Then they invited me to sit.
"Join us, leader. Why do we always get tortured?" Serin said teasingly, laughing.
"One truth and one dare are left," she continued.
I sat down happily, smiling.
"So," she asked, "which one first, truth or dare?"
"I'll go with dare first," I said confidently.
Serin opened the chit and frowned. "It's not possible. Any other?"
"What is it?" I asked.
She smiled teasingly. "They want a face reveal."
I laughed. "I'm not your brother separated on Carnaval, so no—I won't do it."
"So then you called us your sisters and brothers?" she teased.
I made a confused face. "Fine, fine. Now it's the turn for the truth."
Serin passed the chit to me. "You don't have any option, but you'll only speak the answer—except for me and the writer, others won't get to know it."
I sighed, replying quietly, my voice heavy with exhaustion and buried emotion.
"Yes, I had."
The sound came out tired, almost hollow, but with a deep trace of tragedy.
Serin's eyes lifted. "Only that part? What's the second one?"
"I can't answer that," I said firmly.
Serin repeated, but I gave the same reply. The others grew curious, and she made a sorry face. Then the whole team stood together, saying,
"With the reference of a soul oath, we command the return of our winning bet and demand to know the question and its whole answer immediately!"
At first, Silent—me—replied unintentionally, "The question is: 'Do you like a girl or have a crush on her? Who is it, and where is she?'"
Everyone laughed. "So, he likes someone! But his behavior doesn't show it!"
I continued, though my body trembled slightly. "She had a debt on me…"
But when I tried to say more, my tongue froze. My eyes turned red, faint sparkles flickering around them. My mana burst out, swirling violently.
"Everyone, cancel the oaths!" Serin screamed.
They did—just in time. Within moments, I fell unconscious again.
Serin's voice broke the silence. "What's hidden in his past that even his soul doesn't want to remember? He's on the verge of death yet resisted a soul oath."
Everyone stayed still, listening. Serin continued, "A soul oath forces the soul to speak the truth only if the consciousness agreed. But his soul forcefully took control, countering it with mana. That means whatever memory this is… it's something we shouldn't even talk about."
They nodded silently and lifted me back to the bed.
For the first time, the masked guy removed his mask in front of everyone. They were surprised to see he was also a teen, but that shock was nothing compared to what they had witnessed.
He looked at Serin. "Can we do something for him?"
Serin sighed. "Today—20th December—is his birthday. We'll give him a surprise before the final war begins."
Azeir nodded. "The demons gave us one week to prepare for the last round. That's why I've been hosting these trainings."
Mira added, "That's why demons haven't appeared in Lahore for a while."
Ryn was sleeping, dreaming—a glimpse of the past. In it, there were only three children, standing terrified before him. Police lights flashed. Someone shook his shoulder, asking what happened. He stood silently, in front of the corpses of one man and those three kids.
He woke suddenly, sweat on his forehead. Serin and Mira were sitting beside him.
"Are you feeling alright?" Serin asked softly.
"Yes… but what happened? I only remember someone asking me that truth question, then… blank," I said.
They laughed. "Forget it. Just get fresh and cover your eyes. We've got something to show you."
I washed my face, covered my eyes as told, and followed them—Serin holding one hand, Mira the other.
"Now open your eyes," Serin said.
I did—and froze.
"Happy Birthday!" they all shouted.
I was smiling and confused. "How did you even know?"
The masked guy pointed at Serin. "She told us."
"I never mentioned it!" I said.
Serin smiled. "Remember our contract? It gives me basic information about you. Your birthday was in it."
We laughed and began the small celebration. I cut the cake into four short pieces for my family, while the rest of it we enjoyed together. Everyone was cheerful, trying to make me happy.
Later, during the feast, Serin said, "The final wave of demons will come after one week. Their general promised to bring twenty elite soldiers. The Apex Council chose me as commander—but I nominated your name."
"What? They don't even know me!" I said.
"They do," she replied. "When you were unconscious, a test ran among Earth's mages. I ranked first, but I elected you, saying you once defeated me and are a better leader. Out of the world's 300 mages, 120 died under the U.S. command. The Council accepted my decision."
I sighed and nodded. "Alright."
Later that night, I packed four cake pieces for my family, gave them to the shelter guard with a note: For Mom and Mira, from your Astro Boy.
Eron wasn't there, so I asked Serin to deliver his piece. Then I walked out into the cold winter night, traveling six kilometers on foot until I stopped near a graveyard.
A small cat wandered nearby. I gave it the last bit of cake and sat on a bench, looking at the starry sky.
"You're acting strangely since last night," Mira said, appearing behind me.
I smirked. "You shouldn't stalk someone, Mira."
She sat beside me. "Serin said to keep an eye on you—to make sure you don't get into trouble."
"Something happened," I said quietly.
"Something?" she asked.
"Not something—everything."
She stared at me. "Can you close it?"
I shook my head, still looking at the sky. "Aren't the stars beautiful tonight?"
"Same as your face," she said softly. "Bright… but hard to see what's inside."
I smiled faintly. "She used to say that too…"
Before she could ask, I said, "Want some coffee?"
"Yes."
I stood and walked toward the vending stall. As soon as I left, Mira noticed a man coming from inside the graveyard, not from the other side. He stopped near the same bench and sat down.
"Did you see Ryn?" he asked.
"Who?" she said, startled.
"A teen, about six and a half feet tall. With that little description, you'd know him. He visits this place every birthday, every milestone in his life—more regular than us."
Mira hesitated. "Who are you?"
The man smiled faintly. "I'm Lina's father. She was Ryn's only friend."
He looked ahead at the cat eating the cake.
"They promised to meet each other regularly," he continued. "One day, they went on a school trip—Ryn, Lina, and two friends, Elara and Sara. They were four group. But when they were returning to their room, someone kidnapped them.
Ryn stayed calm, broke his ropes, and freed the others. When Lina called me, Ryn noticed two more children nearby—a boy his age and an older girl—frightened, watching from behind a curtain. He didn't hurt them.
Lina took the bullet while calling me. When I arrived, blood was everywhere. Ryn was crying before the corpses of those three kids and the kidnappers. He told me Lina took the shot meant for him, saying her farewell to all: 'You deserve to live. Farewell.'
We found that the kidnappers were hired by a rich couple for organ trafficking. Lina's last wish was for Ryn to adopt that frightened child behind the curtain, if he ever could. She told him to name the boy Eron."
The man paused, his voice trembling slightly. "Those two children were later adopted by Ryn's family. But he still believes it was his fault—that he failed to protect her. He's carried that guilt all his life.
I thought he'd finally moved on when he didn't come for thirty-three days. But seeing the cat eat the cake tonight, I realized… I was wrong."
The man stayed seated where Ryn had been. A moment later, a quiet voice came from behind Mira.
"I came back, sis."
It was Silent Tempest—or perhaps, simply Ryn.