In the Pendragon Base, big changes were underway. More faction members had gathered than usual, filling the place with life and chatter.
Among those affected by these shifts were the triplet siblings — Tamsin, Merrick, and Gwen.
Right now, the three of them sat inside the faction's large meeting room — an oval table at the center surrounded by rows of seats. They were the only ones there.
In front of Merrick lay a stack of files, neatly arranged. Tamsin, on the other hand, had nothing but an empty space in front of him. Gwen sat back in her chair, twirling her long black hair between her fingers, clearly uninterested.
"Argh..." Tamsin groaned. "This sucks," he muttered, slumping in his seat.
"Who would've thought that sitting around and running a faction could be this boring?" he added, dragging out the word boring like it personally offended him.
"Boring?" Merrick raised an eyebrow. "I'd say it's peaceful. I actually prefer moments like this — time to think — rather than constantly running around and breaking bones during training." He closed another file and placed it on the growing stack beside him.
"What we're doing right now," Merrick continued, "or should I say what I'm doing — since I'm the only one actually working — is important for the faction. These are reports on our current growth and progress."
"This shows just how much the faction has grown — in strength, numbers, and resources. Our weaponry, skill books, tech... everything," Merrick said, scanning through another page.
"Yeah, yeah," Tamsin waved him off. "You've always loved dabbling with Uncle Caspian and Theron in all those tech-this, statistic-that projects."
He slumped deeper in his chair. "What I need is some action. I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I actually miss training."
"No one's stopping you from training," Merrick replied dryly.
"Come on, I don't mean that kind of training," Tamsin said, rolling his eyes. "I mean real action — a proper mission."
At that, Gwen stopped twirling her hair and looked at them.
"Speaking of missions and action... have either of you heard from Alex lately?" she asked.
"Alex?" Merrick and Tamsin said at the same time. They exchanged a quick glance before looking away — Merrick back to his files, Tamsin to Gwen.
"He's probably off recovering or busy with his solo training," Tamsin said with a shrug.
"And besides," he added, "when I talk about action, Alex isn't exactly the first person who comes to mind."
"Why? Because he's weak?" Gwen asked, her tone sharp.
"May I remind you," she continued, "he's also classified as an anomaly — just like us. Sometimes, I feel like he might actually surpass us one day."
Tamsin scoffed at her words.
"He's only at Stage Two. We're at Stage Five," he said flatly.
"Yeah," Merrick replied, eyes still on his files. "But we're stuck at Stage Five."
Tamsin turned sharply toward him, his frown deepening. "Are you seriously backing her up right now?"
Merrick just shook his head. It was rare to see Tamsin act so defensive.
"Not backing anyone up," he said calmly. "Just stating facts. Sooner or later, he's going to surpass us. Unless we solve the Bloodline Problem first."
"Ha," Tamsin scoffed again, folding his arms. "I bet we could still beat his ass, even then."
"I bet if you tried now, it wouldn't be that easy," Gwen said with a knowing smirk.
Before Tamsin could fire back, a soft mechanical beep echoed through the room as the massive double doors slid open.
Standing at the entrance was a tall teenage boy with messy black, silky curls and pale skin. He wore sleek black sportswear that clung lightly to his frame.
"Speak of the devil," Merrick muttered.
"Alex!" Gwen exclaimed, her voice lighting up.
The next instant, Gwen shot out of her seat, sprinting straight toward Alex. In a blink, she had crossed the room.
Caught completely off guard, Alex barely had time to blink before Gwen threw her arms around him, hugging him so tightly that his feet left the ground.
"Looks like you finally decided to come back," Gwen said, grinning.
"Uh— yeah…" Alex muttered awkwardly, patting her shoulder a little.
A second later, Gwen set him down gently and walked back to her seat as if nothing had happened.
'That was… unexpected,' Alex thought, still trying to process it.
"What's up, guys?" he said, regaining his composure and forcing a smile.
"We were just gossiping about you," Merrick said, flipping a file shut. "Tamsin here sai—"
Before he could finish, Tamsin pushed his chair back and stood up abruptly. His footsteps echoed as he started walking toward Alex.
