Everyone said their final goodbyes to Owen before leaving the funeral after the casket had been buried in the ground. Some leave a little picture of themselves with Owen, while others scatter some flowers around it.

William was greeted by someone just as everyone else began to leave the funeral. The same old man with the thin beard who had before delivered his eulogy to Owen approached him.

Surprised by his presence, Dr. Erik bowed his head and said, "Director Stanford, I didn't expect you to attend this funeral."

"I had spare time for today's schedule, and it would be great to fill it with what I could do as a Director to honor its employees." said Director Stanford as he waved his hand to Dr. Erik.

Director Stanford then glanced his eyes to William, "And this must be Alpha One, am I correct?"

William then bowed his head and said, "That's correct, Director. It's an honor to meet you in person."

He laughed for a bit, "No need to be formal in front of me, especially when you're at someone's funeral and outside of the Foundation's environment. Best if you could keep your head up in a place like this."

Two people were approaching William and Dr. Erik from Director Stanford's side; their appearances on their faces were rough, and their physique resembled a typical bodyguard.

"Director, we should go." One of them muttered into Director Stanford's ear. "We have another meeting to attend for today's schedule."

"Give us a moment. While both of you wait, you can start up the vehicle, and we'll go there as I'm finished. " Director Stanford said to his bodyguard.

The bodyguard nodded and walked off from the three of them and continued their conversation.

"I've seen you from the recording, read about you from the document, and heard about you from Dr. Erik himself. But you are a unique one." said Director Stanford as he rubbed his hand.

William was a bit confused by what he meant, "What do you mean by that?"

"I can't tell what exactly it is. Not even words could describe it." Director Stanford puts his hat on, "You did a good job on doing your task. The site couldn't have done it without you preventing that information from falling into their hands."

William paused for a moment, recalling the scene where he encountered Keith, "I'm just doing my duty, that's all."

"Keep up the good work," Director Stanford then looked at Dr. Erik and said, "You too, doctor. We expect great things coming from your work."

With that, Director Stanford walked away from both of them and headed toward his vehicle, where one of the bodyguards was waiting for him. It was a quick talk, but it was something that they had never thought to happen.

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Almost everyone that had attended the funeral had left, leaving only William, Dr. Erik, and a few other people still present in the park. A lady and a child were standing in front of Owen's graveyard.

It should be Owen's family members, his mom, and his only brother, that he told before to William when they first met. William looked at them from a distance.

"We should get going." said Dr. Erik

But William ignored his words. Instead, his eyes focused on Owen's mother and brother, that was on his grave the whole time. Dr. Erik saw this and understood the situation.

"I'll wait here, just to keep you in my eyes in case of anything."

William obtains his approval before speaking privately with Owen's family. He hurried to the cemetery where both of them were located without even taking much more time.

Both Owen's mother and brother were still gazing at the graves of his relatives. While she sobbed and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief, the brother stayed by, consoling his mother.

While they were examining the burial, William moved to the side of the brother, avoided interfering, and joined them. William held them there for a time until Owen's mother's sobbing stopped.

"I never thought that he'd be gone this early, at a young age. As if the Lord just took him in an instant." said Owen's mother.

William didn't say anything for a moment, and replied, "He was. A good friend and the first person that welcomed me at work. I didn't even have the time to say my goodbye when he died."

Both of them looked at William. It seemed that he knew and was close to Owen at the place where he worked.

The brother looked at him from below with curiosity in his eyes and asked, "You knew my brother, uncle?"

"More than just knowing him, he was my partner as we did our job. A brave person who treats me nicely even when I'm just a new guy in the service."

William looked at him and asked, "You must be his brother."

Owen's brother didn't react to anything and replied, "That's right. Brother Owen was indeed the nicest person I've ever met when he was still around. Always take me wherever we go on a trip."

He looked at his own brother's grave, "But since dad died, he had to take over the role to be the head of the family. We didn't have more free time like we used to do, and that was when he was recruited to be part of the military."

William wasn't surprised if the Foundation told Owen's family that he worked for the military and served his duty to the country. It was all for the sake of his own family not to know about the Foundation.

After that, William asked him, "Does it break your heart that you'll never see or spend the time with your brother?"

He gave it a thought and answered, "No, not at all. I was grateful that he was my brother, which he fulfilled to protect mom and me until the very end of his job. I couldn't be more thankful for someone like him to be part of our family."

William was amazed by his response. While others like Owen's mom mourn the death of her own child, his brother does the exact opposite of it. He wasn't sad that his brother was gone. He was happy for someone like Owen to exist in his life.

This is not the end, and there are still more paths to go. William couldn't just look down and be sorrowful all the time, because it would make Owen's sacrifice in vain that he wouldn't fulfill his duty to the Foundation.

Owen's path may end here, but it was up to William that would carry that light until to the very end. The duty was not over. It was just getting started.

Thanks to Owen's brother's optimism, it lit the fire within William's heart to keep on going and never stop until it's really over. The world couldn't protect itself without the help of people like him.

William patted Owen's brother's head, "You really are his brother. I'm sure he'll also be proud to have a brother like you."

Owen's mother smiled, glad that Owen's younger brother always seemed to be in a pleasant mood. She believed that he was perceived in this manner due to Owen's influence.