Chapter 127: was it a dream?

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: was it a dream?

She looked from one familiar face to another.

"How—?"

"We heard what happened." Marcus’s expression became more serious. "And we don’t believe you’re a killer."

Amelia’s smile disappeared. She pulled away from the twins and looked directly at Kate. Her eyes immediately filled with disbelief.

"How are you alive? I never thought I’d see any of you again."

Kai shrugged. "We pulled some strings to get here."

Kate stepped closer. "What happened wasn’t your fault, Amelia."

Amelia’s gaze remained fixed on her.

"But I saw you..."

"I know."

"And I thought..."

Her voice faltered.

Kate reached out and squeezed her arm. "Your powers protected me."

Amelia frowned. "My powers?"

Kate nodded. "I’ll explain. Just... maybe sit down first."

They moved toward a cluster of seats.

Everyone settled in except Caleb, who remained standing a short distance away with his arms crossed.

Lana glanced at him. Then she leaned toward Lila and lowered her voice.

"Who is the guy standing over there like a human security camera that forgot how to blink?"

Lila immediately elbowed her. "Ow!"

"Don’t insult him. He’s not someone you want to offend."

Caleb’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes shifted toward them.

Lana immediately sat up straighter. "See? Very intimidating."

Amelia glanced at Caleb before looking back at her friends.

"Whatever you need to say, just say it."

She gestured toward Caleb. "Mister Caleb isn’t going to give us privacy anyway."

Kate exhaled and finally nodded. "All right. The truth is...I woke up during the chaos. And I got struck... by your lightning."

Amelia’s hand immediately flew to her mouth.

"Oh my God."

"Don’t panic."

"But I—"

"I came out of it completely unscathed."

Kate smiled. "And I gained a gifted ability."

Amelia stared at her. "What?"

Marcus continued. "This confirms something we’ve been thinking about."

Amelia looked at him. "Your powers can somehow activate dormant gifted abilities in other people. Just like what happened to Lana and Lila."

She had never known this was possible. Not even in the memories she had recovered.

The only similar effect she remembered involved the strange pink flowers that appeared when she was intimate with her partners at the same time—flowers that carried powerful enhancement properties.

But this was different. This was something entirely new.

Marcus watched her carefully. "We’d also like our dormant gifted abilities awakened."

Amelia lifted a hand.

"Pause. This is a lot to take in." She shook her head slowly. "Besides... I don’t even know how I did that. Whatever happened with the twins and with Kate—I didn’t control it."

Kai leaned back in his chair with a flat expression.

"Then this trip was definitely a waste."

Marcus shot him a sharp look before turning back to Amelia.

"Then practice. You know the general conditions under which your powers activate. Just repeat them."

"Both times I was furious," Amelia said. "And both times I leveled strong buildings. I’m not going to let myself get that angry again. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk it."

Kate spoke before Marcus could argue further. "She’s right. Besides, we should be focusing on how to get Amelia out of here."

"This is my punishment. I can’t just run away."

"But it wasn’t your fault at all."

Amelia shifted the conversation.

"Where’s Theo? He didn’t come?"

Lana answered.

"Theo hasn’t been feeling well. He couldn’t make a trip this long."

"What about school?" Amelia pressed. "Exams should be over by now. Why aren’t you all just focusing on finishing?"

Kate’s expression tightened. "How could we? You’ve been drafted into a war that has nothing to do with you. We’re trying to find proof strong enough to show you had nothing to do with the incident."

"The perpetrators have already been arrested."

Kate went still.

"...I didn’t know that."

Amelia reached over and took her hand, squeezing it once.

"The only thing you can do for me right now is finish school. I’ll be fine here."

Lana tilted her head.

"Does this mean you’ve dropped out of school?"

Lila crossed her arms, clearly frustrated. "I want to beat you up for saying that... but you’re right. What happens now?"

Amelia gave a small, tired smile. "I’ll look into it. I’m just glad all of you are all right."

They talked a while longer until the conversation naturally wound down. Amelia stood with them and walked them toward the exit, exchanging proper goodbyes.

As the others began to leave, Kate lingered.

"I need to say something to you. Privately."

Once they were a few steps away from the rest, Kate lowered her voice.

"I had a weird dream. But I don’t think it was just a dream."

Amelia’s attention sharpened.

"A dream about what?"

"I had a different life in it," Kate said slowly. "It felt... familiar. I came from a noble family, had loving parents in it too. But the strangest part was you. You were there too—like a teammate of some kind."

Amelia went very still.

What Kate had seen wasn’t a dream.

It was a memory from a past life.

Kate studied her face carefully.

"You know something, don’t you?"

Amelia hesitated.

"You know what that dream was about."

"You won’t believe me."

"A lot of things have happened already," Kate folded her arms. "It’s not impossible for me to believe you at this point."

Amelia met her eyes. "It wasn’t a dream. It was a memory from one of your past lives."

Kate stared at her.

"So..."

Her voice came out quieter than before.

"Reincarnation actually exists?"

"Yeah."

Amelia paused, then added, "I forgot to ask—what’s your gifted ability, anyway?"

Kate glanced around the open lobby and shook her head.

"I can’t show it here. I still can’t control it properly. The worst could happen."

Amelia nodded in understanding.

They shared a brief, firm hug. Kate’s voice was quiet against her shoulder. "Be careful."

Then she pulled away and followed the others out.

Amelia remained where she was, a tired, faintly sad smile lingering on her face.

Caleb’s voice cut through her thoughts from a few steps away.

"Do you actually have the ability to activate dormant gifted abilities in people?"