Chapter 4: The Hall of the Archives

  A few days had passed since the incident in the training room. The air between the members was thick with unspoken tension, but Seonho, ever the optimist, decided Leeseo needed a change of scenery.

  With a soft zip and a flicker of blue light, he teleported her into the heart of the Flux Archive Museum.

  "Is it beautiful?" he asked, stepping back to watch her reaction.

  Leeseo looked like a child who had wandered into a dream. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the golden pillars that stretched toward the high, luminous ceilings. The walls were decorated with framed portraits and glowing holograms of past legends, a history of blood and steel preserved in marble.

  "I... I don’t remember any of this," Leeseo whispered, her voice echoing in the vast space.

  Seonho politely wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her forward. Leeseo felt the heat of his touch and a sudden, sharp blush crept up her neck. He guided her to a long mahogany shelf filled with team portraits.

  "These were the Elites of Flux," Seonho said, pointing to a row of four frames. "Yaejin, Gaeul, and Jiwon. They are the absolute pinnacle of our force. They didn't just fight the Ven War; they ended it."

  The fourth frame was empty, the picture removed so cleanly it left a ghost of a shadow on the wood.

  "Who’s the fourth member?" Leeseo asked, tilting her head.

  "She’s gone. She disappeared after the Ven War," Seonho said, scratching his head in thought. "I actually forgot her name. Won-something... It's been wiped from most records."

  Leeseo looked at the empty space, then at the powerful women in the other photos. "Was I an Elite too?"

  Seonho let out a genuine laugh. "Are you being humorous now?" He shook his head fondly. "No, you were a trainee. A talented one, for sure. But sadly, after your initial processing, you didn't manifest a unique power. You just had the standard enhancements—strength, speed, durability, and sharp senses."

  Leeseo nodded slowly, looking at her hands. "I see. And what I am now... the enemy did this to me?"

  Seonho’s expression turned serious. He reached down and held her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "Yeah. But don't worry. I won't let them take you again."

  Leeseo’s heart did a strange somersault. She looked up and gave him a small, shy smile. "Thank you, Seonho-ssi."

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  As they moved further down the long mahogany shelf, Seonho paused briefly before a holographic display of the Sunder Squad. "These are the frontline soldiers—San, Kanghyuk, Rahee, and Haruka. They’re the organization's sledgehammer."

  Leeseo’s gaze drifted to a separate, smaller frame hanging just beside the main group. It featured a man with a calm look in his eyes and a gentle smile.

  "Who is he?" Leeseo asked.

  "That’s Minjoon," Seonho said, his tone becoming brief and distant. "He was their mentor. He's been MIA for a while now. Some say he couldn't take the weight of the war and just disappeared."

  Seonho’s hand lingered near the display of the Sunder Squad for a moment longer before he led Leeseo toward a smaller, more secluded alcove of the gallery. Here, the lighting was dimmer, and the frames were smaller, more personal.

  He stopped in front of a silver-bordered photograph.

  In the center of the photo stood a younger Seonho, looking slightly less burdened, with Rin standing beside him, triumphantly hoisting her bo-staff over her shoulder. But they weren't alone. Flanking them were two others: a woman with a gentle, serene expression and a tall man with a protective stance, wearing a polished cross necklace that caught the light of the camera.

  Seonho went unusually still. The playful light in his eyes vanished, replaced by a distant, hollow stare. He looked at the two figures wearing their uniforms, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly.

  ***

  Meanwhile, in a soundproof conference room, Rin sat at a long glass table. She looked utterly miserable—and pissed. Her bo-staff, her pride and joy, was missing.

  The door didn't slide open so much as the air simply shifted. Shin Gaeul, an Elite whose reputation for leadership and efficiency was legendary, entered the room. Her aura was so heavy it felt like the gravity in the room had doubled.

  "Hey, Han Rin," Gaeul said. She didn't even look at her.

  "Gaeul-unnie... Am I getting my staff back now?" Rin asked, her voice sharp with frustration.

  "We’ll see," Gaeul replied with a chilling grin.

  "I have no time for this." Rin stood up abruptly and bolted for the door. She moved with a burst of enhanced speed, but the moment she crossed the threshold, she blinked.

  She was sitting back in the chair.

  "What the—Gaeul-unnie?"

  Gaeul’s eyes were glowing a piercing, oceanic blue. "Sit tight."

  "But... you're using your powers on me?" Rin’s voice drifted into a whisper as she realized the room was beginning to warp. This wasn't just a lecture; Gaeul was using Reality Manipulation.

  Gaeul sat directly across from her. "Using your relic on a colleague. Hitting a defenseless trainee. You’re acting on your own again, Rin. Do you remember what happened during the Ven War? What happens when soldiers lose their discipline?"

  Rin sighed, her bravado crumbling. "I’m—I’m trying to be more responsible now. Please... I just want my staff back."

  "How can we be sure you won't make the same failure again?" Gaeul’s voice began to distort, sounding like it was coming from everywhere at once. "Patience is the most important trait of a Flux soldier."

  Rin nodded frantically.

  "And being reckless... well..."

  Rin blinked, and suddenly the conference room was gone. She was paralyzed in a pitch-black void.

  "Well, that’s just what ANTIs do," Gaeul’s voice echoed in the darkness.

  "Gaeul-unnie! I'm not a traitor, I swear!" Rin screamed into the nothingness.

  "We heard someone was trying to kill Leeseo," the voice whispered in her ear, though Gaeul was nowhere to be seen. "Because she might reveal the ANTI’s plans. To silence her."

  "That was—" Rin stopped. From the darkness, thousands of spiders began to crawl toward her, their clicking legs sounding like rain. "GAEUL-UNNIE! THAT WAS NOT ME! I was just trying to wake her up!"

  "Rin... we were betrayed once... I was betrayed by my best friend," the voice roared, the spiders now swarming over Rin’s boots. "Are you... a traitor too?"

  "PLEASE—IT’S NOT!" The spiders leaped, covering Rin's face in a suffocating wave of legs and silk. "UNNIIIEEE!!!"

  With a gasp, Rin was back in the conference room. The spiders were gone. The room was bright.

  She was panting, her forehead slick with sweat. Gaeul stood in front of her, her eyes faded back to a calm, deep brown. "See how it feels? To be tortured like that?"

  Rin nodded, a stray tear escaping as she trembled. "I’m sorry. I'm so sorry."

  Gaeul looked at her. "Strict and ruthlessness have a huge difference, leaders like you should be able to tell."

  Rin sobbed.

  "Keep your head straight, Rin. You're Flux," Gaeul said firmly.

  "Yes, General," Rin whispered.

  In the blink of an eye, Gaeul vanished. The only thing left in the room was Rin’s bo-staff, lying silently on the glass table.

  Reality.