Es had already made up her mind before stepping into this chaos.
No matter what it took, she would ensure her team used every last ounce of their power to finish what they started. She couldn’t complete the mission alone, but that didn’t an she wouldn’t try.
Living like this—always struggling, always fighting—was exhausting. But now, with her children in the picture, failure was not an option. She refused to let them suffer because of the war she had been forced into.
There was only one way to end this.
Bringing the entire organization down.
Even if she wiped them out completely, she knew it still wouldn’t be enough. Corruption had a way of regenerating, like weeds sprouting from scorched earth.
But she had a solution.
Either she would die trying, or she would ensure every official responsible for this chaos faced their downfall.
These people—the ones pulling the strings—were like oxygen. As long as they had power, the organization could breathe, survive, and rebuild.
To suffocate them, she needed to hit where it hurt the most.
She had to do sothing so devastating, so colossal, that they wouldn’t even know where the attack was coming from.
Sothing that would make them drown in their own ga.
The woman stood frozen, her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t just Es’s threat against her daughter that sent chills down her spine—it was the horrifying realization that Es knew.
No one was supposed to know.
She had gone to extre lengths to ensure her daughter’s existence remained a secret. The underground chamber was built with foolproof materials, designed to suppress noise and conceal even the faintest trace of life. Over the years, despite the countless people who had passed through this place, not a single soul had uncovered her daughter’s presence. Even divine beasts, with their heightened senses, had been unable to detect her.
So how?
How had Es found out?
Es smirked, tilting her head slightly as if reading the woman’s thoughts.
"Oh, don’t think too hard," she said, her tone almost mocking. "Let help you."
With that, Es reached into her pocket, her fingers grazing sothing smooth before pulling it out.
A picture.
The mont the woman laid eyes on it, her entire body went rigid.
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room.
Her hands trembled as she took a step back, eyes locked on the image.
No...
It was a picture of Sumr.
The sa Sumr who had been burned alive.
Es’s friend.
The woman’s lips parted, but no words ca out. A suffocating dread wrapped around her like iron chains.
Es’s smirk deepened.
"Feels familiar, doesn’t it?" she murmured, her voice dangerously low. "Tell ... have you seen this before?"
The woman’s eyes burned crimson, but not with rage or fear. This ti, it was sorrow—raw and unrelenting. Her hand trembled as she reached out, taking the photograph from Es’s grasp with a touch so gentle, as if afraid it might shatter in her hands.
A single drop of blood smudged the corner of the picture. Her breath hitched. With hurried, shaking fingers, she wiped her hand against her clothes before carefully dabbing at the stain on the image. But no matter how much she tried, she could not erase the aching reality staring back at her.
The young man in the picture bead, his smile as radiant as the first morning light—Sama.
Her Sama.
The man who had brought warmth into her once-lonely world. A gift from the heavens, a love so deep it was woven into her very soul. He was the gentlest person she had ever known, yet strong enough to stand beside her, unwavering. It was he who helped her build this organization, ensuring their people remained safe. It was he who stood beside her through battles and storms, never once faltering.
And in return, life had graced them with their greatest joy—their daughter. A perfect piece of their love, a bond unbreakable. Happiness had surrounded them, filling every corner of their existence.
But fate had never been kind.
There was one flaw in their otherwise perfect world—he, too, was a divine beast owner. Just like her.
Yet she had never cared.
He had protected their child with his very life, stood as the second-in-command of their organization, shouldering dangers alongside her without hesitation. He was her anchor, her equal, her ho.
She could still hear his voice, teasing yet filled with that unshakable love, before every mission she left for:
"Stay safe and co back... or I’ll remarry if you die."
She could still see that boyish grin, the warmth in his golden eyes.
Everything changed that day.
Sama had stood before her, his usual warm smile tinged with a quiet determination. His golden eyes, always filled with mischief and tenderness, held sothing different—sothing resolute.
"I have to go," he had said, his voice calm but firm.
She had argued. She had pleaded. Why now? Why this mission? She had known sothing felt off, an unease curling in her stomach, whispering that this ti was different.
"I need to find sothing," he had told her. "Sothing important."
She hadn’t pressed further, hadn’t demanded answers—because she trusted him. She always had.
And that was her greatest mistake.
If she had stopped him that day, if she had held onto him just a little tighter, maybe... maybe he would still be alive.
But she had let him go.
The night was supposed to be peaceful. She held her daughter close, rocking her gently, her soft murmurs trying to soothe the child’s inexplicable cries.
"Daddy will be ho soon, sweetie. Don’t cry like this," she whispered, pressing a kiss to her tiny forehead.
But her daughter wouldn’t stop. Her small fists clenched the fabric of her mother’s clothes, her sobs growing louder, more desperate. A strange, unshakable feeling settled in the woman’s chest—anxiety, a dread she couldn’t explain.
Then, the phone rang.
She glanced down at the screen, her heart instantly relaxing when she saw Sama’s na flashing on the caller ID. A smile spread across her face, her fingers swiping to answer before she even thought.
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