Lili stood there for a long second, like her mind hadn’t caught up with what Leo had said. Then her hands slowly loosened at her sides.

  Lyra touched her arm. “He respects you more than you think. Really. If you hadn’t been here… he wouldn’t be who he is. And we already talked about it—we’re not leaving you behind.”

  Lili swallowed and managed a shaky, “…Okay.”

  That night, the world felt quiet in a strange, peaceful way. The sky was scattered with stars—sharp, bright, almost too many to count.

  Leo sat at the edge of a cliff, staring out at the black horizon. His white hair—longer now, tied back loosely—shifted in the wind. Null fang rested across his lap, the blade faintly humming.

  “What does she think she’s saying…” he muttered. “Trouble… Seriously…”

  Footsteps approached behind him, soft on the stone.

  “You’re here,” he said without turning.

  “Yeah.” Lili’s voice was gentler than earlier. “Mind if I sit?”

  “…Sure.”

  She sat beside him, knees pulled up slightly. For a while she didn’t speak, just breathed with him, the wind filling the silence.

  Then, quietly:

  “I didn’t think I’d have something like this.”

  He didn’t respond, but she continued.

  “People who look at me and don’t flinch. Who don’t use me. Who… actually want me around.” She laughed once, but it broke halfway. “I got used to being the one everyone hated. Or avoided. Or pointed at. I thought I was fine with it.”

  Her voice tightened. “But then you two showed up. And suddenly I wasn’t alone. I didn’t know how much I’d been starving for that.”

  Her hands shook. She tried to hide her face, but tears slid down anyway.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever cry from being happy,” she whispered.

  Leo finally turned toward her. He didn’t say anything right away—just eased an arm around her shoulders and pulled her gently against him.

  “You’re not alone anymore,” he said quietly. “And I’m not letting you go back to that.”

  She leaned into him, and they stayed like that, watching the stars without needing any more words.

  Later, the three of them gathered inside the cave around a simple wooden table. Torches flickered along the walls, shadows jumping across the ceiling.

  Leo leaned back, staring up at the beams. “Feels like it’s gonna be a long night,” he murmured.

  And so they finally went back to the cave.

  A spark of golden smoke burst above the table, and Lili grinned as the entire surface filled with food—roasted meat, glowing fruits, warm bread, drinks that steamed in their cups.

  “Dinner is served,” she said proudly.

  Leo’s eyes lit up. “Okay, you were definitely hiding this from us.”

  Lyra was already sitting properly with her hands folded. “Let’s eat before it gets cold!”

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  They dug in, loud chewing and content sighs echoing around the room—until Leo suddenly choked.

  “C-COUGH—!” He smacked his chest. “A—ack—!”

  “Oh for—Leo!” Lili groaned. “Try chewing before swallowing?”

  Lyra scrambled to hand him a cup. “Here, drink this!”

  Leo gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and took a steadying breath. “…Thanks.”

  He glanced sideways at Lili, and something shifted in his expression. He didn’t want to bring it up with Lyra watching, so he reached out with his telekinesis and formed a quiet mental link.

  “Hey. My Void Reclaim… it wasn’t supposed to work like that, right?”

  Lili looked at him, still chewing. “What do you mean?”

  “The Demon King. I didn’t counter anything, and he didn’t attack me. So how did I absorb… all of that?”

  “I was so stupid that day—I didn’t even ask.”

  Lili smirked. “Yeah, you are stupid. Took you two years to think about it.”

  Leo narrowed his eyes. “Lili.”

  'Come to think of it why I doesn't remind it back then am I really stupid or.....' Leo thought.

  “Fine.” She leaned back. “Your Void Reclaim was bound by this world’s rules. So I make some changes in it of of course I can't change it's very nature but I did what I can.”

  Leo blinked. “…Damn you got some dangerously strong skills.”

  “Now, All you need to do is weak your enemy magic and overwhelm them with your aura or mana and once you did that just activate your ability. Then you would easily interfere with that person abilities and make yours Permanently.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “Then you touch them. You’ll see every skill they have. You pick what you want.”

  He stared at his hand. “…That’s insane.”

  “Now you get it.”

  'That goddess really gave me these abilities this easily I don't understand why?" Leo thought.

  Before Leo could ask more—

  “Ahem.”

  They both looked up.

  Lyra sat with her arms crossed, wearing a smile that was one twitch away from a threat.

  “Are you two going to keep having a secret conversation in your heads,” she asked sweetly, “or are we going to enjoy dinner like normal people?”

  Leo and Lili exchanged a glance.

  Then—

  “Y-Yeah! Food time!”

  “Yep! Totally eating now! Nothing telepathic happening! Ha—haha—”

  Lyra narrowed her eyes at them in the “I’m watching both of you” way, then finally smiled and dug back into her food.

  The cave filled with laughter again, metal on plates, warm conversation. For a few hours, they were just three people sharing a meal—not fighters, not fugitives. Family.

  Meanwhile at the capital.

  Two capital guards stiffened as they scanned the darkness ahead.

  “Who the hell’s there?!” one snapped. “We’re capital guards, you better—”

  A girl’s voice cut through him. Calm. Cold. Sharp enough to sting.

  “I know exactly who you are. Parasites dressed like protectors.”

  The guards exchanged a look. The voice wasn’t bluffing—and it wasn’t scared.

  “Tch. Come out then, brat. Let’s see your face.”

  Someone stepped from the shadows.

  She looked young—sixteen, maybe seventeen—but her posture was solid, her steps deliberate. She wore a deep-purple tunic reinforced at the shoulders, a short green cloak falling down her back. Her arms were wrapped with black bracers, boots laced tight. A dagger hung from her belt; a quiver and a curved dark wood bow rested across her back.

  Her eyes were frost-blue, sharp as a winter morning.

  Her black hair was cut short, brushing her jawline.

  Human. And not someone to underestimate.

  One guard sneered as he took a step forward. “Pretty little thing like you should be in—”

  Fwip!

  The arrow hit him clean in the forehead.

  He dropped instantly.

  The second guard froze, shaking. The girl nocked another arrow lazily, like she had all the time in the world.

  “Still feeling brave?” she asked. “Or do you want to join him?”

  “You—!”

  He charged. She stepped aside with a smooth pivot and swung a kick upward—her heel slamming under his jaw. He flew back into a wall with a crack.

  He staggered up, reaching for his sword—

  Thunk.

  A small curved knife appeared in the side of his head. He fell without another sound.

  A figure emerged behind her.

  A teenage boy, maybe seventeen or eighteen. Light brown skin. Silver hair messed and uneven. Wolf ears twitched above it, and a small tail flicked behind him. His eyes—golden, sharp—glowed faintly in the dark.

  “You’re late,” she said, not turning.

  “I was waiting for you to miss,” he replied dryly.

  The couple they’d rescued stared at them, wide-eyed.

  The girl finally looked their way. “You two alright?”