Leon's eyes cracked open, heavy as lead. Everything was blurry. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. The lamp overhead made him wince. That antiseptic smell hung in the air, mixing with the artificial chill from the AC. The agony that had ripped through him earlier was gone—just a dull ache now, spreading everywhere.
Someone stepped through the doorway. Shion. She'd cleaned up, changed into casual clothes. Her red hair was still damp from washing, catching the weak light. Those amber eyes of hers took in his condition with a quick once-over.
"Hey, Shion..." His voice scraped out rough and dry. "What happened..." Last thing he remembered was Colt's fist coming at him, then nothing.
"That guy in the black cloak disappeared. No trace." Shion's voice was flat. "Like he just evaporated."
Leon went still. His eyes got a little wider as he tried to dig through the blank spots in his memory. Right before he'd blacked out... then what? Nothing. His brain was empty except for this faint voice that might've whispered something in those last seconds. 'GET UP...' Whose voice? No idea.
"Right..." Leon's voice got quieter, empty-sounding. "So I lost."
It wasn't just losing. Something was missing from those moments when he'd blacked out. Something important.
Shion let out a small sigh. "Whatever. Get some rest. We're still looking into this."
"Wait, right now?" The dullness in his eyes sharpened a bit. "I'll come with you."
She shook her head. "Don't bother. You'd just slow us down anyway. You're not ready."
That stung. Leon looked down at the white blanket, hands clenching underneath. "Oh... okay..."
Shion didn't stick around. She turned and walked out, leaving him alone with questions he couldn't answer.
Leon raised his right hand, fingers tracing over where the scars used to be. That weird feeling he'd had right before passing out—what was that about? "What the hell happened..."
Shion left Leon's room looking thoughtful. She headed for another medical room down the hall where Cyrus was waiting outside, arms crossed, worry written all over his face. When he saw her coming, he pushed off the wall.
"How's Raven?"
"Just woke up," Cyrus said, glancing through the doorway. "Looks like hell, but the doc says he'll live."
They slipped into the room quietly. Raven was flat on his back, staring at nothing. His skin was gray, but some color was starting to come back.
"Cyrus... Shion..." Raven's voice sounded like gravel. "You need to go see Chief Kim."
Cyrus frowned. "What are you talking about? You just came to."
"Listen to me." Raven paused, eyes still fixed on the ceiling like he was trying to grab onto something in his head. "I've been trying to piece this together... the missing kids, Kim telling me to get Master Xiao Yan..." He swallowed hard. "But here's the thing—I can't remember her actually giving me that order."
"Maybe you got your bell rung and you're mixed up," Cyrus said, but he didn't sound convinced.
"No." Raven shook his head slowly. "I remember everything about going to find Xiao Yan. Crystal clear. But I can't find where that order came from."
The room went quiet. Nobody liked where this was heading.
"Then we go see Kim," Raven said. "I think we'll get answers from her."
Shion and Cyrus exchanged looks. Despite all the questions, they trusted Raven.
"I'll round up whoever's still standing," Cyrus said.
Five minutes later they had six people ready to move—not counting themselves. The others were either watching the wounded or guarding the three assholes they'd captured. Not a lot of bodies, but it would have to do.
Shion had been quiet the whole walk, thinking. Finally she spoke up.
"Cyrus... you think Dr. Irin's mixed up in this? She works pretty close with Kim."
Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"
"Just a feeling. She's got access to Kim's stuff, and there's something off about her."
"Could be," Cyrus rubbed his chin. "But we don't have proof. Let's deal with Kim first like Raven said, then see what shakes loose."
They kept walking in silence. The air was thick with suspicion and questions nobody wanted to voice. Kim Min-sae's office was just ahead—maybe they'd get answers there. Or maybe they'd find out their problems were a lot bigger than they'd thought.