1

Nearing the reach of the Main hall, the full moon illuminates at night with a clear sky appearing above the roof. The luminosity shines above all until Kilian and Selina reach and enter the back entrance.

The main hall is dispersed and quiet, but the noise and chatter all come from the front lot as the two reach its front entrance. Theo still hasn’t been seen, but everyone is present. Former members from the four groups were also at the scene, having conversations, and some of the crowd had already set up camp on the empty plain parts of the lot. Kilian walks down the stairs first and heads towards his truck, parking at his right near the gates. Selina stood silently watching.

The engine roars as it reverses from its spot and moves to the center of the lot. Kilian got out and climbed on top of the bed. “Everyone!” He shouted across the front lot. They all stopped and gathered around his truck.

“As much as we would liked to spend our peaceful time, within less than an hour, Klaus’s siblings will arrive back home after their trip from the north. Our actions earlier were to grant them access back home safely. They never agreed to stand down, escalating into a full brawl. Hong An’s victory is only a minor but significant change in the history of Jinsu. Once we safely bring them to the palace, we will begin our future briefings and evaluations as to how all of us will proceed to face a massive superpower.” He looks at the crowd, mainly the defectors, all still wearing their former alliance outfits.

“I want to thank the ones who took the opportunity for a second chance by joining us to fight for the peace of their home. I will also discuss with you guys specifically later on how to proceed with organizing our military. You are all welcome to stay here as we have plenty of resources gained after seizing [the four]’s supplies. That is all I have for you all. All of you are welcome to join us when I’m holding a training session if you want improvements for the coming times ahead.” Kilian nodded, ending his remarks, and reacted with applause. He climbed off and gathered by cheers and applause. A few defectors came right up in front of Kilian, each holding a piece of paper. They each hand it to him, and Kilian reads each of them.

||4 Counted||

He looks up directly at the four defectors. “You four are each the commanders of your former army?”

“Correct, Kilian?”

“Kilian is fine for now. Or General.”

“Ok, then yes, General. All four of us.”

Kilian noticed the emblems on each of their arms. The one he interacted with belonged to Jianke. “I’m surprised Jianke has another commander. Would that make you the third?”

“Unfortunately, yes, the other two, Feng and the don’t give a crap guy, of course dead.”

“As they should be, Feng was an embarrassment. All of you four standing right now are grades above him. Your names?”

“I’m Zikham.” He goes from his right to left, “This is Ivremi from the Lang Clan, Benson from the Tiequan Sect, and Detsu from the Khong clan.”

“Nice to meet you all. Of course, we can discuss this once we finish picking up the siblings.”

“Looking forward to it,” Ivermi said before all four bowed and left.

||Access Granted: Four individuals

[Name: Zikham // HT: 6'0"//WT: ~176 lbs//Age: ??//OLRS: N]

[Name: Ivremi // HT: 5'9"//WT: ~131 lbs//Age: ??//OLRS: N]

[Name: Benson // HT: 5'8"//WT: ~148 lbs//Age: ??//OLRS: N]

[Name: Detsu // HT: 6'2"//WT: ~182 lbs//Age: ??//OLRS: N]||

“You ready?” Selina asked.

Kilian nodded, prompting him to raise his voice, signaling people to move away from the front of the truck, ready to depart. Selina climbed into the passenger seat. Kilian entered last, starting it, followed by a roaring engine. He turns on the full-beam headlights, flashing the gates ahead. Kilian honked the horn, prompting the guards to open the gate. As the gates open, the headlights shine through the spaces, glaring over the pitch-black ruins in the distance. The guards and ones around the front lot tried to not glance as it was too bright for them.

“How long till we get there this time?”

“Should be around twenty minutes.”

The truck drives off the palace, turning right, and heading back to the main intersection. Selina being in the passenger seat, observes all the catastrophic damage around her. Kilian switches to aerial headlights, widening the view. “My lord, this is just massive. Other than our area and few buildings remain, it’s all ground zero from here and more disturbing at night than day.” Kilian said as he too, looked around.

