Timothy was lightly escorted through the crowd to the first floor of the building by a middle-aged man.
Though most people didn't recognize him, the respect he commanded was evident, every security officer he passed gave him a slight bow.
They stopped before a door guarded by two n, who opened it without a word.
Inside was a sleek conference room, furnished with corporate chairs and a long table.
At a glance, Timothy could tell it was used for private staff etings.
Standing at the entrance, he arched a brow at the man beside him in mild confusion.
"This is the conference room used for private discussions," Joshua explained, understanding Timothy's reaction.
Hesitating for a mont, Timothy stepped in and chose the seat closest to the door, his back to the nearest exit.
Joshua, on the other hand, sat directly across from him.
"My mother?" Timothy asked without preamble.
Joshua leaned forward slightly.
"Mrs. Walter, along with several others, has been diagnosed with a highly fatal illness currently being studied by the association. They're being kept at a separate facility, farther from here."
Timothy's gaze sharpened.
"What illness?"
"It hasn't been given an official na yet, but you may have heard of it: Mana Sickness."
A chill settled over Timothy.
Joshua continued...
"It likely went unnoticed at first, but after the trauma she suffered, I suspect it affected her body on more than just a surface level. That, in turn, may have triggered the mana sickness."
Timothy frowned.
"But my mother isn't an awakened."
"And neither are ninety percent of those admitted to that facility," Joshua countered and continued.
"What you fail to understand is that mana sickness doesn't only affect awakened individuals. It happens when a person cos into contact with an exceptionally pure form of mana and, more importantly, when their body is strongly influenced by it.
"Under normal circumstances, such exposure either triggers an awakening, or the body outright rejects the foreign substance. Those who fail to awaken simply return to normal. But for so... their body enters a state of forced assimilation. This leads to a coma. And that's where the mortality rate spikes."
Timothy's hands curled into fists.
His chest felt hollow after hearing it, like sothing had been torn away.
Good news? What was he expecting? There was no good news.
What was the point of being alive if you were trapped in a state of unconsciousness?
He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain she might be experiencing, not just physically, but ntally.
Would she ever wake up? Would she even be aware of what was happening?
His fingers tapped lightly against the table as he tried to suppress the storm of emotions threatening to rise.
"When will she wake up?" he finally asked, voice quieter than before.
Joshua hesitated, then exhaled.
"The best case of anyone recovering from mana sickness is... none."
Timothy's heart sank.
He already knew.
Of course, he knew.
It was common sense everywhere.
The news had never once reported a survivor.
Most afflicted simply remained in stasis until their life force ran out and they died.
It was one of the many unsolved mysteries that had plagued humanity since the arrival of gates, dungeons, and mana.
A phenonon without a solution.
"Can I see her?" Timothy asked
Joshua shook his head.
"I'm afraid you don't have the clearance for that."
Timothy's head snapped up.
"What?" His voice was calm, but disbelief burned beneath the surface.
"You're telling I can't see my own mother?"
Joshua t his gaze evenly.
"It's for the safety of civilians."
Timothy narrowed his eyes.
"What does that an?"
"Mana sickness is unpredictable.
It can take hold as easily as breathing in the wrong air. You've recently gone through a traumatic event, and while you seem stable, it's unclear if you're truly out of danger. Unless you were reawakened, your body wouldn't survive certain environnts."
"And that facility is one of them?"
Joshua nodded.
"Only A-ranks and higher are allowed there. Even I don't have free access."
Timothy scoffed.
"That's a lie, and you know it."
Joshua tilted his head slightly.
"Which part?"
Timothy had no answer.
A faint smile ghosted across Joshua's face.
"So what if it is a lie, Timothy?"
The shift in his tone was sharp and direct.
Timothy hadn't expected it, but he didn't flinch.
The room fell into silence as the two stared at each other.
There was sothing more, sothing Joshua wasn't saying.
Before Timothy could press further, the door opened.
A man entered, dressed in a black suit identical to the one the hunters association mbers usually wore.
Timothy recognized him as Joshua's assistant, or maybe an apprentice.
The man placed a stack of docunts in front of Joshua, who flipped through them without a word, occasionally glancing at Timothy.
