For now, It wasn’t useful.
With a small motion, he stored the egg away, deciding to deal with it later. Whether it hatched or not, whether it was useful or not, that was a problem for the future.
Right now, he had gotten what he needed.
The dark void around them began to fade.
The slot machine dissolved first, breaking apart into particles of light before disappearing entirely. The endless darkness followed, collapsing inward until the familiar room returned around them.
Everything was back to normal.
Julius adjusted his sleeves slightly, his presence settling back into sothing less overwhelming. The brief exchange had ended, and there was nothing more for him to do here.
"I suppose it’s ti for to take my leave."
Adam didn’t stop him.
Julius turned toward the door, and without touching it, the handle shifted. The door opened on its own, responding to his will as easily as breathing.
Then, sothing unexpected happened.
The mont the door opened, four figures stumbled forward all at once.
Redy. Ivy. Felicia. Scott.
They practically fell into the room.
"...."
Adam stared.
Julius stared.
The four of them froze mid-motion, clearly not expecting to be exposed like that.
****
The silence at the doorway didn’t last long, but the tension behind it carried weight.
A few minutes earlier, when Scott and Felicia had brought Julius to the manor, everything had moved quickly. As the Saint and backer of Eden, he had walked in without resistance.
No one could stop him.
The mont he arrived, he headed straight for Adam’s room without hesitation.
Scott and Felicia had already been inford that Adam and Redy had regained consciousness. The mont they heard the news, they rushed back, barely containing their relief after two long years of uncertainty.
They had expected Julius to cancel his visit.
He didn’t.
Instead, he insisted on eting Adam personally, his decision firm enough that neither of them argued. That alone told them this eting wasn’t sothing ordinary.
Then they saw her.
Redy.
The mont Felicia laid eyes on her, she froze for half a second before moving instantly. She rushed forward and tackled Redy without holding back, knocking her slightly off balance as emotion finally broke through.
"Angel, don’t scare us like that again!"
Her voice cracked.
Scott didn’t move as quickly, but he didn’t stay still either. Once Redy regained her footing, he stepped in and pulled her into a brief, tight hug, his usual composure slipping just enough.
"It’s good to have you back, boss."
Redy didn’t resist.
She returned the gesture lightly, patting his back once before pulling away. Her expression remained calm, but her tone softened slightly as she responded.
"Sorry for the scare."
Then she looked past them.
"So... where’s Julius?"
Scott and Felicia exchanged a glance.
"He wanted to see Adam first," Scott answered.
That should have been the end of it.
But it wasn’t.
Curiosity crept in.
A Saint personally requesting a private eting wasn’t sothing they could ignore easily so they all moved to Adam’s room and the longer they stood outside the door, the harder it beca to walk away without knowing what was happening inside.
So they leaned in just a little too close.
And the door opened.
****
The four of them scrambled upright almost instantly, trying to recover whatever dignity they had left. The awkwardness lingered, but Redy moved first, stepping forward with her usual composure.
She extended a hand toward Julius.
"Thank you for planning to help us."
Her tone was polite, but steady.
Julius looked at her hand, then at her face, his eyes narrowing slightly as if weighing sothing unspoken. There was recognition there, and a hint of sothing sharper beneath it.
Redy didn’t stop.
"Even if it took two years for you to act," she added calmly, "we still appreciate the favor."
Adam blinked.
That was subtle.
But it was definitely a jab.
Julius held her gaze for a mont, then spoke.
"It’s good to know that two years of immobility hasn’t changed your character."
Redy nodded without hesitation.
"Thank you for the complint."
"...."
Julius exhaled slowly, shaking his head once as if letting sothing go.
I should leave before my blood pressure increases.
Of course, for soone like him, things like stress or blood pressure were aningless now. Still, the thought crossed his mind anyway.
He turned back to Adam.
"It was good eting you, disciple."
Adam straightened slightly and gave a respectful bow. Behind him, the others followed, lowering their heads instinctively as the weight of the Saint’s presence settled one last ti.
Julius gave a small nod.
Then he disappeared as his form simply dissolved, his presence vanishing so completely it was as if he had never been there to begin with.
The room felt lighter instantly.
Redy clicked her tongue softly.
"Luckily he didn’t even co in person."
Adam turned toward her sharply.
"Wait... that wasn’t really him?"
Redy smiled faintly.
"If he had actually co here in person, his presence alone would have crushed this entire place. Tristan wouldn’t survive it. Even the surrounding rifts would destabilize."
Adam froze for a second.
That level of power, it didn’t even sound real.
His thoughts shifted imdiately.
If that was just an avatar... then what about the soul I saw?
Redy glanced at him, catching the direction of his thinking almost instantly.
"A Saint’s avatar is ford from a portion of their soul," she said calmly. "So in many ways... what you saw wasn’t too far off from the real deal."
That was enough.
Adam nodded once, filing the information away. It confird more than he expected, and it raised even more questions he didn’t have answers to yet.
Then he noticed sothing else.
Felicia and Scott were staring at him.
"...What?"
That was all he got out.
Felicia moved first.
She rushed forward and tackled him to the ground without holding back, knocking the air out of him as she pinned him down.
"Don’t ever do sothing like that again!"
Adam could have argued.
He could have explained that none of this was planned, that everything just happened. But he didn’t. He stayed there, letting her vent without resistance.
She deserved it.
Two years of worry didn’t just disappear overnight.
User Comments
0 comments from readers