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Chapter 111 - Chapter 111 – The Gathering

Chapter 111 – The Gathering

Chapter 111 – The Gathering

Moon, Kai, and James walked shoulder to shoulder through the arched entrance of the grand hall. The moment the heavy double doors swung inward, a wave of brilliance washed over them.

The chamber was vast—so vast it felt less like a hall and more like a world carved inside stone and crystal. Towering pillars of marble lined either side, their surfaces veined with streaks of gold that shimmered faintly beneath the glow of crystalline chandeliers. Those chandeliers, suspended high from a ceiling lost in shadows, rained down sheets of soft golden light, and every glimmer was caught on polished white floors, scattering reflections like ripples in still water. The air itself seemed alive, humming with a low vibration, as though invisible threads of energy strung the whole place together.

Long banners draped from the rafters, embroidered with swirling sigils that shifted subtly when caught by the light. To ordinary eyes, they were only designs; but to Moon and Kai, their sharpened senses picked out the faint resonance of Essence woven into each stitch. It was the same feeling as standing before a seal or formation—a reminder that this was not just a hall but a sanctum.

And within it gathered chosens .

Dozens of figures already filled the space, gathered in clusters. Nearly all were young, their features still carrying the sharpness of youth but their postures grounded with experience. Every movement radiated quiet confidence. The atmosphere pressed down like an unseen tide. Most of them—if not all—were already at the King level. Their essence leaked like mist from a forest, subdued yet undeniable.

Moon and Kai exchanged the briefest glance. For the first time, they were surrounded by nothing but hunters of such terrifying caliber. And yet, something about it felt off. The weight in the room was heavy, yes, but it was not crushing. It was not the suffocating, reality-warping pressure they had endured in the presence of beings like the Parasite or the Zambandari.

Moon's gaze swept across the gathering, his jaw tightening. Strange… why doesn't it feel the same?

Kai caught the same current of thought, his lips pressed thin. Either we've grown stronger… or they're hiding something. Suppressing themselves.

Before that unease could anchor itself deeper, James leaned closer, his boyish grin flashing like a lantern in the dim tension. His voice carried none of the restraint of the others; it was bright, casual, utterly unbothered.

"Come on, let's move ahead. Sister Minji and Sister Ruby must have arrived already."

Moon and Kai followed without a word, their eyes sweeping constantly. Not a single face struck them as familiar. Each group they passed shifted only slightly to acknowledge James, but not the two trailing at his back. The brothers felt like shadows—present but unnoticed, watching without belonging.

Then, suddenly, a ripple in the flow.

From the left, a tall man broke from his circle of companions and strode forward with easy confidence. His presence was steady, grounded, like the weight of a mountain, yet his smile was disarmingly warm. He extended a hand toward James, and James grasped it immediately, the two clasping forearms with a familiarity that spoke of years, not moments.

The air between them filled with laughter, voices rising and overlapping, conversation flowing as though they were brothers reunited after long separation.

For a moment, they simply watched.

Then James's head turned, a sudden spark lighting in his eyes. As though remembering that he was not alone, he pulled back from the conversation and gestured toward his companions.

"Oh! Big bro, let me introduce them." His grin widened, brimming with that same unpolished enthusiasm. "He is Moon, and He is Kai. And brothers—this is Luiz… Luiz Lee."

His features carried no resemblance to James—not in the lines of his jaw, nor the cut of his brow. His eyes were the most striking; black, yes, but not simply dark—they shimmered with a serpentine sharpness, pupils narrowing almost imperceptibly, a predator's gaze hidden within human form. His build was solid, broader than Moon and Kai's leaner frames, shoulders squared and chest wide, the impression of coiled force beneath refined posture.

Moon and Kai shook hands with Luiz. As Luiz's eyes focused on them, Kai noticed his unusual features. He didn't resemble James at all .

Moon tilted his head, confused.

"Wait… he's your big brother?"

Luiz answered before James could.

"You could say that… but not exactly. I'm his foster brother. James's father, Steve Lee, adopted me."

James quickly nodded, smiling at Kai and Moon .

"Yeah, I haven't explained my family properly, have I? My father has two sons and two foster sons. Luiz Lee and Tom Lee are the foster sons. Sam Lee and me—James Lee—are his real sons."

The moment Kai heard the name Tom, his expression shifted.

"Tom?" he asked quickly.

James tilted his head.

"Yeah, big bro Tom. Have you met him somewhere?"

Kai forced a chuckle.

"No, no. Must be a misunderstanding. Go on."

James nodded without suspicion, continuing brightly,

"Well, you see, our Lee Enterprises runs across many sectors. But aside from that, we also maintain two forces—like the military . Brother Sam leads the Astral Forge Guild, at least planetary-tier one and brother Luiz here leads the Ashveil Order, with Brother Tom as the acting chief."

At that, Moon and Kai froze. Their minds raced. Ashveil Order? Tom?

It was the same Tom who had appeared during the fight with Ruok. Moon's cheek even burned slightly as though remembering Tom's slap, his hand instinctively brushing his face.

James and Luiz both noticed their strange reaction. Luiz frowned.

"Wait… you two haven't really met Brother Tom before, have you?"

Kai quickly waved it off with a nervous laugh.

