April slowly woke up.
Instinctively using her echo-location, she scanned the room around her. She could tell she was lying on her bed in her quarters. In the far corner sat her table and chair. On the other side, the outline of her bookcase stood tall, filled with books.
Only then did she notice something different from the last time she'd woken here—
no one was sitting by her bed.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief, lowered her hands onto the mattress, and pushed herself back until she was sitting upright. She stared at her hands.
"Ah… what happened?" she murmured. She genuinely couldn't remember.
But the moment she tried, the memories returned all at once—pouring into her mind like a crashing wave.
The fight. Jax.
The pain.
Her muscles screaming at her to stop.
The blood in her mouth.
Her refusal to give in.
Because she knew the truth: without sacrifice, there is no growth. If she wanted the strength to stand against Ragnarök, she had no choice but to push past her limits.
A crooked grin spread across her lips. She spoke aloud—loud enough that her voice echoed faintly around the room.
"Huh. So they're right. No pain, no gain. Without pain, you really can't gain anything."
"You're right about that. Without pain, you truly can gain. I see you understand. Very good."
April snapped her head toward the doorway.
Jax stood there, leaning against the frame.
His expression was unreadable… but she caught the small smile tugging at his lips.
A smile she'd only seen a handful of times—when she'd exceeded his expectations.
A smile of respect.
April returned it with one of her own.
"I thought no one would come visit me. Are you here to check on me?"
Jax nodded.
"Yes. But I also have three matters I need to discuss with you. One of them might be… inappropriate. The other two are unrelated. But you need to know them. It's better you hear them now so you can prepare your mind for them."
April raised an eyebrow, her grin turning mischievous.
"Oh? What is it? Are you here to confess you're in love with me? Hm? Is that it? You think I'm hot?"
She laughed lightly—until she noticed something through her echolocation.
A tiny twitch in Jax's fingers.
As if she had caught him off guard.
Her laughter faded instantly. An expression of pure disbelief crossed her face.
"Don't tell me… is it actually what I think it is?"
Jax shook his head quickly.
"Not exactly. But it might be connected. At least… let me come in and explain. May I?"
April just nodded, stunned silent.
Jax hesitated—almost as if wrestling with himself—before finally stepping inside. He crossed the room, grabbed the chair near her table, brought it to the left side of her bed, placed it down, and sat.
He leaned forward, hands steepled, head slightly lowered—clearly thinking hard about how to begin.
April watched him quietly, her mind spinning with theories, but she forced herself not to jump to conclusions.
Whatever he was about to say, she needed to hear it first.
"Okay," Jax finally said, exhaling slowly. "I think I'm ready. Let's start with the least important thing. The final one is what I really need to tell you. But first—do you remember how the fight went?"
April nodded.
"Yes. When I tried to remember, my Gear filled in all the missing memories."
"That's good." Jax leaned back slightly. "I'm telling you this because… I know you might be thinking that you've gotten strong enough to rival me. But to tell you the truth—during that battle, I only used 30% of my true power."
April's eyebrows twitched, but she stayed quiet.
"I know," Jax continued, "you're probably wondering how I was struggling if I was only using thirty percent. The truth is simple: the reason we always have you fight me instead of other members is because we're trying to build our strongest wildcards to at least Supreme Rank as soon as possible. We need fighters who can go toe-to-toe with Ragnarök's leader quickly."
April's heartbeat thumped.
"And like Ultima told you," Jax said, "being put in life-or-death situations makes you grow faster. That's why I had to push the battle as close to lethal as possible—to make you feel like you were on the brink of death. But in reality?" He shrugged slightly. "I wanted to finish it fast. I could've."
He let that sink in.
"I know what you're thinking. Why? Why push you like that?" Jax's expression hardened. "Because the leader of Ragnarök… he's a beast. Even though the official rank stops at Supreme, he's an exception. He's so powerful he created a rank above it—the Emperor Rank—and he's the only one who has ever reached it."
A cold shiver ran through April's spine.
"The first time we truly faced him," Jax said, voice low, "I used everything I had. All of it. And I still couldn't force him into even a partial takeover mode. Not even that. That's when I realized… he was completely out of my league."
He looked away for a moment, old memories darkening his face.
"Even with our leader fighting beside me, we still couldn't make Ragnarök's leader take us seriously. Not even for a second. So we backed off. Hid. And founded this organization—not to fight now, but to prepare. To raise enough Supreme-Rank warriors to force him to get serious. And if we have enough numbers… we might be able to defeat him."
April stayed silent, absorbing everything.
"So," Jax finished, "if we ranked our organization's members from weakest to strongest, the list would be: you, then Kai, Saya, Dante, me, and finally… the Leader."
"So, before you start thinking you can rival me," Jax said, tone sharpening, "you first have to defeat Kai and the rest. Only then can you come close to my level. Remember that."
April nodded, waiting for him to continue onto the third matter.
Jax inhaled slowly.
"April… by any chance, do you know what Gear Characteristics are?"
His expression tightened—serious, almost cautious.
