The soft hum of holographic dispys filled the guild hall as Ethan sed the D-Rank mission board. Meraries of all ranks bustled about the room, discussing tracts and missions, but Ethan's focus remaieady. After the intetle against Ve Drasik, he felt the weight of the flict pressing down on him. He needed something simpler, manageable, yet still meaningful.

  His eyes settled on a bounty for Jareth Lorne, a rogue ex-merary who had gone off the rails, raiding outposts and terrorizing their inhabitants. The bounty notes mentioheft, destru, and even murder. Ethan frowapping the entry to pull up more details.

  "Well, well," Kael's familiar voice drawled behind him. "Didn't I tell you to take a break?"

  Ethan turo see the older man standing with his ever-present tablet in hand, his sharp eyes glinting with mild amusement.

  "I'm not ready to sit still yet," Ethan said with a faint smirk.

  Kael chuckled. "You're a stubborn one, I'll give you that. But rogue ex-mercs are uable. Desperation makes them reckless. Don't let yuard down."

  Ethan nodded, filing the mission into his personal tablet.

  "And Walker," Kael added, his tone softening, "you've done a hell of a lot for the guild and Kynara. Don't think for a sed we don't see it. Just... don't let that drive of yours burn you out."

  "I'll be careful," Ethan promised, his voice steady.

  The desert stretched endlessly before Ethan as he navigated the hover truck across the arid ndscape. The heat shimmered on the horizon, and the hum of the vehicle's engine was the only sound breaking the oppressive silence.

  He ched the wheel tightly, his mind wandering.

  Despite the successes against the Syndicate, the toll of stant battle lingered in his thoughts. The memories of injured resistance fighters being carried off the battlefield, the grim faeraries m their fallen rades, these images were hard to shake.

  The dangerous nature of their work was an ever-present reminder of hile their lives were. He was trying to get used to it, but its never easy for a man from a peaceful try like Japan to accept all this misery and senseless death.

  "I 't afford to show weakness or hesitatiohan muttered under his breath, gripping the trols tighter.

  Kael's words echoed in his mind, alongside Nara and Kara's remio carry forward the memories of those they fought to protect.

  Oasis appeared on the horizon, a derelict settlement surrounded by dunes. It had once been a thriving trading hub, but now it y silent and abandoned, its rusted structures a stark reminder of Kynara's struggles.

  Ethan parked the hover truck behind a crumbling wall and surveyed the area through his helmet's sing interface. Heat signatures flickered faintly from one of the rger buildings he ter of the settlement.

  "Found you," he muttered.

  He moved cautiously through the streets, his psma dagger ready at his side. The wind carried the faint creak of rusted metal, and the silence was unnervihan's traini him alert, his steps light as he approached the building.

  Ihe air was thick with the st of decay and old maery. Jareth Lorood at a makeshift workstation, his attention fixed on a device he was tinkering with.

  "Jareth Lorne," Ethan called out, his voice steady.

  The rogue froze, his hands h over the device. Slowly, he turned, his eyes narrowing as he took ihan's presence.

  "Well, look who it is," Jareth sneered, his voice ced with mockery. "The guild's golden boy and Kynara's rising merary. e to take me in, have you?"

  "You've caused enough damage, Jareth," Ethan said, his tone calm but firm. "It's over."

  Jareth smirked, his movements slow as he raised his hands. "Over? No, merary. This is just getting started."

  In a fsh, he activated a devi his wrist, flooding the room with blinding light.

  The battle that followed was tense and brutal. Jareth was a desperate man, using traps and gadgets to his advantage. Explosive charges rigged to doorways forced Ethan to move cautiously, while Jareth darted through the shadows, taking potshots with a modified energy rifle.

  Ethan relied on his training and reflexes to stay ahead. His helmet's sing system tracked Jareth's movements, and he used his psma dagger to disable the traps as he advanced.

  "You think you're so different from me, big shot?" Jareth taunted, his voice eg through the building. "The guild doesn't care about you. You're just another pawn in their little game against the Syndicate."

  Ethan ighe words, fog on the mission. When he finally got a clear shot, he didn't hesitate. A precise bst from his ser pistol hit Jareth square in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

  Ethan stood over the rogue's lifeless body, his breathing steady despite the adrenaline c through him. He retrieved a data chip from Jareth's workstation, taining evidence of the rogue's crimes.

  "Another one dowhan muttered as he left the building, the sun beginning to set on the horizon.

  Back at the guild, Ethan hahe data chip to Kael, who sed it with a practiced eye.

  "Effit as always," Kael said, nodding approvingly. "You're making a habit of this."

  Ethan gave a faint smile. "Just doing my part."

  Nearby, a group of younger meraries watched the exge. One of them, a young woman with short blonde hair, approached hesitantly.

  "Walker," she said, her voice tentative. "Any advice for someone just starting out?"

  Ethan regarded her for a moment before responding. "Stay focused. Learn from every mission, big or small. And never fet why you're doing this."

  She nodded, her fidence bolstered by his words.

  As Ethauro his ship that night, he felt a sense of quiet resolve. The fight against the Syndicate was far from over, but every mission, no matter how small, was a step closer to a better future for Kynara.

  He sat by the window, gazing out at the city lights of Valeris, his thoughts turning to the battles ahead.

  "I'll just have to keep moving forward until the end," he murmured. "For them and myself."