After what felt like hours, Lily separated from Leo and led him towards a ratty couch in the corner of the room. They sat down without another word, looking at the wall in front of them as their minds still tried to process that the other was somehow alive.

"I was buying groceries when the Outbreak came," she spoke quietly, making him turn to her. "By all means, I shouldn't have survived, not with so many people there... Others told me how they had to kill those closest to them when they woke up, but me? No." She shook her head. "There were no Voildings anywhere near me."

Leo frowned. "Wha.. How? Something teleported you?" It was the obvious conclusion, especially considering how she looked.

"Nothing like that," Lily chuckled bitterly. "Nobody in the entire market and the area around it was turned. Instead, we all became Blessed Humans. Not Awakened, not tainted, but blessed," she spat the last word.

"How many?" He asked, his eyes wide. Slowly, his biggest worry was becoming real.

"A bit over a hundred... We all had the same evolution. The same minor affinity towards the light. And the same unnatural hatred towards the Void," Lily sighed, her gaze falling to her knees. "I never knew I could be so hateful, so angry, but the moment a Voidling appeared in my sight, I just was, and nothing could stop the boiling anger in my veins. At that time, I even thought I had a good reason. Now, I know better."

Leo's frown only deepened as he listened. "I don't understand."

"After the first meeting with the System, I didn't wake up instantly like normal survivors," she continued as if she didn’t hear him. "Instead, I and all the others Blessed had to suffer through visions of our closest ones being slaughtered or turned into Voidlings."

"I saw you getting torn apart by Edward," she mumbled, tears slowly beginning to slide down her cheeks. "I saw Nicky, along with mum and dad, walking the streets as one of those monsters. And..." She gulped, wiping her eyes. "I had to watch as a Collector crushed Adam and Ava. It was all so real, like I was there. I could hear their screams, feel their pain."

Leo shook his head in disbelief. "And you believed it? Just like that? You said it yourself. Those were only visions. Nothing more."

"I didn't have a choice!" Lily snapped suddenly, turning her bloodshot eyes on him. "I didn't have a choice," she repeated, this time quietly. "When I woke up, the thought of it being anything but reality didn’t even enter my mind. Back then, I only wanted to kill Voidlings and destroy anything that came from the Void. The other Blessed were the same. Nothing else mattered for us."

Shit... Something must have messed with their minds. He grimaced, again lying a hand on his sister's shoulder. "So what changed? You aren't attacking me. Hell, you become a co-leader to a group full of misfits."

"I evolved," she stated simply. "A bit after the second Cataclysm, I was meant to become a Winged Emissary, one of three in the group, the chosen of the light. Only it never happened. Something interfered with the process, and instead, I became this."

Now that Leo had thought about it, he had forgotten to use Identify on his sister. So, with a quick command, he fixed this rookie mistake.

Fallen Winged Emissary | LVL. 27

Yeah, Void definitely got her. And this level... If I didn't go on a rampage against Nightmares, I would most likely be weaker now. Being in London from the beginning definitely had its benefits.

Yet, their difference in levels didn't matter in the end. No, what worried him were the unknown circumstances of Lily's evolutions. Aside from Nikra, he didn't know anyone who could influence an evolution like that.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Another mystery to solve. Leo almost snorted; he really should start making a list. "The other Blessed kicked you out? Tried to kill you?"

"Not exactly," she denied, leaning back into the couch. "The evolution lifted some sort of a fog from my mind. Don't get me wrong, I still hated the Void, but I no longer felt the need to go out and slaughter everything in sight, other survivors included. It was the first time I felt like myself again. It only made me realize that something was trying to manipulate me all this time."

And another clue pointing at Geron. He noted, remembering his own dreams about the Old One. But why? How? He is supposed to be dead, even more so than Nikra. Just what the hell is going on?

"Did you see any visions during your evolutions?" Leo asked, hoping for more clues. "Have you heard any whispers, even ones you couldn't understand? Anything really."

Lily frowned. "No. Nothing like that. Why? Do you know what happened to me? To the others?"

"I wish," he grumbled. "At best, I have some theories. I will explain them after you finish."

She shrugged. "There is not much more to be said. I simply helped the Wildborn when the Blessed attacked; the rest is history. Now we are just trying to survive while avoiding getting hunted down by my old group."

"Got it," Leo nodded before his face turned sour. "There is just one thing I don't understand. Once you evolved and realized something manipulated you, why didn't you try to come to Wolford? Surely, you must have realized those visions were fake, too."

His sister averted her gaze, refusing to even look in his direction.

"Lily?" He tried again.

The woman flinched away like struck. "I... I couldn't. Even though I was myself again, those visions felt as real as before. Even thinking of returning to Wolford made them come back... I tried to move on. Maybe one day I would find the strength to return, but until then, I wanted my life to amount to something. That's why I'm here. To protect those who can't protect themselves. I'm sorry..."

Leo closed his eyes. This was the truth he had feared, even if he didn't really fault his sister for not trying to come to Wolford. No, the issue lay in his own story, a story he now had to tell. And this time, he couldn't lie. Not to Lily, never to her.

"It's fine," he muttered under his breath and opened his eyes. "I guess it's my turn now..."

And so he told her everything, beginning with Edward, his short journey into the Void, the Lone Traveler, and then finding Nick. At that point, Lily was already in tears, but he continued, from his meeting with the cousins and Dylan to his evolution into Prime Night Hunter.

Even when he mentioned the meeting with a dead goddess, his sister still remained silent. Not that he gave her much of a choice as his story continued into the arrival at ReachHope. There, Lily's eyes lit up as he recalled his reunion with Ava and Adam.

However, all this happiness was turned to dust as he finished his tale of Storm and the Void. Tears even came back to his own eyes when the images of Ava's corpse and his godson's new evolution flashed in his mind. He had wanted to put this all in the past, but just this once, the truth had to be spoken out loud.

Lily hid her head in her hands as her entire body trembled with silent sobs. This was what he wanted to avoid, but aside from hiding the truth, there was no other way to do that.

"It's my fault," she sniffed. "If I didn't believe those stupid visions, I could have been there with you. I could have helped you save them. But now..."

"Hey, no," Leo cut in and grabbed Lily's shoulders as he kneeled right in front of her. "Look at me. Please." At first, she refused, but with another nudge, she raised her head. "Don't be like me. Don't blame yourself for something you can't control. I already did that enough for us both."

"But Ava... Adam... You... You were alive, and I... I just tried to forget about you. I failed you."

He winced, knowing well he would feel as bad, if not worse, in Lily's place. Hell, he was much worse right after the storm...

"I'm still alive, so you definitely didn't fail me," Leo tried, anything to help his sister through this pain. "Adam, he might be different now, but he isn't gone yet. And Ava... Yeah, she died, but I bet she wouldn't want you crying for her. Not when her son is still alive."

"So Lily," he looked her right in the eyes. "Like someone once told me, 'Grieve if you must, but don't you dare give up.' Not today, not ever. People here still need you. Adam and I need you. Understood?"

After a moment of holding his gaze, she nodded and hugged him again. Leo just smiled and held her tight.

"Seems our roles have finally reversed," Lily's muffled voice came from his chest. "Never thought I would see the day..."

He chuckled. "Yeah... So it seems."