[Fleeters City!]
The ceiling looked familiar—Killian's was in his room. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on his dagger, which rested in his left hand.
He grinned.
As he reached to check on his cloak and the pocket watch, he noticed her. Her dark, thick hair was scattered across his bed, with her forehead leaning against his bed, asleep.
[Who is that? Such a great aura.]
He slowly glanced at his arm. Without a second thought, he hurled himself off the bed, causing it to shake violently.
The noise woke the girl.
"My cloak fits perfectly well. How long was I out for?"
Before he knew it, the girl had thrown herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a firm hug.
He could hear her soft sniffles.
[These hugs are becoming too much.]
"Ahvi?"
He gently pulled her out of the hug, noticing the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You are back, Killian. I am glad."
She said with her voice cracking and gave Killian another hug.
She was grown. Roughly three or four years older than the last time he saw her.
Killian stood there with his mouth slightly parted, glancing at his body. He didn't expect the time difference to be that much.
[I thought I would be missing a few weeks, not years.]
Killian gently pulled Ahvi out of the hug once more. As he looked at her, her tears continued to stream down uncontrollably.
She sniffled and wiped them away with the back of her hand.
"You are alive."
She said with a faint grin.
"Yes, Ahvi. I am alive."
Though he called her Ahvi, he had less to believe she was Ahvi. Her aura was immense for Ahvi—enough to have made him tremble a while ago.
"You are Ahvi, right?"
She gave him a firm nod, wiping her tears.
[Damn… What happened to make her work this much?]
Killian watched her closely, wondering as she continuously avoided his gaze.
"What happened, Ahvi? Where are the others?"
She sniffled.
Though brief, his time in the Evolution Realm left him with an instinctive urge to call out their names—or perhaps just snap his fingers. But when he realized he couldn't, a wave of lethargy spread through his body.
[What a pain.]
Killian hurled his dagger on the bed and checked on the pocket watch before holding Ahvi's shoulders.
"Snap out of it, Ahvi. How long was I out for?"
She tilted her head toward him.
"Almost five years."
"Five years?"
His eyebrows raised, his eyes widening.
At that moment, he understood why Bia was concerned about his return.
[Damn… I must hurry and reclaim my memories.]
As he stood there, his hands resting on her shoulders and his mind lost in thought, the door suddenly opened—it was the others.
Before he could tilt in their direction, Zeya and Kira dashed toward him and hurled themselves into his arms.
He tried to hold his ground, but in the end, they both collapsed flat on the ground.
Morningstar took steady steps toward them.
"Glad to have you back, Kill."
He smirked.
"But damn, I never knew being unconscious would make your aura this strong. You have your necklace on, but still…"
Killian gave an awkward smile while trying to flee from their grasp.
Sherry peeped from behind Morningstar and waved. "Glad to have you back."
[Whoa… She's grown. How old is she now? 50?]
They looked mature.
If he hadn't dreamt of the angel, he would have said Ahvi had grown into perfection. Her voice was soft and warm, enough to cure a headache. Her brown eyes were sharp and captivating, darting with a certain charm.
The sight of tears streaming down her face was enough to melt even the hardest heart.
Kira hadn't outgrown her small frame. Though she was a bit taller, 'everything' else about her still felt thirteen. Except for the ponytail.
Zeya was a bit taller than Kira. Her dark hair was longer than before, and her bosoms were huge—almost on the same level as Sherry's.
As for Morningstar, he looked just like himself—his dark eyes, both manipulative and fearsome, perfectly matching the intensity of his aura.
Killian glanced at their faces and smiled.
"Can you girls please get off me? I can't breathe."
They instantly got up.
Morningstar lent him a hand. He took a deep breath and extended his hand for Morningstar's.
As soon as he got up, he took an observant glance at them.
Their rigid, rag-like clothes and the intensity of their aura spoke for themselves.
Killian held Ahvi by the shoulders and guided her to sit on the bed—his awakening had shaken her deeply, leaving her unable to collect herself.
Killian braced himself. "Enough about me. What's going on here?"
He asked, glancing down at his new body—it felt strange to have grown so much in just a few minutes.
