The beach had sothing more than just a cold breeze tonight.
The island seed alive.
A large campfire crackled softly against the backdrop of endless waves. The orange flas danced in the darkness, casting warm light across familiar faces.
Decorative string lights had been arranged around the gathering area.
Small lanterns hung from wooden posts.
The gentle glow mixed beautifully with the moonlight reflecting across the sea.
The atmosphere felt peaceful.
Comfortable.
Like one of those monts people rembered years later.
A mory worth keeping.
The sound of the waves continuously rolled onto the shore.
The scent of saltwater mixed with the aroma of spices and freshly marinated fish waiting beside the grill.
Elena was already wearing an apron.
Naturally, she had taken command of the cooking operation.
Monica and Alice stood beside her, helping prepare ingredients .
Kate sat nearby with Flora, both enjoying the view while chatting quietly.
Dion and Daniel were completely lost in their own conversation.
The two n looked surprisingly invested in discussing fishing techniques, golf, and various stories from their younger years.
Not far away, Hope and Asher sat beside Chloe.
The twins watched curiously as Chloe worked on her tablet.
A stylus moved smoothly across the screen.
She was drawing everyone.
Little doodles.
Small animated versions of the people around her.
Tiny mories frozen into digital sketches.
The soft music playing from a nearby speaker blended perfectly with the campfire atmosphere.
Nothing loud.
Just gentle lodies.
The kind that made people relax without realizing it.
Flora eventually beca curious.
She stood up and moved her chair beside Chloe.
Kate followed shortly after.
Flora leaned forward.
Then she suddenly laughed.
"Is that Aunt Elena in animated form?"
Chloe smiled.
"Yes."
Flora pointed at the screen.
The doodle version of Elena wore a tiny chef hat and carried a frying pan twice her size.
"It looks adorable."
"You are very talented."
Chloe’s cheeks beca slightly pink.
"Thank you, Sister Flora."
Flora imdiately placed a hand on her chest dramatically.
"Calling sister makes emotional."
Everyone nearby laughed.
Flora smiled warmly at Chloe.
"I am glad you beca part of his life."
Her eyes briefly drifted toward Miles’s empty seat.
"I am sure you filled a space inside him."
"A space that helped make him a normal human being."
Chloe blinked.
"Human being?"
"He wasn’t that lost when I first t him."
Flora smiled knowingly.
"Maybe because he was doing his duty."
"When Miles is focused on his duty, he becos difficult to understand."
"Even for people who have known him for years."
Her voice softened.
"But I think things changed after he t you."
Chloe looked toward the ocean.
A small smile appeared.
"He may not be an open book."
"But sohow he always knew what I was feeling."
"Like he could read ."
"He is caring."
"And kind."
Flora nodded.
"That sounds like him."
Then her curiosity returned.
"So when did you two first et?"
Chloe imdiately beca shy.
Her stylus almost slipped from her fingers.
"In Paris."
Flora’s eyes widened dramatically.
"Paris?"
"Now that is a romantic city."
Chloe coughed.
Kate covered her mouth to hide her laughter.
Flora grinned.
"Look at her blushing."
Chloe imdiately focused on her tablet again.
Flora continued teasing.
"So where is our mysterious man?"
"He is late."
Chloe looked around.
"I haven’t seen him since lunch."
"Mr. Keller said he would be here soon."
Flora crossed her arms.
"Making you wait."
"He deserves punishnt."
A familiar voice suddenly appeared behind them.
"Are you corrupting her mind?"
Everyone turned.
Miles stood there with a small smile.
"I am worried about my future nephew or niece."
Flora pointed at him imdiately.
"Hey!"
Dion laughed loudly from the campfire.
"Don’t worry."
"Our child will definitely inherit my traits."
Flora turned.
"Hnnmph."
The entire group laughed.
Even Chloe couldn’t hold back her smile.
Miles finally walked over.
His attention landed on the tablet.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Wait."
He pointed.
"Is that ?"
Hope and Asher imdiately burst into laughter.
