A faint sound pulsed in his head… then a headache struck, as if a hammer was crashing into his skull.
Joseph slowly opened his eyes, greeted by a dim white light. The ceiling above him looked strange, unfamiliar in every way. He tried to lift his head but groaned, muttering:
— "Ah… Where am I?"
He turned to the side—and there she was.
She sat in silence, her eyes swollen from crying and staying up all night. But before he could even open his mouth fully, a light smack landed on his head.
— "Mary?!"
— "That's what you get!" she said, her brows furrowed. "Are you that determined to leave me alone, or what?!"
He placed his hand behind his head, trying to ease the pain, then smiled faintly and joked:
— "Hehe… It's not what you think, I swear."
But her expression didn't change. This time, she was serious.
— "From now on, if you're going anywhere… you have to tell me. Got it?!"
He sighed, then replied in a calm tone:
— "Mary, why do you always make things more complicated?"
She didn't answer. She simply turned her face away, as if hiding her anger… or her sadness. Or maybe both.
Joseph slowly got up. His body still felt heavy, as if the souls within him hadn't yet allowed him to wake. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and said softly:
— "I'm just… trying to make our lives better. These are only bumps on the road—nothing more."
She replied in a broken but firm voice:
— "My life won't get better… if I have to live it without a brother."
The words stabbed at his heart—but he showed nothing. He simply sat beside her in silence, and the room suddenly felt warmer than it had moments ago.
Silence returned, but Joseph's mind wasn't at peace.
Suddenly… his eyes caught a shadow moving past the glass of the door. He turned quickly.
A familiar figure… walking confidently through the hallway in front of the room.
"Wait… isn't that… Hana's companion?"
Joseph slowly rose from his bed, steadying himself, and said to Mary:
— "I'll be back in a moment."
He left without waiting for her response.
He followed from a distance, watching the man enter a room at the end of the hallway. Joseph pushed the door gently until it was halfway open—then stopped.
He heard a soft voice… a girl's voice.
He stepped closer, his eyes peeking through the small gap in the door…
It was Hana.
She sat on the couch across from her companion. They laughed, exchanged glances—as if the world around them had disappeared.
Then, in a sudden moment, the man pulled out a small black box from his pocket and opened it in front of her.
A ring.
Hana's eyes widened, and she gasped silently. Her expression wavered between shock and tears. She didn't speak—she simply embraced him.
Her body trembled in his arms.
As for Joseph, standing outside the room, he didn't move.
He felt something inside him… not pain, not jealousy—just an unexpected emptiness.
As if the child he had forgotten inside himself had awakened for a brief moment… only to ask for something simple.
A hug. A touch. A gentle word.
He smiled quietly—the kind of smile worn by someone who knows well that what he's looking for… has no place here.
He placed a hand over his heart—not to warm it, but just to make sure it was still beating.
Then he turned around and headed back to his room.
Joseph was walking back toward his room—
But as he approached, he saw a man standing at his door… His presence was imposing, even from behind, and his gray coat bore the emblem of the Guardian Corps.
The man lifted his head, his stern eyes meeting Joseph's.
— "I'm glad to see you've recovered, Joseph Yaman."
His voice was firm, yet held a measure of respect.
Joseph stopped, gave a slight bow as a sign of acknowledgment, and said:
— "Thank you, Deputy Yoon-Seok."
Choi Yoon-Seok… Deputy Commander of the Guardian Corps, a man who only appears when things are truly serious.
The deputy didn't smile. Instead, he pulled a small file from his coat and said in a flat tone:
— "We need to open an investigation into what happened two days ago. The matter is of the utmost importance."
He opened the file and continued:
— "You were found unconscious at the headquarters of one of the country's largest mafia groups… and the boss—the head of the syndicate—was discovered dead in an extremely gruesome manner."
He paused for a moment, locking eyes with Joseph.
— "You, Hana, and the other person who was with you will all be summoned. We need your statements."
