Days passed like tides under the pull of a silent, unseen moon—inevitable, indifferent, and relentless.
The aftermath of the Lakan Guild Incident rippled through the world like an untamed wave. Its destruction was more than physical; it was psychological, a stain etched deep into the memory of the Hunter community. The once-mighty Lakan Guild, now reduced to silence and embers, left behind more questions than answers.
Despite the Association's efforts to investigate the matter discreetly, their search yielded nothing. No traces of mana. No fingerprints of energy. Not even residual echoes from the field of death. The autopsies produced no real cause. The only certainty was this: everyone inside had died.
Theories emerged.
Some claimed it was divine punishment for internal corruption. Others whispered of an ancient curse, awakened by a girl's suicide—a story now viral in all corners of the Net. A short clip released anonymously showed a glimpse of the building's interior:
Figures sculpted in unquenchable fire. Corpses suspended in unmeltable ice.
The world called it "The Ruin of Souls."
It became more than a tragedy—it became a monument.
What was once a hub of power was now cordoned off and rebranded by the Association. After weeks of failed attempts to control or erase the phenomena, they gave in. The Lakan site was sanctioned as a restricted memorial zone. Entry would require special permits, and soon, it became a spectacle—a hotspot for thrill-seekers, journalists, and mourners alike.
The narrative quickly shifted.
People forgot the name Snow Quincy.
But they remembered the girl.
Aura.
Her suicide attempt was painted as the catalyst for Lakan's fall. The public clung to that version—it was simpler, easier. A tragic story of cause and consequence, wrapped in emotion and served with headlines.
Snow, the silent architect behind it all, paid no mind to the world's opinions.
He remained in his mother's mansion, not by choice, but necessity. Aura's condition kept him rooted. She was still unconscious, still healing. And until she opened her eyes again, he would not leave her side.
But the weight of sharing a roof with Benedith Bloodfallen—his estranged mother—was suffocating.
He detested every minute of it.
The woman who had abandoned them, who once turned her back in pursuit of fame and wealth, now sat across from him in the living room. A large marble table divided them, scattered with documents. Beside her stood a tall woman—blonde hair neatly tied, glasses perched on her sharp nose, dressed in a crisp white blouse and black skirt. Her aura was restrained, yet unmistakably dangerous.
A hunter.
Her presence irritated Snow further.
"Snow," Benedith said calmly, "I've prepared the necessary documents. I'd like you to look over them."
Snow looked up, indifferent.
"Documents?" he asked flatly.
She nodded. "I've decided to transfer sixty percent of my estate and corporate holdings to you. The rest goes to Aura."
Silence fell.
Snow stared at her, unmoving. His red eyes gleamed with disbelief.
"...You're giving us your empire?" he said slowly, voice low.
"Yes."
A bitter scoff escaped his lips.
"Are you trying to buy us now?" he asked, venom lacing every syllable.
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but no words came.
"You think throwing your wealth at us will erase everything?" Snow's tone hardened. "You left us—for this very wealth you're now tossing back at us like an afterthought."
His hands clenched into fists on the table.
"Do you honestly think Aura or I want anything from you?"
Benedith's lips trembled. She hadn't expected this to be easy, but she hadn't expected it to cut this deep either.
"That's not it—" she tried to say.
"Then what is it?" Snow snapped, his voice rising as the storm inside him broke.
"You don't get to walk away from your responsibilities and return years later acting like nothing happened!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the table.
The glass trembled. The wood cracked.
"I'm only here because Aura would have wanted it. Not for you. Not for reconciliation," he growled. "Do you think I enjoy being here with you?!"
Elizabeth looked sad at BEnedict who seem helpless and ashamed. Her silence was answer enough.
"You have every right to hate me," benedict said softly, "but this—this is something I promised your father."
"Don't. Don't bring him into this," Snow hissed.
CRACK.
The table shattered in an instant, as though struck by an invisible force. Splinters shot across the room. Papers scattered like feathers in a storm.
Benedith flinched, but didn't retaliate. She didn't defend herself. Because she knew...
She deserved his rage.
Years ago, she had chosen herself. Her fame. Her comfort. And the words she had said to Snow back then—words no mother should say to her child—could never be undone.
She remembered them clearly, even now.
And they haunted her.
(Is this what I deserve...? I feel hurt. Was this how he felt... back then?)
