The only ones he deemed worthy of knowing some of his secrets at the moment were: Arthur and Jasmine. This meant Levi planned on restoring their memories alone and leaving Shia, Jojo, and Nurah in the dark.
They might be some of his best friends, teammates he could trust his back to, but... his secrets were simply too potent.
Just the notion of being Half-Radian was scary enough... imagine finding out that he was also part Oblivar, and a wielder of three Origin Seeds?
Such knowledge was nothing more than a heavy burden, and he didn’t want to put it on their shoulders and ruin what they had... at least, not until he was certain they were in it for the long run, no matter what happened.
***
A couple of hours later...
Levi, Arthur, Shia, Evangeline, Tyrese, and the rest of the exploration Daywalkers were called to Dominic’s office.
Levi had met with his brother, friends, and the other teams earlier... they only talked a little about what happened at the distorted site before they got called in.
Dominic had already updated them on what Levi told him... so he didn’t go into too many details with them.
Right now, they were taking a see-through glass elevator towards the topmost floors... As Levi pushed his harmonic spine to the limit, he was left absent-mindedly gazing at the immense interior of the World Tree.
It was alive with a woody, fresh scent... its inside wasn’t hollow in the normal sense... it was a world made of wood, branches, leaves, and modern architecture in the helm.
Such a union was nothing like what Levi had seen in his region’s Willow Grove... as his auditable vision spread wide, it painted a distinct scene of silver and brown mixed in utmost flawlessness... its huge branches spread out like a spider web, and on them stood small town districts, where the majority of the workers lived with their families.
Their houses were built from a mixture of wood and metal in a way that made the metal blend with the bark and leaves around them.
There were hundreds of massive sky bridges crafted of glass and vines, connecting the towns to the central city at the World Tree’s heart. Some bridges were for pedestrians, and others were reserved for vehicles and such.
Meanwhile, the great city in the center had tall towers made from bark, steel, and glass... but most of them were covered in green moss, which illuminated softly under the Aurora Australis.
The tree’s interior had many exposed gateways in the bark for the sake of the bridges to reach the branches... and they allowed the southern aurora lights to peek through the city, casting one of the most beautiful views in Levi’s life.
Soft rivers coursed through narrow channels on the ground... waterfalls between buildings, their droplets reflecting the luminescent green light of moss and the aurora lights.
People moved through the tree’s interior systematically and with a purpose akin to ants infesting it.
Even though it felt modern... with light systems, platforms, and sky bridges... everything still looked alive and natural, as if the technology grew from the tree itself.
The mix of life and structure made it feel less like a city built inside a tree and more like a city that the tree had grown to protect.
And yet... he wasn’t in the right mood to appreciate it.
His mind drifted to what Dominic was about to discuss with them in his office while his auditory vision feasted on a banquet of beauty.
"Levi?"
Soon, Arthur nudged his brother gently, waking him from his stupor.
"Hmm?"
"You good?"
"Yes." Levi smiled serenely, "I was just lost in thought for a bit."
"Aren’t we all?" Tyrese sighed.
He was leaning against the elevator wall while playing with a cigarette box... he wanted to smoke a blunt badly to kill off this feeling of helplessness and confusion, but no smoking was allowed inside the World Tree... only in reserved locations.
"This is truly one of the worst exploration attempts I have ever done..." Evangeline interjected with a tired expression, sharing the same feeling as them.
"We knew the risks... we knew we might lose some of our teammates, but..." Mira smiled wryly, "To lose them... and not remember how, it stings... badly."
"At least we were saved." Tyrese said with a stern expression as he gazed at Levi, "I owe you a big one, truly."
"We all do." Evangeline nodded... her assumption of Levi and his team was shifted for the better and remained as such.
After all, the last thing they remembered was being saved by Levi’s team... and after they woke up, they were told that Levi saved them again from Azhukar’s grasp.
How could they not feel indebted to him or his team? Though even if their memories were erased, the fact still stood... Nick screwed everything up, leaving Jasmine and Levi to pull off a miraculous recovery from a doomed situation.
From today onward, they could only speak words of praise to them if they had an ounce of gratitude in their hearts.
It looked like no one thought differently, as Levi could see their emotions... There was nothing there but goodwill in his direction.
’Ah... let’s hope nothing new arises.’ Levi sighed inwardly, ’I am done for today...’
At the moment, all Levi wanted was to sleep and leave this cursed day in his shadow... others had slept like babies, but he couldn’t, not until he was assured that the day truly ended in his favor.
A few minutes later, Levi and the others arrived at Dominic’s office... they found Feng Ling and a couple of important Sanctuary members standing on the sides. After Dominic greeted and checked on their well-being again, he gave them new Neuralens devices.
"Unfortunately, everyone’s Neuralens devices were lost or destroyed, but... we are glad that you made it out alive." Dominic said with a gentle smile, "That’s what matters the most... the future generation survives and grows, so we can pass them the torch."
"What are your plans with the fatalities?" Tyrese asked calmly while setting up the Neuralens on his ear and eye.
"They deserve an honored burial." Dominic replied, "Their bodies can’t be retrieved, so we decided to hold the funeral in the World Tree... we will invite their family members and close ones."
Evangeline and the others’ expressions turned gloomy... but they could do nothing but nod in understanding.
’I don’t know how we survived. But, we were truly lucky that none of us was picked by Azhukar... Namaste.’
Jojo sent a dimensional message, her voice sympathetic like the others, but relieved for her friends. Arthur and the girls shared the same sentiment as hers.
However, before they could think that they had come off clean, Dominic mentioned with a solemn tone after a deep cough.
"Speaking of funerals... I am afraid I have some bad news." Dominic stared in Levi’s team’s direction, "I know the lot of you have taken an interest in this site mainly to help your instructor... but, I am afraid such responsibility was taken off your shoulders."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Levi’s heart skipped a beat... a reaction shared by his friends as their expressions turned dazed for a moment.
They had a bad feeling about what was about to come out of Dominic’s mouth... and sadly, their instincts were right.
"Seraphis Veyne, sadly, has passed away."
"..."
"..."
"..."
As Arthur and the girls were left in shock, Levi merely lifted his head with a bitter smile and said inwardly, ’I can’t catch a break... can’t I?’