The room froze. Every guard, every shadow, every breath seemed to stop at once.

  Zayen, already on his feet, stared at the two intruders with a roar in his chest. "Who the hell are you guys? How did you come here?"

  "That's not the right question," Soraya replied, her tone even and small, almost playful. "Instead, you should ask—Why did we come here?"

  "Huh! Then I'll just change my question. Why did you come here?" Zayen shot back, voice tight like a coiled wire.

  Meherin's patience snapped. "What the hell are you doing? Why do you even care why they came? Just kill them and be done with it."

  "My, my..." Soraya's voice threaded through the air, mocking and cold. "Your wife has quite a bad tongue. Talking about killing all the time."

  A hard silence answered her, and then Meherin barked, "What are you all looking at? Just kill them already!" Her shout cracked like a whip—snap!—and the guards hesitated only a heartbeat before obeying.

  Metal clanged as weapons were drawn—clang! clang!—and the chamber erupted. Men surged forward, boots thudding on concrete, the room filling with the raw, animal noise of a charge.

  Afraan stepped calmly from beside Soraya, voice steady. "No need to dirty your hands, ma'am. I'll handle this myself."

  "Nope—" Soraya cut in at once, closing the distance with long, purposeful strides. "We don't have time. Today is Johan's release date. Did you forget that? We need to end things early. So—"

  She breathed in once, and the atmosphere snapped taut as a drawn bow. Her A-rank aura rolled outward—an invisible predator settling over the room. The guards stumbled as if hit by wind. Glass trembled somewhere in the compound—tinkle…—and every eye turned to her.

  "We are going to work together."

  Her words were not a suggestion. They were a command wrapped in an inevitability that left no room to refuse. The chamber narrowed into a single point of focus—Soraya and Afraan against the Mizraan family—and for the first time that day, the Mizraans tasted the weight of power that did not bow.

  The moment Soraya's words faded, the room erupted into motion.

  The C and D-rank awakeners charged all at once, their battle cries overlapping—raw, desperate, deafening.

  Soraya didn't wait. She surged forward at the same time, the air behind her cracking under the pressure of her aura.

  Wind rushed past her face. Her coat fluttered.

  And in that instant—just before impact—her calm eyes glinted like blades.

  The room erupted into chaos — fists clashing, air cracking with the weight of her aura.

  Zayen and Meherin could only watch in disbelief.

  Soraya's movements were sharp, efficient — each strike dropping an opponent cleanly, one after another. She wasn't even using her weapon. Just her fists.

  Every blow echoed through the hideout.

  Every guard that fell left the others trembling.

  They already knew she was an A-Rank Awakener — her aura made that obvious.

  But to see her overpower this many D and C-ranked fighters with only her bare hands… it was something else entirely.

  Zayen's expression tightened. Meherin's lips trembled, her arrogance fading with every passing second.

  And Afraan?

  He didn't move.

  Even though Soraya had told him they'd fight together, he couldn't bring himself to step in. Watching her tear through the room like a storm, he realized — there was nothing left for him to do.

  He just stood there, silent, watching her fight.

  Yeah...

  She is angry.

  No…

  She was angry from the very beginning.

  When she heard about the young master being at the hospital—

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  ***

  Tap… tap… tap…

  The sound of a pen echoed softly through the office.

  Soraya Navraan sat at her desk, signing documents one after another. The clock on the wall ticked in rhythm — steady, calm.

  Afraan stood beside her, silent, waiting for instructions.

  Then—Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

  His phone vibrated against the wooden table. The sound cut through the quiet like a blade.

  He answered without hesitation. "Hello—"

  And then his expression froze.

  The color drained from his face.

  He turned toward her. His voice trembled despite his best effort.

  "Ma'am... the young master—fell from the school rooftop."

  The click of her pen stopping was louder than the phone itself.

  For a moment, the room went completely silent.

  No ticking clock. No paper rustle. Nothing.

  Then I saw it—

  Her hand...

  It trembled.

  Just slightly... but it did.

  And that was the first time, in all these years, that I had ever seen her like that.

  The woman who never flinched in front of death, who never hesitated even when killing—

  was trembling from just one sentence.

  ***

  Apolo Hospital — Operation Wing

  The red light above the OR door blinked softly. Beep... beep...Inside, the muffled voices of doctors and the rhythmic hiss of machines filled the air.

  Through the glass, Johan lay on the table — his body pale, chest rising and falling weakly under the harsh white light. Blood stained the sheets. Instruments gleamed under sterile hands.

  Outside, Soraya Navraan sat on the metal chair.

  Her posture was still, almost unnaturally so.

  Eyes fixed on the glowing "Operation in Progress" sign — unblinking.

  Not a single word escaped her lips.

  Not a sigh. Not a tremor.

  And on her right, I stood — Afraan Malik — watching her in silence.

