Lucius and Darren stood frozen, their gazes locked in disbelief, staring at each other as though they were seeing ghosts.
It was as if they both believed this moment would never come again, and in truth, they had.
Lucius had never imagined Darren would survive the Ethersphere. He'd always seen him as too scared, too vulnerable. In his mind, Darren was gone the moment he entered.
On the flip side, Darren was convinced Lucius was lost forever to the trials of the Ethersphere. He thought they would never stand face to face like this again.
"You—I'm shocked right now, Darren," Lucius finally said, his brow furrowing in disbelief. "How did you make it out of the Ethersphere?"
Darren shrugged casually. "I just did what I had to do. I don't fall for tricks, Lucius. I've never trusted anything good, never believed in it. My whole life, I've always prepared for the worst. Anything good? Just an illusion. I couldn't be fooled."
