The car stormed through the road at high speed. The entire trip was quick but heavy. No one spoke a word as they floated in their own worlds.
Talon stared ahead of him dazedly as he let his instincts drive the car while his dad looked outside the window. He seemed deep in thought the entire time and it wasn't that hard to know why.
Acrypha sat in the backseat as she watched over Talon and the road to make sure he didn't lose track of where they were.
With that, the car eventually arrived at its destination. Talon's father stared outside the window at the giant base.
"This is it?" He asked in a tired yet still impressed tone.
"Yeah," Talon replied calmly as he left the car and took out his communication device to contact the people inside. "Open the gates, it's me." He said in a commanding, cold tone.
His father noticed that attitude and could only wonder whether it was Talon's sour mood that made him speak like that or something else. He could easily notice the authority in his words.
A few minutes later, the gates started slowly opening. Then, Talon drove the car inside.
"Good evening, leader!" One of the guards waiting inside greeted him. However, Talon simply gave him a look and continued moving the car.
'Leader?' His father blinked in shock. He almost didn't believe the words he heard. Looking at his son, he wanted to ask him. But, he could only swallow his words as he looked away. Talon's entire aura at that moment was basically pushing everyone away from talking to him.
The car eventually stopped as Talon and his father left the car.
"Talon!"
Immediately, the car was approached by a group of students. Hyun-Jae, Sophie, Shin-Il, Chin-Hwa, Soomin, and even Young-Soo. When they heard that Talon had come back, they rushed to meet him.
Talon looked at them silently before he started walking.
Sophie tried to give him a hug, only to realize that he had already moved past her without uttering a single word.
"Huh?" She looked back at him confusedly. "Talon? Are you ok?" Her smile turned into a worried expression. Yet, he didn't respond.
Hyun-Jae noticed that and tried to speak to him. A bad feeling filled her heart at that moment. "Hey, Talon..."
But, he didn't respond as he continued walking. Her eyes moved along with him. Deep inside her, she had already reached a conclusion as to what happened.
"Sophie, is that you, girl?" Meanwhile, Talon's father stepped away from the car and approached Sophie.
'To my dear son, Talon.' It said.
Just reading those words made him remember how his mother used to call him and it made his heart race. He took a moment to calm himself as he shakingly opened the letter. He instinctively put a lot of care into opening it, making sure not to damage the latter.
Pulling the paper out, he slowly unfolded it, revealing a long paragraph written in bad handwriting. Since his mother had studied to be a neurosurgeon, her handwriting wasn't the easiest to read.
But, Talon grew accustomed to it years ago and could easily read it. If anything, this handwriting gave him a strong hit of nostalgia. Wiping his eyes, he started reading the content of the letter.
'Date, the 9th of September. The time: 9:25 PM. I am writing this letter for the future, in case I didn't make it. If you are seeing this letter right now, Talon. Then, that means that I'm no longer with you... Or, if this is Lucas having way too much curiosity and opening the letter when he shouldn't, then, close it now! I'm talking to you!'
Reading that, Talon could only make a small laugh. The familiar humor of his mother had always worked wonders on him, even when he felt sad. Shaking his head, he continued reading.
'Well, now that we are done with him, I can finally talk to my son, face-to-face. I want to start by asking one thing: How are you, Talon? Are you eating well? Are you living your life happily? I know that this world has turned into a horrible mess. But, I know my son well.
I know you are alive, somewhere, out there, waiting for us. I hope you will never have to read what I wrote here. But, if you end up doing so, then, I want you to know that I love you. You are the best son I could've ever asked for. Don't beat yourself down over me. I will always be watching you from above.'
Seconds passed as Talon read the content of the letter. His hands started slowly shaking as wet spots appeared on top of the letter.
'I would love to see you smile and live as you want to. The world might be cruel, but you are far stronger. No matter what happens and what lows you might fall to, you should know that you are always going to stand up again. That's my little boy.'
Talon's lips shook violently as he clenched his teeth. He tried to keep his voice from leaking out, but, he failed miserably. Tears rolled down his face endlessly.
'Give it your best and make sure to surround yourself with people you love and they love you back. Even if this world turns dark, there will always be people that you can rely on and care for. Don't push those people away, Talon. Give them your true self and they shall do the same. And one last thing: Take care of your dad for me. You know how he acts.
I rely on you to be there for him.'
And just like that, the letter ended right there abruptly. Talon's watery eyes widened as he realized that he had reached the end before he quickly turned the letter around, only to realize that there was nothing left.
"No... No, no, no..." He murmured in a crying voice as he kept turning the letter around, trying to find anything else that his mother left for him. Eventually, his hands ended up reaching the letter envelope that it came in. Inside it, he found a small silver necklace.
Talon immediately recognized that necklace. "It's the one that my mom wears..." He murmured as he grabbed the pendant at the end of it. On the side of the pendant was a small button.
He clicked it and the pendant immediately opened, revealing a small picture inside. It was a picture of Talon, his father, and his mother together as a family.
Seeing that, Talon's tears stopped for a second.
A//N: If you enjoyed reading, don't forget to support the book with GT and PS. Thank you!