The protective convoy slowly descended as they approached a vast open space.
Neatly trimmed grass stretched along both sides of a wide marble pavement that led directly toward a towering gate.
Jul looked through the tinted windows at the surroundings.
Two enormous golden pillars, each several meters wide, stood on either side of the gate. However, rather than serving as just simple supports or for beautification, they were the main security checkpoints of the estate.
Security personnel occupied several floors within them, surrounded by monitors displaying countless camera feeds of the estate and the people moving throughout it. Massive sensors were embedded within the structures, scanning everything that passed through the gates.
Extending outward from the pillars were towering walls that stretched into the distance, rising more than five meters into the air.
Armed patrol teams moved constantly along the ground and across the tops of the walls. Above the gate, several strange devices floated silently through the air.
They drifted back and forth, releasing thin red beams that continuously swept across the grass, the pavement, and even the air itself.
The moment the convoy entered the vicinity, every security measure seemed to come alive, and all attention shifted toward them.
Through all of it, only one word escaped Jul's lips.
"Impressive..."
The two women with him didn't miss it.
As the convoy descended, the man in the passenger seat raised a communication device to his lips and spoke several coded words.
The message was clearly not meant to be understood by anyone outside the security detail.
A few moments later, Jada responded.
"Yeah, it is." She forced a bitter smile. "It was all set up after you disappeared."
Jul turned toward her for a moment before returning his gaze to the walls.
'Now that I think about it, I don't remember this kind of protection in the kid's memories.' His eyes narrowed slightly. 'It really must have been because of him.'
He looked at the walls again. 'But damn... this place is a fortress.'
Then a fleeting thought crossed his mind. 'How long would it take me to bypass this?'
It was only a passing thought.
Soon, approval was received, and the massive gate slowly swung open.
Another scene revealed itself beyond it.
The convoy accelerated once more, moving toward the distant structure.
"Do you remember this place?" Katelyn asked.
Jul stared ahead for a moment before slowly nodding.
'After I could no longer sense the kid, his memories flooded into me. But they belonged to a child, so they're mostly fragments.'
His gaze remained fixed on the estate.
'I remember the layout of this place. A few brief moments of happiness and a few moments of sadness. But that's all'
"Of course you do," Jada chimed in. "You lived here for eight years."
Slowly, the vehicles moved deeper into the estate. One after another, the surrounding vehicles began to detach from the convoy until eventually, only their vehicle remained.
The road continued toward a wide expanse of land.
At its center stood a large waterfall, its flowing water cascading down a massive stone structure.
Atop the stone slab stood a black statue of an elderly man, one hand resting against a cane as he gazed toward the mansion.
The surrounding landscape was covered in vast stretches of grass, plants, flowers, and various other forms of carefully maintained flora.
Despite the fortress-like security surrounding the estate, the interior was remarkably beautiful and peaceful.
Eventually, they arrived at the mansion.
Several buildings could be seen scattered throughout the estate. Some were connected to the main structure, while others stood independently. But at the very center of the estate stood a single, massive building.
The main house.
It was enormous. So large and imposing that calling it a mansion felt almost inadequate.
Jul estimated that it had at least seven floors, while its width stretched for what looked like nearly a kilometer.
'This is a mansion?' Jul thought, shocked. Rather, it looked more like a luxury hotel.
The building was immaculate. Its architecture alone dwarfed several structures that proudly claimed to be state-of-the-art.
Its brilliant white exterior reflected the sunlight, making the entire structure seem almost blinding beneath the afternoon sky.
At the entrance stood another pair of enormous pillars, several meters apart, supporting the sweeping structure of the roof.
Jul stared at it in silence.
After fifteen years away, he had finally returned to the Mercer main house.
And somehow...
It felt both familiar and completely foreign.