Chapter 61: Chapter 61 – Aftermath

After the coast was clear, the three children, along with the unconscious one, treaded over the frozen shores to the lady that was standing still.

The lady’s eyes glowed bright red as she peered at him with an unknown look.

“Lady Hiliana?” Feng mumbled softly as she got close.

Ethan and Aiden suddenly grabbed her both hands and pulled her back from her. “She is still in her berserk stage. She barely can recognise even her family so don’t get close.”

“Berserk? What is that? I mean why....” Feng worriedly looked at the old lady who was peering at them intently.

A few minutes later, the lady’s eyes turned into the familiar brown and she let out a huge sigh. “kids... is anyone hurt?” she worriedly ran to them and hugged them tightly. “What is wrong with Elle?”

Ethan handed her the unconscious child. “I think she might have overused her powers..”

.....

The old lady gently wiped away the traces of blood near Elle’s mouth and hugged her close to her body. “My brave little girl, you were amazing and strong,” she whispered, and kissed her small forehead.

Feng’s smile melted away a bit. ‘If it wasn’t for me..... Elle wouldn’t have gotten hurt... none of them would have gotten hurt... it’s all my fault,’ her heart hurt just looking at the little energetic kid lying sick in the old lady’s arms. She subtly moved behind Ethan and clutched at his shirt.

‘If this happened again....’ just that thought alone made her shiver. ‘I-I should take my chance to leave them... or else in the future they might be in even greater danger because of me... because of this fucked up game...”

The old lady hurriedly moved close and with her free hand wrapped her scarf around Feng’s waist.

“Feng darling... are you hurt as well? Let me take a look.” lady Hiliana beckoned her close but Feng just shook her head, biting into her lips. “Baby, are you okay? Boys, can you check her for injuries?,”

Aiden ran to her and did a swift check up. “She has a bruise near her throat and she also has small cuts....” he worriedly held her small bleeding hand.

Feng swiftly pulled away and moved a little further. But Ethan turned back and hugged her tight. “Hey Feng, none of this was your fault.”

“N-no I... I was the reason they came after us...”

Ethan pulled her away slightly and cupped her face close. “Shh, you did a great job, too. You saved us and the little nudged over there. You did. Feng, you were awesome.”

“No, I was not.. I was useless.” Tears she had been desperately holding back rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. “I was bloody useless. Ah~”

Aiden hugged her from behind. “Who said so, huh? Feng is awesome, kind and loving and sweet.. you are the best.”

“No, no...I..”

Ethan gently wiped her hot tears. “We escaped that ship together that only means that they were after the three of us. Not just you. So Feng, don’t carry all the blame. Don’t blame yourself for this.”

Feng glanced at him intently. ‘How can I explain to them... we were in danger because of this stupid game called {glimmer of redemption}’

The old lady sighed loudly and led them all towards their ship.

“Looks like I have a lot of damage to rectify...” the lady whispered as she gazed at the harbour from the ship’s deck.

The entire harbour was destroyed, and it was in complete shambles. The wooden planks that formed a bridge were missing here and there.

But thankfully Aiden had frozen the water, so it was easy to walk over it.

Feng peaked out as well, but the lady gently tugged her down and arranged the scarf around her waist gently.

“Why don’t you kid go inside? I will deal with the aftermath,” Lady Hiliana was still holding little Elle in her arms as she watched the night sky with a sigh.

“Hmm...” Feng glanced back at her worriedly as she was being led by the twins back to their room. “Lady Hiliana!” she called out.

The lady glanced back.

“Please come in soon. It’s getting cold,”

The lady smiled at her dazzlingly. “Yes, my dear.”

As soon as they walked into their room, the twins fuzzed about her minor scrapes she got from the shattered ice.

“Whoa, wait a bit.. I’ll go change out of my wet clothes first,” Feng jumped off the chair and ran back to the changing screen in the corner. Her clothes were dripping water everywhere.

Sighing, she pulled at her wet shirt. It plopped loudly on the ground, creating wet squelch. She swiftly chanced into her white nightgown and came out with a towel tied in her hair.

Ethan pulled her closer and made her sit down on the edge of the bed. He carefully unravelled her towels and started to dry it with a gentle wind spell.

Feng glanced back at the mystical sign that was glowing on his hand with a curious eye. ‘Darn only I am such a weakling. Today everyone risked their lives for me yet I was not able to do anything for them...’

She bit into her nails. ‘I can’t keep relying on the task rewards given by this system. One day when I’m in a dire situation I won’t be able to protect myself or the people close to me....’

“I have to become a stranger,” she mumbled softly.

Ethan glanced at Aiden with a small frown. {‘She is still obsessed with awakening her powers. If this goes on, she might stress her body too much,’}

{‘yeah it’s time we have a talk as well.’} Aiden agreed to him.

While Feng was deep in her thoughts, Ethan hugged her from behind. “Don’t stress yourself too much. You will awaken your ability soon. It will happen in time,”

“Yeah, Feng, don’t keep thinking about it too much. Each person has a time when they awaken yours might be a little late but it will happen.”

Feng shook her head. “I can’t afford to wait around for it to awaken. I have to strengthen myself in any other means I can...”

Because the game was getting more and more difficult as the levels went on. The tasks were getting more life threatening than before. If she did not do anything and depend on others to save her, it would only end up in disaster.

“Feng?”

She glanced back to meet the worried eyes of the two little twins. Their blue and green eyes slightly glimmered in the candlelight.

“Hey don’t worry too much. I will not do anything dangerous.”

“You better not. I don’t want you putting yourself at risk,” Ethan mumbled as he finished up his spell.

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Her mousy brown hair had become like a puffball, with frizz flying about everywhere. She tamed them with her comb and plopped back into bed. “Enough talking, lets sleep soon,”

The boys cuddled with her.

Even though they had their own beds in the room, they preferred sleeping with her.

Feeling their warm hug, Feng smiled softly. ‘I really have to become strong. To keep them safe, I have to..’

Deep in the night she got up and moved stealthily out of bed. Usually the boys would wake up instantly if she got up but today because they exhausted their powers a little, they slept like babies.

She gently kissed their forehead and pulled the covers high up over their chest.

Wearing a small scarf, she ran back to lady Hiliana’s study. The door was open and the old lady was sitting facing the window.

“Lady Hiliana?”

“Feng? I had a guess you would come here.” the lady smiled softly and gestured for her to come close. “Elle is doing better but I’m afraid you can’t meet her now. Her sleep is so disturbed that even I’m sacred of going into her room.

“It’s a relief that she is doing well.” Feng tottered close. To her surprise, the lady lifted her up and placed her on her lap and hugged her softly.

“those evil men would not bother you again,” she softly mumbled.

“W-what do you mean?” Feng glanced up confusedly.

“Sir Yu and the stationed guards captured them. They won’t bother you anymore. So don’t fear anything.” She gently kissed her head.

Feng’s eyes heated up. She glanced at her with a small smile. “I fear nothing lady.. I just.... I don’t want this incident to repeat itself.”

“It won’t. I swear on my family name that I will protect you with my life.”

“No, I don’t want that...I want to be able to handle it myself.” The owl lady glanced down with an unknown look.

“Lady Hiliana, I want to be strong enough to handle all the problems that come my way. For that I need your help.”

“Anything you want, dear,”

“I want you to teach me to be a warrior.”