There was no threat in the deputy's voice… but there wasn't a hint of hesitation either.
Joseph showed no reaction. He simply nodded and said calmly:
— "Alright."
Then he walked past the deputy and entered his room.
Joseph returned to find Mary still sitting where he had left her, leaning on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed.
He smiled and said:
— "What do you say we go home? I think I've had enough of this medicine smell."
She didn't reply with words—just raised her eyebrows and nodded silently.
**
Less than an hour later, they were home.
The sun was quietly setting, and the world felt still, as if it were waiting for Joseph to continue his story.
He entered his room, closed the door, and sat at the edge of the bed… alone, with his thoughts.
He began to remember.
The headache returned—but this time, it wasn't physical. It was a question pressing against his memory.
"What happened in that compound?"
Everything was hazy, but fragments came back: his body moving without conscious thought, his hand tearing through flesh, blood, Yugi Moto's scream…
Then one image stood out—clear, as if carved into his mind:
A man, handcuffed… throwing himself from above.
Joseph placed his hand over his face.
He didn't feel like himself in that moment.
But suddenly… something appeared out of nowhere.
A card.
It floated down gently in front of him, untouched by any hand. He bent down and picked it up. Written on it were the words:
"Spiritual Fog"
He stared at it and whispered:
— "Spiritual Fog?… What is this?"
The moment the words left his lips, everything changed.
The room vanished. Its walls dissolved… and everything around him became endless mist.
Then… that fog-like entity materialized before him.
The entity spoke with a mocking tone:
— "Aren't you going to thank me… for saving you?"
Joseph stared, his expression stunned:
— "Wait… were you controlling me back then?"
The entity laughed:
— "You made the choice, Joseph. I merely… offered help."
Silence followed, then Joseph slowly began to grasp what was happening.
He took a step toward the entity and asked:
— "Hey, you… what does Spiritual Fog mean?"
The entity smiled—or so Joseph thought. Then it said:
— "It is the beginning, Joseph. It is the beginning."
Joseph took a single step deeper into the fog, his voice firm, tinged with restrained worry:
— "What do you mean by the beginning?!"
But the entity didn't answer.
In an instant, it vanished… as if its presence had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
And with it, the world of fog began to unravel and quietly fade away. No sound. No warning. Only… emptiness.
Joseph was back in his room, sitting just as he had been moments earlier.
The air was heavy, and the silence absolute.
He looked at his hand, only to find the card had vanished too…
as if it had melted into nothingness.
He sat in silence, his expression clouded, his eyes fixed on the floor.
He muttered softly:
— "But… what does it mean by the beginning?"
He remained seated, frozen, face to face with a question he had no answer for.
Yet deep down, he knew… something had already begun.
— "It's the beginning, Joseph… only the beginning."
⸻
As night fell, on the top floor of the Guardians' headquarters, the building's doors opened quietly.
Lee Min-Wan, the head of the organization, entered, accompanied by his deputy, Choi Yoon-Seok.
They walked side by side through the quiet corridor, heading toward the elevator.
Yoon-Seok spoke with his usual smile:
— "How was your trip to Germany, sir?"
Lee Min-Wan replied coolly:
— "There's not much to talk about."
Moments later, he pressed the elevator button, and as they entered together and the elevator began to move, the president turned his head toward his deputy and asked:
— "You mentioned on the phone that something important happened while I was away… what is it?"
The elevator doors opened after a few seconds, and they stepped out together, walking down the corridor leading to the president's office on the top floor.
Deputy Choi Yoon-Seok began speaking:
— "Two days ago, an incident occurred involving one of the mafias. Three people were kidnapped… two guards and a civilian."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
— "Fortunately, they were all rescued. But what we found inside the headquarters was far beyond a simple rescue operation."
The president nodded without comment, so the deputy continued:
— "The mafia boss was found dead… but in a violent, terrifying way. Dismembered, blood everywhere."
