"Kendra… please wake up already. I can't hold on much longer, sis…" Holden Duffus sat by the hospital bed, clutching Kendra Duffus's right hand. Her eyes stayed shut, her body unmoving beneath the white sheets. His eyes burned red as he spoke to her in a hoarse whisper. "You're the only reason I'm still standing. If you leave me too… what am I supposed to do?" His phone rang without warning. Holden scrubbed at the corner of his eye, fumbled the phone out, and froze when he saw the caller ID. Jayla Letherdale. He answered in a rush. "H-Hello… Jayla." "Where are you?" Her voice was cold enough to sting. Hearing his wife speak to him like that, Holden let out a bitter little laugh. "…At the hospital." "Come to Cloudbliss Square. Right away. The moment you get here, call me." The line went dead. Holden stared at the screen, then forced a crooked smile that didn't reach his eyes. He looked back at Kendra, still silent, still lost somewhere he couldn't reach. "Kendra, I'm heading out. I'll come back when I can… I just hope you're awake by the next time I'm here. Then I won't have to swallow the Letherdale family's crap anymore." He stood, steadied his breathing, and walked out of Virtue Union Hospital. Cloudbliss Square sat in the very heart of Midcoast's busiest Central Business District, more than thirty kilometers from the hospital. By car, it would have taken a little over twenty minutes. But Holden wasn't treated like family. He was the Letherdale family's live-in son-in-law, the kind who didn't get a car sent for him. A cab cost money he couldn't spare. His sister was still lying in a hospital bed, and bills waited everywhere he turned. So he took the subway. By the time he staggered up, bracing his hands on his knees and sucking in air, more than half an hour had already slipped by. Two stunning women stood in front of him, both elegant and striking, with figures that could have shamed runway models. Jayla Letherdale wore a beige wide-neck short-sleeve top and a black pencil skirt that bared two long, pale legs. She lifted her wrist, checked the time, and spoke without warmth. "Do you have any idea we've been waiting almost forty minutes?" Beside her, Juliana Letherdale wore an asymmetrical white dress. Her features resembled Jayla's, as if they'd been cut from the same mold, only softer. She clicked her tongue, impatience written all over her face. "Jayla, I told you ages ago. Divorce this trash already. Look at him. What can he do besides mooch off our family? He can't even show up when you call. What's the point of keeping him around? If you'd listened to me and called Edward Zorn, I guarantee he'd be here in fifteen minutes." She lifted her right foot and rubbed her ankle, wincing dramatically. "My feet are killing me." When she looked at Holden, disgust filled her eyes like it was the most natural thing in the world. Holden's fists tightened. He wanted to say something, anything, but the image of Kendra lying unconscious in the hospital crushed the words in his throat. His lips parted, then closed again. Jayla didn't spare him more than a flat glance. She waved a hand as if brushing away an annoyance. "That's enough. Holden Duffus, take Juliana and carry these back. I have something to do. I'm leaving." Her heels clicked as she turned and walked off without looking back. Holden stared at the ground. Seven or eight shopping bags sat there, stuffed full. Juliana shot him a glare. "What are you staring at? Move, you useless idiot. Pick them up. Hmph!" She stood perfectly still, clearly having no intention of helping. Holden exhaled through his nose, bent down, and hooked bag after bag over his arms until they hung from him like weights. He hauled them up with effort. "Useless," Juliana muttered, not bothering to hide her contempt. She turned and headed toward the outdoor parking lot. Holden trudged after her, arms aching, bags swaying. Men passing by Juliana kept turning their heads, eyes dropping below her waist as they swallowed hard. Holden's jaw tightened. *Morons. She's a demon wearing an angel's skin. What's there to drool over?