Chapter 514: Connections

"Me?" Surprised by Sara's exclaim, Lily looked at her with a confused expression. "What do you mean? I never-" However, suddenly she recalled the horrid experience of being lured into a trap. The scenes of the poor old couple's wrecked home, the single hand, nailed to the wall with that note…

Her subsequent capture, torture, and abuse… As the memories kept surging to the forefront of her mind, her body shivered, her eyes lost their color,  her face turned pale almost instantly.

She was alone, beaten, and humiliated. The horrible nature of humans. There she was once more taught a lesson in life. Lily could clearly remember how she felt. Of how her first thought was her mother, and the night she had to replay during the trial in the Pocket World.

Still, she could also recall that amidst the despair, the dread and hopelessness that tormented her in that rusty, stench-driven cell, a ray of hope did manage to penetrate the veil of darkness and bring forth a ray of hope with it. 

A face, her beloved brother's gentle smile came to her amidst her time of need, easing her panicking heart. Though the events from then turned blurry and strangely began to fade as she tried to move on, Lily could vaguely recall calling out to the image of her brother, asking for her help… Begging for him to save him…

This realization, the memory fragment made Lily go from confused to shocked in the next instant. Her eyes went wide, her lips parted wide, forming an 'O' as she looked at the gently smiling purple-haired girl next to him.

"H-how did you…" She wanted to ask, desperate for some answers. Unfortunately, her mouth refused to obey, and only fragmented words made their escape amidst the heavy stutters. 

Still, Sara seemed to understand what she was trying to ask, she lightly shook her head as she spoke.

"It doesn't matter for now. What I wanted to say, is that if you focus, I'm certain you should be able to feel the same as Galina can. Whatever connection, or mystery they share, I'm sure you can do it too. You did reach out to him once, if you concentrate hard enough, you should be able to do so again."

"Young Master is…" Seeing all the worry in everyone's gaze, Galina was feeling a slight sense of guilt. She wanted to speak and reassure the team that her young master is alive, but before she could, she was silenced by Sara's raised hand. She turned to look at her, with a wry-looking smile and shook her head, asking for Galina to be silent for now.

Though she was not sure what the strange woman was playing at, Galina still acquiesced and returned her attention to the strong hounds that were like gentle pups under her constant caress.

…

Following Sara's not-so-precise instructions, Lily tried her best to recall what she did back then, and how exactly she managed to reach out for her brother who was miles away… still unconsciously laying in his bed. 

She focused on his face, painting the image of his gentle, warm, loving smile as he looked at those he considered family. Those exotic eyes turned to bright crescents, as they entangled with her own… 

Her heart suddenly thumped louder as soon as the mental image was constructed inside her, causing Lily to be surprised yet again and startle slightly. She sat up, straightening her back as she wreaked her brain to build up even more of his image.

She recalled all the warm and loving hugs they shared, that intoxicating smell that could lull her to the best of sleep each and every time she rested her head atop her shoulders.

Bright pink spots colored her cheeks as she reminded herself to all the embarrassing situations they shared. As the image of his almost fully naked, nude body was revealed to her and Galina when they wanted to barge into his room not too long ago, she almost couldn't take the burning heat she felt any more.

Still, she shook her head, clearing it from all the nasty, ill-begotten thoughts, and resumed her focus. Once his image was clear and bright in her mind, Lily decided to call out. What was only mere whispers into the void at first, turned louder and louder, gaining momentum as the seconds passed out. 

Lily gave it her all, to call for the most important person in her life. She desperately wanted to know where he is and if whether if he is fine…

—-

Meanwhile, back in the lush but eerie, dark forest, the usually carefree smile on Aiden's face has long since vanished. His usual battle-hungry crazed-looking grin was also nowhere to be seen, he looked sternly, with a serious gaze at the wicked transformation of the 6 figures of unknown creatures surrounding him.

He frowned as he kept on scanning the changes in his opponents. As their muscles bulged and the shape of their bodies and faces began to twist and turn to something that was clearly beyond human, he could also feel their steadily rising power levels escaping from their constraints. 

They were continuously rising, seemingly without a stop in sight. Though they were still manageable for now, the fact that the steady climb did not stop in pace at all, started to concern even Aiden.

For one, though he was fine, he was far from being at his peak. After the rough landing and all the events that had transpired this morning, he was at best, at around 80 to 90% in terms of energy.

Even more, he had no knowledge of where he actually was, where the rest of his team could have gone to, or if there were any other unknown dangers lying around. For once, he felt that he couldn't completely place his trust in the mysteriousness of the System, as it had already failed to inform him about the trap he was thrown into.

Even Enya, her system's guide, couldn't be much of a help this time around. She was just as clueless about the strange behavior of the system as he was.

"Whatever… I can't risk playing around…" He remarked mentally, deciding not to waste time trying to uncover the reason behind his peculiar situation or to uncover his attackers' true identities. 

Slowly he raised his right hand, shifting the clawing posture into a grabbing one. In the next moment, the dark, ebony blade, his sword Ryg appeared in his hand. 

He grabbed the ebon longsword's hilt with both of his hands in the next moment, and with a fierce look in his glowering golden eyes, he charged forward, raising the blade above his head and, as he reached into range, he struck down.

---

AN: Hey there Readers!

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