Sato moved through the city streets with purpose, his mind sharp and focused as he made his way toward the discreet government building. The weight of the Ledger in his coat pocket seemed to grow heavier with each step. Even in the chilly evening air, he felt the heat of its power radiating through the fabric. He knew what this book was capable of. He had seen it consume lives, twist minds, and bring out the darkest parts of people.

As he approached the nondescript black SUV parked near the corner, he could see the faint silhouettes of men inside. The tinted windows concealed their identities from passersby, but Sato didn’t need to guess. He knew exactly who they were—agents of a special division, an elite task force set up to handle cases far beyond the average man’s comprehension.

Sato opened the door and slid into the backseat of the SUV without a word. The interior smelled of leather and cold metal, an air of professionalism and cold efficiency clinging to every surface. Seated in the driver's seat was Agent Miller, a seasoned operative with a stern face, graying hair, and eyes that had seen far too much. Beside him, in the passenger seat, sat Agent Carter, a younger, sharp-eyed woman with an intensity that radiated from her every movement.

“Did you get it?” Miller asked without turning around, his voice flat and businesslike, as though the question was already a foregone conclusion.

Sato reached into his coat and pulled out the Ledger, the dark, weathered cover now marked with years of use and untold amounts of death. He handed it to Carter, who took it gingerly, almost reverently, and began flipping through the pages with a practiced eye.

Miller finally glanced at Sato in the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable. “Did you take care of the witnesses?”

Sato’s jaw tightened. “They’re dead.”

Carter’s gaze flicked up from the book, her brow furrowing slightly as she scanned Sato’s face. “Both of them? The girl too?”

Sato’s eyes darkened, but he nodded. “Both of them.”

Carter exchanged a glance with Miller, her fingers pausing on a page in the Ledger. “It had to be done,” she said softly, though there was no hint of emotion in her voice. It was just a statement of fact, a reality they all accepted.

Sato leaned back in the seat, exhaling slowly. “They were too close to the truth. They would’ve exposed everything. The Ledger… it was getting out of control. Kai didn’t know what he was dealing with. None of them did.”

Miller’s eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, though his attention was clearly on Sato. “And Hana? Did she suffer?”

Sato hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice low. “She knew what was coming. She tried to fight it, but in the end… the Ledger always wins.”

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Carter continued flipping through the pages, her fingers tracing the names that had been written down, names that had been erased from existence by the simple act of ink on paper. “It’s unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath. “This kind of power… no wonder the bureau wanted it contained.”

Miller finally spoke again, his tone grave. “We’ve been chasing this book for years. Too many bodies left in its wake, too many lives ruined.” He glanced at Sato in the rearview mirror once more. “And now we’ve got it back, thanks to you.”

Sato said nothing, but the weight of Miller’s words hung in the air. It hadn’t been easy. The decisions he had made along the way, the lives he had taken to bring the Ledger back to them—it was a heavy burden to bear. But he had known from the start that it was necessary.

Carter closed the Ledger carefully, her expression neutral as she set it on her lap. “What’s the plan now? Are we going to lock it away in some underground vault? Destroy it?”

Miller’s mouth twisted into a thin smile. “We’re not destroying it. There’s too much we can learn from this book. The power it holds… it’s dangerous, but it’s also valuable. The higher-ups want to study it, see if they can replicate its effects, maybe even weaponize it.”

Sato stiffened slightly at the thought. “You’re going to weaponize something like this? It’s not just some tool you can control. It corrupts everyone who touches it. It’s too dangerous.”

Carter tilted her head, studying Sato closely. “You’ve been around the Ledger longer than any of us. What makes you so certain that it can’t be controlled?”

“Because I’ve seen what it does to people. It doesn’t just kill them—it warps them. Changes them. Hana, Kai... they weren’t the same after they got involved with it. They thought they could use it, that they were in control. But the Ledger… it doesn’t work that way. It takes something from you, piece by piece, until there’s nothing left.”

Carter leaned back in her seat, considering his words. “And what about you, Sato? How long have you been working with it? How much has it taken from you?”

There was a long silence as Sato’s gaze shifted toward the window. He didn’t answer her question. He didn’t need to. They both knew that he had been changed by the Ledger, just like everyone else who had come into contact with it. But he had made peace with that long ago. His job was to bring it back, no matter the cost.

Miller turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life as the SUV pulled away from the curb. “We’re taking it to the lab,” he said, his voice low. “The techs are going to run some tests, see what makes it tick. But in the meantime…” He glanced at Sato again. “You’re going to stay on this. We need someone who understands what we’re dealing with.”

Sato clenched his jaw, a feeling of unease settling in the pit of his stomach. He had thought that bringing the Ledger back would be the end of it. That the nightmare would finally be over. But now, he realized, it was just beginning.

Carter’s fingers drummed lightly on the closed Ledger. “Whatever this thing is, it’s not going to let go of its secrets easily. And from what you’ve said, Sato, it doesn’t like being controlled.”

“No,” Sato muttered, his voice low. “It doesn’t.”

Miller gave a slight nod, his expression grim. “Then we’ll have to be careful. But we’ve come too far to turn back now. The Ledger is in our hands, and we’re going to figure out exactly what it is… and how to use it.”

Sato stared out the window as the city lights blurred past, his mind racing. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all making a terrible mistake. The Ledger wasn’t something to be studied or understood. It was a curse, a weapon that would destroy anyone who tried to wield it.

But it was too late now. The Ledger was back in the hands of the government, and whatever came next, Sato knew that it was going to be worse than anything they had faced before.