* Midcoast in July baked like a furnace. Not long after they left the mall, sweat started to bead on Holden's forehead and soak into his shirt. Juliana walked ahead under a sun umbrella, never once glancing back. Holden raised an arm with difficulty and wiped his brow. Something cold and wet splattered against his face. He blinked, then looked up. His blood turned to ice. Above them, a massive billboard nearly two meters wide had begun to tilt, its metal frame groaning. It looked ready to tear free at any second. Juliana had no idea. Ahead of her, a young, pretty mother also held a sun umbrella, her hand clasped around a little girl's as they walked. "Crack!" A sharp, ugly sound snapped overhead. Holden's head jerked up again. A black shadow dropped fast, swallowing the light. "Get out of the way!" Holden roared. He flung both arms outward. The shopping bags flew off him in a scatter. He lunged forward and shoved Juliana hard as she turned on instinct at his shout. Then he leapt again, slamming his shoulder into the young mother and knocking her aside. Juliana screamed as she stumbled two or three meters, her ankle twisting. She hit the ground hard. The stockings on her calf tore instantly, and her knee scraped raw. Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain. "Holden! What the-" She didn't finish. Holden had already grabbed the little girl and pulled her tight against his chest. He dove to the ground and rolled, dragging her toward the building's steps as fast as he could. The next instant- "Boom!" A thunderous crash. The billboard slammed into the pavement. "Pfft!" It felt like a sledgehammer had smashed into Holden's back. He managed to spit out a mouthful of blood, then his eyes rolled shut. The world went dark. Juliana and the young mother stared, stunned into silence. People rushed in, shouting, and someone screamed, "Hurry! Get them out! Call an ambulance!" The young mother sprang up despite the scrapes on her legs. She ran to the fallen billboard, helping others lift as she screamed herself hoarse. "Ah! Whitney! Are you okay? Whitney? Answer me! Whitney! Please, talk to me!" Under the billboard, Holden lay unconscious. He didn't know that the yellow jade pendant his father had hung around his neck when he was a child was drinking in the blood that dripped from his mouth. The pendant darkened, soaking it up until the yellow turned fully crimson. A dazzling red flash flickered, then vanished. The pendant disappeared without a trace. Inside Holden's mind, an ancient, weathered scripture surfaced as if it had been waiting there all along. Three old characters were carved into its cover- Supreme Mystery Scripture! Supreme Mystery, the boundless book of mysteries. Heal the sick, save the dying, hold life and death in your hands. And around the Supreme Mystery Scripture, four golden Rune spun in an unknown orbit, circling endlessly. They were named: Guard, Spear, Life, Death. Elsewhere- Juliana stood frozen, her face blank with shock. Only when Holden and the little girl were finally dragged out from beneath the billboard did she stumble forward, dazed. She stared at Holden sprawled on the ground, motionless, as if he had already died. "Whitney! Whitney, wake up! Whitney!" The young mother snatched the little girl from someone's arms, panic tearing through her voice. "Doctor? Is there a doctor? Someone, please save my child!" Juliana crouched beside Holden. His eyes were shut, his face smeared with blood. She reached out and pushed his shoulder, her voice trembling. "H-Holden… Holden, are you okay? Holden? Please… please wake up. Open your eyes, okay? If you open your eyes, I'll never call you useless again. I swear it. Just… just open your eyes!" Her voice broke. Tears poured down her cheeks. Then, without warning, Holden's eyes snapped open. "Ah!" Juliana shrieked, and the surrounding crowd jolted back as well. Holden rolled over and dropped to his knees. He hammered his own head with his right fist, trying to dull the violent shock of information flooding his brain. With his left hand braced against the ground, he coughed hard, body shaking. Only then did everyone realize he hadn't risen as a corpse. "What… what is this? Supreme Mystery Scripture? Guard, Spear, Life, Death?" He coughed twice more, then rubbed his head and muttered under his breath. "Defense. Offense. Killing… and…" The moment he thought of what Life represented, heat crept up his neck. Holden's ears went red. "Good enough is good enough," he mumbled, half to himself. "Why would anyone need it that strong?" Nearby, Juliana had been so frightened by his sudden movement that she'd fallen onto her backside. Her face stayed pale for a long moment before anger surged up to cover the fear. She scrambled to her feet, rushed in, and punched his shoulder hard. "Are you insane? You scared me to death! Do you have any idea-" "Ah!" Holden yelped and clutched his shoulder. Juliana's expression changed instantly. Only then did she remember he'd just been crushed hard enough to spit blood. Guilt flashed across her face as she grabbed his shoulder, voice unsteady. "S-Sorry. Holden… are you okay?" Holden blinked. That scream had been pure reflex. But after it left his throat, he realized something strange. It didn't hurt. Not even a little. *So it's real?