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Chapter 54. Divergent Approaches

  Aira slumped against the cold prison wall, every drop of her energy spent in the ritual. The silence stretched, unbearable in its weight, broken only by her ragged breathing and the distant sounds of a town in chaos. Then, without warning, her radio crackled to life, its ethereal voice startling in the stillness:

  --- Completed Quests ---

  1. Save Lila (Reward: 1,000,000 XP)

  2. Check on the Old World Facility (Reward: 100,000 XP)

  3. Explore Heart of the Forest (Rewards: 300,000 XP, Skill)

  [...]

  "And where was that million XP when I needed it just a few minutes ago?" growled Aira.

  ***

  A void shattered. Consciousness rushed in like floodwater through a broken dam, and Lila's eyes snapped open with a gasp that tore at her throat. Fragmented sounds swirled at the edges of her awareness—a growl that might be Aira's, the hum of something mechanical. But it was her vision that struck her first—impossibly sharp, cutting through the cell's darkness as if it were merely a thin veil rather than the impenetrable shroud it should have been. She expected the dull haze of a swollen eyelid, the sting of a half-blinded world, but instead, her gaze cut through the dim cell like a blade through the mist. Both eyes. Whole. No throbbing pain, no blurred edges.

  She was still in the prison, but the door was open ajar, and the whole building was surprisingly still. The air held its breath, unnervingly still. No shouts. No clanking boots. Just silence, stretched thin over stone and steel.

  As Lila's eyes adjusted to the dim light of her cell, she noticed a figure huddled in the farthest corner. Her heart raced, and she jumped on her bunk in startlement, but then she realized that this movement actually didn't prompt any pain in her limbs.

  But then, she saw the ginger hair.

  "Aira! By the Elders, what are you doing here!?" she exclaimed. But instead of words, only guttural growls went out of her mouth.

  Lila's heart raced as she clutched at her throat, desperate for any sign of what was causing her sudden voicelessness. She prodded and poked, hoping to feel the source of the problem, but her fingers found nothing abnormal. Panic consumed her as she realized this might not be a temporary issue.

  As comprehension struggled to take hold in Lila's reeling mind, movement caught her eye. Aira stirred from where she'd collapsed, her head lifting slowly as if weighed down by mountains. When their gazes met, the otherworldly blue-green glow from Aira's eyes intensified, illuminating the dim cell with spectral light.

  "Lila?" The word was barely a whisper.

  Then suddenly, despite her apparent exhaustion, Aira launched herself forward—a blur of motion that Lila's new senses somehow tracked in excruciating detail. One faltering step, then an impossible leap that closed the distance between them. Before Lila could flinch, Aira's arms engulfed her, the embrace so fierce it would have crushed her old body. They clung to each other, trembling violently as Aira's tears splashed hot against Lila's neck and shoulder, each droplet distinct against her skin that felt hypersensitive after the eternal numbness of death.

  She took out a spare portable radio and spoke: "It worked! You are alive!" Aira exclaimed. "Thanks to the System! Thanks to the Nexus…! It worked!"

  Then, Aira took a step back, taking in Lila's appearance. Lila wanted to ask her, "What? What do you see there?" but stopped, remembering that she no longer had her voice.

  For Lila, surviving was merely the first shock of many. As Aira's embrace loosened, glowing text suddenly materialized in Lila's field of vision—spectral letters hanging in the air like fireflies frozen in time. A strangled sound caught in her throat as panic surged through her. She shoved Aira back with strength she didn't know she possessed and clawed wildly at the ghostly words, her fingers passing through them as if they were nothing but mist.

  What is this? The thought screamed through her mind. What's happened to me? The letters remained impassive, suspended before her eyes regardless of where she looked—immovable evidence of how profoundly she had changed. Is it how she sees the world?

  ========== Initiating Nexus connection... ==========

  --- Character Status and Skill Overview ---

  Name: Lila

  Race: Enlightened

  Class: Enlightened Peacemaker

  Level: 1

  --- Skills ---

  [None]

  --- Current Status ---

  Health: 1/164

  SP Used: 0

  SP Available: 1

  XP: 1,000 / 3,000 (Next Level: 2, Initiate)

  --- New Skill(s) Available ---

  1. Undead Resilience (Level 1)

  Description: Increases the agility and stamina of the user. Enhances healing and recovery from damage.