  The corridor was too quiet

  .No footsteps. No nurse calls.

  Only the faint hum of the ceiling lights filled the emptiness.

  Yeah...

  That silence—

  it was heavier than any scream.

  Although ma'am didn't want to show it... I knew.

  She was sad...

  Deeply.

  Then, without moving her gaze from the OR door, she spoke.

  "Hey, Afraan..."

  Her voice was calm... low... almost fragile.

  "How did it happen?"

  Her words barely stirred the air,

  yet somehow, they felt heavier than the weight of the entire hospital.

  "I didn't get any specific news, ma'am. I need to investigate it further," I said quietly.

  Her eyes never left the door.

  "I see..." Soraya's voice remained calm — calm enough to make the silence heavier. "Please make it quick."

  Her tone didn't waver, but her hands...

  I could still see the faint tremor.

  ***

  The next morning, I went straight to Cumilla Modern High School.

  The place looked normal—too normal. Students laughing in the yard, teachers chatting by the gate.

  It was hard to believe something so tragic had happened here just yesterday.

  I started questioning people one by one.

  The guard was first. His answer was cautious, almost rehearsed.

  He said the incident happened about an hour after school had ended.

  There was no one else on the rooftop—just the young master.

  Then the students.

  Their faces stiffened the moment I mentioned Johan's name.

  Some avoided eye contact, some forced sympathy.

  But their words were all the same:

  "He was alone."

  "There was no one there."

  "It was… probably suicide."

  Even the teachers repeated the same lines, like a script passed around the staff room.

  I stood there in silence, listening, but inside...my blood boiled.

  Are they kidding me?

  Do they really expect me to believe that?

  The boy who didn't know anything but smiling—the kid who lit up every room he walked into—took his own life without reason?

  No...That's impossible.

  It was obvious.

  Something was wrong.

  And I intended to find out what.

  So I began my investigation—my own way.

  ***

  The investigation was tougher than I expected.

  Even with my position — even with my background as an Awakener — it still took me a full week to uncover the truth.

  Every lead was buried deep.

  Every mouth I tried to open—sealed shut by fear or money.

  But I kept digging.

  And the deeper I went,

  the uglier it got.

  There was a bigger family behind all of it—one that even I hesitated to cross.

  The Mizraan family.

  The more I found out, the more my blood boiled.

  The young master...The boy who smiled at everyone...The boy whose eyes never held a trace of hatred...was enduring all that cruelty alone.

  We couldn't even bear to see a single tear fall from his eyes,

  and yet he had been suffering like that—in silence.

  I was angry.

  No... I was furious.

  But somehow...I forced myself to calm down.

  Because rage wouldn't help him now.

  What mattered was the truth.

  And when I finally had it all—I went to her.

  And told everything... to ma'am.

  ***

  And that's how everything came to this.

  But still...

  As Soraya fought through the Mizraan bodyguards, Afraan just stood there—watching.

  Something kept bothering me.

  The fact that she personally came here...It could only mean one thing.

  She intended to kill them herself.

  But why?

  Yes, the Mizraan family was behind the bullying.

  But they didn't do it out of intent.

  They weren't the ones who pushed him off that roof.

  And as far as I know her...Ma'am doesn't kill for something like that.

  Not without a reason far deeper than vengeance.

  So why...

  The last bodyguard crashed to the floor with a dull thud.

  Soraya stood among the wreckage of the room, her breath steady, eyes sharp—predatory.

  Then, slowly, she turned her gaze toward Zayen and Meherin Mizraan.

  That look alone was enough.

  Both of them collapsed to their knees.

  The air grew heavy, suffocating—her killing intent pressing down like an invisible storm.

  They knew it was pointless to resist.

  Against a being like her... survival was a joke.

  She stepped forward, voice trembling with power.

  "How dare you look down on non-Awakened."

  Zayen's face twisted in terror. "W-Why are you doing this? What did we do to you? We don't even know you!"

  Meherin's voice cracked beside him, "Please—wait—"

  Even Afraan froze. Not from fear... but realization.

  And then, it hit him.

  Yeah...

  Now I understand...

  It's all because of the Lian Tashreen case...

  That case reminded her about her past...

  How...

  How did I forget something so important...

  How did I forget...

  my only master—

  The one whom I swore to serve my entire life...

  Jihan Navraan...

  Hey, reader.

  Yes, you—the one scrolling way too fast like your finger is late for an exam.

  you are sitting there with snacks, reading for free.

  Which is fine.

  Totally fine.

  I’m not crying.

  (…maybe a little.)

  19 chapters.

  But the story is already at 27 chapters over on Webnovel.

  PLUS extra 5 privileged chapters because the Webnovel gods force-fed me deadlines.

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  If you support me, I’ll keep releasing chapters like a machine.

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  now go power-up your reading speed and jump ahead like a main character discovering a hidden cheat skill.