April searched her memories, trying to recall if Ultima or anyone else had mentioned it before. Nothing. The term didn't ring a single bell. But the name itself told her it probably had something to do with all Gears—no matter the category.
Jax read her silence easily.
"Judging by your expression, you don't know what it is," he said. "So I'll explain it as simply as possible. Just like animals have certain biological instincts or traits, Gears also have characteristics. Each Gear carries a natural instinct or behavioral imprint based on the mythical creature or animal it's modeled after."
He lifted a hand, gesturing lightly.
"For example—those of us in the Animalistic Category: me, Saya, Dante, Kai. Our characteristics follow the creatures our Gears are based on. Kai, for instance—he sometimes gets a sudden urge to be free, to fly, to move through open air. And with the Sigil, those wing-like structures on his feet? They're not just decorations. He can actually manifest wings made of pure G-Force energy."
April's eyes widened slightly.
"As for the rest of us," Jax continued, "we get urges that reflect our base animal instincts. Some of us get territorial. Some get the instinct to steal things. Some get overprotective. It varies depending on the creature your Gear originates from."
Then Jax paused.
This pause was different.
He looked away for half a second, jaw tightening subtly—just like earlier when she teased him at the doorway.
"And this," he said slowly, "is where we reach the part I warned you about. The part that might be inappropriate."
His eyes shifted back to April.
"But it's connected to you."
Jax exhaled very slowly, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. "This is the… inappropriate part," he said quietly. "But you need to hear it."
April tilted her head, waiting.
Jax looked almost… embarrassed. A first.
"My Gear," he said, "isn't purely a lion. It's a hybrid—lion and wolf. That means my characteristics… aren't normal."
He swallowed.
"And one of those characteristics is the urge to seek a mates. But not just any females Only those of a specific type: strong, dependable, unshakeable… those with wills powerful enough to break mountains."
April's eyebrows rose high.
Her heart did a weird flip.
Jax continued, unable to meet her stitched eyelids.
"So… every time you prove yourself… every time you push through pain, every time you defy expectations…"
He clenched his jaw.
"My instincts scream at me to claim you. As a mate. To ensure that when you become the powerhouse I know you will be… you belong at my side, not defying me."
April froze.
He wasn't joking.
He wasn't teasing.
He wasn't even flirting.
He was telling her something dangerous.
"But I fight it," Jax said firmly. "Every time. Because I don't want to ruin anything. Especially after what you went through."
April's eyebrows softened only slightly. She then remembered.
The day her identity was erased.
The day her own biological father raped her.
Broke her.
Then day she returned from WestGate High after Tessa revealed that she was the famous girl over all social media known for being raped by her own biological father. That day she punched wall so hard it dented.
She had to release all the anger, sadness and guilt she felt on something.
Jax and the rest had seen that.
They had felt it her pain and helplessness.
"And imagine," he said, lowering his voice, "if you were claimed a second time—if someone forced it through Gear instinct. If your identity was taken again. It would break everything you're fighting for. Everything that keeps you moving. Everything that keeps you alive."
Jax looked up at her finally.
"That's why I've never acted on the instinct. And why I'm telling you—so you're aware. And so you can watch me. If my Gear ever shifts too far, stay away. Or order me to stop."
April eyebrows frowned. "Order?"
Jax nodded.
"Yes. In Gear logic, the stronger one dominates. If you defeat me when you reach my level… the instinct disappears for good. I would submit permanently, and you would never feel pressure from me again."
April shivered.
Then, slowly, she said:
"…That explains something."
Jax raised an eyebrow.
April's voice turned half-serious, half-mortified.
"I always knew I was living in a den full of predators. But sometimes I felt a different kind of shiver. Like the time I was changing clothes, remember? I put on that thin side-slit shirt that practically showed my whole figure. I felt someone… staring at my ass and chest hungrily."
Her expression turned suspicious.
"Was that you?"
Jax's reaction was instant.
"What—NO—I—April—listen—I didn't—that wasn't—I was in the training hall—the angle— the corridor is reflective—I wasn't even—"
He was panicking.
April crossed her arms.
"So it was you."
"No! I mean—maybe—NOT on purpose! My Gear just—reacted—but I didn't—I closed my eyes—I mean—they were already closed but—that's not the point—!"
April leaned back on her bed, looking at him like he was a puzzle.
"So what now?" she asked. "You gonna pounce on me tonight and force-claim me?"
"WHAT?! Absolutely not!" Jax nearly fell off his chair.
"You literally just said your instincts are telling you to claim me," April deadpanned.
"Yes but I'm NOT my instincts!" he shot back, red in the face. "I came here to warn you, not to attack you! I want you to be able to stop me if the instinct ever takes over—it's for your safety—!"
"And mine," April finished quietly.
The room grew heavy.
Tense.
Awkward and Charged.
April looked at him.
Jax stared at the floor.
And just when the atmosphere could not get more painfully awkward—
the door slammed open.
"—HEY! Are you two done being weird? You're continuous yelling is getting on my nerve!"
A new voice interrupted entering the room.