LYRIAN
"Something's wrong," Lyrian whispered, fear cutting into her voice.
Reone's eyes were barely open, unfocused and dazed. A thin trail of blood slipped from his nose… and his hands twitched weakly at his sides.
Seren crouched beside the collapsed Diviners.
"These people don't look so good either," she murmured. Their naturally vibrant blue skin was now pale and dulled.
Nova leaned closer, brow creasing.
"Wait,what are they?"
Before she could think further on that, Mia's voice cut sharply through the tension.
"Dont know but I think its more important that we figure out how to help them?"
Nova blinked, then snapped toward her boyfriend.
"Mickey — you brought your first-aid kit, right?"
Mickey's face lit up.
"Yeah, I did. Good thinking,babe."
He tapped a button on his wrist. A compact pod shot from a compartment in his armor, skidding across the cave floor before unfolding — expanding into a larger medical module.
Mickey stepped up to it as the panels locked into place.
"With this, we might be able to help them. I have Stabilite Serums, which can stop their conditions from worsening and support their bodies for now… as long as their injuries aren't too severe."
"Do it,Mickey," Lyrian said immediately. Her eyes flicked to Reone, full of fear.
Mickey opened the kit.
"Nova, Seren — a little help?"
"Of course," Seren said, already at his side.
"Sure, babe," Nova replied.
Mickey pulled out several syringes filled with a glowing white liquid.
"These are the serums. Inject them into the arms of those—uh—strange-looking people."
"They're Diviners," Lyrian clarified.
Silence.
"What?"Everyone said at once.
Lyrian opened her mouth to answer but Nova interrupted her.
"Hold on— Diviners? The Diviners? As in the mythical beings who are said to have the power to bestow resonance itself?" She sputtered.
"Exactly," Lyrian confirmed.
"Now, Mickey… will the serum work on them too?"
Mickey hesitated — the first crack in the usual confidence he has in his abilities.
"I… don't know,"he says,instictively looking at Nova.
"Their bodies are supposed to be similar to ours, but that's an untested theory,"she says.
Mia looked sharply at her,then everyone else.
"Guys,I think we should take our chances with that. They seem to be getting worse."
Mickey exhaled, giving in.
"Alright. But half-dosage only to be safe. Any more could be dangerous."
"Got it," Seren said, grabbing one.
Diamond stepped forward.
"Give me one too. I want to help."
Everyone stared.
Diamond rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Oh please, you guys. You think just because I care about my looks I don't know basic first aid?"
Nova wisely kept her mouth shut.
"Uh…" Mickey muttered.
Sire chimed in.
"Of course not, babe. Right, Mickey?"
Mickey, flustered and cornered, handed her a syringe.
"Here, Diamond."
"Thank you," she said, snatching it.
Lyrian outstretched an arm.
"Give me one too."
But Mickey blocked her gently.
"No. Reone needs something else — something stronger, I'm afraid." He crouched beside Reone.
"The nosebleed, the twitching, the shallow breathing… this looks like Resonance Cascade Failure. His energy pathways are blocked and collapsing."
Lyrian nervously watched as Mickey rummaged through the kit and lifted a sleek silver device.
"He needs this — a ResoPulse Injector. It sends a controlled resonance pulse to clear the blockages and restart the flow."
Lyrian steadied herself.
"Tell me what to do."
"Hold him still while I administer it."
After hearing him, the others also started to work on their own patients, preparing the syringes.
Seren knelt over Primi,looking at it.
"Please work…"
Nova injected Feya.
"Here goes nothing."
Sire lightly squeezed the shoulder of a nervous Diamond.
"You've got this."
She nodded at him without looking, concentrated.
The next moment, everyone was done.
A beat of silence passed.
Then—
A twitch.
A groan.
A gasp.
One by one, the Diviners regained consciousness and coughed as the serum stabilized them.
Diamond lit up.
"It's working!"
Lyrian smiled — briefly — before turning back to Reone, hope in her eyes.
"Reone?"
Her smile cracked as he began to shake.
Violently.
"Reone!" Lyrian exclaimed, grabbing him.
Mickey's eyes widened.
"Shoot. His body's overcorrecting, the resonance in him is moving way too fast now."
"Do something,Mickey," Lyrian begged.
"Use the Flow Suppresant!" Nova shouted from across the cave.
Without wasting a moment,Mickey nodded and bolted back to the kit.
Lyrian held Reone down, tears spilling.
"You're gonna be fine, Reone. Please… please be fine."
Mickey sprinted back with a small handheld device with the Flow supressant.He activated it, and pressed it to Reone's chest.
