Before Marcellus could say anything further, Alia drew a slow breath, her expression tightening as though pressing down the ripples in her heart. Then, without preamble, she began recounting her conversation with Edgar.She omitted nothing—not a single detail. Even Edgar’s fleeting pauses between words, the barely audible shifts in his breathing, the flickers of light in his eyes at certain moments—Alia relayed them all with painstaking precision. Her tone mimicked his so vividly that, within the quiet of the room, it felt as though Edgar himself were standing there: cold, suspicious, yet tinged with that barely concealed thrill of anticipation.This near-ruthless reproduction was not only to ensure Marcellus understood; it was as though she was forcing herself to relive each moment, making sure no crack, no possible flaw, had been overlooked.Watching her furrowed brows and the way her gaze sharpened with deadly seriousness, Marcellus felt a faint ache in his chest. Just moments ago
Having sorted out her thoughts, Alia gently pushed open the hospital room door and stepped inside. The room was bathed in soft light; white curtains swayed lightly in the breeze drifting in from the window, bringing a faint chill with them. Marcellus sat on the edge of the bed, and upon seeing Livia standing there—her expression clear, her gaze firm—he couldn’t help squinting slightly, as if trying to confirm whether the person before him was still the same flighty girl he had known.“You seem… different. Has something happened?” His voice carried a trace of curiosity, tempered with cautious probing.Alia shook her head softly, her eyes catching the light in a way that seemed to carry a clarity that had replaced all former fog. She took a deep breath, as if releasing all the emotions she had suppressed within her chest at once. Her voice trembled faintly, yet every word was sincere and unwavering:“No… nothing happened. I’ve just figured some things out. Marcellus, I want to tell you
Red’s words struck Livia like a muted thunderclap, reverberating through her chest and shattering the lingering shadows of hesitation and unease. In that instant, a startling clarity came to her: since fate had granted her a second life, she could no longer drift aimlessly. She had to live with purpose—truly, decisively, with meaning. The resolve that surged within her felt as if it would burst from her chest. She lifted her head, fixing her gaze on Elias, and for the first time, there was a steely determination reflected in her eyes.“May I… join you?” Her voice was soft, yet beneath that softness lay a newfound certainty, a quiet defiance directed at fate itself.Red paused for a moment, surprise flickering across his features. Then, a warm smile broke through, his eyes crinkling in genuine delight. “Of course. You’re welcome.” His words carried a rare sincerity, as if telling her that she had finally found her place.The night wrapped the street in a hushed, gentle darkness, where
Livia did not return directly to the hospital.Instead, she wandered alone into the narrow veins of the city, where crooked alleys twisted into darkness. The lamps here were dim and flickering, their glow warped by the mist of damp stone. Rainwater lingered in shallow pools upon the cobblestones, reflecting shards of light like broken glass. A chill clung to the air, carrying with it the scent of mildew and smoke.From the shadows of a corner came the faint mutterings of a beggar, his words fractured and indistinct. Beneath a tattered cloth tent, a weary mother huddled with her infant, clutching the child so tightly one could almost feel her desperation. The baby’s cries, muffled against her chest, seeped through the night. Not far away, several children lurked behind passing strangers, their thin fingers trembling as they reached for scraps—bread crusts, half-eaten apples, anything that might mean another day alive.All of this… it was a scene she knew all too well.It was the world
Both of them knew.Both understood the hesitation and wariness in the other’s eyes. This was not trust—not in its true sense. It was a fragile arrangement, a truce forged from necessity, born from the sharp edges of their respective desires.And yet, for a father and daughter to stand here, speaking as if they were strangers striking a bargain, there was something bitterly ironic in it all. Blood tied them together, but positions tore them apart; reason wrestled with unspoken sentiment, leaving only a melancholy shadow between them.“Then…” Livia broke the silence, her tone outwardly calm yet edged with deliberate sharpness. “Do you know if anyone else holds a fragment?”The question was gentle in form, but beneath it lay a quiet blade. Her eyes tilted upward just slightly, watching Edgar with predatory precision, seeking the faintest tremor of change in his face.Edgar’s brows rose almost imperceptibly. He hesitated, and for a moment the lamplight seemed to stretch across his express
The lamplight flickered, and for a moment, the very air seemed to grow heavy, as if the room itself were holding its breath.“We have one fragment,” Livia said at last, her tone deliberately casual. “And we’ve uncovered the trail leading to another.”As she spoke, she slipped a photograph onto the desk. The image showed the fragment she had in her possession, its jagged edges glimmering faintly. Her voice carried the ease of indifference, yet her eyes betrayed the truth—they were sharply focused on Edgar, watching his every reaction with quiet precision.“Marcellus once held another fragment,” she continued, her tone calm but her fingers curled slightly against her skirts. “That piece… disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Still, we have clues—clues that point us toward its likely whereabouts.”She did not ask if Edgar also possessed a fragment. She left the question unspoken, as if deliberately restraining herself, using that very restraint as a signal of her sincerity.Sure en