Hana walked away from the freshly turned earth, her footsteps quiet as they crunched over the forest floor. The night was still, but her mind was not. The image of Kai and Minseo lying side by side, buried beneath the ground, would not leave her. It clung to her thoughts like a specter.

As she reached the edge of the forest, Hana stopped, staring out at the city lights in the distance. The hum of the city had never felt so distant. She hadn’t planned on staying this long. The Ledger had been destroyed, Kai and Minseo had chosen their path, and there was nothing left for her here. She was supposed to move on. She had always been good at that—moving from one situation to the next, cutting ties as easily as severing threads.

But this time was different.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unresolved. The deaths of Kai and Minseo should’ve brought closure, yet instead, they had left a void, a silence that refused to be filled.

Hana leaned against a tree, closing her eyes for a moment, letting the cool night air wash over her. The weight of what she had done—or rather, what she had failed to do—pressed down on her.

"You’re not a monster, Hana," Kai’s voice echoed in her mind, a memory from their final confrontation. "You don’t have to be."

She had dismissed his words at the time, chalking them up to his naive sense of morality. But now, standing here alone, she wondered if he had been right. Had she become a monster? Had her obsession with power, control, and the Ledger twisted her into something unrecognizable?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound—a soft rustling in the trees behind her. She stiffened, instinctively reaching for the knife strapped to her thigh. The forest was quiet again, but her senses were on high alert. She turned, scanning the shadows, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Who’s there?" Hana’s voice was steady, but inside, she felt a flicker of something she hadn’t felt in a long time—unease.

For a moment, there was no response, only the sound of the wind moving through the trees. Then, a figure emerged from the darkness.

It was Sato.

He stepped forward, his hands raised slightly as if to show he meant no harm, though Hana knew better than to trust appearances. Sato had always been a man of hidden agendas.

"Hana," he said softly, his voice carrying easily in the still night. "I didn’t expect to find you here."

Hana’s grip on the knife tightened, but she didn’t draw it. Not yet. "What do you want, Sato?" she asked, her tone sharp.

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Sato gave a small, almost tired smile. "To talk. That’s all."

"Talk?" Hana’s eyes narrowed. "You don’t track someone down in the middle of the woods just to have a conversation."

Sato shrugged, his gaze shifting to the direction of the grave, though he couldn’t see it from where he stood. "I heard what happened. Kai and Minseo... they’re gone, aren’t they?"

Hana didn’t respond immediately. She didn’t owe Sato an explanation. "What’s it to you?"

Sato sighed, taking a few steps closer, but still keeping a respectful distance. "It’s everything, Hana. This whole thing—Kai, the Ledger, the power struggle—it’s not over. You know that, don’t you?"

Hana felt a chill crawl up her spine. "The Ledger’s destroyed. There’s nothing left."

Sato shook his head. "That’s where you’re wrong. The Ledger was just a tool, a symbol. The real power, the real legacy—it doesn’t die with the Ledger."

Hana’s patience was wearing thin. "Get to the point."

"The people who created the Ledger, the ones who have been watching from the shadows... they’re not going to stop because Kai burned a book. They’re going to come for you. For all of us."

Hana’s heart skipped a beat. She had always known the Ledger’s origins were shrouded in mystery, but she hadn’t given much thought to who might be behind it. Not until now.

"And what, exactly, do you expect me to do about that?" Hana’s voice was cold, but beneath it, there was a flicker of uncertainty.

Sato’s eyes met hers, serious and intense. "You’ve survived this long, Hana. You know how to fight, how to protect yourself. But this... this is bigger than just you. It’s bigger than all of us."

Hana’s hand finally left the knife, her fingers flexing as if releasing some of the tension that had built up inside her. She wanted to walk away from this, to leave everything behind and never look back. But could she? Was there even a choice anymore?

"You’re saying they’ll come for me," Hana said slowly, her mind racing as she tried to piece together what Sato wasn’t saying. "Why?"

"Because you’re one of the last," Sato replied, his voice grim. "With Kai and Minseo gone, you’re the only one left with any knowledge of the Ledger’s true power. They won’t let that knowledge go to waste."

Hana clenched her jaw. She didn’t like where this was heading. "And you? Why are you here? Why aren’t they coming after you?"

Sato’s expression darkened. "They will. But I have a head start. I’m offering you the same."

For a long moment, Hana said nothing. The weight of Sato’s words hung heavy between them. Part of her wanted to tell him to leave, to let her handle whatever was coming on her own terms. But another part of her, the part that had seen too much, fought too hard, and lost too many, knew that she couldn’t do this alone.

"Why should I trust you?" Hana asked, her eyes narrowing once more. "You’ve always had your own agenda."

Sato didn’t flinch. "Maybe I do. But right now, our interests are aligned. Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together."

Hana’s mind raced, her thoughts a tangled mess of doubt and instinct. Could she trust Sato? Probably not. But could she afford not to?

Finally, she gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Fine. But if you try to double-cross me, Sato, I’ll make sure you regret it."

Sato gave a wry smile, but there was no humor in it. "Fair enough."

Without another word, Hana turned and began walking away, her pace quick and determined. Sato followed, his footsteps falling into rhythm behind her. As they disappeared into the night, the city lights in the distance seemed to grow dimmer, swallowed by the shadows that loomed ahead.

And somewhere, in the dark corners of the world, the forces that had created the Ledger stirred, waiting, watching, ready to make their move.