CHAPTER 165: UNCLE

"Falcon?" Aires echoed.

"Yes, they are known for their diving speed when attacking their prey," Drake explained. "I would’ve suggested a cheetah, but its top speed doesn’t match a falcon’s. Welcome to the team, Falcon." He grinned, extending a hand.

"Thanks," Aires said, genuinely grateful. Drake had only been a helpful guide and ally since they met. He wasn’t so against helping him clear his debt anymore.

"No problem," Drake replied.

Aires leaned forward, asking with eagerness, "What’s the next step?"

"Sorry, but that’ll wait for our next mission," Drake said, tempering Aires’ excitement.

"This canopied forest wasn’t an ideal territory for a falcon." He pointed for Aires to glance around. "But for now, visualize it—moving faster, swinging faster, attacking faster."

Aires nodded, but a question lingered. "You can read your surroundings so well, but why not read people?" He was curious about it. If he could read the emotions of people, predicting their next step wouldn’t be as difficult. It could quickly get him to the 3rd stage.

Drake’s smile faltered. "Right, but that’s easier said than done." His tone suggested previous failed experiments.

Aires sensed the difficulty, ’He must’ve tried it,’ but filed the idea away.

"Get ready," Drake said, his voice turning serious. "We’re facing hundreds of them now."

Aires gripped his sword, scanning the forest like a hawk, or rather, a falcon-like intensity. Twang.

Drake’s arrow sliced through the air, signaling the start of a grueling battle against the Veilroot Wyrms.

***

In Dawnless, the air was thick with tension.

Ralph stood frozen, the lab silent save for the faint hum of Wick’s equipment. Thalendor watched, uncertain, while the children clung to each other, comforted by Ralph’s presence but wary of Wick’s menacing look.

The tracker’s beeping echoed, a revelation hanging in the air.

"S-So..." Ralph stammered, pointing weakly at the four children. "One of them triggered the tracker? That’s what you’re saying?"

"Yes, sir," Wick confirmed, his voice steady.

Ralph’s mind reeled at the situation.

His brother, Rokin, had a child, and that child was among these four.

Tears welled up, spilling uncontrollably as he stared at them. The implications were staggering: their search for Rokin hadn’t been futile.

A niece or nephew stood before him, a living link to his brother.

Wick, understanding the gravity, lifted the tracker from the table and approached the children.

Beep... Beep... Beep.

It didn’t take a long time to find the child. It was the first girl to wake up among the experiments, the girl with the trademark of the flamehearts royalty, and the girl who said her mother was a princess.

The device’s rhythm quickened as it neared Kaya, confirming her significance.

A part of Ralph already felt she was the one, but confirming it with the tracker only made it feel real.

He knelt before her, tears streaming uncontrollably. "I-I’m sorry," he choked out, overwhelmed by guilt for her suffering and joy at finding her.

Kaya’s eyes welled up, mirroring his emotion, and the other children began to cry, their reasons unclear but their empathy palpable.

While the reason for the tears of the children was unknown, Ralph’s reason was plain obvious.

He had just found his niece. What did that mean? Their previous search that cost them a lot of dawnless members, gold, and even risking their lives wasn’t in vain.

This was the result.

She was already Baines’ age when he’d faced his own trials, but unlike Baines, Kaya might have perished without Dawnless’ intervention.

Thirty minutes later, Ralph composed himself, wiping his eyes, and called an urgent meeting with the executives.

...

In the central meeting room, all five executives were present, their expressions a mix of relief and calculation.

"So, you’re saying, you’re my uncle?" Kaya asked, her voice tinged with confusion as she rejoined Ralph before the meeting’s next phase.

"Yes," Ralph said, his smile bright despite the weight of the moment.

Kaya studied his face. "Hmm, but you don’t look like my dad."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Ralph asked, a nervous edge creeping in.

"My dad’s more handsome," she said, her tone teasing but her eyes serious.

"Ah..." Ralph exhaled, half-relieved, as the executives stifled laughter.

The levity broke the tension, but the meeting’s purpose loomed. Kaya’s existence was proof that their Flameheart mission wasn’t wasted, yet it raised questions. Was Rokin alive, or was Kaya his only legacy?

But they didn’t voice it out. After all, here they were reaping an unexpected fruit.

"Alright, alright," Ralph said, chuckling as Kaya pouted, her jest falling flat. His tone sobered. "Now, we need to find your parents, Kaya. Can you help us do that?"

Her eyes widened, and she nodded, though nervousness flickered across her face. The executives offered encouraging smiles, but their presence intimidated her. She was reminded of memories of her captors lingering.

’They’re trying to help,’ she told herself, focusing on Ralph. ’And I found my uncle.’

"Tell us what you know," Ralph prompted gently.

Kaya took a breath, gathering her thoughts. "My mother was a princess, then she was married to someone."

Ralph’s eyes widened. "Is that man your father?"

She shook her head. "No, that was after she had me."

The executives exchanged glances, their minds racing with the implications. Was it what they were thinking?

Ralph’s expression darkened. "Wait, start from the beginning."

"My father used to make drugs to help my mother feel better," Kaya began. "Then they had me. But I had to hide since that day. One day, my father disappeared. They married my mother to someone else, then found me and... started putting things in my body."

Her words, though brief, painted a grim picture.

Ralph pieced it together: Rokin created medicine for a Flameheart princess. They fell in love, had Kaya, but her birth was forbidden, and they had to hide her away. The royals discovered her, experimented on her, took Rokin, and married her mother off.

But the important question still burned: ’What happened to Rokin?’

"Do you know who your mother married?" Vitka asked.

Kaya shook her head, her knowledge exhausted.

"Thank you, Kaya," Ralph said softly. "Wait outside; we’ll call you later."

As she left, Ralph turned to the executives. "How do we find out who the princess married?"

Donto, the second executive, leaned forward. "That kingdom is strange, but no matter what, I don’t think they would throw off their princess to just anybody. It’d be someone of high standing."

"I agree," the third executive added. "Likely a noble or an influential ally."

"But we don’t know their power structure," Vitka countered.

The room’s attention shifted to Ralph, their gazes heavy with expectation.

"What?" Ralph asked, sensing trouble.

"Sir, you don’t need to hide it," Donto said

"Hide what?"

"We thought if it’s possible to get that information from the Mistars"

Ralph’s face came to one of understanding. The Mistars had already set up a branch there, so it was only right that they knew the power structure and some further information.

But that couldn’t possibly explain why they were looking at him like that, right?

"We know you met the Mistars’ leader today," Wick said bluntly.