Chapter 289 | The Egg

Chapter 289: 289 | The Egg

After breakfast, the house settled into a quiet Sunday rhythm.

Selene went to her room to examine her earrings more and Lyra continued cultivating on the couch. Mira returned to her place by the window.

The Primordial Beast Egg rested in a padded basket beside her chair. She looked at it for a moment before lifting it with her spectral arms. The movements were noticeably smoother now.

Dexter watched from the dining room doorway as she settled the egg securely in her lap. The bracelets were already helping.

Mira caught him looking. "What?"

"Nothing."

Dexter smiled and carried the dishes into the kitchen.

He washed slowly, his thoughts moving between the system rewards and the conversation they had just finished. The resurrection pill remained sealed away. The puppet needed a discreet place to stand guard. The Hearth Array would require careful installation. And the ten years of cultivation—

A sharp gasp came from the living room.

Dexter dropped the cloth. "Mira?"

He was through the doorway almost before the plate settled in the sink.

Mira sat rigidly in her wheelchair, her eyes fixed on her lap. Lyra’s eyes opened on the couch at the same moment.

"What happened?" Dexter asked.

Mira didn’t answer. She simply lifted one finger.

Dexter followed it.

A thin line ran across the surface of the egg.

He stopped. The line was no longer than his little finger. But it had not been there before.

For a moment, all three stared.

Then—’Crack.’

A second line appeared.

Lyra was on her feet. She crossed the room so quickly that Dexter barely registered the movement. ’’It’s hatching.’’

Her voice sounded inside his mind, stunned and hopeful.

"Wait," Dexter whispered.

He crouched beside Mira’s chair.

The egg moved. Only slightly. Then two more cracks spread across its shell, branching outward from the first like pale lightning. Four cracks.

Dexter’s heart began pounding. "Selene, come here!"

Footsteps sounded immediately. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. Come quickly."

She appeared in the doorway, concern still on her face. Then her echolocation passed over the egg.

Selene stopped. Her lips parted. "Is it...?"

Mira nodded. "It cracked."

Selene approached more carefully now. Through her faint vision, the egg was a pale shape in Mira’s lap. Through reflected sound, she could make out the uneven lines breaking its once-smooth surface. Her hand rose toward it, then stopped.

"Can I touch it?"

Dexter nodded before remembering to answer. "Gently."

Her fingertips brushed the shell.

Something tapped back.

Selene jerked her hand away. Lyra’s eyes widened. Mira leaned forward.

Dexter nearly laughed from sheer surprise. "It moved."

’Of course it moved,’ Lyra said, although her own mental voice trembled. ’There’s something inside.’

"Yes, thank you, Lyra. Very useful observation."

She ignored him completely.

They gathered closer. After months of feeding the egg mana, waiting through its silence, and wondering whether they were doing anything at all, something was finally answering them.

Mira’s spectral arms shifted protectively around it. Dexter immediately held out his hands. "Let’s put it somewhere stable."

Mira looked reluctant to surrender it. He glanced at her lap. "If it comes out with wings, claws, or a terrible attitude, I’d rather it wasn’t sitting directly on you."

Dexter brought the padded basket to the low table and laid a folded towel inside. Mira carefully transferred the egg into it. The shell rocked once, then everything went still.

They waited. A minute passed. Then another.

Lyra leaned closer. ’Maybe it’s tired.’

Dexter listened. Inside the shell, beneath the quiet shifting of mana, a heartbeat fluttered.

His expression softened. "It’s still moving."

Mira looked at him. "You can hear it?"

He nodded. For some reason, that made her grip the armrest more tightly.

Selene sat beside the table, her face turned toward the egg. "Should we give it more mana?"

"Only a little," Dexter said. "Let’s not overwhelm it."

After a few minutes, the egg went silent.

...

Selene finally exhaled.

"It’s sleeping again."

Lyra stared at her.

Then she stared at the egg.

Her expression became deeply offended.

’It woke us up just to go back to sleep?’

"You were already awake," Dexter said.

’That isn’t the point.’

Mira clicked her tongue, though her hand remained careful beneath the shell.

"Little troublemaker."

Dexter fetched the padded basket they had prepared and placed it on the low table. Mira allowed him to transfer the egg, but only after adjusting the folded cloth beneath it herself.

For a while, all four of them continued watching.

Nothing happened.

Eventually, Selene straightened.

"We shouldn’t force it."

Dexter nodded.

"If it needs more time, we’ll give it more time."

Lyra reluctantly released his sleeve.

Mira looked away first, pretending she had not spent the previous several minutes waiting with the same excitement as everyone else.

"I wasn’t expecting much anyway."

Dexter glanced at her.

"Of course."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Hmph..."

His phone rang before she could decide whether to believe him.

Dexter took it from his pocket and glanced at the screen.

Cole Stanley.

He answered while walking a few steps away from the table.

"Cole."

"Dexter! Am I disturbing you?"

"Only a very important household meeting."

"Oh? Should I call later?"

Dexter looked at the egg.

"No. It’s no problem."

There was a brief silence, and then Cole laughed.

"I won’t ask."

"How have you been?"

"Alive, employed, and beginning to think that assembling six heroes in the same place is more difficult than fighting a monster outbreak."

"That bad?"

"You have no idea."

After a little more conversation, Cole’s tone became more serious.

"We should arrange those training sessions we discussed. The meal was good, but knowing each other’s names won’t stop us from getting in each other’s way during a fight."

Dexter nodded.

He had been thinking the same thing.

A squad needed more than several powerful people standing together. They needed to practice.

"Where?"

"The Titan Training Center. I can reserve a tactical arena there. We’ll begin with formation drills, then run a few simulated battles."

Dexter’s eyes flickered.

The same facility he had visited with Violette.

For a moment, he remembered the reinforced arena, the force of her attacks, and how much had changed since that visit.

"I’ll be free on Monday."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. In the afternoon."

"Two o’clock?"

"That works."

"Good. I’ll confirm the booking and send you the details."

After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call.