Chapter 2

AURA

The AURA meeting room was far quieter.

There was no long table. No rows of chairs. Only a wide space with tobacco maps lining the walls, land routes, ports, fields, and small red markers indicating syndicate territories.

Omar stood before the map, his arms crossed.

Diaz leaned back against the wall, arms folded, his sharp eyes observing everyone in the room.

“CROCUS and BOOM,” one AURA official finally said. “If the merger is real, the balance in the east will change entirely.”

“I’m not surprised,” another replied. “BOOM is known for discipline. Fast. Clean. They don’t lose often.”

Diaz gave a slight nod. “BOOM is not an ordinary syndicate. They survived because their leadership is precise.”

“And CROCUS,” an analyst added, “has structure and vast resources. If the two truly move as one, they could become the dominant force in the tobacco routes.”

Silence settled over the room.

Not panic, but caution.

Omar finally spoke. “There’s no need to overreact.”

All eyes turned to him.

“This is a merger,” he continued calmly. “Not a declaration of war. As long as they stay within their limits, AURA will not intervene.”

Diaz tilted his head slightly. “And if they step out of line?”

“If that happens,” Omar replied, “we will remind them who maintains the balance in this state.”

Several heads nodded. No one voiced fear aloud.

But everyone in the room understood that if CROCUS and BOOM truly aligned, the map on the wall would soon change.

***

The sun was already setting.

Lumina and Bana walked side by side along the sidewalk, still wearing their CROCUS uniforms. Shopping bags hung from their hands, simple items, enough for dinner.

“Father… BOOM…” Lumina began, eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Internally, their reputation is fairly clean, right?”

Bana nodded slowly.

“For a syndicate, yes. Efficient. Rarely compromised. That’s why Potlord was interested.”

“And now CROCUS is merging with them,” Lumina murmured. “That’s not a small decision.”

“No,” Bana said. “That’s why Frost looked tense in the meeting earlier. Though he may not care as much as it seems.”

Lumina glanced at her father. “Yes, Frost is always like that. What about you? You’re the war commander.”

Bana smiled faintly, not the smile of a father, but of someone who had lived too long on the battlefield.

“If it strengthens the eastern line, I support it. But I’ll be watching.”

After a few steps, Lumina spoke more quietly, her tone professional yet personal.

“If this merger falls apart, people at my level will be the first to feel it, won’t they?”

Bana stopped. Lumina stopped with him. He turned, his gaze firm but calm.

“In CROCUS,” he said, “I am the war commander. And you are under my protection, not because you are my daughter, but because you are part of this unit.” Lumina smiled softly.

“That sounds exactly like something only a CROCUS commander would say,” she replied.

Bana smiled. “You know your father is a professional.”

They resumed walking.

Bana’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the screen.

Potlord.

“I am here,” he answered briefly.

“Bana,” Potlord’s voice came through, direct and without pleasantries. “I want us to hold a meeting with Snow. You haven’t properly met her yet.”

“Ah, Snow,” Bana replied. “Alright. When?”

“As soon as possible. I want all of us aligned on the strategy moving forward.”

Bana ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Lumina looked at him, her brow slightly raised.

“Snow?” she asked.

Bana nodded.