  Cost to add a new Skill: 1 SP + 3 SP

  Acquire this Skill [Y/N]?

  "Yes," Lila growled.

  [Not enough skill points to acquire the skill. Gain XP to have enough SP for adding and upgrading your skills]

  "How do you feel?" asked Aira through the radio. "Do you feel any… injuries?"

  With signs, Lila showed that she wasn't able to speak anymore.

  "Ah, yes, old habits die hard," said Aira. "Let me try something."

  In a moment, a new text appeared in Lila's vision.

  [Invitation to join a party received. Party host: Aira]

  Accept [Y/N]?

  "Yes," Lila growled.

  --- Party Interface ---

  Current party size: 3 (including the host)

  Party members:

  - Aira

  - Alliot

  - Lila

  "Alliot's here?" exclaimed Lila. "Of all the roots and ruins, how'd that happen?"

  "Finally! We can talk normally!" said Aira.

  "Lila? How you are here?" asked Alliot. "Aira, you'll have to do some explaining."

  "I'm not sure I report to you, Alliot," said Aira. "But I'd be happy to talk after we regroup and leave the town. Is your location secured?"

  "No humans here," said Alliot, even more abrupt than usual. "I'll wait for you."

  "Aira, spill it," said Lila. "What in the winding paths is going on?"

  "You remember that gnarlfang?" asked Aira. "I sort of did the same. But… we are all lucky it worked out much better in the end. You are… you…!"

  Lila stood up, shaking her legs and arms. It was so good to feel everything was in place. Only blood on her clothes reminded of the wounds that covered her body just a few hours earlier. She was healed!

  There were some minute differences in how she felt. She was a bit sluggish. But simultaneously, she felt she could lift double the weight she used during her training sessions. Lila reached for the edge of the bunk, intending to steady herself—but with the slightest motion, the wooden frame lurched up like a feather caught in a gust. The metal groaned, and she staggered, staring at her hands. No strain, no effort. It felt like she'd barely pushed at all, leaving her surprised and confused about her newfound abilities.

  A terrible curiosity seized Lila. She reached for Aira, encircling her waist with hands that didn't quite feel like her own. With barely a thought—barely an effort—she lifted the undead woman entirely off the ground as if she weighed no more than a child's rag doll.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Hey-hey-hey!" Aira's surprised laugh echoed in her mind as if the sound reflected from the walls of the narrow cell, her grin splitting her face despite the tear tracks still glistening on her cheeks. "What's happening there, mighty one?"

  Lila set her friend down with excessive care, fearing what might happen if she wasn't gentle enough. She stared at her hands—familiar in shape and size, yet utterly foreign in what they could now do. Her stomach churned with a nauseating blend of wonder and horror.

  "It is my body..." she whispered through the party chat, flexing her fingers. "But it's like... like I'm wearing someone else's skin. Like I've been hollowed out and stuffed with something else. I can't—" Her voice caught. "I can't take it off."

  "Yeah, I know the feeling," said Aira. "You'll have to get used to it. And we'll have to train a lot. And do… some other things as well. You'll get better. But this sluggishness… Unfortunately, without my boosts, it won't go anywhere anytime soon."

  "Alright, what's the play?" asked Lila. "Where are the guards? Why's this town quieter than a hollow log?"

  "Ah… That…" said Aira. "I dealt with most of them. I sort of went… how do you call it… berserk. Do you know what that means?"

  "Yeah, I read the legends," said Lila. "So, they are all dead?"

  "I'm not sure about all," said Aira with a wicked smile. "But they'll have to rethink their defenses. Are you worried about that?"

  "I'd lied if I said I wasn't," said Lila. "But after what they did to me… I don't know. It's hard to care…"

  "Should we go?" asked Aira. "I don't sense anyone who could get in our way. And we have to have this talk with Alliot, as it seems."

  "Let's go," said Lila.

  "Oh, wait," said Aira, looking down and searching for something. "There was somebody else here I wanted to invite."

  ***

  Mountain View—the place Lila had once called home—wasn't merely silent; it was a town in shock. Amber flames writhed up the sides of buildings like living things, casting grotesque dancing shadows across deserted streets. The fire brigade that should have formed was absent, and the organized chaos of a community fighting to save itself was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an eerie stillness had settled over everything, broken only by the hungry pop and snap of burning timber and the plaintive creak of doors swinging on their hinges.