"Big bro!"
"That’s you!"
Dion jumped from his seat.
"Let see."
Before Chloe could stop him, Dion gently took the tablet.
His eyes widened.
Then he started laughing.
"Aunt Elena!"
"You need to see this!"
Elena walked over with curiosity.
"What happened now?"
Dion showed her the screen.
A doodle version of Miles stared back.
His arms were folded.
His expression looked serious.
A tiny crown sat on his head.
Behind him were bags of money, motorcycles, swords, helicopters, and several speech bubbles saying "No."
Elena looked at it.
Then she laughed harder than anyone.
"That is exactly who he is."
The entire group erupted into laughter again.
Miles folded his arms.
He looked directly at Chloe.
Chloe smiled innocently.
After a few seconds, even Miles started smiling.
Flora secretly exchanged a glance with Kate.
A plan instantly ford.
She signaled Hope and Asher.
The twins imdiately understood.
Hope grabbed Asher’s hand.
"Co on."
The two disappeared toward the campfire.
Flora and Kate also excused themselves and joined Elena.
Even Dion suddenly beca very interested in adjusting the firewood.
Within monts, Chloe realized everyone had mysteriously left.
Only she and Miles remained.
She looked around suspiciously.
Miles simply sat beside her.
The firelight reflected softly in his eyes.
For a few monts neither spoke.
The sound of the waves filled the silence.
Finally Miles broke it.
"Are you blending in?"
Chloe looked toward the group.
Elena was laughing with Monica.
Daniel and Dion were still talking.
Hope and Asher were happily running around.
Everyone looked relaxed.
Comfortable.
Happy.
A warm feeling filled her chest.
"Yes."
Her voice beca softer.
"They are all so caring."
She watched Elena helping Alice.
"Everyone keeps bringing things for ."
"Mrs. Keller treats like her own daughter."
Her eyes beca slightly wet.
Then she smiled.
"I feel like I found a ho here."
The words were simple.
But Miles understood exactly how much they ant.
He looked at her quietly.
Then gently reached over and held her hand.
The fire crackled softly.
The waves continued their endless rhythm.
And beneath the moonlit sky of the island, surrounded by people who cared for them, both of them simply sat there together.
Miles smiled.
"I am glad."
And for Chloe, those two words sohow felt warr than the campfire itself.
..
China
Xin’s place
The atmosphere felt cold.
Very cold.
Xīn stood before the floor to ceiling window with his hands behind his back.
The city reflected across the glass.
His expression was unreadable.
The door suddenly opened.
A man rushed inside and imdiately bowed.
"Boss."
Xīn did not turn.
"What is it?"
The subordinate lowered his head further.
"The gang in Somalia disappeared."
Xīn looked away from the window.
"Disappeared?"
The man nodded nervously.
"All of them."
"The entire group we hired."
"None of their mbers can be found."
Xīn slowly turned around.
His scarred face appeared even more frightening beneath the lights.
"Do we know who did it?"
The subordinate swallowed.
"No."
"Every one of them vanished."
"No witnesses."
"No surveillance footage."
"No bodies."
"Nothing."
The room beca silent.
Xīn slowly sat down in his chair.
His fingers tapped against the armrest.
"Were they Graveyard?"
The subordinate quickly shook his head.
"It doesn’t appear so."
"There are no operational records from our source."
"Also, it seems Commander Ray is conducting his investigation independently."
"Even if it were him, he couldn’t make that many people disappear overnight."
The tapping stopped.
A smile slowly appeared on Xīn’s face.
Then it widened.
A dangerous smile.
"That’s definitely Ghost."
The subordinate remained silent.
Xīn leaned back comfortably.
"He has always been smarter than the rest of Graveyard."
"And unlike the others..."
"We know he is no longer inside Graveyard."
His eyes narrowed.
"But he will co."
"He always cos."
"For his brothers."
"For his sisters."
"For his family."
The smile beca darker.
"And it seems he took the bait."
A low laugh escaped him.
"Good."
"Very good."