Morningstar gestured at him. "Follow me, Kill."
Killian tilted his head toward him, proceeding to follow suit.
On his second step, he felt a touch on his left hand.
"Ahvi? You want to hold my hand?"
She gave a firm nod. Killian
held her hand, and she clutched it tightly.
[Is she mad at me?]
Killian gave her an awkward grin and followed Morningstar with the others behind.
The city was in ruins—on the verge of collapse. The cave overhead was crumbling, sending shards of the ceiling crashing down.
Though they had set up a protective barrier, the falling debris was still powerful enough to rattle the city's very foundations.
"Today's abnormality extends beyond the others, though. I wonder what's going on."
Morningstar said, his head tilted upward.
They brushed it off, strolling through the streets. He never imagined seeing the fear and terror he last saw on their faces again, but yet, there they were.
The charm and spark the Fleeters once had were now replaced with fear and despair.
"A month after the war, we had a little bit of peace. We gave Master Ash and all the soldiers we lost a proper burial and had enough time to attend to your wounds—though we did little to help."
"Wait… How am I alive if Master Ash died?"
Sherry hurried her words. "We should be asking you that, Killian."
His face was etched with confusion. "What do you mean?"
Morningstar smirked. "You healed yourself, Kill. Your body remained conscious but never truly recovered—until two years ago when it was engulfed in a shadowy, electric sensation. It stayed that way until now."
Killian scratched the back of his head. [I get it. So to them, yesterday was two years ago.]
"I have a lot we can talk about, but for now, I want to know what you've been up to."
Killian tilted to Ahvi. "What happened? Have you been training?"
Before she could respond, Zeya rushed to answer. ''Ooh… Very much! She even fights beasts with us. She wanted to get stronger and avenge you.''
She giggled.
Ahvi immediately started hiding her face from Killian's gaze.
Killian smirked, glad that she had something to fight for. The predicament they faced wasn't something any of them could avoid—it was a battle they all had to face.
[She can protect herself now, at least.]
They strolled through the streets, watching the fleeters' miserable expressions as they all faked their smiles.
Killian wanted to make them stroll purposefully. He turned and asked if they could visit Master Ash's grave.
They nodded.
It was about a twenty-minute walk from the city. With that, they headed in its direction.
Killian knew he couldn't unleash everything on them right after waking from his slumber. He needed time to catch up on the things he had missed. So, he decided they should take the day for themselves and deal with the brute for later.
Out of nowhere, he giggled and they all turned to him.
[Whoa… What was that?]
His first thought: he was going mad. He let out a sigh.
"About Raiden, what happened to him? Did you fight him?"
Their expressions darkened.
Morningstar cleared his throat. "You already know none of us would do such a thing."
"Figured. Any information on him?"
Ahvi spoke up, her voice steady and firm. Her gaze, filled with rage, darted fearlessly before locking onto the ground.
"If the rumors are true, he killed a demon lord and claimed their seat as his own."
"He is that strong now, huh?"
[Can I also kill a demon lord?]
"How exactly he did it is unknown,"
Morningstar said, his hands tucked in his pocket.
[Lucid, huh?]
Before long, they arrived at the graveyard.
Master Ash's grave stood at the center, surrounded by the graves of hundreds of soldiers.
Killian gestured to Ahvi to leave his hand for a moment as he stood in front of Master Ash's grave.
Killian had less to say to that beast of a demon, but he admired Master Ash's courage and his love for his demons.
Killian finished paying his respects quickly and signaled for us to head back.
Ahvi immediately hurried for his hand.
[She must really be enjoying this.]
Along the way, they caught him up on the beasts that had recently begun inhabiting the Wildlands.
"A serpent? How big?"
"No one knows."
Before Morningstar could finish speaking, the ground suddenly began to shake abnormally.
In an instant, the cave caved in, and the falling debris began to crack and shatter the barrier.
The next thing they saw was a massive serpent.
They immediately held their stances, their eyes darting around, scanning for any sudden movements.
[Shit… My dagger.]
In the blink of an eye, it was in his hand.
[Ohh… Cool.] He grinned.