The answer came only a heartbeat ter;
She raised an eyebrow,
There ause and then Shark eborated,
She smiled, He’s growing well.
“Took a while to get what you need,” Amos said with a yawn, walking over to the fridge and grabbing his own drink before throwing himself into the couch, “But I got it.”
She turo face him, “Oh?”
“Yeah, you’d think a guy with security that shit would have pictures of himself ying around but he’s surprisingly cautious in some ways,” Amos said, taking a sip of his drink and waving his hand, “But I’ve got a picture of Phan Duong for you.”
“Wonderful!” Sonya crowed, walking over to sit o him. It had been b her since she first heard his sounded so familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Even with her encyclopedid well anized memory it was like there was a hole there. Not that it mattered, some insipid young master getting favors from his powerful father was nothing unusual, it was just o put a face to the name of the idi to scheme against her.
She sensed a signal ing from Amos and loaded the image in her HUD. She took one look and hopped to her feet, “A!” She blurted, her fingers g into fists.
“Who?” Amos asked, jerking back a bit from her sudden movement.
Sonya froze and gnced back at him, giving him a meaningful look. He closed his mouth and cleared his throat as she focused on the image. Ao think one of you already took the bait! It seems that making myself a perceived nuisao the future self-procimed gods has already started to pay off! She couldn’t push the grin off of her face as she looked the image of the young man in the eyes, So you were the Chairman’s son. No wonder. But…wait… She frowned and crossed her arms. That doesn’t make sense.
She started to pace, Amos watg her. A was one of the Mythic-Tier heroes during my st life. He was a monster, and not someone I could ever face head on. He’d kill me and everyone around me in a heartbeat. He was also brilliant, though, She rubbed her temples, A genius with the Amethyst Order at his bed call, his pns were always foolproof. It was one of the reasons Otis picked him as one of his heralds.
She looked back at the image again, This idiot? That’s impossible.
But it was clearly him, the face was unmistakable. That ckadaisical expression and those cold eyes. She’d only met him once during a summit with hua. He’d been so intense and kly what to say. She rubbed her face, Think, Sonya! There has to be an expnation, someone like him wouldn’t rely on daddy’s influend certainly wouldn’t be as stupid and reckless as this guy. She paused and gnced back at Amos, “You said that the call to the Assassin wasn’t made on Duong’s number, right?”
He blinked and looked up at her, he’d already pulled out his phone and ying a game, “Uh, yeah. Some woman named Feng Hyunh. I think she’s his fiance or something.”
“Fiance?” She said thoughtfully, “Feng Hyunh, Feng Hyunh…”
Nothing, who is that? Does she have something to do with how articute he bees ter on? It’s possible but I don’t have enough information.
“Learhing you about her,” Sonya said, “Tomorrow,” She added after a moment’s hesitation and gnced back to see a relieved look on Amos’ face. “Get some rest, alright?”
He let out a breath and nodded, “Yeah, I’ll do that. I’m gonna chill for a bit though, been a while since I caught up on my games.”
She snorted and smiled at him before walking up and ruffling his hair, “Thank you for everything, Amos.”
He grinned up at her, “Just doin’ my job.”
She walked away, heading back to her room. She ran her fihrough her hair as her expressio hard, a cruel smile f on her lips. That’s one herald found, and information I didn’t have as well, for now, patience. I ’t touch the boy yet. She squared her shoulders and shut the door behind her, But soon.
–
Sonya opened her eyes and rubbed her face, she felt drowsy. She looked down at her p and flinched, why am I wearing gear? She thought sleepily, her fingers running over the cargo pants and the strap of her sidearm on her hip. She squinted as light flooded into her vision and her eyes hastily reorieig in her head in order to pensate for the abrupt gre. She frowned and looked around, Where?
hua smiled at her from the side with a raised eyebrow, “Have a good nap, sleepy head?” She ughed, putting her hand on Sonya’s.
Sonya blinked, “Uh…”
hua tittered out anh, “Stunned by my beauty as soon as you wake up? You’re cute," she teased and struck a pose in the vehicle. They were in a car. She held her arms over her head and gave Sonya bedroom eyes, “How’s this?”
Sonya flushed and looked down, reag up to rub her neck, “Y-you know how to shake a girl up,” She murmured, looking down at the ring on the woman’s finger. hua squeezed her hand and pulled Sonya’s fingers up to her lips. Sonya followed the movement with her eyes, her face growing increasingly red as she made eye tact with her wife again. “…”
“It’s going to be fine, you don’t o be so nervous,” hua reassured her, “It’s just a meeting.”
Meeting? What meeting? When? Where?
“Otis and his team just want to catch up, they just cleared that Mythigeon. We should be throwing a party but the big man in charge seemed all serious on the call,” hua huffed, kissing Sonya’s knuckle and turning towards the window, “Here we are.”
