.
“Good,” Xan said, opening her reinforced desk drawer and pulling out the shimmering, glowing violet vial of the Walibu booster drug.
She swirled the unpolished fluid against the torchlight.
“I allowed Ambo to experience K’s healing ability because it is absolutely urgent that we send you on a mission right now, for two primary reasons.
It is actually connected to this exact booster drug.” She leaned far across the wood, her voice dropping into a piercing whisper.
“We received an intel report that there’s a highly suspicious individual moving through the borders, and someone from the guild was able to follow this person.
The trail leads directly to an abandoned vicinity sitting right on the edge of the city limits.
It looks like there are large boxes stored there that we believe hold these booster drugs.
Since this someone has already successfully infiltrated that area, we know there are only three persons currently managing the facility—and we suspect them to be active members of Walibu.” Xan’s geographical pointer shifted toward the dark corner behind her bookshelf.
“And the person who infiltrated that area is right over there in the corner.
This is Asher.” Ambo and Jahek looked back into the shadows.
Stepping into the light was a tall man with distinct, dark green hair styled with sharp sleeks running along the sides.
He wore a sleeveless suit of body armor, emblazoned with a unique, custom-engraved insignia: a large letter W perfectly positioned above a letter S directly on the center of his chest.
He wore tight-fitting black pants that clung to his legs like latex pants, paired with thin combat gloves that left his fingers exposed to the open air.
High-heeled combat boots clicked sharply against the floor with every step he took, and a pair of matching silver earrings glinted on his left and right ears.
But his most striking feature was strapped across his back—a long sword forged with an unnatural, wavy blade that twisted precisely like the coiled framework of a hunting snake.
“I am adding him to your group,” Xan continued, her eyes shifting away from the map.
“Asher, Jahek, and Ambo will be deployed to the dead zone immediately.” Jahek’s jaw dropped as his eyes darted between Xan and Zaiden.
“On the dead what?
Wait, hold on!
Just the three of us?
What about Zaiden?
Z isn’t coming with us?!”.
Asher step forward with a warm, reassuring smile.
When Jahek panics about a dangerous dead-zone mission, Asher place a heavy, comforting hand on his shoulder and say, “Don’t sweat it, kid.
As long as I’m breathing, nothing touches my squad.” Xan follow up reply after Asher remarks.
“I am assigning Asher as your captain.
Z and I will be staying behind to handle the ongoing interrogation of Kai in the lower cells.
For the meantime, as we carry out the questioning, we are fully expecting someone to come.
For that exact reason, I want to deploy the three of you as far away from this fortress as possible.
I absolutely do not want this guild to become a live battleground when that person hits the perimeter.” Jahek swallowed hard, his face turning entirely pale as sweat began to form on his brow.
“Wait…
who’s coming?
Oh my god…
you don’t mean Axl?
One of the Celestial Order?
The Zenith of Rings?
How could he know already?
Boss, did you provide the exact details to the upper tier?!” “Axl is not someone who is willing to listen to explanations,” Xan snapped, cutting off his frantic panic with an unyielding glare.
“He just goes by what he hears.
Your orders are final.
Prepare your minds and leave tomorrow by dawn.
Asher will be the one to guide you and teach you the survival rules out in the open dead zones.
He is a veteran brawler, and without question, the absolute best swordsman inside this entire guild.
Dismissed.”