The guards stepped aside, and the one who had previously spoken evehed a sigh of relief. Leo would have ughed if it hadn't been for the rio rushing towards him. There was o make this situation even weirder than it already was.

  "Holden, Frank," he o the two men who came to a stop just at the barrier's edge. "Cra. Not gonna lie, it's good to see you all."

  "What the fuck, Hale?" Frank took the lead before anyone else could act. "I saw what happe ReachHope. How are you even alive? There were so many bloody corpses, and you've been missing for over a day!"

  Leo grimaced. Of course, the Fallen would ght for the throat. "I expin," he gnced around, notig more and more people gathering around them. "Though maybe we should take this somewhere more private?"

  Holden cut in before Frank could open his mouth again. "You're right. Follow me. We don't need everybody to hear this. The morales are already low enough..."

  Nodding, he stepped past the golden barrier. He waited for the usual b of warmth and safety to embrace him, but for some reason, it never came. He felt the same as he did a moment ago, as if the safe zone didn't aowledge his existence or didn't think he s assistance.

  Weird as hell. Leo ented with a light shake of his head, following the trio toward the small office building attached to the warehouse.

  As they walked, he took the silence as an opportunity to study the people around him. Knowing how the survivors took to the ret loss could be useful in the ing versation.

  The few civilians they passed didn't seem to act much differently than before. They still refused to look in his dire and often huddled in the ers, trying to disappear from view.

  As for those who fought? Who still tried to adapt to the new world?

  The tenseness of their shoulders was the first thing that caught Leo's attention, with the heavy bags uheir eyes ing as a close sed. Holden and the other two shared this tiredness, this fear, but they at least tried to hide it. Not that it really worked, as it took him barely a mio notice all the signs.

  I don't know why I expected anything else. The civilians might not care as much because, in the end, they are still alive. But the others?

  He sighed, pushing those thoughts away. None of them would achieve anything but create even muilt. He didn't , at all.

  "Through here," Holden called out and took a sharp left inte cleared-out room.

  Only a simple makeshift table stood in the middle while a few Ether torches decorated the walls. They weren't active, but sidering that the sun was out and they didn't have time to secure the windows yet, there was no need for them.

  At least they are still w on this pd not wallowing in misery. Good for them.

  They all took a position around the table, and Leo didn't have to wait long for someoo speak up.

  "So Hale…" Frank looked him in the eyes, the Fallen's patie sting even a few seds. "Fuck! You told me something was wrong at the old site and ran off. What the hell happened?"

  He g the others, but no one seemed ied in adding anything. After taking a deep breath, he decided to just get this over with. He really didn't want to talk about this lohan absolutely necessary.

  "When I gave Adam," Leo didn't even have to fake the grimace, "some of my Essehe process created a weak e between us. I have no idea how it exactly happened, but my current race must be at least partially responsible..."

  All of this was a big lie, but if he wao hide his godson's involvement in the massacre, there was no other way. Besides, they didn't o know the whole truth; it wouldn't ge anything for them. In the end, the Void was responsible for everything.

  "Anyway... Normally, the e remained silent. Hell, I was barely even aware of it… Maybe it would stay that way for a bit longer, but theorm came," he tinued, shutting his eyes for a moment. "This e screamed at me, eg in my head. Again, I didn’t know why, but I couldn't stay put."

  "That doesn't expin how you’re not a rotting corpse, Leo!" Cra threw her hands up. "You walked into a Nightmare-ied city and lived. A's not eveion what must have happe ReachHope! We saw the bodies, dozens of them. Collectors, Scouters, fug everything!"

  "Cra!" Holden growled, g the woman. "Give him a ce to expin. It's obvious he isn't do."

  Leo nodded with a sigh. "Right you are," he muttered. "You all saw the System's message. All Nightmares were thirty pert weaker during the storm. With this, my speed was enough to at least let me stay a bit ahead of the chase after they finally found me. I'm not saying it was easy because it wasn't. But I mao get to ReachHope with only a few bruises and broken boo show it."

  As he fihis part of the expnation, the sileed only for a short moment.

  "So the building and barrier still stood when you got there?" Holdeioned.

  "Yeah," Leo dropped his gaze to the table, memories of sughtered bodies fshing in front of his eyes. "It didn't matter though. I was too te."

  Cra stuttered. "But the barrier!"

  He chuckled bitterly. "It must have been too weak to hold them all back at that point. Fug hell, it broke a few mier. I'm not even surprised that a single Colleao somehow slip inside."

  Here was where he ged the most crucial part of the story. Instead of making Adam the viliransferred the bme onto a random Nightmare. He didn't even feel bad about the manipution; he couldn't.

  "A Collector? But..." The only woman among them muttered, hands over her mouth.

  "It sughtered everyone inside," he tinued, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "By what I saw, they were in the process of moving towards the basement. They were just a bit too te. Nobody survived. Your people. Ava. Adam..."

  Leo gritted his teeth, fists g as anger coursed through his veins. Even if he was giving them half-truths, those memories, those feelings were still raw in his mind. He didn't even have to try to fake them.

  "I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry for your loss," Holden broke the silence first, his voiing out softer than ever before. "Maybe if I tried harder, lead everyoer..."

  "Pretty much what he said, mate," Frank added, his tone somber. "None of these people should have suffered like that, and especially not a young kid. I might have called some of them useless, but at the end of the day, they trusted us to keep them safe. And we failed... Now, all that's left is to move on. Learn from our mistakes and survive. Adapt."

  Cra didn't even try to follow up with another speed instead offered him a sad smile. A smile he most likely didn't deserve for the manipution of the truth.

  It doesn't matter. I did what was necessary.

  "Thanks," Leo offered them all a light smile, even if it didn't look particurly good on his unique face. "Still, I guess you all would like to know how I'm even here, hmm?"

  "If you don't mind, then yes, please," Holden nodded.

  He shrugged. "Sure... Though I'm gonna disappoint you, I don't know much about what happened. My rage took over when I found the bodies, and my unique racial skill activated... I bcked out and awoke sometime ter, kneeling in the middle of dead Voidlings."

  "So that was you. Bloody hell," Frank muttered. "You really don't know how you killed them all? What about that skill of yours? Does it expin anything?"

  "No," Leo shook his head, going for another half-truth. "I gai not that long ago, and its description isn't too forthing. I wish I could tell you more, but I just 't. All I know is that I killed a shit tone of Voidlings and got the experience for it."

  "Not what I wao hear, but beggars 't be choosers. At least it expins why I 't Identify you. You are likely too bloody strong for that," Frank noted before narrowing his eyes. "And where were you yesterday?"

  You ain't gonna believe this.

  "Sleeping. My body pretty much shut down a bit after I found a pce to rest. I awoke like not even an ho."

  "You slept for over a day?" Cra gaped.

  "Sure looks like it," Leo said. "Trust me, I was just as surprised as you are. Although, I'm more thankful that nothing found me when I was out."

  "Lucky indeed," Holden shook his head. "So what's your pn now, Hale? If I may be blunt, our deal didn't cover such a situation."

  The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense. Even Cra and Frank, who were always more easy-going, felt it, their shoulders squared and ready to jump into a if necessary. They were worried, scared even, and Leo couldn't bme them for that.

  Despite ing to like the trio before him, he didn't care about anyone else in the group. They didn't matter in the long run and couldn't offer him anything.

  Except maybe for Dyn, the older man was always good pany...

  Alright, then. Leo sighed. Let's put your worries to the rest. After all, even if I don't care about the people, this pce still be useful.

  Chaos65