The air in the sterile room was no longer just tense; it hummed with a raw, electric danger.
Screw nodded to the Director showing him that he had to take care of something before he quicky leaving the room. Director Yamato then stepped back from King, who slowly pushed himself up. King's eyes blazed with a raw, seething fury—a fire that was not human but something far older and more dangerous. He stood and met the Director's gaze, but Yamato's smirk remained in place.
"And the other thing I asked you to do," Yamato said, his voice a low, even purr. "Did you take care of it?"
Kaido, one of the cleanup crew members standing a few feet away, broke into a slow, satisfied smile. His eyes flicked to Rose, who stood beside Zen, her face still a mask of contained disapproval. "Yes, sir," Kaido said, a note of triumph in his voice. "We took care of that, too."
Yamato's gaze shifted to Rose. "Okay, Rose. From now on, you'll also be King's guardian." He paused, a look of twisted pleasure on his face as he watched the reactions ripple through the room. "You're Zen's guardian, and now you're King's, too."
A beat of silence, then both Zen and Rose exclaimed, "What?!" in perfect unison, their heads snapping toward each other in disbelief.
Zen was the first to move, stepping closer to Rose, his body language a physical wall. "No," he said, his voice quiet and laced with a possessive edge Rose had never heard before. "Rose is my guardian, and mine alone."
The Director chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. He gestured to King. "Come now, Zen. King only obeys power, which means he obeys you. But since you take orders from Rose, he will also take orders from Rose. Simple logic, really."
A different kind of darkness settled over Zen. His playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold intensity. "But what if he tries to do anything to her?" His voice dropped to a chilling growl. "Am I allowed to kill him? Since he isn't human?"
Rose's own anger flared. She took a step forward, closing the space Zen had created. "So you think I can't protect myself? That I'm some sort of fragile object?" she challenged.
Zen didn't flinch. He took a slow step toward her, his face inches from hers. "Defenseless? No," he whispered, his eyes locked with hers. "But weak? Yes. To monsters like him, you're fragile."
Before the brewing conflict could escalate, Yamato's voice cut through the air. "Enough, you two. Rose, remember, since you're now King's guardian, he cannot disobey your orders—just like Zen." He paused, a mocking smile on his lips. "Zen knows the kind of leverage that provides."
King, who had been listening in silent fury, finally spoke. "So you're saying I will now have to take orders from this girl, too? And my body won't be able to reject the orders?"
Yamato's smirk widened as he leaned in closer. "How fitting," he whispered, his voice full of chilling amusement. "You call yourself king, now taking orders from a human girl. Ironic, isn't it?"
Suddenly, a flash of red and white launched forward. Ruby, her face a mask of jealousy, jumped at Zen, pushing her face close to his. "Explain to me why the two of you seem so close," she said, her eyes boring into Rose.
Zen remained completely calm. He simply smiled, placed a hand on Ruby's head, and gently pushed her away. "Nothing special, Ruby," he said, locking eyes with Rose. "She's just my guardian."
Then, his smile thinned, and he added in a whisper meant only for Rose, "For now, that is..."
Director Yamato clapped his hands together, the sharp sound echoing in the sudden silence. His jovial facade was gone, replaced by a serious, commanding presence. He looked at Shinji and Cole, who had been standing impassively, watching the entire exchange. "Now, everyone, I don't think I need to tell you that anything you hear in this room won't leave this room, right?"
Everyone, except a bored-looking Zen, nodded in immediate compliance.
Yamato turned his attention to King. "Okay, King. Now tell me everything about where you are from and why all you rift walkers are here."
A slow, chilling smile spread across King's face. "Since all you humans will be dead soon, there is no harm in telling you." He gestured toward Zen with a gauntleted finger. "But first, I have a question of my own. Why didn't you just ask the Riftborn, on your side, like him?"
Yamato's expression didn't change. "I asked them," he said flatly. "But for some reason, they lost all their memories of before they crossed the Rift—those portals you come here by."
King's smile grew wider, his eyes alight with a terrifying mix of pity and malice. "Okay, let me tell you, it's not like you have much longer to live" he said, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper. "But you're going to wish that I didn't."
King's smile remained, a cold, predatory expression that didn't reach his eyes. "All Riftborn—what you humans call Rift Walkers—we come from Xylos." His voice was a low growl, the name of his world sounding alien on his tongue. "In our world, power is everything. Whoever is the strongest becomes the King, or Ruler."
He took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the silent room. "For the past sixty years, we have been under the rule of Lord Luther. But since Lord Luther could no longer find anyone who could challenge him in our world, he grew bored." King's smile widened as he spoke, as if recounting a great joke. "That's until fourteen years ago. Out of nowhere, a gate opened up. From that gate, a world like nothing we knew was seen. But before the gate could close, Lord Luther had copied the powers of that gate and gave all Riftborn the power to travel into that gate. But we can't travel back until we finish our sole mission."
The Director, his face a mask of cold fascination, spoke. "And what is that mission?"
King's smile grew wider still, a chilling, triumphant gesture. His eyes, fixed on the Director, seemed to hold the weight of their world's fate. "That is to find anyone who might be a match for our Ruler and bring him to Luther," he said. "But if we don't..." He paused, allowing the words to hang in the air, a silent threat. "We will destroy this world."
A cold silence followed King's chilling revelation. The air was no longer just tense; it was thick with a newfound dread. The room's occupants, with the exception of Zen, were processing a truth so profound it threatened to shatter everything they knew.
Director Yamato was the first to break the stillness. His face remained impassive, but a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. He turned his attention to the SSD Clean-up Crew. "You heard him. Go and update Commander Screw. Tell him to start preparing for war."
The three figures—Kaido, Robin, and Ruby—all nodded in unison. As they began to move toward the exit, Ruby turned back one last time. She gave a playful wave to Zen, her features softening for a moment. Her gaze then drifted to Rose, and the annoyance from earlier returned, a flash of pure irritation before she turned and followed her teammates out of the room.
The heavy metal door hissed shut behind them. Yamato then looked at Rose, a mocking smile touching his lips. "Okay, Rose, I have to report to the higher-ups and tell them about the coming war. You have fun babysitting these two monsters." His gaze hardened. "And also, prepare yourself."
He then addressed Shinji and Cole. "And the two of you, let's go. I will assign you to join the SSD Squad Six."
"But what about Squad One?" Cole asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. "We can't just leave our squad."
"Don't worry," the Director replied, his voice a dismissive wave of a hand. "The Clean-up Crew will act as Squad One to avoid gossip and chaos." With that, he turned and began to walk away, Shinji and Cole falling into step behind him, their faces a mix of shock and confusion.
The room was suddenly quiet. All that was left was the hum of the fluorescent lights and a crushing new weight of responsibility. Rose looked between Zen and King, her shoulders slumping with the weight of it all. "Why me?" she whispered, the question laced with a profound sense of exhaustion and resignation.
King let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Don't flatter yourself, human," he replied, his voice a low sneer. "It's not like I want to be buddy-buddy with you either."
Zen just stood there, his usual placid expression replaced by a faint, amused smile. He looked between the two of them, then back at Rose. "He's not like the others," Zen said, his voice a low, knowing whisper. "And you have a lot to learn about the kind of 'monster' you're dealing with."