A soft chime was heard as the Suppresant was released.
Reone's shaking slowed… then stopped.
His body lay still. Too still.
Lyrian leaned over him, voice cracking.
"Reone…"
A breath. Then—
His eyes opened.
Soft. Focused. Awake.
"Lyrian…"
She let out a shaky breath, laughing and crying at once.
"Hey… you're okay," she whispered happily.
****
LYRIAN
"What a relief," Mickey says, sagging slightly as the tension finally leaves his shoulders.
Reone blinks, eyes adjusting.
"Mickey… is that you?"
"Yeah. It's me," Mickey replies with a shy smile. "Everyone else is here too."
"Good to have you back, buddy," Sire says, leaning over him.
Reone squints.
"Sire…? But how—"
"Yeah, what's going on here?" Primi asks, pushing himself upright and eyeing Seren warily. "And who are you?"
"Don't worry, Primi," Lyrian says quickly, smiling despite her exhaustion. "They're friends of ours."
Seren lifts a hand with a gentle smile.
"Hi."
Lhanak shifts, bracing himself on one arm.
"Where are the Nullborn Extractors?" he asks. "Did we win?"
"The Extractors are defeated," Diamond says casually. "But—technically we took them down."
"It doesnt matter to me who defeated them as long as its done," Feya says with a shaky laugh. "For a moment there, I thought we were done for."
Reone exhales.
"Guys… about that. I'm sorry. This was my plan and it almost got us killed—"
"Your plan was fine, Reone," Primi cuts in, then groans, clutching his chest. "No one expected the Extractor boss to be that strong."
Reone exhales painfully.
"And everything worked out in the end, "Primi added."Atleast… for the most part."
Reone's gaze snaps back to Lyrian.
"Is everyone okay? Lyrian—what about you?"
She stares at him in disbelief.
"I'm fine, Reone. You're the one who almost died."
She forced herself to stop touching him and cross her arms.
"And by the way, you don't need to jump in to save me every single time. I can take care of myself."
He scoffs weakly.
"Seriously? How about saying thank you and showing some appreciation for rescuing you for it instead.?"
Her glare sharpens.
"Uh-uh. Thats not happening because I dont appreciate it. You could've been seriously hurt,Reone which would have caused me a lot of guilt.I dont want to live with that."
"So you'd rather die?"
"That's a bit on an exaggeration but you're on the right track,"she said.
Reone sighed.
"Well,Im sorry but im not sorry. If it comes down to me and you,you're the one I'll always choose."
She stared at him for a long moment—shaken by his words.She was still a little pissed but what he said had managed to get past that.
"You idiotic jerk," she muttered, grabbing him and pulling him close.
He smiled faintly, resting his forehead against hers.
"I'm happy you're okay too."
Watching them, Mia smiled softly.
"I ,for one,am glad we found the both of you in one piece."
"How did you guys find us in the first place?" Lyrian asked, finally detaching from Reone.But not going too far, Mia noted.
"That was mostly thanks to the genius of Mickey and Diamond," Sire said.
"That's a bit of a stretch," Nova replied,sharing a smile with Mickey. "We just followed the breadcrumbs you two left behind. Like your SOS."
Lyrian and Reone looked at each other sharply.
"Wait—that worked?" they asked in unison.
"Yep.It was brilliant by the way," Sire said. "But want to know the real giveaway?"
Reone frowned.
"The dead Extractor corpse you left back in the forest," Sire continued.
"Had the names of you two savages written all over it," Diamond added dryly.
Reone shot them a look as Seren spoke up.
"And don't forget the Nullborn Extractor we saw coming out of the cave. He was very helpful once we… convinced him to talk," she said, smiling innocently.
"Ah. That's Darel," Reone said lightly. "Super helpful guy. But probably not cut out to be an Extractor."
Nova folded her arms.
"Okay. Your turn. We're dying to know—how exactly did you two get here? And how did you end up with… Diviners?"
"It's a long story," Lyrian said.
Sire raised an eyebrow.
"Give us the edited version then."
Lyrian and Reone exchanged a look. Reone sighed.
"Alright. Here it is."
He explained how they'd been traveling through the forest when they ran into Extractors searching for Diviners.
"Well, that's just unfortunate," Diamond said sympathetically. "Those guys are the worst."
"They attacked us," Reone continued. "Lyrian got hurt."
"Hurt?" Seren asked sharply.
"It wasn't that serious?" Lyrian said quickly. "Right, Reone?"
"Right," he agreed—though his tone lacked conviction. "Anyway, with directions from our friend Darel, I took her to the Diviners. They healed her."
