Leon stepped forward, his towering presence filling the small hospital room. He was still the same—sharp eyes, broad shoulders, an aura so suffocating it made the air feel heavier. But there was something different now.
Stronger. Colder.
"What the hell happened to you?" His tone wasn't laced with concern, nor anger—just raw disbelief.
I let out a dry chuckle. "Long story."
Leon didn't react. His gaze flickered to the bandages wrapped around my torso, then to the faint bruises on my arms. His jaw tightened.
"Ten years," he muttered, more to himself than to me. "Ten years, and now you show up again like this?"
I clenched my fists under the sheets. The weight of those years settled in my chest.
"It's not like I had a choice," I said quietly.
Leon scoffed. "There's always a choice, Ryzen."
His words hit harder than I expected. My fingers twitched at the mention of my name coming from his mouth again after so long.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. "And what about you?" I shot back. "What the hell happened to you, Leon? The last time I saw you, we were just kids trying to survive. Now you're the number seven hunter in the world?"
Leon's eyes darkened. "You don't want to know."
His voice was distant, almost hollow. It sent a shiver down my spine.
Silence again. A different kind this time.
The kind where both of us knew we weren't the same people we used to be.
Leon exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. His usual composed demeanor was cracked, and frustration flickering beneath the surface.
For a man ranked as the seventh strongest hunter in the world, he looked… unsettled.
"Ten years," he muttered, almost to himself. "It's really been ten years."
I stayed silent, watching him carefully.
The Leon I remembered never hesitated. Never showed doubt. Yet now, he stood before me, staring like he was seeing a ghost.
Finally, he spoke.
"You just vanished, Ryzen." His voice was low, controlled—but I caught the sharp edge beneath it.
I felt my jaw tighten. "I didn't choose to disappear."
Leon's eyes darkened. "Didn't you?" His tone turned cold. "No calls. No messages. No trace of you anywhere. And then suddenly—boom. I find you trapped within mutated gate and here in half-dead in a hospital bed?"
I scoffed. "Yeah? Well, I didn't exactly plan a reunion either."
Leon exhaled sharply, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. "You think this is funny?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight behind it was suffocating.
I held my ground, my expression unreadable. "I didn't say that."
His eyes burned into mine. "Then act like it. Do you have any idea what it was like?"
A humorless chuckle slipped from my lips. "What, losing a friend? Guess what, Leon—I lost everything."
Leon's glare hardened, but I didn't care. My chest burned with the weight of everything I had kept buried for the past ten years.
"You think you had it bad?" I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. "Leon, I lost EVERYTHING. My family. My future. The life I was supposed to have!"
His fingers twitched at his sides, but I didn't stop.
"After the invasion, I had nothing left. No home. No status. No damn name! Society looked at me like I was just some nobody, someone who didn't even matter." I exhaled sharply, my voice dropping lower. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be invisible? To be so powerless that no one gives a damn if you live or die?"
Leon didn't respond, but the way his jaw clenched told me enough.
"I barely made a living," I continued, my voice thick with frustration. "You? You had the Hunters backing you. The guilds, the world—everyone wanted Leon Vael, the Prodigy. But me? I am stuck in City F" I scoffed. "I was just another survivor. Just another name on a list of nobodies."
For the first time, something flickered in his expression.
Guilt? Regret? I couldn't tell.
I leaned forward slightly. "So before you stand there, acting like I betrayed you—ask yourself. Where the hell were you when I was suffering?"
I let out a slow breath, steadying the storm inside me. Then, I met his gaze head-on.
"You want to know the worst part, Leon?" My voice was quiet, but every word cut deep. "I was looking for you."
Leon's expression faltered, but I kept going.
"Through the ruins, through the chaos—I searched. For you. I told myself, 'Leon's strong. He'll find me. He'll come back.'" I let out a hollow laugh. "But you didn't."
His fists clenched tighter, his knuckles turning white.
"I waited," I whispered. "But no Leon Vael was out there looking for me. Not for a day. Not for a week. Not for years." My voice trembled, but not with weakness—with anger. "And then, one day, I hear a name. A new Number 7 has appeared. Someone who climbed to the top—faster than anyone before him. A legend in the making."
My lips curled into a bitter smile. "And guess who it was? Leon Vael."
Leon's eyes widened, his breath hitching.
"The Leon Vael I thought was dead. The best friend I thought I could lean on." I shook my head, my voice turning sharp. "And now, ten years later, you show up—like it's nothing."
Silence stretched between us. Heavy. Suffocating.
And for the first time, Leon looked like he didn't know what to say.
Leon opened his mouth, but I didn't give him the chance.
"You don't know what it feels like, Leon." My voice was low, steady—but each word carried the weight of ten years of suffering. "To lose everything."
His lips pressed into a thin line, but I wasn't finished.
I leaned forward, my fingers tightening into fists. "You ever gone days without eating? Ever had to fight for scraps in the slums while people looked at you like you were filth?" I exhaled sharply, my jaw clenching.
Leon's expression is twisted, like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Let me tell you again, Leon. You don't know what it feels like," I muttered. "To lose everything and have to start from nothing."