  A child's terrified whimper drifted from somewhere in the maze of buildings—then abruptly silenced, as if a hand had clamped over its mouth or fear itself had stolen its voice. The night smelled of smoke, of scorched wood, and most potently of terror—a scent Lila had never been able to detect before but now recognized instantly.

  As they walked through the deserted streets, their footsteps echoed loudly against the pavement. They caught glimpses of scared faces peering out from behind closed curtains. Still, no one dared to confront the undead duo as they continued their movement through the settlement. The silence was eerie and unsettling, a stark contrast to the bustling town it used to be just hours ago during the day.

  "Wait, it seems I won't come back here any time soon," said Lila when they passed Town Hall. "There is something I'd like to retrieve… If they didn't find it yet."

  After a few minutes of walking, the outline of Lila's house, which was squeezed between two other buildings, appeared in the distance. Aira noticed the curtains inside were drawn, and there was movement behind them, indicating that someone else had taken over the property. But Aira didn't hesitate, using all her strength to kick down the front door and gesturing for Lila to follow her inside.

  The kitchen reeked of old stew and burnt oil. A man stood stiffly by the wooden table, his fingers gripping the back of a chair like a person holding onto a ledge over a drop. In the doorway, a woman pressed herself against the wall, her knuckles white, shielding two small, wide-eyed children who barely peeked past her skirts. Their breath came in sharp, quiet gasps—the kind that only came when someone knew the wolves had already scented them.

  Aira roared at the man, and he made an unsure step back. His trousers darkening.

  "Don't hurt them!" he exclaimed. "Take me if you want!"

  Without delay, Lila took a step, grabbed a knife from the table, and began working around one of the floorboards.

  "Aira, can you help me, please?" she asked a moment later. "My hands… they feel wrong."

  "Sure, what should I do?" said Aira. "But as I said, you have to train a lot."

  "Just take away this board," Lila said. "There should be something hidden under."

  It took Aira a few minutes, but soon, the board was removed. And Lila picked up an antique leather bag from under the floor.

  "It was my grandfathers," she said. "It's the last thing remaining of him."

  "Good, but now we should go," said Aira. "It's enough that these people will have to fix the door and wash this man's breeches."

  "You are right," said Lila.

  She swept her gaze around the room one last time, memorizing these final moments in a place that had once been a sanctuary. Her peripheral vision caught something as she turned toward the door—a flash of movement in her ancient mirror. Instinctively, she faced it, then froze, breath catching like a thorn in her throat.

  The woman in the mirror wore her face like a mask—every familiar line and angle was preserved, down to the small scar above her right eyebrow. But the eyes... Torch-blind, those weren't her eyes. Where once warm hazel had studied the world with a ranger's keen observation, twin flames now burned—amber and fierce, catching even the feeble candlelight and transforming it into something feral. The otherworldly glow pulsed subtly with each beat of her heart, marking time in a body that might never age again.

  Her fingers, still slick with blood that no longer came from her own wounds, trembled as they traced the contours of her face. She knew that kind of eyes. Had seen them in Aira's face. In the enlightened's faces. In the faces of those her people had hunted and feared for generations.

  "Aira, why didn't you tell me?" Lila's voice cracked through the party chat, her fingers still pressed against her face.

  "Tell you what?" Aira's head tilted, confusion evident.

  "My eyes..." Lila turned, her newly amber gaze locking onto Aira's luminescent one. "They're like yours now. Like catching fire."

  "But what did you expect?" Aira's tone was gentle but matter-of-fact. "You've seen me, you've seen the other undead… hm… enlightened."

  "What did I expect?" Lila's hands clenched into fists. "What in the thorny thicket did I expect?!? I expected to be forest-damned DEAD! Not…" Her voice broke as she gestured wildly at her reflection. "Not some torch-blind undead thing with eyes like burning leaves!"

  ***

  By the moment Aira and Lila reached the breached wall, Alliot had already retreated to their earlier hideout. The two women weren't surprised as their enlightened comrade sent them a message through the party chat while they were exploring Lila's old house.

