But on that wall, there weren't just photographs of The Gentle Heart Institute.
Pasted among them was a sheet of paper.
That sheet bore the very tattoo design Kai and Teanguan had been searching for, hunting endlessly for seven long years.
Yet Kai's instincts screamed. Something was wrong.
How could the design, which had eluded them across half the world, appear so easily....here, in the drunken filth of a stranger's room?
Her suspicion sharpened. She cast a cold glance at the unconscious man sprawled on the sofa, then seized a glass of water from the table and flung it across his face.
The man jerked awake with a start, sputtering. His bleary eyes locked onto Kai...and terror instantly spread across his features. He recognized her. He knew exactly who she was… and whose daughter she was.
Before his trembling lips could even form words, Kai silenced him with a glare sharp enough to slice through steel. Her voice was cold, unyielding:
"Get up. You're coming with me."
The man obeyed without resistance. He knew her reputation. He knew the kind of hunter Kai was, and why the mere whisper of her name struck fear into hardened men.
Flashback Ends
Teanguan sat at his desk, examining the tattoo design with meticulous eyes. His expression darkened.
"This design is fake," he muttered. "The information we're looking for isn't here. But still…" His lips curled slightly. "…this isn't worthless."
He rose, walked over, and sat beside Kai. Turning his gaze toward the trembling man, his voice rumbled low...quiet, but filled with thunder:
"Where did you get this design? And what do you know of this Institute?"
Kai's tone cut like a blade as she leaned forward:
"Listen carefully. If you tell us everything, we'll let you live. But if you don't…" her eyes narrowed, "your death is already sitting right in front of you."
The man's body quivered violently under the weight of their words. His fear loosened his tongue, and at last, he spilled everything he knew.
"This… these kinds of tattoos.....ships, sea beasts.....there was only one man who could draw them. No one knew his real name. They all called him the Marine Artist. This copy I have… it's from one of his original designs. But… he died. Seven years ago. An accident. He lived by the lighthouse, near the sea.
There's a secret hidden inside this design....something tied to the Aurea Flora Complex in the Gentle Heart Institute. That's all I know. I swear it. Please… spare me. I'll even return the money I owe."
The room fell silent.
Teanguan's face paled. Even Kai's unshakable mask cracked, her eyes flickering with disbelief.
They had always known whose hand had crafted these designs. But only now did they learn the truth.....that their artist, their elusive Marine Artist, had long been dead.
And worse… that the secret of his designs was bound to the Institute itself.....an Institute revered by all, spoken of like a temple.
---
Far away from this revelation, Wee and Lamai trudged home in defeat.
Wee's face was ashen, her expression hollow.....like a warrior returning from battle, stripped of all pride, carrying only the weight of failure.