(Somewhere in Shanghai, China)

Jiyo Kael took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then slowly let it out again. He could still feel the adrenaline pumping through his body, even as the tension slowly began to ease. The moment when he would have calmed down, his breathing would flow evenly again and his mind would be able to process the events of the past day, that was the moment he feared the most. He knew the feeling too well. Had it too many times already.

As soon as tiredness set in and his body began to cry out for relaxation, all the hard-pressed feelings that he hadn't...