"Come on. Hit me," Tamsin said, his expression suddenly serious.
Alex blinked. "And… why would I do that?" he asked, confused. He glanced between Merrick and Gwen, but neither of them said a word.
"Come on, just do it!" Tamsin barked, his tone sharp and challenging.
Stunned and with no better option, Alex hesitated—then swung his hand out.
A loud bang echoed through the room.
The shockwave rippled across the walls, stirring loose papers on the table.
Alex's fist had connected—boosted by his newly refined Buster Skill. After countless trials, he'd finally tamed its backlash, making it stable enough to use without self-destruction.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Alex's arm was still outstretched, his knuckles stopped midair—caught in Tamsin's palm. The older Paragon had blocked the blow, but the shock written across his face said it all.
He wasn't the only one stunned. Merrick and Gwen stared wide-eyed, frozen in disbelief.
"When did you learn that skill?" Tamsin asked, his voice low, cautious. "And how the hell are you able to use it?"
Alex pulled his fist free, shaking off the ache in his wrist.
"What? You told me to strike you, didn't you?" he said, rubbing his wrist with a crooked grin. The impact still stung. Hitting Tamsin felt like punching a reinforced wall—unyielding, yet somehow alive.
"Ha!" Gwen broke into a laugh. "I told you he was more talented than you think."
She slung an arm around Alex's shoulder and steered him toward the table. Tamsin lingered for a moment before following, still processing what had just happened.
Once Alex sat down, Gwen bombarded him with questions—about the skill, the training, everything. Tamsin and Merrick pretended not to listen, eyes down, but their ears were tuned in. Every word Alex said had their full attention.
Alex gave them a brief rundown of what had been happening. Of course, he left out a few key details—the hospital incident, for one. But he did tell them about how he'd gotten his hands on the new skill.
"Buster, huh?" Merrick said, leaning back in his chair. "That's a strange name for a skill. I've seen a few techniques like it in the faction archives, but this one… this one feels different. More advanced somehow."
Alex gave a modest shrug, not sure how to respond.
When their questions finally quieted, he glanced around the room. "By the way, the base looks more crowded than ever. What's going on?"
He wasn't exaggerating. On his way in, he'd passed through a sea of faction members—training, arguing, moving supplies. He hadn't realized the Pendragon faction even had this many people.
Tamsin sighed dramatically. "Yeah… your mentor and the other leaders have gone nuts."
Immediately, Merrick shot him a warning glare.
Tamsin raised his hands defensively. "What? It's true!"
Alex frowned. "Did something happen to Stan?"
"Yeah," Tamsin said, lowering his tone. "Something definitely happened. Ever since he and the others came back from that… trip—wherever it was—they've been acting different. Distant. Almost paranoid."
"Imagine leaving the faction in our hands," Tamsin muttered.
Alex blinked. "I'm sorry—what does that even mean?"
Gwen sighed. "What he's trying to say is that Uncle Stan, our other uncles, and even my mother have decided to take on all the active missions themselves."
She leaned back, folding her arms. "Ever since they returned from that mysterious trip—whatever it was—they've been like this. Taking every mission, acting secretive, barely telling us anything."
Alex's brows furrowed. 'So that's why the base feels crowded…'
If the leadership was handling every mission personally, no wonder so many members were left sitting around with nothing to do.
But what really bothered him was why.
For all of them—the top brass—to be moving in sync like that… it almost felt like they were gearing up for something.
"Well, if that's the case," Alex said, cracking a half-smile, "I'm here for some action. Maybe there's still a mission or two left for me?"
Tamsin chuckled. "Yeah, sure—if you count the spying assignments. Boring as hell. You'll die of sleep before danger gets you."
Alex groaned inwardly. He'd come to the faction itching for a real fight, to push his new skill to its limits. But now it looked like the entire place had gone into standby mode.
The missions Alex had in mind were beast hunts. The faction had endless resources and dozens of portals leading to other planets — worlds crawling with Paragon beasts. Creatures that had evolved beyond anything human.
Meanwhile, Merrick, still flipping through the mission files, froze.
"Oh, look at this," he said, his tone shifting.
"Maybe not all the missions have been taken."