Turning to the left of the intersection facing back north, Kilian recalled the Church and North Jinsu Eatery while speeding up, reaching the bottom of the hill.

The church tower only remains standing. It's the only surviving structure in all of North Jinsu. They reached the roundabout and took the right that leads directly north, distancing away from the church.

"That's where your story begins," Selina commented while looking briefly through her side mirror. "It's still standing. Sounds symbolic, don't you think?"

"I guess so." Kilian vaguely replied.

The area widens after leaving the central part of town, “Jinsu could have expanded up to here if these four groups didn’t exist.” Kilian commented.

The pathway transitions to a road. Kilian pushed the gas pedal, speeding past the battle site and where he stood with Huo before the battle began. He ran over the remaining dead bodies scattered across the road. “Thank god for the suspension.”

“Still smooth.”

Over the bridge, Kilian slowed down and drove the remaining trip, reaching the next intersection.

“How do you think they’ll react when they see what’s left of Jinsu?”

“The acquaintances they’ve met living in Jinsu for a part of their lives, and unfortunately, all their houses gone to dust. I don’t think they will take it well at first. We have to be ready for that.”

“Eventually, they will find out who you are. Especially that body that was originally Klaus’s.”

“I’m looking forward to their reactions.”

Selina chuckled and burst out laughing, unintentionally spooking Kilian. “You almost made me lose control.” She laughed hysterically at his reaction. He just shook his head. That was so random of her.

Perfect timing as they reached the intersection, and Selina stopped laughing. Kilian reversed the truck into the bushes and turned off the truck, partially pulling his and Selina’s windows down. “Now we wait.”

Both lean their backs to the seats. Selina observes the right of the intersection, and Kilian takes the left. He handed her one of the sketches of one of the siblings.

||Scanning…

Acquired Features

1/1||

2

Some minutes later…

 

“How far are we?” Hugo asked.

“Around five more minutes till we reach the intersection,” Vivien said while looking outside through the carriage window. All of the siblings are sitting in the carriage, stashed with luggage. It was a little awkward till Dirk started mentioning the church. “Remember that day at the church, where we met Kilian and the time we went to the BBQ at the south of Jinsu?”

“Yeah, I remember that. The food was so exquisite. Him paying for all our meals was unexpected,” Vivien said.

“As much as I love going on periodic trips in the North for more than a couple weeks, Jinsu’s lifestyle is more relaxing. That’s missing in the North.” Hugo said. He pulled out his diary, flipping through the pages till he reached the night at the BBQ. “Yeah, I even wrote the moment where we all sat down with Kilian savoring our meals and discussing the five groups controlling Jinsu. All of us ordered seconds and cheered all our drinks to Klaus.”

Everyone nodded, and now they were starving for food just from recalling it. Markus, partially awake during the conversation, wiped his eyes before observing outside, “Was it raining earlier?” He noticed the puddles out on the road.

“No, not at all during the ride,” Ronja said.

“Then Jinsu must have rained earlier today. Which is odd because it rarely ever rains throughout the year.” Konstantin said.

All seven siblings chatter for the remaining minute till the driver of the horse gives a reminder and turns right into the intersection, entering the dirt offroad.

VROOM!

Roaring sounds of an engine revving up from the distance once the carriage fully turned to the offroad. Hugo was confused as he and others recognized the sounds from a vehicle. “A car? Jinsu has one?” Hugo curiously remarked, peeking out of the window.

Screech.

Sounds of loud screeches. They can hear the dirt shooting into the air, followed by a loud engine revving. The carriage abruptly stopped as another screech came from the front.

“How can I help you?” The driver asked.

Sounds of the door closed with footsteps walking.

“Nothing much, but I may ask who you are taking and heading off to?” Hugo heard a woman's voice conversing with the driver.