The Summit! Sonya thought, I’m dreaming, how am I so lucid? Is it my improved mind?
The car stopped as Sonya’s thoughts reeled, the door opened and she squinted again, her eyes whirring in her head as hua slipped out of her seat. She set her sword on her hip and struck a rexed pose as the ittee representatives bowed in front of her.
“Wele to Avalon, Madame Bck Lotus,” The representatives said as one.
Sonya slipped out of the car after her and looked around, it was just as unbelievable as the first time she id eyes on it. Streets of white marble like storetched as far as one could see trasting with the vibrant green of grass. White buildings rose up around them with domes and mis, narrow towers topped with massive crystals that hummed and spun slowly in mid air. Avalon, the seat of Heroes, the pce where the Mythics were like gods and anyone else was naught but a mere mortal.
hua held up her hands, “Thank you all, no need for formalities, let’s head to the grand hall,” She said and turo Sonya, “You ing?”
Sonya swallowed, “Y-yeah.”
Sonya followed a step behind hua, taking in her surroundings. It was strange reliving a memory like this, she wondered if she could record it somehow. Her lip twitched, if only it were that easy. But at least she could take it all in, sensory data that she hadn’t picked up on i life. The energy levels in the air were crazy, how had hua not noticed how much mana was around them? Or had she not cared? Given her ability, Sonya supposed it really didn’t matter.
They made their way down the promenade and towards the rgest of the buildings, a massive dome wider than a football stadium. A pair of enormous doors were set into the side. They were slightly ajar with enough space between them for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder with no issue. Guards were posted outside wearing the white-and-gold of the Avalon Guard, each of them were no doubt Heroic level Light-touched if not low-grade Mythi their ht. It was an obvious show of force.
Sonya narrowed her eyes as they strode through the opening and into the vast interior. A garden out of one’s dreams waited for them inside, water flowed in strange dires, even defying gravity as it poured up into small floating isnds that were decorated with all manner of stras extracted from dungeons. Everything but the white outer walls was doused in color, blues and pinks and greens and yellows shimmering eerily. It was nothing short of the domain of the gods.
“Bck Lotus!” Came a cheery voice ahead of them. She didn’t reize it, but her gut twisted iion. She tore her eyes from the sery to take him in. He had short blonde hair coifed to the right and a rather pin but handsome appearaan skin with a jolly look in his sapphire blue eyes. His hands were opened, ready for an embrace. She blinked and it was as if memories came rushing back, her jaw tensed, her eyes bulged, her muscles screamed at her to luis!
hua ughed and greeted him with an embrace, “Otis! Good to see you, sir!” She ughed, stepping back from him after a brief hug, “That power of yours is maddening though, every time I see you it’s like meeting you for the first time!”
Otis smirked at her, “It has its advantages,” he said smugly and gnced past her towards Sonya, “And who’s this?”
Sonya forced herself to calm down, it took every ounce of self trol as she bowed her head in the dire of the man she wao kill more than anyone in the world, “Sonya Lian, sir, ame Farsight,” Sonya said politely.
“Lian?” He hummed and g hua, then down at their hands, “Oho I see, wele Farsight!” He said with a bright smile and turo the garden, “We’re all waiting for you.”
Sonya watched him go with a frown and fell into step behind hua again, cautiously her surroundings. There had to be a reason why she was remembering this, was she just dwelling because she had finally entered one of the heralds again? There had to be more to it, though, more information she could glean. hua gnced back at her, “You okay?”
Sonya forced herself to smile, “Y-yeah, just a lot to take in.”
“Don’t I know it, every time I meet the guy,” hua said, “He’s called the faceless hero because of that odd side effect of his abilities. Nobody remember what he looks like uhey’re right in front of him.”
I know. “I see.”
hua shrugged, “No point iing used to it,” She said a walking, admiring the pnts, “Marta would love this pce, I wish we could bring her.”
Sonya graced hua with a smile as they stepped through a gde of eerie trees and into a wide clearing at the ter of the eructure. She stopped, transfixed for a moment as she took in the sight for the sed time. There had to be over a hundred people here, maybe even more. Ead every one of them was a notable face, each of them talking amongst themselves. Yet most promi were the seves set up in a semicircle on the far side of the clearing and Otis himself standing in the ter of a small pond at the clearing’s heart.
Sonya swallowed, The Mythic Summit, she thought, Enough power here to destroy all of mankind. Her eyes narrowed as she rallied her self trol, None of them know it in this moment, but they will do just that.
She kept her cool as she and hua made their way to a seat on the right, looking in on where Otis stood. He raised his hands to the air, “Wele, Divines and their guests! To this Mythic Summit!” He cracked a grin, “Without further ado, we have a lot to talk about.”