Benedith sat in silence, her lips sealed as her thoughts consumed her. Across from her, Snow stood—furious, exhausted, and barely holding back the storm inside him.
She slowly gestured toward her secretary. The elizabeth, poised and professional, handed her a sleek file. Benedith extended it to her son.
"Perhaps you'll understand when you see what's inside," she said quietly.
Snow didn't hesitate. He took the file and flipped through the contents. His eyes scanned the documents—legal paperwork, handwritten agreements, all signed by a familiar hand. His father's.
"This could've been forged," Snow said calmly, closing the folder. His tone was cool, measured.
But his next words were more telling.
"...Though knowing you, you wouldn't stoop that low."
With that, he tossed the file onto the armchair beside him.
"The decision is up to Aura. Until she's awake, don't push anything. And don't try to manipulate the situation—or you'll never see either of us again."
Benedith remained silent, watching him rise. Regret flickered in her eyes like a candle burning low.
(I was foolish... So foolish...)
She looked down, guilt weighing heavily on her.
"...Then will it be okay," she ventured cautiously, "to introduce you to everyone as my successor... in advance?"
Snow froze. His fists clenched again. Her words pierced through him like ice—and just before his rage could explode again, the sound of the doorbell interrupted the tension.
Ding dong.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue and relaxed his grip. "I'll get it," he muttered, walking toward the door.
Despite the anger buried deep in his chest, Snow still extended Benedith a degree of respect. He had no interest in her wealth, no desire for her empire. In truth, he was proud of what she had built—but the fact that she had erased them, discarded him and Aura for it... that was something he could never forgive.
Aura, a child at the time, had tried to understand, had even supported their father's remarriage. She became the glue holding what remained of their broken family together. But happiness had been short-lived, stolen away by tragedy. Snow's older brother spiraled into delusions of love that tore the family further apart—fracturing the inheritance and breaking what little hope remained.
And now... here he was, answering the door of the very woman who had started it all.
As the door creaked open, Snow's brows furrowed.
Standing before him were three familiar figures.
Theresa.
Lola.
Clair.
"...What are you three doing here?" Snow asked, his tone flat.
Clair crossed her arms. "I should be asking you that. What are you doing in Mrs. Bloodfallen's house?"
Lola leaned in. "Is your mother inside?"
"Benedith is here," Snow replied curtly, stepping aside to let them in.
"Oh, great. You're right on time," Elizabeth's voice rang from the living room as she approached. "Come in, girls."
"You still refuse to call her 'Mother,' huh?" Lola muttered under her breath.
Snow didn't respond.
He turned to them, expression blank. "So... why are you here?"
"I was with Theresa," Lola began. "She wanted to visit Aura, and I thought I'd come along."
"We ran into Clair at the gate," she added.
Snow narrowed his eyes at Clair. "That's odd. Given your history with Aura, I wouldn't think you'd be bold enough to show your face here."
"There are things you don't know," Lola said quietly.
Benedith stepped in. "How are you, Lola? And Greg?"
"Father's doing better," she smiled faintly.
"That's wonderful to hear," Benedith replied with a nod.
"Mrs. Bloodfallen," Theresa stepped forward, "How is Aura?"
"She's still under treatment," Benedith said. Her tone softened.
"Would it be alright if we saw her?" Theresa asked.
"Of course," Benedith replied. "Snow, please take them."
Snow turned on his heel. "Follow me."
Just as he began leading them away, Benedith called after him.
"Snow. I'm heading back to the company now. I'll return by nightfall."
"...Whatever," he said without looking back.
Though Lola knew the truth behind their relationship, even she flinched at his cold tone. It was biting—so void of warmth that even Theresa and Clair exchanged uneasy glances.
A silence fell between them as they walked. Snow said nothing more. The air was heavy—fraught with things unsaid, and wounds still bleeding beneath the surface.
"I see you handled the Lakan Guild cleanly," Lola said, her voice light but edged with curiosity.
"You do realize the association president's daughter is right here?" Snow replied without looking at her, his tone a gentle reminder that her words could bring trouble.
"W-What...?" Clair blinked in surprise, her voice cracking slightly.
"So... you're the one behind the Ruin of Soul incident?" Theresa asked, eyes widening as she connected the dots.
"You could say that," Snow replied flatly, his gaze steady on Theresa. "But even if you report it, no one would believe you."
"So that's why you disappeared for days?" Clair asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"I was handling family matters," Snow said, his voice cold, almost detached.