* His heart thudded. *That was Guard?* "Help! Please! Someone help me! Save my child!" The young mother's sobbing pleas yanked Holden back to the present. "Whitney! Wake up, Whitney! Please!" Holden pushed himself up, swayed, and nearly toppled. Juliana caught him in time. He waved her off, steadied himself, and walked to the young mother. The little girl named Whitney lay limp, eyes shut, her face smeared with blood. Fresh red seeped from her forehead. "Buzz…" In Holden's mind, the ancient scripture flared with a wash of radiant light. His vision swam. "What…?" He shook his head hard and looked again. Whitney's body had… a double image. *Am I seeing things?* He glanced at Juliana. Nothing strange clung to her outline. He looked back at the girl. This time, the shadowy double had separated slightly, trembling as if it might collapse at any moment. Holden's skin prickled. The information that had surged into him earlier snapped into place. He didn't have time to think. He lunged forward and slapped his palm down toward that wavering double. "Smack!" He saw it clearly. The double image was forced back into the girl's body. But the next moment, it felt like pressing down on an overinflated balloon. Something bulged and bucked beneath his palm, struggling to burst out of her. Then a strange heat surged from Holden's hand, pouring into her in a steady stream. The swelling pressure weakened. It sounded like a long struggle, but it happened in the span of a heartbeat. When the people around them finally reacted, cries erupted all at once. "Holden! What are you doing?" Juliana shouted, disbelief twisting her face. "What the hell is he doing? Is he crazy?" "That kid's head is bleeding and he's hitting her forehead? Is he trying to kill her?" "Did that billboard smash his brain?" The young mother finally snapped out of her shock. She shoved Holden away and screamed. "What are you doing? Why did you hit my daughter?" "I was saving her…" "Saving her like that?" The young mother pointed at the wound on Whitney's forehead, grief and rage colliding. "Can't you see she's hurt right there?" Tears streamed down her face as she gritted her teeth. "I'm grateful you saved me, but I can't understand what you just did. If my daughter ends up-if anything happens to her, I won't let you get away with it!" Holden barely heard her. His eyes stayed locked on Whitney. The girl's body, which had steadied, began to tremble again. Holden didn't hesitate. He bent down and slapped his palm onto her again. "Get back in there!" "Holden!" Juliana cried. The crowd exploded. "What the- He really is insane!" The young mother stared at Holden's hand pressing down on her daughter's head. Her face went slack, then shattered. "Smack!" She swung and slapped Holden across the face. "Bastard! I'll kill you!" She lunged, tackling him to the ground. Another slap came down. She raised her hand again, fingers curling like claws- Then a weak voice sounded behind her. "Mom…" Her hand froze in midair. Stiffly, she turned her head. Whitney was pushing herself up with effort, blinking through pain as she looked at her. "Whitney!" Tears burst out in a flood. The young mother wrapped her arms around her daughter, sobbing. "You scared me to death… you scared me to death…" Whitney lifted her head with difficulty and said in a clear, small voice, "Mom, that big brother saved me." The young mother went still. Understanding hit her a beat later. She hurried over with Whitney in her arms, stopping in front of Holden. Gratitude and shame warred on her face. "Sir… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I… I…" He had saved her, saved her child, and she had screamed at him and hit him. She saw the bright red finger marks across his cheek. Her eyes filled again, and she lifted her hand as if to slap herself. Holden caught her wrist quickly. He forced a wry smile. "Don't. You were scared for your daughter. I get it. She's okay. That's what matters." His calm only made her feel worse. She pressed her lips together, then spoke with sudden resolve. "You saved my life and my daughter's. I don't know how to repay you, so I can only repay you in another way." She met his eyes, voice steady. "From this moment on, you are the Showyer Group's most honored guest." Juliana had been too rattled earlier to look closely at the young mother. Only when the woman stepped nearer did Juliana feel a faint sense of familiarity. Then the name landed, and Juliana's eyes widened. "Wait… Kyla Showyer? You're Kyla Showyer, the CEO of Showyer Group?"