After Sirrus burned 80% of Machia’s soldiers who surrounded him, a deadly silence filled the palace courtyard. There was nothing left but ashes and charred bodies. Sirrus walked among the burnt corpses with calm, steady steps, showing no emotion—as if this was just a normal part of his daily life.

He reached the palace’s massive gate, where the royal guards stood at a distance, their faces filled with a mixture of shock and fear. Some of them avoided looking directly at him, while others couldn’t take their eyes off the burnt remains behind him.

As Sirrus stepped inside the palace, he turned toward one of the guards standing at the door.

Seeros (in a cold, deadly voice): “Clean up the mess.”

Even though the guard knew Sirrus wouldn’t harm him, the tone of his voice alone was enough to terrify him. He swallowed hard and slowly turned his head toward Seeros.

Guard (nervously): “Y-yes, my Lord!”

Without another word, Sirrus continued his way towards the royal throne room. Upon entering, he sat on his luxurious throne, tilted his head back slightly, and closed his eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, the scene completely shifts into a dark, swirling vortex. Then, the vortex disappears, revealing a strange, empty landscape. Akio stood on barren ground, surrounded by nothing but the sky and countless stars.

Confused, he began walking forward, calling out to his friends.

Akio: “Ken? Ann? Where are you?!”

The uneasiness on his face was clear. He felt like he was walking in a void. Suddenly, the sky above him shattered into pieces, and the ground beneath him collapsed.

He began falling into the abyss, screaming, and as he fell, he saw Ken and Ann appear above him. They stood on solid ground, unaffected by the collapse.

But the strange thing was… they weren’t even looking at him.

Akio (screaming): “Ken! Ann! Help me!”

But Ken and Ann didn’t react at all.

A deep shock hit Akio. Just before he completely fell into the void, a mysterious voice echoed in his ears:

“You are not who you think you are, Akio!”

Suddenly, the scene shifts again to a dark hotel room where Akio was sleeping.

Akio woke up, gasping for air, his body drenched in sweat. He was panting heavily, trying to catch his breath.

The room was dimly lit, but the moonlight streaming through the window made it just bright enough to see.

Sitting on the opposite bed, staring at him in silence, was Ken with a cigarette resting between his lips.

Ken (in a calm, quiet voice): “Looks like you had a nightmare.”

Akio remained silent for a moment, catching his breath, before quickly regaining his senses.

Akio (his voice low, slightly shaky): “It’s nothing… just a bad dream.”

Ken didn’t look fully convinced, but he didn’t push for more details either.

He simply stared at Akio for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the window, taking another drag from his cigarette. The smoke swirled as it drifted out into the night.

After a night filled with tension and strange nightmares, the morning sun rose, signaling the start of a new day and a new adventure.

The scene shifts to the hotel’s open buffet, where Akio, Ken, and Ann were eating breakfast.

Akio was enjoying some pancakes. Ken was eating eggs and sausage, but was far more focused on his coffee than his food. Ann was eating casually, chatting about random topics.

Everyone was engrossed in their meals, but suddenly, a familiar voice broke the moment.

Koto: “Good morning!”

They all turned toward the source of the voice.

Akio’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Koto standing before them.

Akio: “Dr. Koto?! What are you doing here?!”

Koto wasn’t wearing her usual doctor’s coat.

Instead, she was dressed casually—a short-sleeved blue shirt and black jeans. She simply smiled, placed her hands in her pockets, and took a seat next to Ann.

Then, looking at them seriously, she spoke.

Koto: “I’ve thought about it carefully… and I’ve decided that from now on, I’ll be your personal doctor.”

Ann nearly choked on her food from shock.

Ann (in disbelief): “Wait… are you saying… you’re joining us?!”

Koto (shaking her head with a light smile): “Not exactly. I won’t be with you all the time… but I’ll always be there whenever you need me.”

Ken calmly placed his coffee cup on the table, looking at Koto with his usual unreadable expression.

Ken (coldly): “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”

At that moment, Koto took out a small box and placed it on the table. She opened it, revealing several metallic pendants glowing with a faint purple light.

Akio (surprised): “What are these?”

Koto looked at them calmly before picking up one of the pendants, holding it between her fingers.

Koto: “These aren’t just accessories. They are a rare technology, and only a few people in the world know how they work… I am one of them. They are called Emergency Passage Pendants. If any of you carry one, you can summon me directly to your location if you suffer a serious injury or are in a critical medical condition.”

Everyone stared at the pendants in shock, as they had never heard of anything like this before.

Ann (amazed): “A summoning technique?! Like magic?!”

Koto (smirking): “It’s not magic. No one truly knows their origin—not even me. I found them buried in the sea under mysterious circumstances, and now I have a collection of them. I’ll give each of you one.”

Akio: “That’s interesting!”

Koto: “You can only summon me once every 24 hours, so use it only when necessary.”

Ann: “So no matter where we go… we’ll be able to call you?”

Koto (nodding confidently): “Exactly! Let me show you an example—I’ll summon my younger sister. She has one of these pendants.”

Koto flipped the pendant over, revealing a small button on the back. When she pressed it, a faint purple glow appeared in front of them. The process took less than three seconds… and suddenly… Koto’s sister appeared before them.

