Chapter 3: The Man Who Was No Longer Afraid of Death

The night wind blew softly.

Dry leaves rustled on the cement floor of the backyard.

Aiden was still standing with his back to the fence.

In his hand was only a worn-out wooden broom.

He looked like an ordinary man enjoying the night air.

In fact...

Every muscle in his body tracked the enemies' movements.

One on the roof.

One behind the fence.

Another was approaching through the side of the house.

They were deliberately surrounding him.

Testing his reaction.

Aiden took a slow breath.

"If I act..."

"They will confirm my identity."

"If I don't act..."

"Lia might be in danger."

That was the dilemma that had haunted him for the past five years.

On the roof.

A man in a night mask was holding a gun with a silencer.

His finger was on the trigger.

"The target still hasn't noticed us."

His friend below smiled sarcastically.

"Ordinary people are like that."

But the man on the roof didn't answer.

Years of hunting instinct told him something.

"That man..."

"...too calm."

Aiden slowly lifted the broom.

Then...

He began sweeping the dry leaves in the yard.

As if completely unaware of their presence.

The man behind the fence chuckled.

"Boss..."

"Looks like we got the wrong person."

Before he could finish the sentence...

Aiden suddenly stopped sweeping.

The leaves he was sweeping formed a long line on the floor.

His eyes looked at the line.

Then...

A thin smile etched on his lips.

"Four..."

He whispered softly.

The masked man on the roof frowned.

"Four?"

While there were only three of them.

Out of nowhere, a voice from his earphones rang out.

"Delta Team, report position."

No answer.

"Delta Team?"

Still quiet.

He looked back.

Empty.

The fourth man who was supposed to be guarding the back alley...

Gone.

No sound.

No scream.

No report.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

At the same time...

In the back alley of the house.

A man dressed in black lay unconscious.

There was a small pressure mark on his neck.

No blood.

No broken bones.

He was just unconscious.

Beside him...

Standing Aiden.

His face was calm.

His hands were still in his pants pockets.

"Since when..."

Aiden's voice was low.

"...I said I wasn't conscious?"

Apparently...

While he was pretending to sweep earlier...

He had deliberately used the reflection of the kitchen window to see the positions of all the enemies.

Then he took advantage of the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves to slip into the back alley unnoticed.

It all happened in less than fifteen seconds.

On the roof.

"We're missing one!"

"What?"

"Where is he?"

Before they could find him...

A small rock bounced off a nearby wall.

Tok!

Both of them turned around at the same time.

Their biggest mistake.

A black shadow jumped from the side of the house.

Thud!

Aiden's elbow hit the back of the first man's neck.

He collapsed immediately.

The second man tried to point the gun.

But Aiden was already in front of him.

His hand twisted the man's wrist.

Krak!

The gun went off.

Aiden didn't take the gun.

Instead, he used his elbow to hit his opponent's chest.

The man was thrown onto the roof before rolling onto the yard.

It all happened in a matter of seconds.

No shots were fired.

No long screams.

Just the sound of bodies hitting the floor.

Aiden stood still.

His breathing was still regular.

He looked at the three men who were now unable to get up.

"If five years ago..."

"...you were all dead."

He turned to enter the house.

Before anyone reacted,

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound of clapping echoed from outside the fence.

Aiden stopped.

A man in a black coat stepped out of the darkness.

His face was half hidden under his hat.

He smiled.

"Still the same..."

"Not much has changed."

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

His heart beat faster for the first time that night.

The man took off his hat.

Short brown hair.

A small scar under his left eye.

And a very familiar sly smile.

"...Raven."

Raven chuckled.

"Long time no see..."

"...Orion."

"...Raven."

The name came out slowly from Aiden's lips.

The man in front of him was still the same as before.

His body was strong.

His face was calm.

A sarcastic smile that made it difficult for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

The difference...

Now Raven's eyes were no longer filled with the enthusiasm of an agent.

Instead...

They were empty.

Cold.

Like the eyes of a murderer who had lost all emotion.

Raven looked at the three agents lying unconscious in the yard.

Then he shook his head slowly.

"I told Director Zero..."

"...there's no point in sending kids like this."

Aiden didn't answer.

He just stood in front of the back door of the house.

A position that allowed him to protect Lia if something happened.

Raven smiled at the action.

"You're still the same as before."

"What do you mean?"

"Always putting other people behind your back."

"Even if your own life is at stake."

Aiden clenched his jaw.

"I'm done."

"Stopped?"

Raven chuckled.

He spread her hands wide.

"If you really did stop..."

"...why are these three still alive?"

Silence.

The night grew colder.

Aiden knew what those words meant.

Five years ago...

Orion never left a witness.

Every mission...

Every target...

Everything ended in death.

But tonight...

He chose not to kill.

Because Lia was sleeping in the house.

He didn't want his sister to see her brother become a monster again.

"I'm not Orion anymore."

Aiden spoke softly.

"I'm Aiden Hale."

Raven looked at him for a few moments.

Then...

He laughed.

The laughter that grew louder as it went on.

