To where they are now for a while, Arlene— despite being scared and helpless— she mustered up her strength to comfort for Oscar, who was in state of shock from the grotesque event.
If its not a ground that shakes, then the building would rumble in turn. Commotions outside reverberate the inner walls, but they had no choice but to find a way out.
Everyone knew it was race against time.
Soon as the dusts subsided, Arlene reached Eleanor's back and arms. Several large streak of wound detected but it's not as gushing as she thought. She dabbed the area with a rather clean part of the table cloth. The latter hissed, which opted her to act more in caution. The wound, albeit rather slow, only beaded to a small blood along the thin lines.
"Akin to a slight scrape, Elle" Ethan and had Arlene hummed back as she scoured every nook and corner of her body for the rest.
"Can you move?" She grabbed her dainty shoulders. To which the twin sister nodded. "Damian, let's look for first aid, okay?"
"Let's do that. I'll find us a place, enough time to calm down and prepare what's ahead." Damian went on his knees, enough to be at her eye level. Brows furrowed as he pressed his lips before he let out a solemn smile. "Tell me if it hurts, I'll carry you."
"No! I'm fine." Eleanor brought her knees close to her chest. "Really, I am. I'll just be a burden if I do that."
"You'll never be." He stood up and the same glow came from his hips before it manifested to a sword to an unsheathe. "Stay close to me."
A wave of sensation calmed then once more; giving a clear mind to focus on objective at hand.
To their surprise, his eyes glow bright blue— neither a beam or laser— swallowing its vibrant ash brown iris. He looked around the room as though he could look at what lies beyond the walls around them.
With a deep sigh, he click his hilt and slashed the left wall. Once the wall crumbled and the wave of dusts subsided, it turned out to be a suite room of a hotel.
A quick glance around with no signs of monsters, blood splattered, and what of it had Damian prompted the rest to get in fast. He helped Ethan and Arlene carry Oscar's from pile of rubble.
From there, Eleanor trudged from the broken vase and frames and all the way to the bathroom and reached for the vanity; There found a handful of ointments, bandages, and even gauze to her need tumbled upon opening.
When Oscar settled on the bedside, Arlene hurriedly went to Eleanor. She grabbed the scissors on her hand and tore through the cape and sleeve.
Damian, in cross arms, propped his head to the wall. His eyes wandered on Oscar, who is on his phone checking videos and news updates while the two tend to the wounded.
Soon enough, something caught Oscar's eyes from his phone screen. He broke then broke free. "Guys, check this out."
Arlene nodded as she hummed. "Oh, so like any disasters as it is then. There is also temporary shelter stationed— Oh? There's one nearby." Her face shot bright from the possibility of rescue.
But Damian was quick to shut it down.
It earned her furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"
Ethan, on the side, curled inward from their tension. They knew that they had to respect their sister, most especially in dire times. But then again, Damian also asked for their cooperation, to which they agreed.
No questions asked.
He shifted his gaze away from them. "... It's not safe, I know. At least around this time. Our house over there is better." The room has no windows for him to surveil but it seemed like its not one of his worries. "Give me time to check something and then meditate, and we'll make a move afterwards."
They all agreed in unison before he propped down. But to what they stared at his back only got them lean forward, even further when he stared with intensity and hands giving a series of taps midair.
All their gawks meant he had gone crazy; but with everything happening now, was better to accept even if they didn't knew any better.
"What are you doing?" Arlene, sitting near the nightstand, leaned her body forward with chin up towards Damian.
"Every awakening has this— they call it SYSTEM."
"Awakening— for a moment, SYSTEM is?" With hesitation found her voice, Oscar cleared her throat, eyeing not to disturb his state.
"It's a phenomenon that gains powers."
"Powers? Like those superheroes in movies?"
Soon as Ethan and Oscar nodded, she rubbed the temple of her forehead.
"If it isn't different from the game. It might be like those interface that pops midair where you can interact it whenever and wherever you want." Oscar then brought up few videos he had from his gaming streams to a snippet of what it would have been like. "Though there's never knowing what it really look like. I'm not one after all."
"Is that... What I think it is?" Eleanor's ears perked up soon as she got the gist, trying to get up from resting her front torso against the sheets. Her insistence had them gave up. "Even dating sims and novel stories have that kind of concept as well."
All their speculations came to a fruition when Damian concurred.
"It looks like a hologram. You can interact it at will."
"So, do you think I would be, this thing you called awakened, and have that... kind of power?"
To their surprise, it was their eldest sister, Arlene. Who had no idea on games, dates, and movies up to date. For she devoted her life to work whatever she could grab with the best of her abilities. Even if with Damian's help, she still worked and saved all their money to the bank.
Despite that, to awaken, no one knew the conditions after all.
But it shocked them all when they hear Damian muttered something else.