Juno clenched his fists at his sides.
"Master…"
He hesitated.
But seeing Vince like this broken, barely breathing, yet still thinking of his students
Juno couldn't hold it back.
"What happened out there? Lucere, he destroyed you like"
Vince's gaze sharpened despite the haze in his eyes.
"Juno."
His voice, even weak, carried the tone of a master giving a command.
"You will NOT seek revenge. Not now."
Juno's heart thrashed.
"I, Master, I didn't say…"
"You didn't need to," Vince whispered.
"I know that look. I trained that look."
Juno froze.
Master Vince breathed deeply, carefully.
The oxygen mask fogged slightly with each exhale.
"Lucere isn't soone you fight. He's soone you survive."
Juno's hands trembled.
"But he took Khael's shard. If we don't do sothing"
Vince closed his eyes for a mont, breath unsteady.
"Juno… listen to ."
The machines beeped softly.
A healer outside whispered instructions to another.
Vince continued
"Power like Lucere's… it isn't sothing you punch. It isn't sothing you outrun. That man… he's the kind of danger that changes entire continents."
Juno felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Master Vince coughed again, blood touching the edge of the mask.
Juno panicked.
"Master!!"
But Vince raised his remaining hand again.
"I'm… alright. Don't make that face."
Juno gritted his teeth.
"Master, your arm, your chest, your Shinrei, he almost killed you!"
"He did," Vince said quietly.
Juno stopped breathing.
"He wasn't trying to defeat … he was preparing to erase ."
Vince's eyes flickered with sothing Juno had never seen in him before
fear.
"And if I hadn't opened the Taishin Gate in ti… I'd be gone."
Gone.
Not knocked out.
Not injured.
Gone.
Juno felt sick.
He stared at the missing arm.
At the burns.
At the trembling breaths.
This wasn't just a loss.
This was a near execution.
Vince looked at him gently.
"Juno… don't let this scare you away… but don't let it blind you either."
Juno bit his lip, fighting tears.
"Master… I should've been there. I should've.."
"No."
Vince's voice cracked sharply despite his weakness.
"You would've died."
Juno froze.
"You are strong," Vince said, softer.
"Soday… you may beco a Taishin master greater than ."
Juno's breath caught.
"But right now… you'd have lasted one heartbeat."
Juno clenched his jaw, tears burning behind his eyes.
"Then what do we do…?"
Vince looked toward the window, where a faint sliver of morning sunlight crept through.
"…We heal."
"…We wait."
"…We grow stronger."
He looked back at Juno.
"And we trust Khael."
Juno blinked, stunned.
"Khael…?"
His voice trembled.
"But Master… he lost the shard. He almost died. He…"
"He awakened sothing else," Vince whispered.
"Sothing older. Sothing… dangerous."
Juno felt his breath catch.
"What do you an?"
Vince's eyes softened with mory and fear.
"When he opened his eyes… I felt it.
That wasn't the boy I trained."
His voice lowered.
"That was sothing ancient looking through him."
Juno swallowed hard.
Vince continued, whisper-thin:
"Khael isn't the sa anymore."
The oxygen mask fogged again.
"Protect him, Juno. Watch him. Keep him grounded."
Juno nodded slowly, firmly, deeply.
"I will, Master."
Vince closed his eyes, exhausted.
"And Juno…"
Juno leaned in.
"Yes, Master?"
Vince's voice was a frail thread:
"…don't let him walk that path alone."
Juno bowed his head.
"As you command."
Vince whispered:
"Good… boy…"
And drifted into sleep.
Juno stood there for a long mont, staring at the man who had raised him as a fighter, saved his life twice, and taught him everything.
His master.
His ntor.
His second father.
Juno clenched his fists, tears falling silently.
"Master… I won't fail you."
He bowed deeply.
Then he stepped out of the room, the door closing behind him with a quiet click
leaving Vince to sleep…
And Juno with a vow burning in his chest.
The door slid open with a faint hiss.
Khael, Ceyla, Matthew, and Androda all turned at the sa ti.
Juno stood there.
His cloak was still dusted with dried earth from the battlefield, his hair ssier than usual, and his eyes… different. Softer, but tight with sothing unspoken.
Ceyla was the first to move.
"Juno! Took you long enough"
Then she froze. "Wait… what's with that face?"
Androda squinted.
"Oh no. That's the brooding hero after a traumatic scene expression. I know that one."
Matthew leaned forward from his bed, Echo Spirit ribbons faintly swaying.
"Did sothing happen?"
Juno inhaled, then exhaled slowly, stepping fully inside the ward.
"I ca from… Master Vince."
Khael stiffened at the ntion. The golden haze in his eyes faded.
Juno continued, trying to keep his voice steady.
"He's alive. But… his injuries were severe. He lost his arm."
The room fell silent.
Even JunJun, Androda's echo pet, stopped nibbling on the blanket.
Khael opened his mouth, but no words ca out. His throat tightened.
Ceyla glanced at him, her expression softening. The earlier teasing mood dissolved instantly.
Juno stepped closer to them, forcing a small smile.
"But he asked about all of you. First thing he said was: 'How are they?' He was worried before anything else."
Matthew lowered his head, whispering,
"That sounds like him."
Androda rubbed the back of his neck.
"Damn… even half-dead he's still thinking about us instead of himself."
Khael took a breath, voice quiet but firm.
"…I'll visit him once I'm allowed to walk properly."
Juno nodded.
"He'll want that."
For a mont, the weight hung in the air heavy, real, unavoidable.
Then Androda clapped his hands loudly.
"Alright! Enough gloom. We're all alive. He's alive. And I STILL haven't forgiven Ceyla for accusing of crying earlier."
Ceyla smirked.
"I didn't accuse you. I just said soone cried."
"That's the sa thing!"
"No it's not."
Matthew chuckled lightly.
"Technically, Androda… you reacted as if you were the soone."
"DON'T PUT LOGIC INTO THIS."
Even Juno let out a small laugh one he clearly needed.
Androda pointed dramatically at JunJun.
"See? Even my spiritual son agrees, Look at his face! LOOK!"
JunJun blinked.
Slowly.
Expressionless.
The entire group burst out laughing.
Ceyla almost fell off her chair.
"Not the 'emotionless judgnt baby' face!"
Juno shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Gods, I missed this."
Khael looked up at him.
"You staying with us this ti?"
Juno gave a soft nod, then unexpectedly stepped forward and ruffled Khael's hair.
"Yeah. I'm not going anywhere."
Khael let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
For the first ti since the battle, his shoulders loosened.
Ceyla leaned back with a grin.
"Good. Our squad is useless without the resident calm adult."
Juno raised an eyebrow.
"Adult?"
She corrected herself.
"Fine. Calm taller sibling."
"Still wrong."
"Calm responsible one?"
Juno smirked.
"Now you're getting closer."
Androda dramatically sighed.
"Look at that. Juno leaves for five minutes and cos back sounding like everyone's dad."
Matthew smiled.
"Well, soone has to balance you out. And definitely Androda."
"HEY—!"
Another round of laughter.
The heaviness didn't disappear…
But it blended with warmth.
With safety.
With the quiet, fragile knowledge that for now just for now
They were all still together.
And that was enough.
To be continue
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