Choi raised his hand slightly, as if pointing to a scene before him:
— "Just minutes before we entered, we sensed a massive energy explosion from the place. There was a misty smoke seeping from the windows and cracks, but when we stormed the building… the fog suddenly vanished."
He looked at the president and said slowly:
— "We found the guard Joseph lying on the ground, unconscious."
Lee Min-Wan raised an eyebrow, but his eyes remained fixed forward. The deputy continued:
— "When we interrogated some of the captured mafia members and showed them his picture, they said it was him who raided the headquarters."
Then he added, pulling out a file from a small electronic case:
— "But Hana and her companion confirmed that Joseph was kidnapped as well."
They reached the office door; the president quietly opened it and entered, while the deputy finished his statement:
— "The strangest thing, sir… is that the mafia leader and three of his aides who were killed belonged to the Knight class."
The president sat behind his desk, leaning back into the leather chair, then slowly said while looking up at the ceiling:
— "If what they say is true… how can a weak Aif bearer defeat four Knights and unleash energy similar to that of the elite?"
He paused briefly, then looked directly at his deputy. While President Lee Min-Wan listened silently, Deputy Choi Yun-Suk flipped through digital papers on his tablet and said:
— "There's another matter, sir… during a previous interrogation, Joseph confessed to killing three guards who accompanied him on a mission. At first, he and his partner — Hana — covered up the incident, but later he gave an official confession."
The president raised an eyebrow slightly, but he didn't seem annoyed; rather, he was waiting for more.
The deputy continued:
— "Tomorrow, we will reopen the investigation with them… we might get additional details."
At this, the president cut him off with a firm tone, his voice steady without raising it:
— "Focus only on the incident that happened two days ago."
— "As for the other case… ignore it."
The deputy opened his mouth to object:
— "But sir—"
The president interrupted him again, this time with sharp eyes:
— "Just do as I told you."
The deputy fell silent for a moment, then bowed slightly and said:
— "Understood."
He then turned and left the office with quiet steps, leaving the president sitting alone in the room, staring at a large screen on the wall in front of him, which was showing a recorded report from the cameras… but only one clip kept repeating: the moment dense fog burst out from the upper floor of the mafia headquarters.
Time: 7:13 AM — Guardians' Headquarters, Interrogation Room No. 4
Joseph entered the headquarters with calm steps, but he felt the heaviness in the atmosphere from the very first moment. At the entrance, Deputy Choi Yoon-suk was waiting, accompanied by Hana and her fiancé, named Ryu Jae-hon.
Without any introduction, the deputy said in an official tone:
— "Please, follow me."
He led them to the interrogation room. The room was cold, lit by harsh white light. A metal table stood in the center, surrounded by three chairs. The deputy sat first, then gestured with his hand:
— "Hana… sit down."
Hana sat quietly, though she appeared nervous.
The deputy opened a paper file before him, glanced at the papers, then looked up directly at her:
— "Full name?"
She answered calmly:
— "Hana Yui."
— "Tell us, Miss Yui… what is your connection to this mafia? And how were you kidnapped?"
She hesitated for a moment, then began speaking, trying to keep her voice steady:
— "I have nothing to do with them at all… That day, I went out with my partner, Jae-hon, for a walk… everything was normal."
She paused briefly, then continued:
— "Suddenly, a black car stopped near us. Four men got out… very quickly and without explanation, they dragged me. One punched Jae-hon, knocking him to the ground, and another wrapped his arm around my neck and started choking me… I couldn't resist… I fainted."
The deputy took quick notes, then looked at her again:
— "What happened after you lost consciousness?"
— "I woke up later, tied to a metal chair… the room was dark and cold. They didn't give me food or water… I was exhausted, my body ached. Everything was foggy… but I remember one man who came in from time to time."
The deputy lifted his head with interest:
— "A man? Can you describe him?"
