“I am here now, to protect my godson, Zephyr!

“My brother, Zenith, had disappeared without a trace. His son would undoubtedly be in my charge after all.” Bruce said. “I thought I could spare some of my free time for a quick visit, who would’ve thought I’d see this!”

Finishing his words, Bruce’s voice took a sour turn, his expression now cold and unforgiving. “Zenith is the rightful patriarch to the Khan, by right, Zephyr should be the rightful heir, yet this is how you treat him?” he continued, “Mist Khan, Zenith Khan is your own flesh and blood, how could you do this to Zephyr? To him?” Bruce’s voice grew spiteful with each word. “My Lord, this is a familial matter, even though you are our mayor, you have no reason to interfere,” Mist replied, his expression was hard to read. “No reason? Mist Khan, I have all the reasons to intervene today!” Bruce commanded, “Zephyr, come with me. Let’s see who dares stop you!”

Zephyr trusted Bruce fully, he felt no ill-will nor ulterior motives from the man, only genuine concern. Zephyr held Leah close, and moved slowly across the courtyard to Bruce. “Zephyr!” Puck shouted, unable to just let Zephyr walk away. “What?!” Bruce raised his voice as he stared daggers at Puck. Seeing Bruce’s commanding visage, Puck was scared into submission, his mouth shut, his body shivered, he was not going to utter anything anymore.

It was only until Bruce and Zephyr had left, that Puck turned to Mist, “Father… are we really letting him walk like that?” Mist retorted, “What are you going to do about it? Bruce is an Agility fighter, and the mayor of Starlight. We have no right to rebuke him.”

“What? He’s an Agility fighter?!” Puck exclaimed, unable to suppress his shock.

“Yes. Why else would I let Zephyr walk away so easily? Did you really think that I would go against Bruce? It’s all Zephyr’s fault. If only he hadn’t rejected Lady Greenwood’s pills, I too would be an Agility fighter now!” replied Mist through gritted teeth.

Agility fighters were stronger than Strength fighters after all. These levels of combatants could do anything in Starlight, without much worry. A single Agility fighter would give the Khans much to deal with, much less Bruce’s servants. “An Agility fighter is nothing to joke about! If he wanted to, Bruce could easily be a king instead of a lowly mayor!” Mist thought, ‘Zephyr that b*stard… how on Earth did he get so strong!?’ Mist’s expressions were once again difficult to decipher, but he was obviously deep in thought.

…

“Thank you, Bruce, for saving me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t,” Zephyr said earnestly. “Do you live here?” asked Bruce when he saw the ruined shack that Zephyr once called home. “After my father disappeared, Mist had been gunning after me. He did his best to oppress me. So…” Zephyr explained quietly. Bruce sighed, “Zephyr my boy, I am so sorry,” he paused. “For the past few years, I was away. It was only recently that I heard of your predicament, though I've never expected it to be this bad.

“You father and I are both battle brothers, yet I never protected you…” A wave of guilt slowly built up in Bruce.

Zephyr smiled, “You don’t need to feel this guilty, Bruce. It’s not your fault after all.” Hearing this, Bruce turned to Zephyr, “Zephyr, would you like to stay at my place? I assure you, no one will dare come trouble you.” After listening to Bruce’s offer, Zephyr smiled and shook his head, “It’s alright, it’s not my place to stay with you anyway. I’ll probably bring upon trouble…” The truth, however, was not so simple. Lincoln was still alive, Mist and Puck still frolicked in the Khan household, how could Zephyr just leave?

“Alright. If you need me, you know where to find me!” Bruce replied while nodding, he was not going to argue. “Right, Bruce, do you know why my father went missing?”