He saw my past. My every major fight... How is that even possible? Leo stared wide-eyed at Adam as his mind raced a hundred miles per hour. It doesn't make any sense! I didn't do anything to cause that.
'Wrong,' Hunter hissed. 'Life force.'
You mean Essence? He frowned, not fully understanding what the beast meant. I know I have given him some, but how the hell is it connected to Adam seeing my past? I gave him pure energy, nothing more.
Hunter growled this time, almost splitting his head in two. 'Wrong. Again. Remember.'
With those words, a certain memory reawakened inside his mind. It flashed right before his eyes as the words of the Lone Traveler rang in his ears. He had mostly forgotten about them with everything that had been going on, but evidently, Hunter had a much better memory.
'Echoes of the past carried by Essence of Universes long dead'... Is this what happened here? Was my Essence really enough to transfer my memories to Adam? Leo wondered as doubt entered his mind. It still doesn't make sense. I devoured tens of Voidlings and even two survivors. Not once did I gain a memory from them. Hunter? Any ideas?
He could feel the beast digging all around his head in search of an answer. But just as he expected, Hunter didn't find anything. They both knew they were missing an essential piece of information. One, they had no way to obtain. At least not today.
That doesn't change the fact that it is a problem, he noted, gazing at the smiling boy. Adam will need those infusions until he evolves... but if he starts dreaming about the Void, about Nikra... Well, then I can just hope he doesn't babble to anyone.
'Secret. Oath,' Hunter whispered.
You can’t really trust a kid’s word… Though I guess it doesn't hurt to try. He shrugged and placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Buddy, you have to listen to me, okay?" The boy nodded quickly. "Your dreams... Let's keep it a secret. Just between you, me, and your mum. No one else needs to know. Think you can do that, kiddo?"
Even as he asked that, he shot Ava a quick, pointed look. He could see the question written all over her face, but now just wasn't the time to explain everything.
"Okay!" Adam grinned. "I won't tell anyone. I promise!" The grin suddenly fell off the boy's lips as he ducked his head shyly. "Uncle... Can you show me how you fight? Not in dreams. Here. I want to be as cool as you... Maybe then Mum will let me go outside!"
Leo furrowed his brow. Teach you how to fight? Never thought I would hear a question like this from you, or hell, from anyone... A bit over a week, and already almost nothing remains of the old world. Fucking hell.
With a sigh, he nudged Adam. "I would love to, kiddo, but I can't today. I need to go in a few minutes. Maybe another time?"
The young boy raised his head, his mismatched eyes shining brightly. "Promise?"
"Promise." Leo chuckled, ruffling Adam's dirty hair.
Of course, he wasn't planning to teach him anything, at least not yet. However, he also knew the boy loved to argue when something didn't go his way, and they had no time for that. Holden and Clara were waiting, and he still had one question for his godson.
"Adam," Leo spoke slowly, withdrawing his hand. "Your mum told me you can't evolve yet and that you need to wait. Can you tell me why?"
The boy flinched, taking a step back. "No!" He shook his head. "I'm not ready. I have to wait."
Okay, so that went just about as I expected.
Leo grimaced. "Does the same apply to your possible evolutions? Do you know what they are?"
Adam froze, fists clenching. "No, uncle. I don't know! I can't see anything. I must wait."
After sharing a brief look with Ava, Leo nodded. "That's fine, buddy. Don't worry about it. I just wanted to check, that's all."
Back to square one, I guess.
"What was that about?" Ava asked once they left Adam's room. "I saw how you reacted when he mentioned his dreams."
Leo passed mid-step and quickly scanned his surroundings just to make sure that no one could hear him. "Those weren't dreams, Ava."
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The woman's eyes widened slightly. "You mean?"
He nodded, his eyes narrowing. "Yes, my memories... That's why it needs to stay between us. Do you understand? I might work with Holden now, but I don't trust them. Not enough to spill all my secrets."
"I won't tell a soul..." Ava sighed deeply. "But, Leo? 'Massive monster?' 'Large white ant,' which I doubt is just an Ameist Warrior? We are going to talk about this later. And no skimming over the details."
He shrugged. "Be my guest. You need to know what dangers lurk out there anyway. So as long as no one is listening in, I don't mind telling a story or two."
"Story, you say?" Ava quirked an eyebrow, a melancholic smile playing on her lips. "It seems not everything has changed yet."
"No... No, it hasn't..."
"Sooo, how do you want to do this?" Clara spoke up once Leo joined her and Holden by the exit. "Tony here tells me that you won't wait for me. Thanks for mentioning it just now, by the way," she muttered at the end, glaring at her leader.
Holden only offered her a light shrug. "You will manage. I wouldn't have agreed to this if I thought you incapable."
"Yeah, whatever." Clara huffed, turning to Leo. "So what will it be?"
"That depends... Can you climb and run faster than your average Cursed Runner?" he asked. "Once we enter Wolford, I will be traveling by rooftops and the Vetilim webs only. Much faster and safer that way."
