The Gaia's Strongest Weapon

It was no ordinary mission.

Deep within an abandoned region, far from the cities and Gaia headquarters, traces of the Yami spread across the shattered land, leaving behind the remains of crumbling buildings and blackened trees that had withered long ago. The region had been classified as a high-risk zone after several teams sent to investigate it had disappeared.

No ordinary fighter was supposed to be sent there.

That was why, when the man wearing a black blindfold that concealed his eyes arrived, a few of those present immediately realized that something extraordinary had happened.

The rest of the team did not even know who he was.

Among them were newly recruited fighters who had been part of Gaia for only a few months. They had heard the name before, just as they had heard countless stories about men they had never seen. But knowing a name was not enough to understand what it meant to have that man standing before them.

One of them watched the newcomer from a distance before leaning toward his companion and whispering.

"Who is that?"

The other did not answer immediately. He was watching the man walking calmly toward them, his appearance giving no indication that he had come to confront a threat of the level described in the reports.

"I don't know. But I've seen that blindfold before in one of the old photographs inside headquarters."

"What about it?"

He hesitated before answering.

"I heard a warning about a man who hides his eyes. They told us that if we ever encountered him, we must never underestimate him, no matter how calm he seemed."

"Why?"

He received no answer.

The older fighters had already begun behaving differently.

None of them approached to greet him loudly, and none attempted to joke with him as they usually did to ease the tension before a dangerous mission. Some offered silent nods, while others simply watched him with serious expressions.

They knew him.

Or rather, they knew what he represented.

Thalin.

The man who was summoned only when a mission exceeded the capabilities of ordinary teams. The strongest weapon Gaia possessed, and the final card they played when there was no longer any room for risk.

His presence anywhere was never an ordinary occurrence. If he appeared on a battlefield, it meant the threat had surpassed the boundaries the fighters were accustomed to dealing with.

One of the veteran Gaia fighters spoke quietly as he watched Thalin.

"I didn't expect to see him return so soon."

A man standing beside him replied.

"Three whole years... We thought it was over."

The first man did not finish what he was about to say.

Thalin had raised his head slightly and turned toward the region where the traces of the Yami were concentrated. He did not ask how many there were, nor did he request a lengthy explanation of what had happened. He had already received the essential information, and the rest required no discussion.

The field commander approached him. Years of combat had left their marks on the man's face.

"Thalin, we've detected several Yami inside. Some are high-level, but the real problem is whatever is at the center of the region. We have no confirmed information about its strength, and the teams that entered before you never returned."

Thalin listened without interrupting.

Then he asked, "How many teams disappeared?"

"Three."

"Did you find any signs that they fought?"

"Very few."

Silence settled between them for a moment.

Thalin's expression did not change. He showed no surprise or concern. It was not that he underestimated the danger. He had simply grown accustomed to dealing with threats whose magnitude others could not even begin to comprehend.

"Keep everyone outside the region," he said calmly.

The field commander furrowed his brows.

"But we can support you from behind."

"No."

It was a single word, but it ended the discussion.

Thalin continued, "If whatever is inside can eliminate three entire teams, then your presence won't be support. You'll be an additional burden that I have to protect."

The commander offered no further objections.

The newer fighters exchanged glances. Some could not understand how a single man could speak so casually about entering such a dangerous region alone, nor why the experienced fighters seemed to accept his decision without argument.

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One of them whispered, "Is he really that confident in himself?"

An older fighter heard him and turned around.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about."

"I'm just asking."

The older man studied him for a moment before returning his gaze to Thalin.

"Some weapons are made to give you a chance at victory. But this man was sent out when there was no longer any other chance."

He said nothing more.

He didn't need to.

---

Thalin entered the region alone.

The farther he moved from the gathering point, the clearer the traces of the Yami became. Negative energy gathered in the air like a heavy pressure, so oppressive that an ordinary fighter would have struggled to breathe before even seeing an enemy.

Yet Thalin's footsteps remained steady.

He neither hurried nor slowed down.

He walked as though there were nothing in that place worth rushing for.

Then the first Yami appeared.