"Is Aura's condition really that bad?" Lola asked softly.
"Why do you ask?" Snow glanced at her briefly.
"You look lifeless... like you've already run out of options—or maybe you have one, but it leads nowhere," she said, watching his expression carefully.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then, just as they reached a grand double door, Snow exhaled.
"You're not entirely wrong," he said, placing his hand on the handle. "Aura's condition has a cure. It exists. But there's a time limit before I can reach it."
He opened the door with a subtle trace of disappointment on his face.
"Figures..." Lola murmured.
"So... is that why you destroyed the Lakan Guild? And what you did to Hannah... was that revenge?" Theresa asked.
"Lakan Guild...?" Snow echoed, as if the name had no meaning.
"Yes. Why didn't you leave it to the association to investigate?"
"The association?" Snow turned his gaze on her—and in that instant, the air around them changed. The pressure in the room spiked, heavy and suffocating. His voice dropped low, barely restrained.
"Should I have gone for your father's head instead? Or maybe razed the entire association building along with everyone inside it?"
The girls froze, startled by the intensity in his voice.
"Snow, calm down!" Lola said quickly.
"Aura is in here, remember?"
Her words cut through the tension like a blade, and Snow blinked, as if waking from a trance. Though his anger hadn't touched Aura's resting presence in the room, her name had been enough to restrain him.
"...And you," Lola turned to Theresa, "stop asking foolish questions."
"Do you think the incident wasn't covered up by the association?" she continued, her voice sharp. "Aura's case was swept under the rug. Do you think they'd touch the Lakan Guild? Especially one partnered with the Elohim Guild?"
"And let's not forget," she added bitterly, "Aura wouldn't be in this state if you and Clair hadn't left Hannah isolated. That girl lashed out in the worst way possible."
"That's enough, Lola," Snow said, firmly.
Silence fell between them. Snow turned to Aura's still figure, lying quietly on the bed, her breathing steady but shallow. They stood there for a moment, each of them lost in thought, then Snow stepped back.
"Let's go," he said simply and led them away from the room.
He took them to the garden, where the maids of the estate had already laid out refreshments. Snow made sure he wasn't served anything—he had no appetite—but he sat with them nonetheless.
"You've been quiet, Clair," Snow said after a long moment.
Clair hesitated. "...I wasn't sure what to say."
"Are you upset I left without saying anything?"
"Slightly," she admitted.
"I see." Snow offered a small smile.
"So what brought you to the Bloodfallen estate?" he asked.
Clair lowered her gaze. "...I owe you an apology."
"Go on," Snow said, his tone gentle but curious.
"I became friends with Aura a year ago, when your mother and i were finalizing an agreement. I've been busy with the Island reconstruction. I only learned about the situation yesterday and rushed down as soon as I could. But... by the time I arrived, it was already too late."
"So you're partly here to help resolve the Lakan Guild incident?" he asked.
"Yes. Aside from Lady Benedith, I was the second largest supporter of the guild. Since she can't act publicly through the hunter route, it fell on me to clean up the mess."
Snow stared at her for a while, unreadable.
"...So that's why you and Lisa disappeared on me?" Lola asked suddenly.
"You were on the island all this time?" Snow added.
"Y-Yeah. Communications were cut off from the outside until reconstruction reached a certain point," Clair explained.
"Lisa's idea?"
"Yes. How'd you know?"
"Because it's what I would've done," Snow said, looking away. His eyes lingered briefly on the estate building—specifically the window of the room where Aura rested.
"I should also apologize," Theresa said, bowing her head slightly. "I met Aura at the academy and we became close... but I had no idea what she was going through until the incident. I should have noticed."
"You don't owe me an apology," Snow replied.
"We're good. And I apologize for being rude earlier," he added, his smile faint but sincere.
A pause followed, before Clair finally spoke again.
"By the way... how are you related to Lady Benedith?"
Snow raised a brow, but before he could speak, Lola chimed in.
"That's Snow and Aura's biological mother," she said. "Their relationship is... complicated. But yes, they're blood relatives." Lola said and proceeded in drinking her juice
"...So you're my fiancé, then?" Clair asked calmly.
Lola choked on her drink, coughing violently as the news hit her like a slap. She stared in shock, wide-eyed.
Theresa was just as stunned, her gaze darting between the two.
Snow remained silent.
Unbothered.
As if this was just another detail in the chaos of his world.
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to be continued...