(Within the VIP Meet and Greet Lounge)
Half an hour later, the fanfare had finally begun to settle within the VIP meet and greet lounge.
The wildest fans had already gotten their autographs, taken their pictures, and left in giggling fits, as the more composed and private guests now had a chance to approach their favorite fighters without being swallowed by the madness.
The chaos of the red carpet was long over, as the once-frantic air inside the hall had mellowed into soft music, distant chatter, and the clinking of polished glasses.
Sponsors, nobles, and VIP guests circulated through the decorated halls, mingling with warriors and exchanging words with practiced grace.
And yet, amidst the calm, one figure burst through the fan entrance with urgency in every step.
He moved like a man whose soul had caught fire, eyes scanning every inch of the elegant space with trembling desperation.
He was late—painfully late—and every second of delay weighed on him like a lifetime.
Security didn’t stop him, not because they didn’t notice him, but because the VIP badge strapped to his chest shimmered with unmistakable legitimacy.
And as he pushed past the final checkpoint and stepped into the fan lounge proper, his breath caught in his throat.
Because there, standing alone in a far corner, drink in hand, clad in a sharp black suit, aloof and untouched by the crowd—
Was his master.
His god.
His reason for existing.
’The Boss’. Leo Skyshard.
Tears flooded his eyes before he could even process what he was seeing, as his knees weakened and his body trembled, but his steps refused to stop.
His heart raced. His vision blurred. But that familiar aura—calm, detached, untouchable—drew him in like gravity.
"Master… that’s my master…"
The words slipped from his lips like a prayer, cracked and broken as he clutched the badge on his chest.
Every fiber of his being screamed in joy, disbelief, and a desperate longing that had been buried for far too long.
And as he took a step forward, his thoughts unraveled into memory— as he remembered the day his world had ended.
The day ’The Boss’ disappeared.
—----------
Just over a year ago, all Earthlings had arrived on Planet Terra Nova aboard a giant Arc-Ship, and upon landing, the local authorities began hunting his master ’The Boss’—as if he were some petty criminal.
That day, his master somehow evaded capture and escaped the godforsaken planet with the help of a shady woman, but ever since then, Chaosbringer had heard nothing.
He had been The Boss’s right hand man.
The only individual outside of family to ever see his face or know his real name.
Because Leo trusted him enough to reveal that information.
Leo knew that Chaosbringer worshiped him like a god and would die before betraying him and hence he was the only man outside of his family to get the privilege to know his real name and face.
For Chaosbringer, Leo was the man he had sworn his life to serve.
And although the rest of the Earthlings only knew him as the masked assassin ’The Boss’, without ever learning his true identity—
Chaosbringer had always known.
But then, the mask vanished.
The missions stopped.
The phone lines went dead.
And suddenly, Chaosbringer was lost.
He waited. For days. For weeks. For months. Sitting alone in the shadows of a crumbling underworld, praying his master would return.
But Leo never came back.
And Chaosbringer lost everything.
He spiraled. He wept. He broke.
Until one day, eyes bloodshot and spirit nearly dead, he saw a face on the galactic television—
Cold. Unreadable. Terrifying in its power.
Leo.
Unmasked and Exposed.
But with the same ruthless aura that once ruled Earth’s underworld.
And in that moment, Chaosbringer’s soul re-ignited.
He didn’t think.
He didn’t hesitate.
He sold everything.
Took loans from the worst people in the galaxy.
Begged, bribed, and bled his way into acquiring one thing: a single VIP meet and greet pass to the Interstellar Circuits.
And now, here he was.
Broke. Exhausted. Sobbing.
But alive.
Because his master was alive.
And nothing else mattered.
—----------
He moved across the lounge, oblivious to the stares his trembling form began attracting, or to the smudged makeup streaking down his cheeks, as he finally reached the man who once commanded an empire from the shadows.
’I’m here master… are you happy to see me?’ He wondered, as he looked towards Leo’s visage, his vision blurry because of the tears in his eyes, as he dropped down to his knees and kowtowed.
"I have found you at last… my Lord."
"Your humble servant is at your service once again." He said, pressing his forehead to the ground, as his voice trembled with sincerity.
His words stunned Leo, who hadn’t expected anyone from his past to approach him like this, as the faintest flicker of doubt crossed his otherwise blank expression.
Something about this man’s posture, the reverence in his voice and the pain in his eyes —stirred something within his fractured memories, as Leo felt his stomach roll.
He couldn’t place the memory.
But instinct told him that he knew this man.
Or rather, had known him, once.
And as Leo stepped forward, ready to question him—
Another presence intervened.
As Muiyan Faye appeared in an instant, stepping between them as she placed a firm hand on Chaosbringer’s shoulder and began dragging him away.
"Don’t touch me, you filthy woman—!" Chaosbringer protested, voice rising in distress.
"Lord, Lord, she’s manhandling me—!" He complained to Leo, expecting him to save him, however, Muiyan Faye’s icy glare instantly shut Leo down, as he remained rooted to his spot in confusion.
"No, you crazy psycho," Faye said loudly, for everyone nearby to hear.
"I won’t let you harass one of my students." She said, as she made it seem like Chaosbringer was nothing more than a crazy fan, so that the crowd would chuckle and move on.
Although that wasn’t the real case.
Then, once she dragged him away from the eyes of the crowd, she leaned in close, so that only Chaosbringer could hear the next words coming out of her mouth—
"Shut up and play along. Or you’ll blow his cover."
And with those words, Chaosbringer froze.
Then slowly, reluctantly, he nodded, as Leo watched from a distance, his brows furrowed ever so slightly, as he tried to make sense of what he’d just witnessed.
He didn’t understand it.
Not fully.
But if there was one thing Leo was certain of, it was that he and this man once shared a connection—
A connection deep enough that, whoever he was, he had likely meant more to Leo than anyone else in this entire room.
And although Faye had dragged him away for now, Leo silently resolved to meet him in private, later.
"Are you okay? Is that some crazy fan that you’re actively trying to avoid?" Serina asked calmly, pulling Leo back from his cloud of thoughts, as he nodded in response.
"Yeah he’s one of those fans who thinks I’m his master… it’s weird, but what can you do about them?" Leo replied, playing it cool as he shrugged his shoulders completely in-line with his usual character.