Riven couldn't take his eyes off the tattoo on the man's back.
That was it.
That was the confirmation.
This man was his father.
And he was dead.
There was nothing he could do about that now.
…But there were still things he could do.
One—heal his mother.
Two—kill the bastards who did this.
⸻
"Hey… excuse me," Jordan said, his voice shaking as he caught the attention of one of the morgue attendants.
"Yes, young man?"
"My mom had burns," Jordan asked, tears still streaming down his face. "Why doesn't he?"
The man hesitated. "We don't know for sure. Our best guess is that your father went outside to confront whoever attacked them. Your mother stayed inside the house. The assailant likely killed your father first, then attempted to kill your mother by burning the house down."
Even as he spoke, it was obvious—he didn't truly know.
Jordan didn't know how to feel.
Tears kept falling, but the emotion behind them wasn't just grief. It was exhaustion. Stress. The crushing weight of knowing he might have to tell his own mother that her husband was dead—unless the doctor had already done it while they were gone.
Joey felt the sadness too, but he didn't think it was his place to cry. He wasn't blood.
Still… Candace and Kaden had treated him like family. Like a son.
Instead of breaking down, he focused on staying strong—for Riven and Jordan.
"Come on," Riven said quietly.
The three of them headed upstairs to see their mother.
⸻
When they reached the top floor, they immediately made their way toward her room. The same doctor stepped out just as they arrived. He nodded, signaling that they could go in.
But Jordan stopped him.
"Did you tell her?" Jordan asked.
"Tell her what?" the doctor replied.
That answer snapped something.
Jordan grabbed him by the collar. "Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I mean."
The sudden outburst drew attention from nearby patients and staff. The woman at the front desk hesitated, her hand hovering over the security button—until she noticed Jordan and Riven standing side by side, their identical features impossible to miss. The green-haired boy and the black-haired one.
Twins… maybe, she thought, lowering her hand.
"No," the doctor said firmly. "I didn't."
Jordan shoved him away. The doctor quickly left, and the three boys entered the room.
⸻
Candace was sitting on the hospital bed, looking out the window.
Her brown hair rested against her shoulders, burn scars still visible across parts of her face. But something else caught Riven's attention—her left eye looked different. Pale. Almost washed out.
"Mom… your eye," Riven said softly, pointing.
"Yeah, I know," she replied with a weak smile. "Bad, right? The doctor said I'm going to be permanently blind in this one. But that's okay—I still have my good eye, and—"
She was cut off as all three boys wrapped their arms around her.
Tears flowed freely.
Joey couldn't hold it in anymore. These people had taken him in when they didn't have to. They had even offered him money if he wanted to walk away—and still treated him like their own son when he stayed.
So he cried.
When they finally pulled back, Candace chuckled softly.
"I'm glad I can still experience almost getting squeezed to death by you boys again," she said with a smile.
⸻
"Mom," Riven said, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "I can help you."
He raised his hands, and a soft green aura bloomed around them. Candace felt warmth spread through her body—gentle and soothing.
"What are you—"
Her words faltered as the pain faded. The scars no longer burned. When she shifted slightly, there was no sting.
She touched her face.
"They're gone…" she whispered.
Her vision in her left eye returned slightly—still blurry, but there.
"I evolved twice," Riven lied.
He wasn't ready to tell her the truth. Not about what he was becoming. Not now. Not when everything was already breaking.
"Oh, a dual evolver," Candace said proudly. "That's wonderful. You'll be a big shot someday—leave this awful place behind."
Then she noticed something.
"Boy," she said suddenly, grabbing Riven by the ear. "Who told you that you could dye your hair?"
"No one, ma'am!" Riven yelped. "I didn't have a choice!"
Jordan and Joey burst out laughing.
"There's always a choice," Candace snapped. "If you're being bullied, show me their mother. I'll kick her butt right now."
"I lost a bet," Riven said quickly.
She paused, then sighed. "Well, no more bets like that. Look at you—you had your father's hair and looks. What do you think he'll say when he sees this?"
The room went silent.
The warmth vanished instantly.
⸻
"I imagine you did the same thing to your father," Candace added softly. "A doctor was checking on me earlier… right?"
"Mom," Jordan stepped forward, head lowered. "When we left your room… we—we—"
His voice broke.
"Mrs. Harlow," Joey said gently, knowing he might be the only one who could say it. "Your… your husband… Dad is dead."
Riven and Jordan turned away, unable to look at her.
The heart monitor spiked.
"Mom!" Riven shouted. "Mom, breathe—talk to me—"
But when he looked into her eyes, all he saw was devastation.
Candace wailed.
Tears streamed down her face as her heart rate climbed higher and higher—until, finally, her body went limp. Consciousness slipped away, leaving her unconscious on the hospital bed.
Riven stood frozen at her side, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white.
"She's gonna be out for a while, isn't she?" he asked quietly. The pain in his voice was unmistakable.