It emerged from behind the ruins of a collapsed building. Its body was several times larger than a human's, and its limbs were distorted by the black energy covering it. It released a piercing cry before charging toward him at tremendous speed.

Thalin did not move until the creature was close.

He raised one hand.

In the next instant, the Yami's movement stopped.

The creature did not understand what had happened. It tried to continue its charge, but its body refused to respond, as though an invisible force had seized it from every direction.

Thalin moved his fingers slightly.

The Yami collapsed to the ground, its energy fading before it could release another scream.

Thalin did not look at the corpse for long.

He continued walking.

Two more appeared moments later, followed by a group of Yami emerging from between the ruined buildings. They gave him no time to stop, charging toward him simultaneously from different directions.

This time, Thalin did not even raise his hand.

The air around him changed.

In an instant, the attackers' movements were interrupted simultaneously. Their attacks shattered before reaching him, and the energy they unleashed dispersed like nothing more than weak smoke before a storm.

Their bodies fell one after another.

Thalin continued forward.

There were no flashy movements, no words directed at his enemies, and no mocking smiles accompanying his victories. He was simply carrying out the task he had come to complete.

That was precisely what made the scene so terrifying.

Some of those who had known Thalin in the past remembered him as a warm man, confident in himself and always ready with a smile, even in the most difficult circumstances. He possessed tremendous power, but he had never needed to make others feel insignificant to establish his position.

His strength had been an inherent part of him, not something he needed to display at every opportunity.

But the man walking among the Yami now offered them none of that.

No smile.

No jokes.

Not a single unnecessary word.

Only a cold silence that revealed nothing of what lay behind the blindfold covering his eyes.

---

At last, he reached the center of the region.

There, the source of the energy that had alarmed Gaia was waiting for him.

A tall Yami emerged from between the ruins, its body covered in pulsing black markings. It was nothing like the Yami Thalin had encountered along the way. Its energy was far denser, and its mere presence was enough to make the surrounding ground tremble.

The creature stopped several meters away.

It studied the man standing before it, then let out a rough laugh.

"They sent a single man? Have your fighters become so scarce?"

Thalin did not answer.

The Yami raised its head, and the black energy surrounding its body intensified.

"I'll make you regret coming here."

Thalin remained still.

Then he spoke in a calm voice.

"Are you finished?"

The Yami's laughter stopped.

His words were not particularly insulting. What made them unsettling was the complete lack of interest behind them. Thalin did not treat the creature as an opponent worthy of threats, nor as a danger that required a warning. He seemed to be giving it one final moment to say whatever it wanted before everything came to an end.

The Yami roared, and its energy exploded outward.

It charged toward Thalin with tremendous force, tearing apart the ground beneath its feet as a wave of black energy swallowed what remained of the surrounding buildings.

But Thalin did not retreat.

The moment the attack approached him, the outcome changed.

The energy stopped in midair.

The Yami froze in the middle of its charge, its eyes widening as it realized that its body could no longer move. It tried to release more power, but every attempt ended before it could be completed.

Thalin took a single step toward it.

"Was this the power that wiped out the three teams?"

The Yami could not answer.

Thalin tilted his head slightly, then ended it with a brief movement.

The black energy vanished.

The creature's body fell motionless to the ground.

The battle had ended before it had lasted long enough to truly be called a battle.

Thalin stood amid the ruins, surrounded by a heavy silence. He did not raise his arms in victory, nor did he show any sign of relief. He simply confirmed that the source of the threat had disappeared before turning back along the path he had taken.

He had been sent to this region because Gaia could not afford to fail.

He had completed his mission.

That was all.

---

When Thalin returned to the gathering point, everyone was waiting.

He did not need to announce what had happened. The energy that had filled the region had disappeared, and the monitoring devices were already showing a clear decline in Yami activity.

The field commander stepped forward.

"Is it over?"

"Yes."

One word.

The commander studied him for a moment before bowing his head respectfully.

"We'll send a team to inspect the site."

"Make sure there's no residual energy. Don't let anyone enter until the examination is complete."

