Harriet, now fully conscious, blinked in confusion as she was being hastily led through the bustling streets. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, and the urgency in her companions' movements unsettled her.
"Lucius? Nai? Yu Xuan?" she called out, her voice laced with uncertainty. "What's going on? Where are we?!"
Lucius clenched his jaw, his breath uneven as they finally reached a crowded plaza centered around a grand stone fountain. The moment they came to a halt, Nai turned to Harriet, her expression torn between relief and exhaustion.
"Harriet! You're alive!" Nai exclaimed, throwing her arms around her.
Harriet, still overwhelmed, barely had time to react before Nai suddenly winced, pulling away with a sharp hiss of pain. Her injured arm throbbed from the abrupt movement.
Lucius stepped forward, his gaze calm yet firm as he retrieved a small jar from his pouch. "Come here, Nai," he said gently, taking her wounded arm in his hands. With careful precision, he spread the ointment across her burned skin.
Harriet watched in silence, her thoughts racing, when Yu Xuan finally approached. She turned to him, her voice low.
"Yu Xuan… the shelter…?"
Yu Xuan's expression darkened. He exhaled slowly before answering, his voice devoid of any false hope. "...It's gone. Destroyed. We're the only ones left."
Harriet's breath hitched. "What…? Then Elias... Zara… Orson?"
Yu Xuan only averted his gaze, unwilling to say the words aloud.
Meanwhile, Lucius secured the lid of the ointment jar and set it aside. He turned to Nai, his tone unwavering. "You need to learn how to control your abilities. That burn was self-inflicted. Next time, it might cost you more than just pain."
Then, shifting his focus to Harriet, he softened his voice. "...You must be hungry. Let's eat first. After that, we'll start looking for answers."
As they sat around the worn wooden table, the scent of warm food lingering in the air, only Lucius and Harriet ate. Nai and Yu Xuan merely watched, having already satisfied their hunger earlier. Harriet, still adjusting to the weight of reality after regaining consciousness, glanced at Lucius before finally voicing the question that had been gnawing at her.
"During the hunting operation… I lost consciousness early on. What exactly happened that night?"
Lucius exhaled heavily, his fingers tightening slightly around the edge of his plate. He cast a brief glance at Yu Xuan, wordlessly passing the burden of explanation to him. Taking the cue, Yu Xuan leaned back, his gaze clouded with memories as he recounted everything—the chaos at the shelter, the monstrous attack, the destruction, the sacrifices.
Harriet listened in silence, her expression shifting from concern to shock as the truth settled in. When Yu Xuan finally finished, she sat there, her jaw slightly slackened in disbelief.
"You… You saw Lucius fight against that thing?" she asked hesitantly, turning toward Lucius.
Lucius, who had remained largely silent throughout the exchange, let out a dry chuckle, though there was no humor in it. He set his utensils down and met Harriet's gaze, his expression unreadable.
"Look, I don't know what's going on either," he admitted, his voice carrying an edge of frustration. "All you care about is surviving, getting comfortable in this twisted world they built sixty years ago. But I don't want comfort."
His hands slammed against the table, causing the dishes to rattle. The sudden outburst made all of them flinch.
"I care about bringing it back!"
Silence fell between them, the weight of his words settling over the group. Nai was the first to break it, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Lucius… What do you mean by 'bringing it back'?" she asked cautiously. "Why are you so worked up about this?"
Lucius leaned back, exhaling through his nose. His gaze drifted upward, fixating on the sky—vast, endless, yet devoid of the world he once knew. Memories surfaced, unbidden. A face he would never forget. Shen Yuen. His best friend. His past.
But he said nothing of it.
Instead, his voice came low, nearly inaudible.
"A normal world… and kill the gods."
Yu Xuan's gaze darkened, suspicion flickering behind his eyes.
"You believe in gods?" Yu Xuan's voice was sharp, laced with skepticism. His gaze bore into Lucius, challenging him.
Lucius met his stare without hesitation, his expression darkening. "If not gods, then who else is there to blame?" he retorted, his voice unwavering.
The air between them grew heavy with tension, unspoken animosities bubbling beneath the surface. It was as if, despite everything they had endured together, the rift between them refused to close.
Harriet abruptly stood, slamming her hands against the table. "Enough, you two!" she snapped, her frustration evident. "You've never gotten along since the moment you met, and now, even in this situation, you still find reasons to fight?"
Lucius clenched his jaw, but Harriet continued, her eyes flickering with unease. "Let's just leave. There's something… off about this town."
Lucius frowned, instinctively scanning his surroundings. The lively chatter of the townspeople suddenly felt distant, their movements too precise, too rehearsed. Then, among the bustling crowd, he noticed a figure lurking just at the edge of his vision. Their presence was unnatural—silent, calculated.
A force wielder, perhaps. But there was something else. Something deeply unsettling.
Lucius stiffened.
They were being watched.
To be continued.