  Still, the view of devastation made Lila gasp when they approached the heap of stone that was recently a part of the town's fortifications.

  "Was that also you?" asked Lila in astonishment.

  "No, that was our enlightened friend," said Aira. "His part of the mission was to create a distraction. And, well, he figured it would be easier to do with a bit of destruction."

  "Didn't think he had it in him," said Lila. "Thought he was all peace and patience."

  "Oh, he didn't kill anyone," said Aira with a sigh. "He was quite careful to make sure that he didn't. All of that was my doing. But I'd do it again if I had a chance. When I saw you there in the cell… I just had to punish these people."

  "And you're sure every last one of them had it coming?" asked Lila.

  "How many of them came to attack us at the ancient facility?" asked Aira. "How many of them were part of the chain of command, knew the plans, and agreed to them?"

  Aira's voice rose, and she began flailing her arms.

  "How many of them took part in torturing you?" she asked. "Do you really think there were many of them who weren't complicit?"

  Lila looked at Aira from under her eyebrows.

  "Nah, don't say. I don't need a list of names or whatever," said Aira. "I had a goal, I reached it, conducted the ritual, and brought you back. That's the bottom line. Everything else doesn't matter anymore."

  "If you say so," Lila muttered. "But bottom lines still leave stains. And it seems to matter to Alliot. He doesn't seem to be happy with what had happened."

  "I'm sure Ainorrh will be happy when he reports all the details to her," said Aira. "So, he can shove his disappointment where the sun doesn't shine. I wasn't going to lose you."

  ***

  The first light of the new day was illuminating the fields and the forest's edge by the moment Aira and Lila reached Alliot.

  "So, we don't care about concealment anymore?" asked Aira, pointing at the fire Alliot lighted up.

  "After your performance?" replied Alliot with a question. "No, I don't think we care anymore."

  "You are still grumpy," said Aira. "I understand it wasn't the perfect solution."

  She pointed at Lila.

  "But look!" Aira said. "I had some positive results!"

  "Only reason. Still here," Alliot managed, his typically measured speech fragmented into jagged shards. His eyes darted between them, never settling, like a cornered animal seeking escape. "Must return. Wentouk." He dragged a trembling hand across his face. "Report. Must report. Ainorrh."

  His breath came quicker now, shoulders hunched forward. "One hundred lives. Gone. Just—gone." Each word seemed physically painful to extract. "Could've been... useful. Valuable. Resources." His voice dropped to a whisper that nevertheless carried easily to their enhanced hearing. "Wasted. All wasted."

  "You killed how many people here?!?" Lila exclaimed. "Aira… that's not just pruning the branches—that's burning the whole damn forest."

  "Well, a bit less," said Aira. "But I don't think it matters that much. Yes, that's a price I have to pay for your life, Lila. That's the price Mountain View had to pay."

  Lila stepped away from Aira, then she approached the log on which Alliot sat, joined him, and put her face in her hands.

  "Would you prefer to be dead in this cell?" asked Aira. "I don't think there's much of a choice here."

  Lila raised her head and looked daggers at Aira.

  "No undoing it now," Lila muttered, staring into the dancing flames engulfing the distant rooftops. "You know, Aira, that's my price as well. Guess I'm stuck with the weight of a hundred souls. Heavier than a mountain's shadow, that."

  "Maybe if we'd taught them a lesson earlier," Aira countered, desperation threading through her voice. "Back at the facility. Then all this…" she gestured toward the burning town, "…wouldn't have been necessary. It's not like I enjoyed it! I just did what had to be done!"

  Lila turned away, her newly strengthened hands clenching so tightly that her knuckles cracked. Every word from Aira felt like salt in a wound that would never heal.

  "Look," Aira's voice softened, "I hope we can figure this out. We've been through worse together."

  "Have we?" Lila scoffed, amber eyes flashing in the darkness. "By the fox's tail, that's the trouble with your kind of thinking. 'What had to be done' always seems to end with someone in the dirt." Her jaw tightened. "Only this time, you pulled me back out of it."

  Without another word, she mentally severed the connection between them, the party chat dissolving like morning mist.

  [Lila left the party]

  "Hey!" Aira growled into the night, frustration rising like sap in her throat. "You really think shutting me out fixes anything? LILA!"

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