“Who are you?”

“A survivor of Jinsu. Now please tell us who is in the carriage?”

“I will not,” The driver responded.

Dirk slowly gets off his seat without making any noises and attempts to tie up the rear door of the carriage. Marina, internally sweating profusely, handed him one of her pair of t-shirts. He tied a knot on the handles and sat back on the seat.

“In that case…” Selina summons a spell that enables her to see through the carriage. The driver cautiously observed her and the sight of fear through his shaking jaw, “Yep, it’s Klaus’s siblings,” Selina said and then received an alarm from her OLRS.

||Enemy Identification confirmed

Allegiance Yun: Match!

+100 XP -> Selina

+100 XP -> Kilian||

“You are a Yun Spy! Get off the carriage!” She yelled at the driver. Kilian then blurted out, demanding the driver to get off as well.

“Hang on!” the driver said before storming off, nearly catching Selina off guard. She immediately spell-casted Kilian’s truck out of the way. The carriage stormed off into the distance.

“You run, I’ll drive. Hurry!” Selina sprinted to the Truck, speeding off and chasing the carriage.

“God fucking damn it,” Kilian said, clenching his fists, leaping through the sunroof into the air.

[The siblings]braced themselves as the driver panically rode the carriage downhill. Hugo can’t stand up straight as it’s too fast to keep up and partially tripped, but he viewed the window. A bright light appeared behind them. A loud roaring noise is no mistake the same truck they all heard earlier. The driver swirls around trying to block it from reaching the side.

Sound of clanking gears when the truck suddenly sped up towards the side in a bare second the carriage was at the right. Hugo peeked through to see who it was, he saw a young woman with a cowboy hat on but didn’t recognize her.

“Who is it?” Vivien asked.

“I don’t know, but she is young, wears a cowboy hat, and is extremely focused on the driver. We might need to”

Boom.

A loud ram hit the back of where Hugo, Markus, and Marina were sitting, throwing them off the benches, and slamming their torsos to the floor. The three grunted as others tried lifting them from the floor. Subsequently, another hit sent them on the floor again. “God damn it, what did we do to deserve this?” Marina shouted.

Hugo looks behind him only to see a massive dent inward. The benches are on the brink of tearing themselves apart due to the dent.

“Yo, what the hell no!” The driver yelled before sounds of struggle could be heard outside of the carriage. Hugo pointed to the rear door and gestured to jump out. Others called the suggestion insane.

“Then do you have anything else in mind?” Hugo whispered.

They shook their heads, and Dirk untied the knot. The siblings get ready to depart. All got their backpacks on, ready to jump. Dirk opens the door, viewing the offroad. Way too fast to jump safely.

SPLAT.

The splatter caught them off guard, and before they could figure out what just occurred, the carriage came to a progressive stop. Sending the siblings abruptly to the floor. The truck appeared in reverse, moving from the side to the center with the tailgate opened. An abrupt force pushing towards the truck tossed the siblings off the carriage. All seven landed on top of each other on the truck’s bed. The tailgate closes. Ronja, on top of the crowd, leans herself up only to see the remaining luggage flying out of the carriage heading in their direction, “Look out!” she yelled, covering her head.

Kilian jumped into the air with blue-burning eyes and extended both arms, grabbing multiple flying luggage barely in time. Grabbing the last three, he exerted air, pulling himself from dropping downward. Now standing in the air hovering above them, the truck stopped. Selina got herself out of the truck. He handed her the luggage from above and she tossed it smoothly onto the rear seats.

Ronja uncovers her head, realizing she is fine, and gasps when she sees Kilian hovering in the air, not recognizing him. She got herself off the crowd while pointing at him, “Uhm, guys? Look!”

Kilian sees her frightened and senses the rapid heartbeat pumping within her chest. Once the siblings arranged themselves on the bed, they looked up and grew flustered. Marina almost let out a gasp like Ronja.

