(Twin Fang City, Black Serpent's Guild Residential Quarters, Unit 5 C)
The communication crystal glowed softly in Leo's hand, its blue hue intensifying as it absorbed more and more of his mana to establish a connection.
Once the mana input stabilized and the receiver accepted the call, the projection shimmered, then took form.
The woman who appeared on the other side was no longer Instructor Muiyan Faye of Rodova Academy.
Gone were the prim academy clothes and the carefully placed make-up, as in her place stood Mu Fan, red-haired and radiant, dressed in the sleek tactical robes of the Mu Clan's covert operatives, her expression calm and cautious.
"Did you do it?" she asked without preamble, eyes locked onto his. "Did you get accepted into the Serpents?"
Leo tilted the crystal slightly, revealing the unadorned walls and training dummy behind him.
"I did," he replied coolly. "They didn't even ask for a physical or psychological evaluation. Apparently, my name was enough to impress them."
Mu Fan let out a quiet, bitter chuckle— one laced with a trace of disbelief and just a hint of resentment.
'Does he have any idea…
How many Cult agents— trained, disciplined, transcendent-tier had tried and failed to infiltrate the Black Serpents? How many operatives had been turned away at the gates by a background check they couldn't hack, because while not suspicious they weren't squeaky clean to the Guild's liking?'
And yet here he was.
Accepted without scrutiny.
Because of fame.
She shook her head, but didn't let the thought show on her face.
"Good," she said instead, her tone softening. "That's really good."
As for the first time in days, she smiled a genuine smile.
"Tell me your room number. I'll come see you tonight."
Leo's eyes narrowed just slightly, but he didn't hesitate.
"Unit 5C. Outer Ring, guild housing block four."
"Keep your schedule clear," Mu Fan added, her tone dipping into something more serious. "It may take me a while to restore your memories."
Leo gave a single sharp nod, and said "Understood", as the projection flickered once more, and then vanished.
He lowered the crystal, knowing full well that the moment of truth was arriving fast.
It was finally time for him to become whole again.
—-----------
*Knock*
*Knock*
Around 8 PM that same night, Leo heard a soft knock at his door.
When he opened it, he was greeted by a version of Mu Fan he could barely recognize.
Gone was the modest attire of the Rodova instructor he once knew. In its place were the dark, high-collared robes of the Mu Family, layered with leather straps and bracers, each one holding a weapon in place—daggers across her chest, throwing needles lining her thigh holsters, and a slender black baton sheathed neatly at her hip.
She didn't look like an educator anymore.
She looked like a war-ready assassin.
Leo gave her a once-over… and then another, slower one.
"You quit teaching at Rodova?" he asked, stepping aside as he gestured for her to enter.
Fan nodded as she crossed the threshold.
"Yes. I was only there for you. Now that you're gone, I have no reason to stay," she said flatly. "I submitted my resignation the same day you left."
Without another word, she immediately began sweeping the room— checking corners, baseboards, seams, and faint mana signatures for any surveillance crystals or sound transmission arrays, mirroring the same systematic sweep Leo had done when he first arrived.
"It's clear," she said eventually, stepping back from the wall, before nodding toward the bed and gesturing for Leo to sit.
*Squeak*
The mattress let out a faint groan as Leo sat down. He leaned slightly forward, resting his arms on his knees, his eyes locking onto hers with quiet curiosity as a faint, lopsided grin crept onto his lips.
"Am I going to remember something painful?" he asked, as Fan shook her head slowly, but her expression didn't exactly comfort him.
"I'm just the keeper," she said. "I hold the memories, not the emotions. I don't get to see what's inside— so I can't say if they'll hurt."
She paused, and her voice dropped a pitch.
"But I can tell you this— once your memories come back, you won't be calm. You'll be angry. Restless. Because once you understand the truth— once you see how small a pawn you are in the bigger game— you'll remember exactly why you chose to carry this burden in the first place. Why you were willing to risk everything… for your family."
Leo exhaled slowly, his grin fading like vapor.
There was a tightness in his chest, but it seemed smothered beneath something deeper, something akin to desperation.
He was tired of the fog in his mind, tired of chasing fragments of identity in half-memories and instinct.
He wanted to become whole again, even if it hurt.
Hence, after letting out a deep sigh, he signalled for Fan to go ahead as he closed his eyes with conviction.
Fan moved sharply and placed the memory retrieval cap onto his head.
She pressed two fingers to its side, then began feeding her mana into the device in slow, precise pulses.
"Your memories were extracted in sequence," she said gently. "So you'll remember them in sequence. Don't resist. Let them play out like a movie. You'll know everything you need to by the end."
And with that, it began.
Memories long buried began to stir—rising like smoke from deep within his mind, as the fog started to thin… and the truth started to play out.
—--------------
The first distinct memory that Leo recalled was that of a toy.
A small white elephant figurine— worn around the edges from years of nibbling— that he used to chew on endlessly for reasons even he, in hindsight, couldn't explain.
It had been a gift from his father, a tall, broad-shouldered military man named Jacob, whose calloused hands had always been gentle when placing the toy in his chubby little palms.
It was that same elephant he often shared with his older brother, Luke, during their long play sessions on a fuzzy blue carpet in the living room. Luke would make the toy 'fly' while Leo tried to catch it with clumsy fingers, laughing endlessly, even when he fell over.
Their mother, Elena, watched over them like a sunlit goddess—her warm laughter always ringing from the kitchen, where she cooked meals that smelled like home. The taste of her honey-glazed vegetables, the rhythm of her lullabies, and the way she pulled him into soft, crushing hugs every night were so vivid now, so heartbreakingly real, that Leo felt his breath hitch.
Back then, the world was whole.
His brother protected him like a shield and encouraged him like a teacher.
His mother fed him love in every form— food, warmth, stories. And his father, though stern and rarely home, always ruffled his hair before leaving, always whispering, "Take care of them while I'm gone."
Recalling all that… a single tear of joy slipped from Leo's closed eye, as Fan watched him recall the best parts of his life with a satisfied smile.
Childhood was often the happiest and most carefree time of one's life, a kind of pleasant calm, before the storm of adulthood began.