"Understood."

The commander walked away to carry out his orders, while Thalin remained standing where he was, showing no indication that he was waiting for anything.

One of the veteran fighters approached him cautiously.

"I'm glad you're back, Thalin."

Thalin turned toward him.

"Thank you."

His answer was polite, but it lacked the warmth the man remembered. The veteran waited for a moment, as though hoping Thalin would add something else, before realizing that the conversation was over.

Thalin was not rude.

He had not hurt anyone with his words, nor had he behaved arrogantly.

But he was no longer the man who used to fill a room with his smile.

The newer fighters stood at a distance, watching in silence. They could not understand why everyone treated him with such respect, but they had witnessed what he had done in a region from which three entire teams had failed to return.

One of them approached the older fighter who had warned him earlier.

"Is he the man you told us about?"

The veteran answered without taking his eyes off Thalin.

"Yes."

"Thalin?"

"Thalin."

The young man hesitated before asking, "Is he really the strongest fighter in Gaia's history?"

The older man remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know if words are enough to describe him."

Then he added, "But I know one thing. When Gaia sends Thalin on a mission, it means the situation has exceeded everyone's capabilities. And when Thalin is all we have left, no one should ever think his presence is ordinary."

The young man watched as Thalin began walking away.

"Why does he hide his eyes?"

The veteran did not answer.

Some questions had no confirmed answers, not even among the most experienced fighters.

---

At Gaia headquarters, Tsukiro was waiting for Thalin's return.

The one-armed commander stood before a wide window, his gaze fixed on the main entrance. He did not need the mission report to know the outcome. If Thalin had failed, the news would have reached them in an entirely different way.

When Thalin entered, Tsukiro turned toward him.

"I heard the mission is over."

"It's over."

"Without any casualties among the support team?"

"They never entered the region."

Tsukiro nodded slowly.

"Good."

Silence settled between them for a few moments.

Tsukiro was one of the few people who truly knew Thalin. To him, Thalin was not merely Gaia's strongest weapon or the man summoned for impossible missions. He had known him before his disappearance. He remembered his smile, his calm nature, and the way he treated other people.

That was why he could not ignore what had changed.

"Thalin."

The man stopped before him.

"Yes?"

Tsukiro studied his obscured face before speaking.

"You've returned, but you don't look as though you've truly come back."

Thalin did not answer immediately.

His posture remained unchanged, and he showed no sign of anger at the question. He simply looked toward Tsukiro from behind the black blindfold.

Then he said, "I'm here, aren't I?"

It was a correct answer.

But it was not the answer Tsukiro wanted to hear.

The commander lowered his gaze for a moment before looking up again.

"Yes. You are."

He did not try to force Thalin to talk, nor did he ask him what had happened during the three years he had spent away from them. He knew that some answers could not be extracted by force, and that the man standing before him was no longer someone who could be understood through a few words.

Thalin spoke.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

"Go."

Thalin turned and walked down the corridor.

Tsukiro watched him until he disappeared from sight.

Thalin's return should have been news that gave Gaia a sense of security. Their strongest weapon had returned, the man they could rely on when every other plan collapsed.

But Tsukiro did not feel entirely at ease.

The man everyone knew by name had returned, yet one question remained unanswered:

Had Thalin himself truly returned?

---

In the long corridor, Thalin passed a group of newly recruited Gaia fighters. Their conversation stopped as soon as he approached, and two of them stepped aside to make way for him without even understanding why they had done so.

He did not look at them.

He continued walking until he reached his room, then closed the door behind him.

Silence filled the room.

He stood in the middle of it for a few moments before raising his hand and running his fingers along the edge of the blindfold covering his eyes.

He did not remove it.

The world outside believed that the return of the strongest man in Gaia's history meant things would become easier.

But strength had never guaranteed that everything could return to the way it once was.

Thalin sat down quietly.

No smile appeared on his face.

And there was no one in the room to hear the words he left unspoken.

After three years of absence, Gaia's final weapon had returned to its place.

Yet no one knew what would happen when that weapon was forced to confront something that strength alone could not overcome.