The shocking twist was that Koto’s sister was none other than Yoko—the childhood friend of Ken and the girl Akio had met on Orakano Island!

Koto: “That was fast, sister! It seems like you’re never busy!”

Yoko (looking around): “Oh… that’s true!”

But when she turned toward the table… her eyes immediately met Ken and Akio’s.

Ken and Akio froze completely in place. Akio’s eyes widened in shock, while Ken paused mid-sip of his coffee, slowly looking at Yoko.

Akio (stunned): “Y… Yoko?!”

Ken (calm but internally surprised): “You… are Koto’s sister?”

Ann stood off to the side, watching the scene unfold, not understanding why this was such a big deal since she had never met Yoko before.

Ann (muttering to herself): “Well… looks like there’s some family drama I wasn’t aware of.”

Yoko (placing her hand on her hip): “I didn’t expect you two to be this shocked! Yes, Koto is my older sister. She told me you were here, so it looks like we’ll be seeing each other a lot!”

Koto (raising an eyebrow in confusion): “Wait a second, Yoko, you know these people?”

Yoko (smiling shyly, slightly surprised by Koto’s question): “Of course! Ken… Ken was our neighbor eight years ago!”

Koto froze in place for a moment, blinking twice as if her brain had stopped processing. Then, she placed a hand on her forehead in frustration.

Koto: “Wait a minute… You’re telling me this dull, cigarette-smoking guy was the same Ken from next door… How did I not realize this?”

Ken stared blankly at Koto, then casually took another sip of his coffee, completely indifferent.

Yoko (tilting her head slightly, her face a little red): “W-well, yeah… We used to play together a lot when we were kids.”

Ken finally placed his cup on the table and looked at her.

Ken: “That’s true. I ran into her again a week ago on Orakano Island.”

Ann, who had been eating quietly, suddenly stopped chewing, staring at them both slowly.

Ann (crossing her arms cautiously): “Wait a second… Ken-san, are you telling me you and this girl were childhood friends?!”

Ken (calmly): “So what?”

Ann stared at them for a moment, then returned to her food, biting down on her spoon a little harder than necessary as if trying to keep herself composed.

Yoko took a step closer to Ken, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Yoko (giving Ken a shy smile): “Ken… do you remember how we used to race all the time? You were always just one step ahead of me, and I kept telling you that I’d win next time, but you’d always say…”

Ken (finishing the sentence himself, in a cold tone): “That will never happen.”

Yoko gave a nervous laugh, looking away slightly as if embarrassed. Meanwhile, Ann completely stopped eating, now carefully analyzing the situation.

Ann (slamming her spoon on the table, irritation creeping onto her face): “Ken-san! I had no idea you had a childhood admirer!”

Yoko froze for a moment, not expecting that statement. Her cheeks flushed deeper, and she looked down in embarrassment.

Yoko: “I-I… I’m not an admirer or anything like that!”

Ken glanced at her, then shifted his gaze toward Ann with a cold expression.

Ann (narrowing her eyes at Yoko): “Really?! Well, it doesn’t matter because Ken-san is mine anyway!”

Yoko completely froze, her mind shutting down for a moment. Her eyes slowly widened as she stared at Ann as if she had just heard something completely illogical.

Yoko (her voice low, a clear shock on her face): “Yours… only?”

Ken let out a small sigh, running his hand over his forehead before turning to Ann with a cold, sideward glance.

Ken: “Ann, stop saying stupid things.”

But Ann didn’t care about his words. Instead, she turned toward Yoko, placing a hand on her hip, and it was obvious she was feeling jealous.

Ann (with exaggerated confidence): “Of course! I’m the only one who can handle Ken-san’s weird personality! No one else could deal with him!”

Yoko (her voice hesitant and shy): “Are you… together?”

Ken lit his cigarette, then looked at Yoko with an expressionless stare.

Ken: “No.”

Yoko felt a slight sense of relief, but before she could say anything, Ann cut in with a light laugh.

Ann (blushing slightly, her tone playful but unsure): “Well… not yet, but we’re together all the time!”

Yoko’s mind froze again.

Yoko (thinking to herself, feeling a strange tension): Why do I feel like I’m intruding here…?

At that moment, Akio, who had been watching the entire exchange with increasing discomfort, finally stepped in.

Akio: “Girls, stop this!”

But Yoko was still frozen, trying to process what Ann had just said, while Ken took a slow drag from his cigarette, looking completely uninterested in the growing tension between them.

Ann (ignoring Akio): “So, Yoko-chan, what did you call Ken-san when you were kids? Ken-kun? Ken-san? Or… maybe Ken-senpai?”

Yoko (extremely embarrassed, looking down): “N-no! I didn’t call him anything like that! I just called him by his name!”

Ann (dramatically shocked): “So you were close enough to call him by his first name, huh?”

Ken (his tone serious and sharp): “That’s enough, Ann.”

Ann blinked in surprise, finally noticing that Ken was truly irritated. His expression had darkened slightly, and there was a clear sign of frustration on his face.

Without another word, he stood up, taking another drag from his cigarette before exhaling slowly. Then, without looking back, he began walking away from the table.

Ken left the buffet area, making his way toward the hotel garden. The irritation on his face was unmistakable as he disappeared into the quiet night.

To be continued…