Chapter 3

Liam stood off to the side, utterly stunned.

He didn't know Atlas, but he certainly recognized Ezra.

Even his own brother, Lucas—despite having some influence in Kingston—was nothing more than a lackey in front of Ezra.

And Ezra was standing a full respectful step behind the old man.

The math was terrifyingly simple. This 'Atlas' operated on a level Lucas couldn't even glimpse.

Yet here this legendary figure from Rhinome City was, calling himself the senior disciple to a man who had just served time in Alcatan Penitentiary?

'What the hell kind of background does this Sterling guy have?' Liam wondered.

The answer crashed into him. The 'very important guest' Lucas had been rushing to collect… it was him.

The memory of his own sneering voice—"Who the hell are you? You looking to die?"—played in his head. A cold, greasy sweat erupted across his forehead. He wished he could carve out his own tongue. Trembling, he became a statue, praying to be invisible.

Leo gave the elderly man a measured nod. "Master spoke of you, Atlas. I appreciate you making the trip from Rhinome City."

Atlas said calmly, "Master gave the order. As his disciple, I had no choice."

Leo frowned slightly.

He caught the meaning immediately—Atlas was here because the master commanded it, not because this was a gesture of brotherhood.

Still, he could understand. The old man in Cell Six—the one they called the Blind Master—was a relic. Who knew how many disciples he'd collected over a lifetime? But he had given his sole token, that padparadscha sapphire signet ring, to Leo. Resentment from older, passed-over disciples was only natural.

Seeing the change in Leo's expression, Atlas decided to speak plainly.

"Leo, half a year ago, the Master called and told me to pick you up today. I've done that. I will host a dinner in your honor tonight. Then I return to Rhinome City. But let us be clear."

His eyes flicked to the ring on Leo's thumb. "The Master gave you his mark. Whether you get to keep it… that is for you to prove. I will give you three years. Establish yourself. Prove you are worthy. If you fail…" He let the threat hang in the air. "Then the ring returns to the Master's legacy. I will safeguard it."

Leo remained silent, prompting Atlas to assume he was afraid.

"And if I do not come for it," Atlas added coldly, "others will. The Master's last disciple cannot be a mediocrity."

A slow, genuine smile touched Leo's lips. The bluntness was almost a relief.

He spun the ring idly on his thumb. "I want vengeance. Not titles. Not a kingdom. But if anyone wants this ring…" His gaze lifted, meeting Atlas's squarely. "They can try. What the Master didn't intend for me, I wouldn't take. What he did give me, no one will take away. Not even you."

"How dare you!" the young woman in the black dress snapped, her brows arching sharply as she glared at him. "Who do you think you're speaking to? Do you have any idea who my grandfather is?"

She had been watching Leo earlier. He looked like an ordinary young man—not ugly, but not especially handsome either.

She couldn't understand why her grandfather—a man who commanded boardrooms and silenced political rooms across the country—traveled hours to this backroad to greet an ex-con? And now the con had the audacity to be dismissive?

Leo's tone didn't change. "I'm stating a fact. And thank you for the offer, Atlas, but I'll decline the dinner. I just got out. I have business to attend to, and no appetite for pageantry."

"You ungrateful—" the woman began, but Atlas cut her off with a single word.

"Alessia!"

He wasn't bothered by Leo's arrogance. If the master's final disciple had no spine at all, that would be disappointing.

Alessia huffed angrily but shut her mouth.

Atlas looked at Leo. "After our Master called me, I investigated you. What's your plan for the Kirk family? For our Master's sake, I can give you a few contacts—"

"No." The refusal was immediate, absolute. "My fight is my own. I don't want your help."

Alessia rolled her eyes, muttering, "As if we were offering."

Atlas inclined his head. "As you wish. I will return to Rhinome City. Take care, Leo."

Leo gave a slightl nod of farewell. "I won't see you off."

Atlas turned to leave—but the moment he took a step, his body twisted sideways.

Alessia rushed to support him, crying out, "Grandpa!"

"I'm fine," he said, waving a hand, though he leaned heavily on her as they slowly continued forward.

Leo watched Atlas's right leg and frowned. "Wait."

Atlas paused. Leo was already beside him, his focus on the old man's leg. "An old injury. Let me see it."

"What are you doing?" Alessia snapped, trying to shield her grandfather. "What do you know about medicine? You just got out of prison!"

Leo ignored her. In one fluid motion, he crouched and pushed up the leg of Atlas's tailored trousers.

The right leg—thin, sunken, veins bulging grotesquely from thigh to calf—looked frightening.

Alessia exploded. "Get away from him! Don't you touch him!"

The surrounding security detail tensed, hands moving toward hidden holsters.

"Alessia, stand down!" Atlas barked, startling her into stillness. He waved the others back and turned to Leo. "You… recognize this injury?"

"Stagnation," Leo said simply. "Blocked pathways. A kinetic injury from a dark force that never healed."

His hands settled on Atlas's thigh. They weren't gentle. He pressed deep into the muscle, finding the bone, then swept downward with firm, unerring pressure. His fingertips danced in a rapid, precise pattern along the leg.

"You—!" Alessia stepped forward, ready to pull him away—but the words froze on her lips as shock washed over her.

The bulging veins on her grandfather's leg… disappeared. The twisted, gnarled limb returned to normal before her eyes.

Atlas sucked in a shuddering breath, staring at his own leg as if seeing a miracle. "The Master's Divine Touch Technique… I trained for thirty years and could never channel the energy… You mastered it so young?"

The last remnants of patronizing superiority evaporated, replaced by awe. "Now I understand. Now I see why you are the last disciple."

Leo stood and waved lightly.

"You came all this way to pick me up. Helping you clear your injuries caused by the dark force is only fair. Now we're even. Massage your right leg for half a month after you return. The injury will be fully cured."

Atlas nodded solemnly. He wasn't pretentious about it.

"Leo, I will listen for news from Kingston. We will meet again."

Leo offered only a faint, enigmatic smile in return.

The entourage melted back into their vehicles and pulled away, leaving nothing but dust and silence.

Liam, shoved wordlessly into his car by his ashen-faced brother Lucas, didn't dare look back as their group sped off in the opposite direction.

Inside the Rolls-Royce, Alessia cast a disdainful glance out the window at Leo's fading figure.

"What's he acting all high and mighty for? He's just a convict who knows a physical therapy trick."

Atlas looked at her, his expression solemn.

"Alessia, when we get back, I'm transferring you to Kingston. I don't care how you do it—in one year, you must become Leo's woman."