"HAHAHA..."

"Aiden?"

"Do you really believe that name is yours?"

Raven took out a thin file from inside her coat.

She threw it at Aiden.

The file fell onto the grass.

Slowly Aiden opened it.

On the front page...

It was written a confidential file.

PROJECT ORION

STATUS: DECLASSIFIED

REAL NAME: UNKNOWN

AGE: UNKNOWN

DATE OF BIRTH: UNKNOWN

FAMILY: NONE

Aiden's eyes widened.

He flipped to the second page.

There was a picture of a boy.

He was about nine years old.

His hands were handcuffed.

His face was covered in bruises.

Under the picture it said...

Subject O-01

Aiden's breathing began to quicken.

"What..."

"...what is all this?"

Raven looked at him without a smile.

"You think..."

"...you really remember your past?"

Aiden raised his head.

"What are you trying to say?"

Raven took a step forward.

"Orion."

"You were never born Aiden Hale."

"You..."

"...made."

The words pierced Aiden's heart.

"No..."

"That's impossible."

"Impossible?"

Raven pulled out another picture.

The picture showed a scientist standing next to several children.

One of them...

It was Aiden as a child.

On the back of the picture was a name.

PROJECT GENESIS

Raven looked straight into Aiden's eyes.

"All the memories of your parents..."

"...maybe not yours."

"What do you remember..."

"...maybe just an implanted memory."

"LIE!"

For the first time in five years...

Aiden raised his voice.

Raven wasn't surprised.

Instead, he smiled contentedly.

"That's the Orion I know."

Suddenly...

The lights in the upstairs room of the house turned on.

Both of them looked up at the same time.

Lia's voice was faintly heard from inside the house.

"Brother?"

"Are you outside?"

Aiden's heart seemed to stop.

"No..."

"Lia don't go out..."

But it was too late.

The sound of the doorknob being gently turned.

Raven looked towards the door with a smile that made Aiden's blood freeze.

"Finally..."

"...I was able to find the biggest weakness of the Ghost of Orion."

"Lia..."

Aiden's voice was soft but firm.

"Don't come out!"

Upstairs, the sound of the doorknob stopped.

"Brother?"

Lia's voice sounded surprised.

"Why?"

Aiden didn't answer.

His eyes never left Raven.

Raven was still smiling.

"Interesting..."

"You were willing to shoot a hostage to complete the mission."

"Now?"

"You're afraid your sister would see who you really are."

Aiden clenched his fist.

"That's none of your business."

"Oh?"

Raven shrugged.

"If it's none of my business..."

"Why are your hands shaking?"

Aiden looked at his hands.

It was true.

His fingers were trembling slightly.

Not because he was afraid of Raven.

But because he was afraid of Lia seeing his dark side.

Five years of building a new life.

Five years of being a loving brother.

He couldn't bear for everything to be destroyed tonight.

The back door of the house opened slightly.

"Brother?"

Lia looked out.

"What are you doing outside?"

Before she could see Raven...

Aiden turned away.

A small smile forced itself onto her face.

"It's nothing."

"It's just..."

"A cat came into the yard."

Lia rubbed her still-sore eyes.

"Huh?"

"Cat?"

"Yes."

"Going to bed."

"Okay..."

Lia nodded slowly.

"Don't be too long."

The door closed again.

The light in her room was also turned off.

Aiden breathed a sigh of relief.

But Raven just chuckled.

"You're still good at lying."

"But baby..."

"Soon she'll know everything."

"What do you want?"

Aiden asked.

Raven took out a pack of cigarettes.

He lit one.

He took a slow drag.

"Originally..."

"I came to kill you."

"Why didn't you do it?"

"Because Director Zero changed the order."

"What order?"

Raven looked Aiden straight in the eye.

"He wants you to go back."

Aiden laughed sarcastically for the first time.

"Go back?"

"After everything they did?"

"After they killed..."

He stopped.

His parents' faces played in his mind.

Raven interrupted slowly.

"Who said your parents were killed by NEXUS?"

Aiden kept raising his head.

"What?"

Raven threw a cigarette butt to the ground.

"Orion..."

"You trust your own memory too much."

"When you know better than anyone..."

"...memories can be changed."

The words made Aiden's chest feel tight.

Since he was a child...

He only remembered a little bit of his childhood.

His mother's face.

His father's voice.

The accident.

The fire.

The screams.

After that...

Empty.

He always thought the trauma was causing his memory to blur.

But...

What if Raven was telling the truth?

What if all he remembered was a false memory?

Suddenly Raven's phone rang.

He looked at the screen.

Her smile immediately disappeared.

"Director."

She answered.

"Yes."

For a few moments she just listened.

Then his gaze shifted toward Aiden's house.

"Instructions received."

The line was disconnected.

"What were his instructions?"

Raven put the phone in her pocket.

"It seems..."

"Our conversation ends here."

"Answer my question."

Raven shook her head.

"Director said..."

"...you haven't suffered enough."

Before Aiden could respond...

Raven already disappeared in the dark night.

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