MasukAria no longer felt weak and disoriented. Instead, she had a tangle of questions and fixations she'd been sitting on for a long time. Her thoughts kept circling back to her past life and the deep bond she'd shared with her fellow apprentices from Hollowlight Sect. And underneath all of it sat a theory so unbelievable she hadn't dared look at it head-on, even though she knew she had to. Her gaze drifted to the branches swaying outside the window, but she wasn't seeing any of it. Her mind had already gone back to a few days ago. She had just found out that Fergus and Elijah, who'd woken up remembering everything, were the same fellow apprentices who had once shielded her with their lives. It stirred up a complicated knot of emotions in her chest. Memories she'd buried for ages came flooding back all at once. Back on the peak of Mount Hollowlight, there was the wooden lodge Tobias had built with his own hands. Her fellow apprentices had gathered around her and taught her swordwork
Just as Landon was sure he'd dissolve completely and lose even that last thread of awareness, the invisible force tearing his soul apart stopped cold. The fading silhouette that hung in the air suddenly held firm, and the unraveling froze in place. In the end, heaven's will stayed its hand. It didn't erase him or scatter his soul beyond any hope of return. Those words Landon had spoken about the hearts of the people, about fairness, about a world that actually cared—they'd left a mark somewhere deep inside heaven's cold and ancient core, and that mark wouldn't fade. The punishment had been about authority. But it had let Landon live because of its own doubt. Immediately after, a gentle but irresistible wave of energy wrapped itself around the scattered fragments of Landon's essence before they could drift apart for good. The pale gold specks floating through the air reversed course all at once, pulling back toward him from every direction. His body started filling back in. His
Heaven had never had to think before. It simply had to make decisions. This was the first time, in all the ages since its birth, that it set aside its absolute authority. It had never allowed a single word of dissent. But for the first time, it genuinely asked itself whether the order it upheld so rigidly was the foundation holding the world together—or the wall keeping it shut out from every living thing in it. Countless eons of memories surfaced. There were many beings who fell to their knees in their darkest moments, screaming at heaven and begging to know why things were so unfair. The loyal ones were framed and ruined, while the good ones were dragged through suffering they didn't deserve. Eventually, their eyes had turned cold, hollow, and hopeless. It remembered the ages when corruption ran unchecked, when the cruel held power, and the world was drowning in grief and fury. Heaven had treated all those emotions and cries like nothing. It never cared. But now, spoken thr
The concern in Sam's eyes melted Aria's heart on the spot. She turned her head with effort and gave him a gentle smile. She then said softly, "I'm fine." Sam nodded hard, his shoulders trembling as he sobbed. His fingers were still clenched tight around the edge of her blanket. "As long as you're okay, Boss! You scared me half to death." Outside the room, Zane felt his heart jump when he heard the noise. He walked quickly to the door and peered through the glass window. When he saw Aria with her eyes open, talking to Landon and Sam, the anxiety he'd been carrying for two solid days was finally gone. He turned and gave a firm nod to the Special Missions Unit members waiting at the end of the hallway. But he kept his voice barely above a whisper. "Boss is awake." Those few words hit every one of them at once. Tears welled up in their eyes, and they swallowed back their cheers. With fists clenched tight, their faces were full of joy and relief. Their boss—Aria, who always charged
The steady beep of the heart monitor broke the silence in the room, and for Landon, it was the only sound that brought him any peace. He sat with a straight back in the lone leather chair beside the bed. In fact, he sat so still that the chair itself might as well have been rooted to the floor. It was as though he and the cold hospital room had become one and the same. His eyes never left Aria's face. That gaze was deep and impossibly still, the kind that only came from living far too long. And buried somewhere behind it was a tenderness no one was ever meant to see. His gaze drifted slowly across her brow, tracing the furrow that lingered there even in unconsciousness. Even now, she carried a tension she couldn't let go of. It was as if some part of her was still standing on the battlefield in Soul Lock Grove, facing Nunzio down and shielding everyone behind her. As he raised his hand, his fingertip hovered just slightly above the crease between her brows. He was so careful it
Sam crouched down and squeezed Aria's hands tightly. Burying his face against her clothes, he murmured, "Boss, you have to be okay. Please get better soon so you can take me out for good food again." Landon glanced down at him but didn't say anything. Right now, Aria could use someone whispering in her ear. Less than two minutes later, the roar of an engine came from somewhere down the road. A modified black SUV arrived at the entrance of the grove almost immediately. The tires shrieked against the ground as it braked hard and came to a dead stop in front of them. The driver jumped out immediately and yanked the rear door open. He spoke in a rushed breath. "The car's ready!" Landon didn't waste another second. He scooped Aria up against his chest and slid into the back seat in one fluid motion. He was quick but careful, as though even the slightest jolt might hurt her. Sam scrambled in right behind him and planted himself next to Aria's hand. He locked his fingers around hers
The shareholders at the Carver Group did not understand what had happened at first. After watching the video, their expressions changed. Warren did not hold back anymore. "Is anyone here from overseas marketing?" "Mr. Carver Senior, I'm here." Aria's actions would have excited everyone in the
Aria felt something wild coming off him. It was not hatred, but something close. She was too caught up to figure out what it was. She had never felt anything like this before; it was like she was floating. Her eyes were open, but she could not focus. Even his breathing felt like an invasion, start
At the top of the corporate tower, Orion had Arlo keep watch of the time. He wanted Arlo to drop by his office and update them the moment the market started. At half past nine in the morning, the trading floor in Ludwiten buzzed with investors waiting for the market to start. Someone yelled, "We'r
Aria hadn't shared the detailed plan for exposing the factory's true nature with Isaiah. So, as the employees worked, he busied himself overseeing and recording the packaging process.Unaware of the online developments, Isaiah handed his notebook to his assistant just as a young man from the live s