"No, nothing like that."

Luiz eventually drifted away, claimed by another circle of guests who seemed to know him well. His easy laughter and the ripple of attention that followed him across the room made it clear he was not simply another hunter—he was someone people gravitated toward.

Moon, Kai, and James found themselves adrift again, wandering between tables stacked with dishes of gleaming fruits and crystal goblets filled with shimmering liquid. The twins sampled quietly—small bites of spiced meats, a sip of juice that burned faintly with spiritual energy. Their eyes never stopped moving, sweeping across clusters of hunters, memorizing faces, weighing presences.

James, on the other hand, was utterly carefree. He filled a goblet, drained half of it in a single gulp, and suddenly froze mid-sip, his eyes catching on a group across the hall.

"Ah! Look, there's Brother Sam—" his voice lifted with delight, like a child spotting a favorite toy, "—and Taejin, Rejected Winter, and Thomas. Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Moon and Kai stiffened. The names alone sent ripples of unease down their spines. They exchanged a brief glance—tight, wary, loaded with silent understanding.

The group James pointed out stood at ease near a high table. Four figures, each distinct, yet bound by the ease of long familiarity.

Sam stood at the center. His posture was perfect, his expression blank, unreadable—like a blade sheathed in ice. His aura wasn't spilling out, yet the very stillness of his presence pressed against the senses, the way a silent predator presses against the nerves of prey.

Beside him leaned Thomas, whose usual calm demeanor seemed tempered here with hints of humor. His lips curved in a small, knowing smile, and he gave Sam the kind of nudging look only someone deeply familiar would dare. There was no doubt they had known each other for years. Rivalry lingered in the subtle tension between their shoulders, but so did a bond—it wasn't spoken, but it was there, woven in the casualness of their exchange.

Taejin, arms folded, listened with half a smile, his gaze sliding lazily across the room as if nothing here truly interested him, yet he remained firmly rooted in the circle.

And then there was Rejected Winter. He stood slightly apart, not aloof but quiet. His face betrayed nothing, his stillness deep as frozen water. Even surrounded by voices, he seemed like the absence between sounds—the pause in a song, the silence that made everything else sharper.

Moon and Kai's eyes lingered on him longer than intended. Of all the people here, Rejected Winter felt the hardest to approach, not because he radiated menace, but because he radiated nothing at all.

As they neared, Thomas glanced up first. His eyes lit with the quick flicker of recognition.

"Hey Sam, look—it's James."

Sam's gaze shifted. Cold, steady, weighing. Normally, one might expect some spark of warmth after so long apart—relief, surprise, even irritation. But Sam's face remained utterly still. His expression could have been carved from stone.

Thomas chuckled under his breath, leaning into him with an elbow.

"Why do you always act so strange around your brother? Loosen up a little."

It was teasing, friendly, almost casual—but the familiarity in his tone revealed more than his words. Thomas rarely let his composure slip, yet here, beside Sam, he allowed himself that little freedom.

James, oblivious to all undercurrents, broke into a broad grin. He strode forward, quick, excited, almost bouncing on his heels. His hand shot out in greeting, the eagerness of a younger sibling reaching for an older one.

"Brother! It's been too long—"

But Sam did not take it. His eyes slid past James as though he were a shadow.

Instead, Sam turned sharply, his hand extending toward Kai. Before Kai could register, Sam's fingers closed around his palm with iron force.

His voice, when it came, was low, cold, and edged like a knife.

"So… you're the one teaching him handwork, aren't you?"

Kai blinked, stunned. What? Why is he talking to me like this?

Sam's grip tightened, crushing, every vein in his forearm taut. It wasn't merely a handshake—it was a test, a challenge, a declaration. His words dripped with accusation, as though Kai had overstepped, as though teaching James was an insult.

Kai's instincts screamed to pull away, but pride and fury flared instead. His lips curled faintly, and he met Sam's gaze without flinching. Slowly, deliberately, he pushed back, his own strength flooding into his grip.

The air between them shifted.

What had begun as a greeting had transformed into a silent contest. Hand to hand, pressure building, neither yielding. Muscles tensed, veins rising against skin. The faint tremor of power whispered through their arms, invisible sparks snapping between two wills locked in collision.

James blinked, confused, glancing between them, his hand still hanging awkwardly in the air. "Uh… brother?"

No one answered him.

Sam's eyes narrowed by the slightest fraction, unreadable but sharp. Kai's jaw clenched, his brows drawing together in concentration.

Thomas watched from the side, his lips quirking in amusement. He didn't intervene; instead, he leaned back, as though curious how far Sam would push, how far the newcomer would endure. Taejin tilted his head, smirking faintly, while Rejected Winter remained motionless, his gaze unreadable, as though observing two strangers from a distance.

The tension thickened, invisible but palpable. Guests nearby had begun to glance over, sensing something beneath the surface.

Neither Kai nor Sam broke the stare. The handshake became a battlefield, strength layered with willpower, silence ringing louder than words.

And in that frozen instant, Moon stood just behind his brother.

The hall's golden light shimmered across polished marble. The laughter and conversation elsewhere continued, but around this small circle, the world seemed to still.

Two wills, two forces, two warnings—colliding in the quiet pressure of skin and bone.

To be continued…

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