At the far side of Bastion City, green leaves waved through the sweet air spiraling at the front of black mansions.
Inside the newly opened mansion whose walls carried the scent of polished wood and fresh paint, Lily stood barefoot on the cream rug in the sitting room.
"This is fluffy," she bounced on the rug, then shifted her gaze toward the giant screen mounted on the wall.
"This room is too big. Brother and I can play a lot of gas here." She whirled around, staring at the room’s large spans, smiling.
She stopped, went and sat in the soft chairs, then bounced on them. "These are like the ones I used to watch in the movies."
She continued to the walls, brushed her fingers on the walls, and ran from one corner to another until Min-seo begged her to stop.
By the side of the table at the left, Min-ji stood there arranging cups, carrying the stiff face she always wore when Lily ca around.
Min-seo went upstairs, pushed Li i into her room, and helped her rest for a while, then prepared dinner.
’I hope little madam remains still as she promised.’ Min-seo covered Li i, then exited the room after five minutes.
Standing in front of the television, Lily’s fingers dug into the hem of her shirt, her eyes wide as she watched the news feed replaying the sa scene.
"Is that... brother?" Lily’s eyes bulged with joy as she watched Leon step out of the MRAP, closing the gap between the Agathan soldiers.
"Mom!" She shouted, then ran upstairs, the na looping as it bounced on the walls of the stairs.
Lily’s small feet slapped the floor as she climbed the stairs and ran toward the second floor’s hallway.
But as soon as she reached the slightly opened door, the news tone suddenly sharpened.
"The reports indicate fresh movent at Basalt Mountain. Witnesses are fleeing the area. We repeat, civilians are advised not to move toward the border."
Lily turned and ran back to the front of the television.
On the screen, the cara shook so badly that the mountain and people beca dark streaks and flashing lights.
Then, after she blinked, the fra steadied just enough for her to see the black mountain, the split stone, the running reporters, and the bodies on the ground that were not staying down.
Lily’s breath caught, her chest rising. "No..." her voice cracked as she ran back to the slightly open door.
She pushed the door open in a flash, entered, then knelt and placed both hands on Li i’s lap. "Mom," she focused on her mother’s eyes. "It’s brother. He ca back. They showed him on the screen."
Li i’s lips parted, but no word ca out, only a breeze that slled of green tea.
Her fingers tightened around the cloth as she tilted her head, listening, almost as if the noise from the television on the ground floor had shapes and directions.
Lily stood up, walked to the remote stand, and switched on the television.
On the screen, lightning flashed in white-blue bursts. n and won ran across black stone, while sothing huge moved at the base of the mountain.
Although Li i couldn’t see a thing, the noise alone was giving her illusions she couldn’t shift her mind from.
"What is happening there?" Li i asked, sharp breaths escaping from her.
"I... don’t know," Lily said with a dry voice.
On the far-right side of the floor, Lily and Li i were on, and another door swung open. Min-seo hurried out and entered Li i’s room.
Sharp gasps of air burst out of her as she saw the reeling news on the television in Li i’s room.
"Little madam, please step away from the screen," Min-seo said in a low tone, though her own eyes remained fixed on the violent feed.
Lily did not move as sweat dripped down from her forehead.
On the screen, Leon stood two steps behind the two Agathan n. In a second, the cara zood in, catching only the side of his face before jerking away as another explosion of light struck the ground.
The words from the television created Leon’s face in Li i’s mind. "My son," the words left her mouth before the broadcast crackled.
A screaming reporter stumbled across the fra. Then the cara swung widely toward the mountain just as a deep roar punched through the speaker.
Lily stumbled back and grabbed Li i’s hand.
Far away, at Basalt Mountain, the sa roar that made Lily stumble back rolled across the black stone and sank into Leon’s bones. Yet he didn’t move.
Zoe’s fingers locked around Leon’s elbow, tight enough to keep him anchored. Her sword lay abandoned a few steps behind her, forgotten in the sudden shift of the air.
Ahead of them, Hei Yung hovered in the air, lightning snapping around him in bright arcs.
Longwei remained standing on the ground beneath Hei Yung, one fist flexing, shoulders loose, eyes narrowed toward the cracked face of the mountain.
In the vent on the ground, the smaller creatures kept fleeing, scattering past dead Oculus bodies, soldiers, and the reporters’ overturned equipnt.
"They’re not fleeing from us," he said, turning his gaze toward Zoe.
Zoe’s grip tightened, her eyes locked on the spiderweb of cracks appearing at all sides of the mountain.
The crack in the mountain widened with a sound like stone being forced by gasping breaths.
Thick black-red vapor rolled from the opening and spread low over the ground, followed by dust that poured down in sheets.
As the vapor stung the eyes of the nearest soldiers, one of the Thule soldiers dropped to a knee, coughing, covering his mouth with a crossed elbow.
Another soldier dragged the first back by the collar before the fog could swallow them both.
Far ahead, Darian stood there, his sword still drawn, though the earlier smugness had drained from his face.
Kira was by his side, her jaw tight, while Ewan kept shifting his stance as if one more tremor would make him run.
Leon’s eyes stayed on the mountain, but he watched Darian with the corner of his vision.
"Get the civilians farther back!" Longwei barked, grabbing the shoulders of two Thule soldiers who were fleeing.
His voice broke the fear spell hanging over the soldiers.
In a flash, two Agathan n shoved abandoned caras aside and began forcing the remaining reporters toward the convoy.
So of the civilians were carried, but those who could still run did not need much pushing.
As soon as they moved a few ters away to the left, another corpse lurched up near the broken stone ledge.
Its many eyes rolled, its split mouths gasped, while its limbs scraped against the ground in frantic jerks.
In a blink, Leon drew his dagger before his mind could cooperate.
Zoe turned to him sharply, noticing the dagger. "Don’t."
Leon looked at her, the wind blowing strands of her hair across her cheek. Dust clung near her left eyebrow.
"I can fight."
"I know you can," she answered quickly. "I can also... but we must do as they stated."
She flicked her eyes from Leon to the widening crack in the mountain. "That’s not why I said don’t."
Before Leon could respond, the corpse that lay dormant lunged.
As its claws scraped the ground, a streak of blue lightning cut across the ground and tore the creature apart.
The burnt flesh sll evaporated as smoke seeped out of its burning body.
In the air above Leon and Zoe, Hei Yung dashed and stopped, then descended in front of them.
’Is he uncertain?’ Leon kept his eyes locked on Hei Yung as he closed the gap.
When Hei Yung stopped a step away from Leon, the vapor pouring from the split mountain changed direction.
The black-red smoke pulled inward toward the crack as if inhaled by an ancient creature.
Dust, pebbles, loose strips of flesh from the dead Oculus creatures, and even the heat in the air seed to draw toward that new opening.
The pull was so strong that the red cloth wrapped around Leon’s neck flapped in the air, causing his face to turn pale.
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