Moon stood up from his seat in the living room. Moon watched their reunion with an expression that betrayed none of his internal thoughts as he walked towards them.
His senses were…tingling to say the least.
He was picking up sothing that made him look at Selene in an entirely new light.
'How did she beco so much stronger? She's actually more powerful than now. Significantly more powerful, her aura is hidden like a predator waiting in ambush.' The thought was followed by another almost imdiately, his eyes flashing in understanding.
'She completed her first class advancent. She's an Evolver now.'
Selene's entire presence radiated the power and aura that couldn't possibly co from awakeners, marking her successful evolution to the next tier.
But the timing raised questions. Why had she advanced so suddenly? What had her brother's business involved that required her imdiate evolution?
Moon kept his expression neutral, but his mind was already calculating the consequences of this dramatic change in their power dynamics.
Selene had just beco the strongest mber of their trio.
"Hey, you completed your evolution."
Selene nodded, though her expression was unreadable. "Mm-hm. I was kind of forced into it by unforeseen circumstances..." She sighed, clearly indicating the advancent hadn't been planned.
Moon nodded with understanding. "That happens more often than people realize. You can never predict what sort of situations you are thrown into. Well, I'm glad everything worked out in the end?"
Selene nodded, smiling, "Yes, it worked out."
'She doesn't want to discuss the details,' Moon noted internally, respecting her obvious reluctance to elaborate. 'Whatever her brother's business involved, it's clearly sensitive.'
He gestured welcomingly toward the apartnt's interior.
"Well, co on in. You're not planning to stay standing in the doorway, are you?" Moon smiled warmly.
As they moved inside and settled into the living room, Moon made a quick ntal decision. With Selene's evolution to Evolver status, he would delay offering Yara the Supre creature at for now. He wasn't certain whether an Evolver's senses might detect sothing unusual about the fox's remains or not.
Better to stay on the side of caution.
11:50
Better to stay on the side of caution.
Once they were all seated comfortably on the couch, both won began asking Moon detailed questions about everything that had transpired inside the S-rank gate. Moon decided to be relatively forthcoming—he'd already shared most of this information with the Association representatives anyway.
He narrated the entire experience from beginning to end, covering the mysterious tablets, the ten individual gates, the deaths of three teammates, the final crimson portal, and his eventual extraction of all survivors.
He did, however, carefully omit certain critical details— his use of Mirage, his rune preparations, and especially anything related to the Supre-rank fox or his abilities.
"Incredible," Yara breathed when he finished, her eyes wide in awe. "To think it was that dangerous. Ten beasts at the caliber of Lunaris apex predators, all concentrated in one gate... it must have been really hard. I'm so glad you made it out safely, Moon."
She looked at him with glistening eyes, full of admiration.
Moon remained her personal ideal of strength and capability—soone she aspired to match, even if such a goal seed like nothing but a pipe dream.
"The important thing is that everyone who could be saved was saved. And now we know more about what these high-level gates actually contain. That knowledge will help future teams prepare better."
Selene listened to his account calmly, not speaking or asking much. But she also sensed there were layers to Moon's experience that he wasn't sharing. Although his story was almost imperfect in nature, knowing Moon, she was certain that there were things that he was hiding. Despite that, she did not pry nor convey that she knew, simply smiling as he continued to narrate the incident.
Which was perfectly reasonable. Everyone had secrets, especially soone like Moon.
After resting for a while, Moon decided it was ti to return to the sanctuary. Seeing the increase in Selene's strength only reinforced his determination to complete his own evolution as quickly as possible. Besides, knowing how difficult it was going to be to kill another Supre Creature, Moon was determined to continue gaining strength.
As Moon prepared to gather his equipnt and leave, Yara's eyes suddenly widened, she hurriedly grabbed his arm before he could head toward the door.
"Wait!"
Moon was startled by her unexpected reaction, unsure what could make her react as such, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"U-Uh, sorry for grabbing you like that," Yara said, clearly embarrassed by her impulsive action. "I was just being paranoid, but... rember what we discussed earlier? About the ownership situation?"
"Ah, right," Moon nodded with understanding, then turned toward Selene with an apologetic expression. "I should have ntioned this earlier."
Selene looked between them with obvious confusion, clearly not understanding what they were referring to.
"Selene, would it be possible to add my na as a co-guardian or secondary owner for Yara? That way, when you're busy with important matters, I could still take her to the sanctuaries for training and advancent. Right now, the law restrictions an she has to stay on Earth whenever you're unavailable."
Selene's eyes widened in guilt. She turned to Yara with a deeply apologetic expression.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about those administrative restrictions when I had to leave so suddenly. Of course we should add Moon's na to your docuntation. Let's go handle that right now."
Yara shook her head quickly, not wanting Selene to feel bad about the situation. "It's completely fine! You had important things to deal with. I understand these things happen."
♢♢♢♢
Inside the bureaucratic departnt that handled beasts and ownership, the two began filling out the necessary paperwork,. Once they were done, the trio erged from the building with their new docuntation.
"It's all completed now," Selene announced with satisfaction, holding up the official forms, gently waving them in the air, "Yara, you can accompany Moon to the First Sanctuary any ti you want, now."
Yara nodded happily, relief evident in her posture. She still hadn't wanted to admit how lonely and isolated she'd felt being trapped on Earth in such a foreign environnt, even though Moon's apartnt was more than comfortable.
Even if she couldn't always fight alongside Moon directly, at least now she could enter the sanctuary, battle monsters on her own, and continue growing stronger rather than stagnating while waiting for the two of them.
The freedom to pursue her own advancent ant everything to soone had left the comfort of her own world to pursue strength, strength that will allow her to protect those she loves.
"Thank you both," Yara said sincerely. "This ans I can actually contribute and improve instead of just... waiting around helplessly."
Moon smiled at her enthusiasm. "Just promise us you'll be careful. The sanctuary is unforgiving to those who overestimate their capabilities. Just like was said before, you should always remain one step ahead."
"I promise! I'll be smart about it."
With the administrative issues resolved, Moon felt much better about pursuing his own goals knowing that both Yara had the freedom to advance at her own pace now.
The path forward was clearer for all of them now.
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