She shook her head in denial:
— "I don't remember his features, but his voice… his voice was very cold. He kept telling me…"
She paused, as if the memory was choking her, then continued:
— "He said he would enjoy killing me. He said it more than once… Then, the last time he came in, I looked at him and… after that, I lost consciousness again. That's all I remember."
The deputy rested his pen on the paper, looked at her silently for a few seconds, then said quietly:
— "Thank you, Miss Yui. You can sit aside now."
He then turned to Ryu Jae-hon and said:
— "You're next."
Interrogation Room — 7:36 AM
Ryu Jae-hon sat down on the chair opposite Deputy Choi Yoon-suk. His expression was more tense than Hana's, and his eyes avoided making eye contact.
Deputy Choi (in a firm voice):
"I want you to tell me everything you remember, precisely. How you were kidnapped, and what happened afterward."
Ryu (with a sigh):
"At first, I wasn't the one kidnapped. Hana was taken first… We were walking when a car suddenly appeared, and they took her right in front of me. I tried to intervene, but they hit me and knocked me unconscious."
Deputy:
"We know that part from Hana's testimony. Focus on what happened to you afterward."
Ryu:
"That night… I was on my way home after filing a report, when I felt something hit me from behind. I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself tied up in a cold room, with someone else… it was Hana."
"I didn't know what was happening. Both of us were bound. The next day… something strange happened. There were screams throughout the building, and vibrations."
Deputy:
"How did you escape?"
Ryu:
"One of the people who used to come in dropped his knife without noticing. I took advantage of the moment, cut the ropes on my hands, then freed myself completely. Joseph wasn't in the room… it seems they moved him. So I escaped with Hana alone."
Deputy (calmly, while taking notes):
"Did you see Joseph anywhere in the building?"
Ryu:
"No."
Deputy (in a low voice):
"Strange…"
He closed the file slowly and looked at Ryu for a long moment.
Interrogation Room — 8:14 AM
Joseph Yaman sat on the chair, his hands clasped in front of him, trying to appear calm despite the turmoil inside. Across from him sat Deputy Choi Yun-suk, watching him with sharp eyes as if piercing through layers of skin to reach the truth.
Deputy Choi (in a steady voice):
"Same questions, Joseph. What is your connection to this organization? And how were you kidnapped?"
Joseph (calmly, measured):
"I have no connection to them. I was on my way home that night… I don't remember everything, just that I heard footsteps behind me, and then darkness. I woke up tied to a chair."
He paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words. Inside, a fierce struggle was raging — should he tell the truth? Should he mention the name "Lee Seojun"? But he knew that any slip could bring disaster upon him.
Joseph (continuing):
"There was another person in the room. I didn't know him. They were… torturing us. After that, I lost consciousness. The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital."
The deputy showed no reaction, only pulling out a printed photo and placing it on the table.
Deputy:
"Is this the other person who was with you?"
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
Joseph stared at the photo…
His eyes locked with the man's in the picture — he remembered exactly how the man's body trembled, how he screamed, how he rose, how he leapt.
Joseph (in a whisper):
"… Yes. That's him."
Deputy Choi (calmly, flipping through the file):
"Strange… we have statements from some of the criminals arrested at the scene. They said someone raided them… and you, Joseph, were that person."
Joseph gave a bitter, sarcastic smile:
"Deputy, I'm a low-tier Aev user. Do you really think I stormed a mafia base on my own?"
Silence fell for a few seconds.
The deputy didn't respond, but it was clear he wasn't fully convinced.
Something in this story didn't add up. The power that had been detected… the fog that filled the place… and Joseph, lying unconscious near the bodies.
The deputy closed the file.
Deputy Choi:
"That's all for today, Joseph. Do not leave the city without permission."
Joseph (as he stood up):
"I wasn't planning to."
He left the room, and behind him, the deputy remained seated, still staring at the photo…
His eyes revealed that the doubt had grown deeper than ever.