The subordinate felt a chill run down his spine.
Xīn stood up and walked toward the window again.
"Does he really think I would leave loose ends behind?"
His reflection stared back at him.
"Ghost."
"You will soon learn."
"I don’t need to fight you directly."
"I will use you."
"I will make you do my work for ."
His laughter echoed through the room.
Dark.
Satisfied.
Patient.
As if he had already planned several moves ahead.
Then Xīn turned away from the window.
At the far end of the room sat a woman.
Her hands were restrained to a chair.
Despite her situation, her expression remained calm.
Almost disappointed.
iling.
The art teacher who had once guided a broken boy toward becoming human again.
Xīn approached her slowly.
"Miss iling."
"If you don’t know where she is..."
He stopped in front of her.
"Then he will find her for ."
A smile appeared on his face.
"And bring her straight to ."
iling looked up.
There wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes.
Only pity.
"You are still the sa."
Xīn’s smile weakened slightly.
iling continued.
"If you think you can defeat him this ti..."
"You are living in a delusion."
The room beca quiet.
Several guards shifted uncomfortably.
iling’s voice remained calm.
"What you witnessed that day..."
"Wasn’t even Ghost at his strongest."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"So don’t say I didn’t warn you later."
For a mont, the room beca completely silent.
Then Xīn laughed.
Louder than before.
"Money."
He spread his arms.
"Money is the greatest superpower in the world."
His eyes beca filled with obsession.
"Money buys information."
"Money buys loyalty."
"Money buys governnts."
"Money buys armies."
"Money buys everything."
He pointed toward himself.
"And I have money but Ghost doesn’t."
iling simply sighed.
As if she were listening to a stubborn child.
Xīn’s smile slowly disappeared.
He looked out toward the city once more.
Far away.
...
Floating Elves Island
Star Harbor
The beach atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.
Laughter replaced tension.
Family replaced conspiracy.
Warm food replaced cold calculations.
The campfire continued crackling beneath the evening sky.
The scent of grilled fish spread through the air.
Everyone had gathered around after the cooking was finally finished.
Large platters of freshly grilled fish sat on the table.
Alongside them were grilled asparagus, green beans, roasted vegetables, fresh fruits, and chilled fruit juices.
The atmosphere felt warm and welcoming.
Flora took another bite.
Her eyes widened.
"Aunt’s cooking is the best."
Alice imdiately nodded.
"Agreed."
"This is the best grilled fish I’ve ever had."
Elena laughed softly.
"Thank you, dear."
"And thank you for helping too."
Alice smiled.
"I should learn cooking from you soti."
Flora imdiately pointed toward Chloe.
"I think soone else was thinking the exact sa thing."
Every eye turned toward Chloe.
The poor girl nearly choked on her juice.
"Uhh..."
"Of course."
"I would love to."
Flora grinned proudly.
Before she could continue, Dion suddenly slapped Miles lightly on the back.
"I feel like soone couldn’t wait."
Miles imdiately knew where this was going.
"Hey."
"At least wash your hands before teasing people."
Everyone laughed.
Miles continued.
"And please don’t pressure her into anything."
The protective tone in his voice was impossible to miss.
Elena smiled knowingly.
Daniel nodded.
"I agree with you, son."
Flora raised both hands.
"Alright, alright."
"Sorry."
"I should think before speaking."
Chloe quickly shook her head.
"No."
"I truly want to learn."
Elena imdiately reached over and patted her hand.
"Then I will be happy to teach you."
"All of you."
Dion raised his hand dramatically.
"Count in too, Aunt."
Flora looked at him.
Then started laughing.
"Yes."
"You definitely should learn."
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Even Daniel almost dropped his glass.
anwhile, Miles quietly sat beside Hope and Asher.
A fish rested on his plate.
Carefully and patiently, he separated every bone before placing the clean pieces onto the twins’ plates.
Hope smiled brightly.
"Thank you, Big Bro."
Asher nodded enthusiastically.
Miles simply smiled.
The fire reflected softly in his eyes.
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