"Most likely," Jordan replied. Tears welled in his eyes, though he tried to blink them away.
"I'm sorry," Joey said suddenly.
Both brothers turned to him.
"My bad luck," Joey choked out. "I already lost one father… and now, because of me, I lost another one. And you did too." His voice cracked as he broke down, shoulders shaking.
Jordan stepped forward, placing a hand on Joey's shoulder.
"It isn't your fault."
"And your luck has nothing to do with this," Riven added firmly. "Even if you weren't our adopted brother, this probably still would've happened. I'm just glad she still has three faces she can hold dear… instead of only two."
Riven glanced at the clock on the wall.
6:20 PM.
Without another word, he turned and began walking toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Jordan asked sharply. "We need to be here for her."
"Jordan," Riven said quietly, stopping just short of the doorway. "If I'm being honest… I'm like a ticking time bomb right now. If I don't punch something—someone—I'm afraid someone innocent is going to get hurt."
He clenched his fist harder. Blood began to seep from between his fingers.
"So," Riven said, turning back around. Tears still clung to his eyes.
"I'm going to complete a quest."
"Then I'm coming with you," Jordan said immediately, stepping forward.
"No. You need to stay here with Mom—"
"I'll do that," Joey interrupted.
Both brothers looked at him.
"I'll stay. Just in case she wakes up early." Joey wiped his eyes. "And… in my eyes, you guys need to do this. Not me. Even with all this rage inside me, I don't think I have the stomach for it."
Riven and Jordan exchanged a look. They both understood why Joey said it.
Hospitals were filled with cameras—especially in patient rooms. If anything violent happened, they'd be arrested immediately. Riven wouldn't have cared if it meant avenging his father… but leaving his mother completely alone wasn't an option.
They nodded.
Joey squeezed their shoulders one last time before walking out of the room—and out of the hospital.
Now, it was just the two of them.
The twin brothers.
"So what's the plan?" Jordan asked as they walked. "Are we taking the bus?"
"No," Riven replied. "Walking to Section D takes about twenty minutes. The bus gets us there too fast. I want it to be dark. I don't want anyone seeing our faces."
Jordan swallowed.
"And so we can kill them," Riven added flatly.
The system activated quietly, a faint arrow forming in Riven's vision and pointing toward their destination. Without it, he would've attacked the first gangster he saw.
As they walked, Jordan wanted to ask the question burning in his chest.
Are you really ready to take a life?
Jordan had already taken one.
He would never forget the name—Canin.
At the time, he'd felt nothing. The man was a killer himself. Why should Jordan feel sympathy?
But the nightmares came anyway.
He never told anyone about them.
Over and over, he relived it—watching himself kill Canin again and again, feeling the same pain, the same fear. Eventually, the dreams stopped… but the memory never faded.
Jordan wondered if Riven was ready to carry that weight.
He glanced at his brother.
Riven's face showed no hesitation. No regret.
Only intent.
After twenty minutes, they entered Section D. For the first time since leaving the hospital, the system arrow shifted—pointing left instead of straight ahead.
The streets were nearly empty. Despite it being only around 7 PM, there was almost no one outside.
"Riven," Jordan said cautiously. "What's the plan?"
"To kill them all," Riven replied blankly.
"That's not a plan," Jordan snapped. He spotted a large structure ahead—a manufacturing building, maybe a shed. The system arrow pointed directly at it. "The system says kill 150 of them. There might be more than that in there. We need a real plan."
Riven chuckled softly.
"You're thinking too hard," he said. "You're comparing them to the people we've trained with. These guys aren't Harkel. They don't have Leo's raw power. They don't have Joey's abilities."
—
Back at the academy, Luka suddenly pressed a hand against his chest.
"You okay?" Harkel asked.
"Yeah," Luka replied slowly. "I just… feel like I was disrespected somehow."
—
"Jordan," Riven said as they approached the shed, "you're forgetting what a wallborn truly is."
He raised his hand and knocked on the metal door—hard. The sound echoed through the empty street.
"Who is it?" a man's voice called from inside.
Riven didn't answer.
"A wallborn," he continued calmly, "is someone who was weak—even after the academy. Someone rejected. Someone thrown away."
Riven sensed movement behind the door.
"Essentially—"
Lightning crackled along the blade of the sword Harkel had given him.
Riven swung.
The door split apart in a violent flash of speed and force, metal screaming as it tore free.
[System: 1 / 150]
[system: +100 xp]
"These people," Riven said coldly as the door collapsed inward, revealing hundreds of shocked men, "are just trash that hasn't been fully thrown away yet."
Jordan's daggers were already in his hands.
Blood pooled beneath the shattered doorway. A body lay broken at their feet.
Jordan exhaled slowly, eyes hardening.
"Fine then, brother," he said. "I'll go by your plan."
He stepped forward.
"Let's kill them all."