The file X.A.R. Protocol – Phase 2 appeared briefly.
Khả Vũ didn't destroy it.
He didn't block it.
He saved it.
"You're not going to stop it?" An Thư asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"If this thing reactivates—"
"If I were you," Khả Vũ interrupted, "I wouldn't waste time on questions with obvious answers."
They left the facility.
The silence between them grew heavier with each step.
An Thư glanced sideways at him — the man who had once stood by her side.
But now, his gaze revealed nothing.
Not anger.
Not doubt.
They stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
Khả Vũ knocked three times in a distinct rhythm.
The door opened.
Inside stood an old man — silver-haired, sharp-eyed.
On his left arm: a tattoo of a white serpent biting its own tail.
"You've come, Khả Vũ," the man said.
"X.A.R. has been reactivated. Just as he predicted."
"I've done my part," Khả Vũ replied flatly.
"She believes you destroyed Blue Rose…
But what did you really do?"
Khả Vũ didn't answer.
Instead, he placed the chip on the table — the last backup of the system.
"They needed a hero to hate evil.
And someone born from that evil… to distract the hero."
"I played both roles."
The old man handed him a black-and-white photo.
A masked man holding a newborn in his arms.
In the corner:
"Project Origin – Subject #04: L.K.V."
Outside the door, An Thư had followed.
She pressed her hand to her mouth as realization hit her.
"Lâm Khả Vũ… he's the fourth?"
No.
He was always the first.
The old man placed a hand on Khả Vũ's shoulder.
"You're ready to return now."
Khả Vũ smiled — not warmly, not coldly.
Just a curve of the lips.
"I never left."