"That's… insane," Nova muttered.
"Tell me about it," Lyrian said. "It happened to me, and I still have trouble believing it."
"But—wait," Nova said slowly. "Why were you even going through the forest? That leads toward Volaria. Shouldn't you have been heading the opposite way—to Echian?"
Lyrian and Reone's expressions darkened.
"Unless,of course,…" Nova began.
"You were following Damon," Mia finished quietly.
Their silence was answer enough.
"Who's Damon?" Primi asked.
"An enemy we're hunting," Lyrian said. "But he's only one of four."
"One of four?" Mia echoed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean the Sisterhood."
A shocked silence fell.
Diamond was the first to recover.
"The Sisterhood...It's impossible, Lyrian."
"They're dead," Nova said. "We all know that."
"I remember," Seren murmured. "It still haunts me."
"Apparently," Reone said grimly, "Damon brought them back."
Everyone stared at him,confused.
"It's necromancy,isnt it?" Nova guessed instantly.
Reone nodded.
"But that's forbidden...right?" Mia whispered, looking between them.
"Damon doesn't care about rules," Lyrian said. "That much should be clear to us by now."
"How—" Mia started, then stopped as Lhanak groaned.
"Uh… everyone," he said weakly, "I hate to interrupt, but I don't feel very well."
All eyes turned to him.
"What's wrong?" Seren asked.
"I feel… really hot."
Diamond pressed a hand to his forehead, then recoiled.
"Yeah. He's burning up."
Lyrian straightened.
"Lhanak, can't you do what you did at the Nest? Heal yourself?"
He shook his head.
"Too weak."
"She's right," Primi said. "We can't use our healing abilities right now."
"Mickey?" Lyrian asked.
Mickey shook his head.
"I'm afraid I've done all I can."
"What about the recovery module on the jet?" Sire suggested.
"That might work," Mickey said carefully. "But the jet's outside—and moving him now could make things worse."
"That won't be necessary," Primi said. "We just need to reach the Diviners' Nest where there are plenty of Diviners for to heal us,some who are specifically are trained to do it—and they're closer."
Reone nodded.
"He's right,"he said. "What's wrong, Mickey?"
Reone noticed that the guy seemed hesitant.
Mickey scratched the back of his head.
"Forgive me, but all this talk about Diviner Elders and healing nests… it sounds—"
"Crazy,unbelievable and made up," Nova finished.
"Yeah,"Mickey muttered honestly.
"It's all real," Reone said firmly. "Trust me."
"…Alright," Mickey said after a moment,shrugging. "Let's do this."
"Can you help them up?" Reone asked.
Everyone moved at once, supporting the injured. Lyrian and Mia steadied Reone.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"You okay?" Mia asked.
"I'm fine," Reone said. Then hesitated. "But before we go—Rhys. He's okay, right?"
Mia's expression faltered.
Reone started fidgeting nervously, holding his breath.
"Mia," he pressed with an effort. "Say something."
"Careful,Reone" Lyrian murmured. "Don't move too much."
Reone barely heard her.
"Mia?"
"…According to Dane," Mia said slowly, "Rhys is stable."
"Stable?" Reone echoed.
"That's good, right?" Lyrian asked, a little relieved.
Mia shook her head.
"He's not out of the woods yet."
Lyrian and Reone's hearts sank.
"So he could still—"
"No," Mia cut in sharply. "That's not happening. It can't."
"You're right," Lyrian said, backing her up. "And I'm so sorry, Mia."
She would have hugged the other girl if they weren't supporting Reone.
"He'll be fine," Reone said, clinging stubbornly to hope as well.
Mia nodded once.
"Hey—we need to move," Nova called ahead.
"We're right behind you," Mia said. "Come on, guys."
They started forward—but Reone stopped.
Something had caught his attention.
Ahead of him lay an Extractor rifle, dropped in the chaos. His gaze locked onto the logo etched into its metal. It was the initials of Sovereign Arsenal.
His father's organization.
On an Extractor rifle, no less.
Reone instantly became quietely outraged.
"Why are you stopping?" Lyrian asked.
"Yeah, we're falling behind," Mia added.
Neither of them noticed the symbol. Reone,erasing his frown, didn't point it out.
"Sorry. Got distracted there for a bit," he said evenly. "Just… a lot on my mind, I guess."
They both looked at him, suspicious, unconvinced.
He was talking weird.
"Guys—keep up," Sire called, breaking the moment.
"Coming," Mia replied.
Lyrian looked at Reone.
"Ready?"
"Yeah," he said. "Let's go."
His expression was calm.
But inside him, a huge storm was raging.