Extra To Protagonist

Before she could press further, her earpiece crackled to life. She turned slightly, listening, then sighed. "Adrian wants to see you."

"Now?"

"Immediately."

"Great," Merlin muttered. "Just what I needed. Breakfast with the board."

Chairman Kael’s office sat like a fortress atop the tower, panoramic glass, steel accents, and a quiet hum of power that felt more like an interrogation room than a workspace.

Kael stood behind his desk, staring out over the city.

"Mr. Everhart," he said without turning. "You’re punctual."

"I try."

"Sit."

Merlin sat.

Kael turned, and for the first time, Merlin noticed the faint exhaustion in the man’s face, not weakness, but calculation run to its edge.

"I heard you met with someone last night," Kael said.

Merlin didn’t flinch. "...You have good sources."

"I have necessary sources." The older man’s tone was even. "The industrial zone isn’t a place for businessmen, Merlin. Not unless they’re looking for ghosts."

Merlin leaned back, expression unreadable. "Maybe I was."

Kael’s gaze sharpened. "And did the ghosts answer?"

There was something in his eyes, curiosity, but deeper. A test.

Merlin met his gaze evenly. "They always do. Just not with words."

Kael smiled faintly, the kind of smile that carried both respect and warning. "Careful, boy. In this company, curiosity is more dangerous than betrayal."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Kael stepped closer to the desk, resting both hands on the surface. "I’ve seen your record. Your rise. Your... instincts. You remind me of someone I once knew."

Merlin tilted his head. "Should I be flattered?"

"Cautious," Kael said. "The man I’m thinking of is dead."

The silence that followed was long, heavy enough to cut through the air.

Then Kael straightened, his voice losing all softness. "The core project moves ahead in two days. You’ll attend. If there’s anything you’re hiding, you’ll want to make peace with it before then."

"Understood."

Kael nodded once, dismissing him with a glance. "Good. You can go."

Merlin stood, adjusted his collar, and turned toward the door.

But before stepping out, he paused.

"Sir," he said quietly. "If the core ever speaks to you... don’t answer."

Kael’s brow lifted, just slightly, but Merlin didn’t wait for his response.

The door slid shut behind him.

Back in the corridor, Merlin exhaled slowly. His heart was steady, but his thoughts weren’t.

He could feel it again, that faint pulse under his skin, a rhythm not entirely his own.

He glanced at his reflection in the steel elevator door.

This time, it blinked in sync with him.

For now.

—

The world outside Invoke Tower was quiet, wrapped in a thin sheet of rain.

Neon spilled across puddles, painting the street in molten color, violet, blue, amber.

Merlin stepped through the glass doors and into the calm.

No cameras. No lingering board members. No guards this time. Just the sound of water and the distant hum of night traffic.

He pulled his collar up against the drizzle and started walking. His mind, for once, was silent.

But silence wasn’t peace.

It was space for memory.

Every word from Kael replayed in his head, clipped and clean like the cut of a blade.

The core project moves ahead in two days.

If there’s anything you’re hiding...

He rubbed his thumb against his palm, feeling that faint pulse again beneath his skin, soft, slow, almost gentle.

The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥

Whatever the Lazarus Core was... it hadn’t gone dormant.

It was syncing.

By the time he reached the apartment, the rain had stopped.

The lights were still on inside.

When he opened the door, he was greeted not by silence, but by music, low, warm, from the kitchen.

Victoria was standing over the stove, humming tunelessly, frying something that smelled like garlic and butter. She turned when she heard the door, spatula still in hand.

"There you are."

Merlin blinked, pausing in the entryway. "You’re awake."

"Of course I’m awake." She pointed the spatula at him. "You didn’t come home last night. Again."

"I was working."

"In a weapons company boardroom at midnight?"

He sighed, closing the door behind him. "Something like that."

Victoria frowned, the corners of her mouth tightening. "You look pale."

"I’m fine."

"You’re lying."

He didn’t answer. He just set his coat on the hook, slipped off his shoes, and walked into the living room. The air smelled like rosemary and exhaustion.

Victoria followed him, folding her arms. "You know, for someone who was in a coma for months, you have a terrible sense of self-preservation."

Merlin sat on the couch, leaning back. "...And you have a terrible sense of boundaries."

She snorted. "We share blood, you idiot. Boundaries don’t apply."

He glanced at her, eyes faintly amused. "You should’ve been a lawyer."

She grinned. "And miss the chance to nag my brother back to health? Never."

For a moment, the heaviness lifted. The warmth between them filled the space where tension had been.

Then Victoria set the spatula down and joined him on the couch. "Seriously though," she said, softer now, "what’s going on? You’ve been off since you joined that company."

Merlin stared at the ceiling. The faint sound of the city leaked through the window, sirens, laughter, tires on wet asphalt.

"...It’s complicated."

"Try me."

He turned his head, studying her face. Kind eyes. Worry layered over stubbornness. She didn’t deserve to be dragged into this.

"I can’t," he said finally.

"Can’t or won’t?"

"Both."

Victoria looked at him for a long moment, then sighed, leaning back beside him. "You sound like Dad."

Merlin almost smiled. "That’s low."

"I mean it," she said. "He used to look like that. Like his head was somewhere else even when he was right in front of you."

Merlin’s chest tightened faintly. "Maybe it runs in the family."

"Maybe," she murmured, then nudged him gently. "Dinner’s on the stove. Go eat before it burns."

He stood slowly, stretching. "...You’re not eating?"

"I already did."

He nodded and headed to the kitchen. The food was simple, pasta, garlic, herbs. But it grounded him, more than any luxury meal had.

Halfway through, his phone buzzed.

He glanced at it, expecting a message from Kael or Regina.

Instead, it was from Elara.

Elara:

Hey... are you free?

He wiped his hands on a napkin before replying.

I am now. Why?

Just wanted to check in. Everyone’s been wondering where you went.

Long day. Company things.

Company things? You sound like a 40-year-old executive.

Maybe I am.

Then why do you still eat instant noodles half the week?

He smiled faintly at the screen.

Because they taste better than politics.

There was a pause before her next message came.

You always dodge when something’s wrong.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

She wasn’t wrong.

Maybe. But not tonight. I’m fine.

If you say so. Still... if you need someone to talk to, I’ll listen.

I know.

He locked the phone and sat there for a while, staring out the window at the city’s scattered lights.