“Why are you doing this to us?!” Viven blurted. “What do you want so we can go back?”

Kilian glanced at Selina. She responded with a nod, prompting him to look back at the siblings. “What do you mean? I’m taking you there, to begin with. The driver is from the Yue empire. He’s an enemy of ours.” he calmly said as he descended to the ground. Vivien exchanged facial expressions. Kilian sighed.

||[All 7 subjects safe and stable]

+100 XP (Yun Driver deceased)

Level 0: 3000/4000

Level 1 Perks Reveal unlocked ||

Later. Kilian saves the reveal for later

“I don’t think you should do that, Kilian would be very troubling if you keep doing that,” Selina said, noticing her facial exchange.

“Kilian?! Bullshit, he can’t be that cruel,” Vivien replied.

“Now that’s just inaccurate,” Kilian said, using one of Selina’s spells to remove his facial hair momentarily. He hovers his hand slowly across his face, making sure not one of them misses it. From his left to right, he can see their unpleasant faces. He hovers his hand to the right, revealing the widened eyes and the moment of silence. He moves his hand away, “So, am I more recognizable now?”

Hugo was noticeably the most affected by it as he jolted up from the bed, “That ain’t possible, where’s your hat and katana you always bring?!”

“Destroyed. While you guys were gone, we had a whole battlefield. It’s ground zero now.” Kilian slowly heads to the driver seat as Selina hops to the passenger side, and he reverts with his beard. “There’s still enough space in the rear. If you want to hop on, then go ahead. Take your time. I’ll explain more as we leave.” He hops onto the driver seat, pulling his window down, and extending his arms over the door.

Markus, needing some fresh air, insisted on staying on the bed. Hugo immediately jumped out of the bed before others could decide and hopped in, sitting behind Selina.

“You must be Hugo?”

Hugo nodded, “Are you that lady driving earlier?”

“Mhm. Sorry if I hit you guys too hard. The driver was chaotic.”

“I understand, no need to apologize. Nice to meet you. What do you do?”

“Likewise… I’m the head nurse and doctor for Hong An Sect.”

Hugo grew a little concerned, “Sect? Stay away.”

“They don’t exist anymore. It’s just a name now for Hong An.” Kilian interrupted.

“What did you do?”

“Once we move, we will talk,” Kilian said. He looked at the bed, seeing two more walking to his side and opening the rear left door. “You took your time.”

“I needed the comfortable seat. That ramming brutalized my back a little,” Vivien said, sitting at the center next to Dirk, who was behind Kilian.

“Sorry, I’ll get you treated when we get back,” Selina said.

“Are you ready, back there?!” Kilian told the back.

“Yes. We just want to go home,” one of them said

Kilian pulled the gear shift and went for a U-turn heading back to Jinsu. “Sorry, your home doesn’t exist anymore,” he said, passing by the wreckage. Kilian sped away, pulling down Selina’s window blasting an energy orb, blowing the carriage up to fragments.

“I’m sure you all have plenty of questions after all of this. I’ll answer one of them. Yes, the five groups don’t exist anymore. Hong An remains, but the reorganization will start after getting you guys there.”

“Huh?!” Everyone except Hugo blurted in confusion.

“Hours ago, we declared victory over Jianke and the other three. The House of Hong An will lead the recovery and rule of Jinsu.”

“House of Hong An. Is it supposed to be Hong An Sect?” Vivien said.

“Was. Until the death of the King and I took over,” Kilian said.

Vivien took that seriously and felt left out. She wished she was present for all the events that went on over the weeks. What astounded her was that Kilian leads one of the five that the siblings despised. But then after hearing that Jianke was disbanded, the weight was lifted from her shoulders. Same for the other siblings.

“You guys can hear me right?” Kilian said through his window.

“Yes. Loud and clear.” Markus replied.