"I... I should be fine," Clara answered after a moment of hesitation. "I might be a Ranger, but most of my points are in Grace. I also know Stealth, so no need to worry about that."
"Then I guess I will stay somewhat close. Just follow me, and we will get there in half an hour."
When Clara nodded, Holden squeezed her shoulder lightly and looked at Leo. "I see everything's under control then. I will leave you to it. Oh, and Hale? Please try to be back before nighttime."
Leo snorted. "Can't promise anything, but we will try."
Holden didn't answer and just walked away. Clara sighed but also remained silent as she opened the exit and stepped through. Leo followed, leaving the Safe Zone yet again.
And here I thought I would never even go inside.
"Lead the way then, Hale," Clara stated, bringing him back to reality.
Right then...
He looked around, taking a deep breath. Then his gaze settled on the woman. "First things first. Show me your Stealth. Need to know what I'm working with."
"Huh?"
Despite her momentary confusion, Clara did as she was told. Light blue sheen escaped from her body, coating her entire form. With a soft flash, the color disappeared, signaling the end of skill formation.
Leo narrowed his eyes and released a weak Hunter's Pulse. It barely covered the woman, but in the end, the ability provided him with all the information he needed.
Better than the basic version, but still has some imperfections. Overall, not bad for a level seven Ranger. Still...
"Do you have Essence Manipulation or Control?"
Clara blinked. "The latter. Why?"
"You should be able to easily fix Stealth and evolve it to a better grade. Have none of the assassins in your group managed that?" It was a valid question, one he needed an answer to for more than one reason.
Clara shook her head lightly. "Most did and explained the process to us. I just haven't gotten it down yet. I'm close, though."
Leo nodded. "Good, because after this? Until you have True Stealth, you can tell Holden I won't have anyone without it accompanying me. And that's unnegotiable."
Clara shrugged as if she didn't really care. "Fair, I guess. Now, we going or not?"
He chuckled and activated True Stealth, leaving a tiny hole inside so the sound would have a way out. "We are. Follow me."
Leo could have left Clara in the dust plenty of times during their journey. And maybe if she hadn't apologized back in the Safe Zone, he would have done just that. Though he doubted it. In the end, the woman didn't do much to him. As such, there was no reason to have the death of another person on his hands just because she was a bit trigger-happy.
And so, he stayed just a bit ahead, planning the most optimal and safest route to reach the nest. They still had to make a few stops and detours, but overall, they managed to avoid almost all Voidlings on the way.
"So... that's... it..." Clara huffed, gasping for breath as they stopped on a rooftop a street away from the nest. Apparently, the few pauses they made weren't enough for her to recover from his quick pace.
Who would have thought? Leo held back a laugh as he gazed down at the Shadow Tail nest stretching before them. Didn't change much. It still looks mostly like a warehouse, just a bit bigger than before.
"You good there?" he asked, averting his gaze from their target.
"Just peachy," Clara grumbled, sitting down. "Give me a five, and I will be as good as new."
Doubt that, but okay. He shrugged. "Fine by me. I have a question for you anyway, so might as well."
Clara raised an eyebrow as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Oh?"
"What's Holden's deal with the group at the police station? Just paranoid, or is there something else to it?"
She frowned. "He didn't tell you?" Leo shook his head. "Huh, weird. It's not like it's a secret. If you asked your sister-in-law, she would know too."
Leaning against a half-destroyed chimney, she continued. "Basically, some people who now live at the police station were a part of our group in the beginning. As the first two days went by and we received more and more survivors, Tony and one of his friends had a disagreement about protecting people who didn't want to go outside and fight."
Why am I not surprised? Leo thought. If everyone got the same System introduction as I did, then I can see why some people don't want to protect freeloaders. Hell, I know I wouldn't... not without a good reason at least.
"So the group split, and the others went to another place where they could get armed easily," he summed up out loud.
Clara nodded. "Aye, that's pretty much it. Since then, Tony sends someone there every day to see if they are still alive."
Leo chuckled. 'Better to be safe than sorry,' my ass. Holden is just a bloody saint and wants to check if his friend and old group are still alive... Ah shit. And I already killed two of them, not to mention my little attack. Yeah... time to change the subject.
"What do you know about this nest?"
Clara blinked, swiveling to face him. "Not much," she answered after a moment. "Just what the Bestiary shows."
Leo clicked his tongue. "Right... That's nowhere near enough to storm the nest, so listen carefully..." With that, he told her everything he knew about these annoying shadow cats. He doubted all that info was still valid, but better this than nothing.
"Thankfully," he added as an afterthought. "I have a way for us to ignore their defense." He formed a dagger of pure shadows and threw it next to Clara. "Here. Overpowering them with Essence might work, but in this case, fighting fire with fire is the best idea."
Clara slowly picked up the solid construct, flipping it in her hand. "Bloody hell," she muttered. "So you really can do it."
This? Again? Leo sighed. "Anyway... Use this to kill them if you need to, but overall, stay away, just like I agreed with Holden. Understood?" Clara nodded. "So get up. We have a nest to conquer."
I'm coming, you annoying furballs...