Minutes passed in quiet scrutiny.
Then, Joshua placed the docunts down and spoke.
"Where have you been for the last thirty days?"
Timothy frowned.
"Didn't know I was being monitored."
"Now you do. So answer. You're being charged with aiding and abetting a criminal. Refusing to comply will only make things worse for you."
The words hit like a hamr.
Timothy stiffened.
"...What?"
"You heard ." Joshua's tone didn't waver.
"If it helps, the last team you raided with has also been called in for questioning."
Understanding clicked in an instant.
Edward.
Timothy exhaled.
"I got pulled into a sudden gate appearance."
Joshua's eyes didn't move from him.
"When?"
"The day I disappeared."
"Do you possess any ans of teleportation or spatial displacent?"
"No."
Joshua leaned forward, his sharp gaze fixed on Timothy.
"The testimonies of your colleagues, and your sister says the sa thing, you disappeared right in front of them after saying farewell."
"I don't know what happened," Timothy replied flatly.
Joshua narrowed his eyes.
"What gate were you pulled into?"
"Goblin."
"For a whole month?"
Timothy hesitated.
Should he lie or tell the truth? He decided to stick with his story.
"Yes."
Joshua exhaled slowly, studying Timothy's expression.
"There haven't been any unregistered gates in the area, certainly not a goblin-thed one. Not a single anomaly in our records."
"That's not my fault, is it?" Timothy countered.
Joshua's fingers drumd against the desk.
"And you're saying you cleared this dungeon alone?"
"Yes. It wasn't that difficult."
A long silence followed.
Joshua didn't even blink.
It wasn't impossible, goblins were known to be E rank and a d rank Hunter might be able to clear it, but their numbers always pose a problem and the ti it took was feasible.
"Am I to assu you got any rewards for clearing the gate?"
Timothy t his stare.
"Nothing worth your attention."
"Even the weakest E-rank gates yield sothing of value. Can you tell where the gate was located?"
"I have no idea."
Joshua leaned back, his voice turning cold.
"You claim there was nothing worth ntioning, yet the scarf you wore was strong enough to fend off a C-rank hunter. So tell , is it an artifact? Or was that your ability?"
Timothy finally raised his eyes, locking onto Joshua.
His voice remained calm, but the temperature in the room seed to drop.
"I have no such strength or ability. And those C-rank hunters weren't attacking. If they had been, the outco would have been... different."
Joshua's lips curled slightly.
"We both know that's a lie."
Timothy tilted his head.
"Which part?"
Joshua's smirk faded.
"If you're lying, you'll spend the rest of your life in an asylum for criminals like you. No sunlight, no freedom. So I suggest you wipe that smug look off your face, keep your reckless self out of trouble, and register any and all artifacts obtained from a gate under the association."
Timothy didn't flinch.
Instead, he stood up, walked to the door, and left behind only one sentence.
"I really hate the governnt."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Joshua sighed and turned to his apprentice.
He had lost his temper for a second there
"Find out everything you can about goblin-thed gates and any autonomous cloth-type equipnt. You saw what that scarf did, right? Get to work."
The apprentice hesitated.
"But sir... what if he was lying about his rank?"
Joshua shook his head.
"We personally reevaluated him, and the results were even worse than before. If he's hiding sothing, it won't stay hidden forever."
Timothy stepped out into the cool evening air, his fists clenched.
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He had failed.
He hadn't achieved his goal.
And now, all he could do was watch from the sidelines.
He had lost soone again.
And this ti, he hadn't even been able to say goodbye.
His chest felt hollow.
Wasn't he supposed to be raging? Breaking things? Instead, an eerie calm settled over him, like a storm waiting to break.
His mother might die at any mont.
"Wherever you are," he muttered under his breath,
"pray we never et." he said autonomously
He knew where his sister, and the little twin might be.
But he had no right to go to them, not now.
It would only add to the burden, and he refused to do that.
His uncles could handle it. Just until he was done with all this bullshit.
He hailed a cab ho. But before heading back, he stopped at a mall, using what little cash he had left to buy groceries, three pairs of cheap clothes, and a second-hand android phone.
It wasn't much, but it was all he could afford
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