“Sounds like a coincidence but what made you do this…” Dirk has been curious since he first met Kilian in the church. “All of a sudden things just change after we meet you.”

“Seems to be happening unconsciously with everything,” Kilian said, still uncertain why. “Was Klaus like that too?”

“Yes, but not to the level as you have…Jesus a few weeks and already this,” Vivien said.

Kilian thinking this is the right moment, “Maybe I haven’t told y’all something since we first met. Do all of you recall the time in the church, and the body is gone?”

“It has to be still there somewhere,” Markus said from outside.

“I’m with that statement,” Vivien said, followed by Dirk and vice versa. “Did you find it?” Vivien added.

Kilian rebuffs Markus that the truck he took from Jianke’s basement included various other items. He saw no casket or bodies to begin with at any of the four’s inventories. Only documents, weapons, and gifts.

“Then what else could it be then?” Markus sounded irritated. Kilian noticed that, and now was the right time to spoil the beans.

“He’s here with you.”

“Pardon?” Dirk grasps what he means. Selina turned around and looked at the three in the rear, all eyes directly on her, she then pointed at Kilian.

“I don’t get it. Why are you pointing at him?” Hugo focuses on Selina’s finger.

“Again, recall the day of the church and at the BBQ eatery. Do I look like him?” Kilian repeatedly said.

Hugo remembered introducing himself first to Kilian, sitting at the benches after dealing with two of Klaus’s former friends who disrespected him. He had a glance at him, “Wait let me have a look at your face again.”

Kilian stopped the truck aside the road and turned his face directly at the three. Hugo observed, “What happened to your eyes and nose?” After asking, Kilian sat back and drove back to the road, about to return to Jinsu’s original town. He then turned to the direction of the Jianke sect’s location.

“When I first met you, the characteristics of Klaus were still there, the eyes and nose like you noticed. However, no beard. Which is the possibility why you didn’t recognize it at all. After you guys left for the trip, my facial changes became more apparent, and I grew my beard out. I, who used to go by Duan in my previous life, mysteriously died with no clues and was offered a second chance by Klaus to finish the job. And I did.” Kilian stopped once he reached the Jianke sect. He told everyone to look at his right. “You see right there. That’s where the Jianke sect used to stand. Now all rubble and the smell of burning crisp.”

Selina added her final remarks, “In our conference before rescuing you guys, we were thinking of options till the realization that you guys can’t arrive back safely with that carriage before being in captivity. So, Hong An unanimously decided to declare a full battle as leverage to get you guys through. It ended up fulfilling Klaus’s promises, and Kilian felt being the brother Klaus would have been to keep you guys safe this is the best option to do it.”

All the siblings can't believe all the information they were told and witness the destruction of Jianke Sect in person. In a way, they felt at peace, especially Vivien as she was much closer to Klaus the most other than Hugo. Her vengeance heart fulfills, leaving behind a colder and lighter feeling. Selina summoned tissues, offering her one. She took a couple, letting her emotions come off. Kilian parked the car and went outside for some fresh air.

While staring in the opposite direction, Markus and Ronja called him. Kilian walked towards the two. They are interested in what to do from here, especially after seeing Kilian hovering in the air earlier.

“After experiencing that, are you interested in training?” Kilian asked.

“I have nothing to lose. Other than trips and daily life, it’s boring I’ll be honest,” Markus said.

“Need help suppressing the internal fear. It would be a blessing if there is a solution,” Ronja said, insisting.

“You two are thinking ahead. All of you were gonna train anyway, but being the Kilian you know I ask for your output,” Kilian said sincerely.

"Well, we all are grateful. You are giving off a little of Klaus just now,” Markus said.

Kilian smiled and nodded. "Yea. His spirit is still strong. We don't have time to spare here to talk. Let's talk as we move and more at the palace." He went back into the driver's seat.

"Thank you," Vivien muttered while holding his shoulder.

"Not a problem."

The truck drives off, heading back.