But that wasn’t the real story.
What pushed it further was the na tied to his disappearance, the Saint’s disciple. The sa mysterious figure who had once disrupted the Reliance launch and vanished just as suddenly, leaving more questions than answers behind.
When reports surfaced linking Redy’s absence to that figure, the reaction was imdiate. dia outlets rushed to confirm details, pushing out early coverage, speculation, and theories as fast as they could gather them.
Now, everything pointed to this mont.
Caras zood in slightly as movent stirred near the manor entrance. Reporters leaned forward in their seats, fingers hovering over devices, ready to capture every word, every reaction, every detail.
Because whatever was about to be revealed...
was going to change everything.
****
The manor doors opened, and the noise outside surged instantly. Redy stepped out first, her pace steady as every cara snapped toward her. Lights flickered nonstop, capturing her from every angle as she walked toward the stage.
Each step was asured, controlled, like she owned the mont already. The reporters leaned forward, voices quieting on their own as the atmosphere shifted around her presence.
Ivy, Scott, and Felicia followed behind but stopped off to the side, taking their positions without drawing attention. Their focus stayed forward, watching closely, already knowing sothing more was about to happen.
Redy stepped up to the podium but didn’t speak. She simply stood there, eyes scanning the crowd briefly before settling into silence. She was waiting and the reporters understood imdiately.
The air suddenly changed.
A sudden spike in pressure swept across the ares. The wind picked up without warning, strong enough to ripple through the crowd, tugging at clothes and equipnt as the sky above began to darken.
Conversations stopped completely. Caras trembled slightly as operators adjusted their grip. The calm setup from seconds ago was gone, replaced by a growing tension that pressed down on everyone present.
The wind intensified.
It howled louder, circling the stage as dust and loose debris lifted into the air. Reporters squinted, so shielding their faces, others refusing to look away despite the chaos building right in front of them.
At the side, Felicia folded her arms slightly. Scott exhaled slowly. Ivy adjusted her glasses. None of them moved.
What a show-off.
Then the wind collapsed inward.
A cyclone ford directly on the stage, spinning violently for a brief second before compressing sharply. The energy folded in on itself and vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
Adam stood in its place.
The Midnight Shroud draped over him, dark and heavy, the hood casting shadows over his face. A skull mask covered his mouth and jaw, giving him a cold, unreadable presence as his eyes swept across the crowd.
Without a word, he raised a hand and pointed toward the ground.
Bone erupted instantly.
A structured podium ford beneath his command, rising cleanly from the floor as he stepped behind it.
Silence.
Not just from the reporters in front of him, but across every screen, every viewer watching live. The shock hit all at once, freezing the mont in place.
Then the caras refocused.
Microphones lifted.
The press conference... had officially begun.
****
The silence didn’t last long.
A reporter from Abels Publishers stood up first, seizing the mont before anyone else could react. Since the Reliance launch incident, their reputation in Tristan had surged, even if their intelligence network had weakened over the past two years.
Still, they remained one of the top dia houses. That alone earned them the first question.
This ti, it wasn’t the sa reporter as before. A young woman stepped forward, steady despite the pressure. Her eyes flickered briefly toward Adam, then imdiately shifted back to Redy.
"Lady Eve, it’s good to have you back," she said respectfully.
Redy gave a small nod in acknowledgnt, her expression calm as always. She didn’t rush her response, letting the mont settle as the caras focused tightly on her.
The reporter tightened her grip on the microphone slightly. "What mission took you to the southern hemisphere?" she asked, her tone controlled, but clearly pushing for sothing substantial.
Redy leaned slightly toward the microphone, her voice clear and even. "That’s not sothing I can disclose," she said without hesitation. "But understand this, the mission was for the benefit of the Alliance."
Pens moved instantly. Screens updated in real ti. The reporter jotted sothing down quickly before stepping back, her job done as the next voice rose from the crowd.
Another reporter stood up, more direct, less cautious. "Has the Saint’s disciple been allied with the Eden Group from the beginning?" he asked, cutting straight to the core of the speculation.
Redy’s eyes shifted slightly, locking onto him. "That depends on what you define as ’the beginning,’" she replied, neither confirming nor denying anything yet.
The reporter didn’t hesitate. "Since the Reliance launch incident," he clarified imdiately. "Was the Saint’s disciple already working with the Eden Group at that ti?"
This ti, Redy didn’t answer right away.
The caras zood in. Flashes continued. Across Tristan, viewers leaned closer to their screens. Inside boardrooms and private offices, Eden Group shareholders watched in complete silence.
Because this answer mattered.
Not just for public perception, but for power, influence, and control across the mid-tier regions.
Redy held the reporter’s gaze, her expression unreadable as she weighed her response carefully.
And for a brief mont, everything waited on her next words.
****
Redy didn’t let the silence stretch any longer.
"Yes," she said clearly, her voice cutting through the tension without hesitation. "The Eden Group and the Saint’s disciple have been allied since the beginning." The reaction was instant.
Reporters shot to their feet, voices overlapping as questions erupted from every direction. Microphones lifted higher. Caras zood in aggressively. The calm structure from monts ago collapsed into controlled chaos.
Across Tristan, the shock hit just as hard.
Viewers stared at their screens, so frozen, others already reacting. In private offices and secured eting rooms, Eden Group shareholders leaned forward sharply, expressions tightening as the weight of her words settled in.
Because they understood exactly what that ant.
This wasn’t just confirmation of a connection. It was a declaration of power.
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