The Next Morning...
Levi and his friends returned to Heliodor’s region to attend Seraphis’ funeral and pack their things. With the upcoming conference and the possibility of staying at the World Tree for several months, they couldn’t leave without first checking on their friends and families, and getting everything in order.
As for the treasures in Jasmine’s wallet? They had already split them up equally among each other... they took 15% of the wallet’s value each.
This left 10%, but they didn’t split it... Levi decided to donate 5% to the government for standing up for them and keeping their word. The last 5% would go to Rayan, Sergio, Jamal, and any other close friends they had.
Although they reached this far, they didn’t forget their day ones... the people they fought alongside and survived with. It might help them push further along their evolutionary path and show up for their region when it needed them.
Right now, Levi and his friends were escorted to the High Council the moment they emerged from Willow Grove’s dimensional mirror.
After they stepped inside the Council’s main hall, a wave of applause rained down on them, surprising them a little.
"What’s going on?"
Arthur whispered near Jojo’s ear, just to have her slap it away in annoyance without answering him.
Arthur wasn’t left waiting for an answer.
The High Chancellor announced with a pleased smile, "Good work, everyone... Feng Ling has updated me about everything. We are glad that you have returned safely. We can tell the exploration wasn’t easy."
"No, it wasn’t... and yet, we came back bearing gifts," Arthur spoke coolly as he took his seat in the center of the hall.
Jojo and the girls rolled their eyes, but they let him have his moment... they sat next to him and saw that all Governors and Agency leaders attended besides Lord Idriss.
’Where is my father?’ Shia wondered inwardly, seeing that her mother took his seat to represent him.
"Whatever gift you brought with you, I want you to keep it and use it." The High Chancellor smiled kindly, "If we want you to evolve beyond Solarbound rank, you must invest everything in yourselves... trust me, if you think you have a lot now, you won’t have the same judgment once your path is blocked."
Hearing this, Levi and his friends nodded in understanding... they had a feeling their government wouldn’t accept their gift, but they still wanted to offer.
"Feng Ling told me that Dominic has broken the news to you about Seraphis." Hicham sighed, "I don’t know how you received it, but I hope you remain strong... for him."
"My thoughts exactly." The High Chancellor nodded, "We already plan to hold a funeral of the highest honor for Seraphis... his services to the government, to the region, to our people, they have been nothing but extraordinary, and he deserves it."
Levi and the others nodded in support.
"We know you’ve been summoned to the Conference, so we’ll hold the funeral in three days to avoid keeping you here longer than necessary," the High Chancellor said with a warm smile. "You continue to make us proud to be Heliodorians, and we pray you stay on the same path... It’s been a long time since we old fogies have felt this excited about anything."
The Governors chuckled, agreeing with his statement.
"We will keep doing our best." Levi nodded respectfully.
"That’s all I ask of you," the High Chancellor said with a faint smile. "Keep moving forward... that’s how you honor those who fell."
With that final statement, Levi and his friends were excused. The Council didn’t discuss their decision about joining the Factions’ bonus event... they knew it was theirs to make, and all they could do was support them from afar.
For they had proven, over and over again, they could handle their business alone.
After leaving the Council, Shia called for their friends to meet them in their favorite hanging spot... the Morningstars restaurant’s rooftop.
Levi told them that he was going to catch up to them later with his brother... When the girls heard this, they decided to go home too and meet up after an hour or so.
But Levi didn’t go to his apartment... he went out of the region with his brother on top of Vyra, stopping only when they landed on the peak of a small cliff.
"What are we doing here, big bro?" Arthur wondered as he tried to pat Vyra, but she almost bit his hand off.
"I will tell you when Jasmine arrives." Levi smiled.
"Jasmine?" Arthur’s heart skipped a beat. ’Did he bring me here to help him ask her out?’
"Hahaha, I didn’t think you had it in you." Arthur grinned, still teasing Vyra with his hand, not scared of losing it.
"Hmm? What are you on about?"
Seeing that Vyra’s anger levels were on the rise, Levi ordered her to go on a short flight before she snapped at his little brother... Vyra made sure to blow dust in Arthur’s direction with a faint smirk before leaving them.
"Come on, it’s me..." Arthur coughed off the dust while approaching Levi, "I am totally on your side, just tell me what I need to do to help you win her over."
"???"
Levi was left confused for a moment, and then it hit him... his little brother thought he wanted to confess his love to Jasmine.
"Don’t be stupid, it’s not like that." Levi swiftly corrected the confusion lest his brother do something foolish. He switched to dimensional messages and said, ’I want to tell you both the truth of what happened in the ancient site.’
The moment Arthur heard this, he dropped the jokester act and turned off his Neuralens device to stop the recording.
Before he could ask him what he meant, Arthur spotted a black dot fast approaching from a distance... it turned out to be Jasmine on her nightmount.
She descended next to them and looked around her in confusion, seeing that it was just the three.
-I thought you called all of us here?- She asked, signing.
’Turn off your Neuralens first.’ Levi sent a message.
Hearing this, Jasmine’s heart skipped a beat too, but it was for the right reason, unlike Arthur... she could tell from Levi’s expression that he was ready to remove the veil of their memories.
’I told you.’
’Whatever.’
N’ibby rolled her eyes and remained silent, not too fond of Jasmine’s feelings and thoughts about Levi... she could see that she was getting way too close to him. N’ibby didn’t trust him or Ash’Kral one bit... especially Ash’Kral.
After Jasmine turned off her Neuralens device, Levi pointed two fingers in their direction... before they could react, two shadowy strings emerged and touched their foreheads. Then, the shadowy strings made contact with the darkness blocking their memories. However, instead of extending and covering more, it was absorbed.
This happened only in Arthur’s brain... Levi was left confused for a moment after sensing that his veil of darkness was nowhere to be found in Jasmine’s brain.
When he saw her playful, innocent smile, he knew what had happened... he smiled wryly while shaking his head.
’Fair enough.’ He said telepathically.
While Arthur was left stunned and somewhat horrified by the hidden truth of the ancient site, Jasmine covered her lips in amusement as she stared at Levi.
But their gaze didn’t linger for long... Arthur dropped to the ground with his forehead sweating all over. He slowly turned his gaze to his brother and Jasmine.
Then, he asked his brother with a stern tone, ’Levi... what are we?’
Arthur had seen himself almost become Azhukar’s vessel because of his Radian bloodline... then, he watched his brother being consumed by the void and saving them.
No need to mention Jasmine’s own peculiar transformation and ability to summon a dominion while being at the Warden rank.
But for now... he only wanted to know about their origin, and most importantly... if they were even humans.
Levi walked towards Arthur and crouched next to him... then, he replied with a bitter smile, ’I am afraid that’s a question I still have no answer for.’