"I'm back..." Before he could say anything more, he was wrapped in a fragile, trembling hug.

Annabelle, now dressed in a simple, patched linen skirt, clung to him. Her face was streaked with tears, and her hands—small and soft—gripped him helplessly at the waist.

"Brother... did I... did I kill someone?" Her voice barely above a whisper, filled with fear and uncertainty.

Axel’s heart softened at the sight. He glanced over at the table where a few side dishes, untouched earlier, sat cooling. It seemed Annabelle had reheated them, the faint fragrance still lingering in the air.

Without saying a word, he gently ran his hand through her soft hair. It took a while, but slowly, Annabelle calmed.

"What’s going through your head? That was an infected person..." Axel began, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized the problem. Annabelle was an infected too. To her, they weren’t monsters—they were just people like her. He quickly corrected himself. "If you hadn’t done it, I would have been the one lying there. Do you want me to die?"

Annabelle shook her head violently. "No, no! If you die... I—I..." Her words faltered, her eyes were red.

"Then you did the right thing," He sighed inwardly. Annabelle was sharp, always picking up on his plans. But she was still just 13.

He patted her head gently. "Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving."

He reached for the old remote, his fingers brushing over the faded buttons. After a few tries, the screen flickered, showing static for a moment before the old cartoon series finally popped up. Axel smiled softly, the sound of the cartoon playing in the background.

The two of them settled down on the worn-out sofa, their plates in hand. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, her giggles punctuating the scenes as she watched.

Time passed, and without realizing it, the pair leaned against each other. Their exhaustion caught up with them, and they both drifted into sleep on the old fur-covered couch, wrapped up in each other’s warmth.

.....

Outside the window, a figure silently watched the scene unfold. The person’s eyes were red, and after a long moment, she quietly powered off the camera and slipped away. The figure bolted down the street, a mix of anger bubbling inside.

Freya didn’t stop running until she found Skye, who was waiting at the street corner. He blinked in surprise. "Back already?"

"Look at this. See for yourself.” She handed Skye the video footage. Skye watched in silence, his expression unreadable.

After running Axel's information through the law enforcement database, Skye discovered the boy was a complete orphan. He didn’t even exist in the system until three years ago when he entered high school. In the slums, that was normal. Many people never had their files entered.

Freya shot him a pointed look. “He saved your life, and you’re still suspicious of him?”

Skye pulled Freya aside, and fumbled for his wallet and pulled out a bank card, handing it to her with a little awkwardness. “My salary from last month is in there. There’s about 70,000, maybe 80,000 left. Please, help me get it to that kid.”

As a high-ranking law enforcer and an Awakener, he received a generous allowance. But even for him, the costs piled up—raw stones, supplements, medical treatments... it all added up to a small fortune.

“I’ll call the team, we can chip in,” Freya said, but Skye stopped her.

“No,” he said quickly. “The guys have families. They don’t make enough to spare anything extra. If it comes to it, you can give some to the two kids, alright?”

Without waiting for Freya’s response, Skye turned away, limping slightly as he rejoined the team. Freya stood there for a moment, staring at the card in her hand, before glancing back at Skye’s retreating figure.

……

News of the infected being cleared from Area C spread quickly, but it still took ten days to fully unlock the area. During that time, Axel was focused on something else— Annabelle. Thanks to the life crystal, otherwise he would have been sucked dry in ten days.

Axel was also noticing a shift in his own abilities. His strength, speed, and mental focus had improved noticeably over the past ten days.

While the team dealt with the aftermath of the outbreak, Axel went to gather life crystals from the infected remains. Twelve people had been consumed, six of whom turned into zombies. One of the six burned bodies—a burly man—had left behind a crystal the size of a fingernail. The others? Nothing at all.

“Maybe my Force is too strong for ordinary infected to produce crystals now,” Axel mused. It was like a leveling system in a game: the higher your level, the less experience you gained from lower-level enemies.

Later that day, Axel’s phone rang. It was his teacher, Grey.

“Axel, how’s everything? The test is in two days. You need to come back. Even if you don’t awaken ability, at least you’ll have a higher Force value and can still find a good job.”

When Axel had first entered school, Grey had secretly helped him with living expenses, something Axel only found out later. But of course, Grey never admitted it.

“I’ll be there,” Axel said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry.”

........

Axel was watching Annabelle doing the housework, when a sudden frown creased his forehead. His expression shifted from calm to serious. Last time he checked, his Force value was just over 70 points. If it had spiked this time, wouldn’t that raise some questions?

Just as he was lost in thought, a knock came at the door. “Axel, are you home? It’s Freya.”

Axel stood and opened the door to find Freya standing there, accompanied by a woman in professional attire. The woman appeared to be around 30, with neatly done makeup, and her eyes lit up when she saw Axel.

"Who’s this?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“This is Blaze,” Freya introduced with a smile. “A reporter from Dune Times. She heard about your involvement in the operation and wants to interview you for a special report. Is that okay with you?”

A thought struck him. This could be an opportunity to explain any sudden surge in his Force value. He thought through the explanation in his mind and finally agreed.

Blaze and Freya took a few quick photos of Axel, and then Freya set a card and a small bag of raw stones on the table before heading out.

Blaze took a moment to look around Axel's modest home, her eyes growing brighter as she surveyed the humble furnishings and worn décor. Orphaned, a student, a slum dweller—and now a hero. All these elements combined were more than enough to make for an excellent news story.

……

When it was time to wrap up, Blaze asked, “Finally, would you mind sharing a message?”

Axel smiled and leaned forward. “I’m really grateful for the raw stones they gave me. I made the most of those ten days of quarantine. I used the time to practice every single day. Honestly, I have this feeling that I might awaken during the graduation test!”

Blaze felt a bit skeptical about Axel’s words. As a reporter for Dune Times, she knew all too well how hard it was to make it into the War Academy. Every year, only about a hundred people passed, and of those, less than one in ten actually awakened.

“Well, very pleasant. Here’s a little something for you from the government—five thousand dollars,” she said, stuffing a bank card into Axel’s pocket.

Axel smiled. After a quick photo, Blaze made her exit in a hurry. Once Blaze left, Axel looked down at the card in his hand, frowning slightly.

Hadn’t Freya already given him a reward? This five thousand was from the government, but what about the money Freya had left on the table?