Silence filled the hall.
Henry Jones' words still echoed in the air.
"Asher Ashborne… the new Captain."
Asher stood frozen.
Sebastian's name repeated inside his mind.
For a moment, he couldn't breathe.
There was a void inside him.
But beneath that void—
Something was forming.
Pain.
And inside that pain—
Resolve.
Slowly, Asher rose to his feet.
Every eye in the room turned toward him.
His voice came out low at first… but then it hardened.
"Sebastian wasn't just our captain."
Silence deepened.
"He was our foundation."
He closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
No hesitation remained.
"I will not run from this responsibility."
A breath.
"And I swear…"
His fists clenched.
"I will avenge Sebastian."
Something shifted in the room.
This was no longer mourning.
This was ignition.
Later That Night
WHU was covered in darkness.
Asher stood alone inside Sebastian's old office.
On the desk—
Dried red rose petals.
He touched them gently.
"This time… I'll come back."
Suddenly—
The lights flickered.
The energy display wall activated on its own.
Coordinates flashed across the main screen.
Solar energy residue.
Abnormal fluctuations.
Asher's eyes narrowed.
"Lord…"
A knock.
Wang entered.
"Did you activate the system?"
"No."
Wang stared at the screen.
"This isn't possible… Cassiel's energy signature is unstable."
"How?"
"It's splitting."
Asher's heart skipped.
"Splitting?"
Wang nodded slowly.
"One frequency is Solar."
A pause.
"The other… is unknown."
Elsewhere
Far away.
A scorched wasteland.
Cassiel stood alone.
Solar energy flickered around him—
But weaker than before.
And his shadow…
Was not still.
It moved unnaturally.
He closed his eyes.
Sebastian's final gaze appeared in his mind.
Fearless.
Calm.
Cassiel felt it again.
That pressure in his chest.
Behind him—
The shadow whispered.
"You were afraid."
His eyes snapped open.
"Show yourself."
The shadow stretched unnaturally across the ground.
"You reached the Sun…"
The whisper deepened.
"But he crossed the boundary."
Cassiel's expression hardened.
"What boundary?"
A low, distorted laugh.
"You killed his body."
The shadow twisted.
"But his energy…"
"Broke through."
Cassiel stepped back slightly.
"What are you implying?"
"Zero Field…"
"It was never defense."
"It was a gate."
WHU Headquarters
Energy readings began to spike.
Suddenly—
A brief red pulse flashed across the monitor.
Only for a second.
But enough.
Asher froze.
He recognized it.
Sebastian's Zero Field signature.
But different.
Heavier.
Deeper.
Wang whispered,
"This can't be real…"
Asher clenched his fist.
"Then the war isn't over."
The coordinates stabilized.
Northern restricted zone.
Henry stepped forward calmly.
"I know you want to go."
Asher turned toward him.
"This battle has changed."
Henry nodded.
"There's something WHU never told you."
Asher remained silent.
"Zero Field was classified."
"Not as a power."
"As Boundary Technology."
Asher's pulse quickened.
"Boundary… between what?"
Henry's voice lowered.
"Life."
"And death."
The room fell into complete silence.
Sebastian's final expression flashed in Asher's mind.
Peaceful.
Fearless.
"…So it's not over," Asher murmured.
Henry looked at him.
"Are you ready, Captain?"
Asher slowly turned back to the screen.
The grief in his eyes was gone.
Replaced by fire.
"This time…"
"We strike first."
The monitors dimmed.
Darkness deepened.
Somewhere in the distance—
An unknown energy awakened.
Sebastian may have fallen.
But his legacy…
Had crossed the boundary.