Chapter 99: Waiting 2

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Waiting 2

*1:29 PM*

A soft beep sounded from the wall panel near the door. A message flashed on the small screen from the main control room:

Mr. Valerius has finished at the medical wing. He is heading back to Acheron Deep now.

Liora read the words twice. She let out a long breath. He’s safe. He’s coming back.

"Hey, Leo," she called softly.

Leo was sitting cross-legged on the blanket, carefully placing a giant pink sofa inside their huge digital house. "Mm?"

"Uncle Felix is coming back."

Leo’s head snapped up so fast his hair bounced. "Really?"

"Really. He’s on his way right now."

Leo tossed the controller onto the mattress without a second thought and scrambled to his feet. "Unca Felix!"

"Wait, he isn’t outside the door yet!" Liora laughed, jumping up to gently take his small hand. "Hold on, buddy. We have to wait inside."

Leo frowned up at her, tugging at her fingers. "Why? Want to see him!"

"I know, but rules are rules. We can’t just run out into the hallway." She knelt down so they were eye to eye. "Let’s wait right here together, okay?"

Leo thought about it, pouted for a second, then nodded. "Okay."

They went back to the bed. Liora set the console on the nightstand and helped him line up his small toy cars along the edge of the blanket. Every few seconds, Leo’s eyes darted toward the heavy metal door.

Every time he looked, Liora caught herself smiling.

She hadn’t realized until today just how familiar that feeling was sitting in this room, watching that exact door, counting the minutes until Felix showed up.

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*2:00 PM*

CLICK. HISSSS.

The heavy lock clicked open, and the door slid back.

Felix walked in. His shirt was rumpled and creased, his hair was a messy nest, and deep exhaustion shadowed his eyes. But his back was straight, and the moment he saw the boy, the tightness in his face melted away into a warm smile.

"Hey, buddy."

"UNCA FELIX!"

Leo took off like a rocket across the tiles, arms wide. Felix dropped to one knee, opened his arms, and caught the little boy as he slammed into his chest.

"There you are," Felix chuckled, wrapping his arms around the toddler.

Leo hugged Felix’s neck with all his strength, burying his face into his shoulder. "You took so long!"

"Yeah. Sorry about that, kiddo," Felix murmured, gently patting the boy’s back. "Had a lot of work to do today."

Leo pulled back, his brown eyes looking straight into Felix’s face. "People hurt?"

"Yeah. Some of them were."

"You make them all better?"

Felix’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second. The memory of the blood-slick floors, the wailing rookie, and the cold white sheets flashed through his mind before he buried it deep down.

"I fixed up a lot of them," Felix said softly. "The other doctors are taking care of the rest."

Leo accepted that, nodding seriously. "Okay."

Then he threw his arms around Felix’s neck again.

Felix closed his eyes, holding the warm, lively little boy tight against his chest for a few quiet seconds. It grounded him after hours of fighting off death.

When he opened his eyes, he looked over Leo’s shoulder.

Liora was standing beside the bed, clutching the console to her chest with both hands. Her face was full of visible relief, though a soft pink blush was already dusting her pale cheeks.

?"Hey, Liora," Felix greeted, his tone warm and relaxed.

?"H-hello, Felix..."

?"Thank you for watching him today."

?"It was nothing, really! He was great, and I... I actually had a lot of fun," Liora said, nodding a little too fast.

?Felix smiled softly. "I’m glad."

Leo’s head whipped around. "We played cars! I hit car with shells!"

Felix raised an eyebrow, looking at Liora.

Liora sighed, crossing her arms. "He targeted me in every single race. He didn’t even care about the track."

"Every single one!" Leo cheered proudly, puffing out his chest.

Felix let out a laugh, ruffling the boy’s hair.

"That’s my boy. Solid tactical thinking."

Liora stared at him in utter disbelief. "Are you seriously praising him for playing dirty?"

"I’m praising his drive to win," Felix grinned. "A completely valid racing strategy."

"It is not!" Liora huffed, her cheeks puffing out.

Felix chuckled. Leo looked between them, saw how silly they were being, and dissolved into loud giggles. Hearing the toddler laugh, Felix laughed right along with him.

For a few moments, the dark, bloody horrors of the outside world completely vanished.

Felix stood up, lifting Leo easily onto his hip. His teasing expression softened into something sincere as he met Liora’s gaze.

"Thank you, Liora."

Liora blinked, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. "For what?"

"For stepping up," Felix said quietly. "I had to run out without explaining a thing, and I dumped a toddler in your lap. You didn’t complain, and you took great care of him. I really appreciate it."

Liora looked down at the floor, her blush deepening. "It was nothing. We just played games and ate lunch."

"You kept him safe and happy while everything out there went crazy."

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she just gave a shy little nod. "...You’re welcome."

Leo pointed a chubby finger at her. "Liora crashed into the wall! Big boom! Then I won!"

Liora’s face went red. "That was an accident! I didn’t lose on purpose!"

Felix smirked. "You crashed? You never lose at this game."

"My hand slipped!" she stammered, flustered. "I wasn’t going easy on him!"

"So you didn’t crash on purpose just to let him win?" Felix teased.

"No!"

"Really?"

Liora looked away, blushing furiously. "...He looked sad, okay? So I slowed down."

Felix burst out laughing, and Liora buried her burning face in her hands. "Stop laughing at me!"

Leo clapped his hands happily. "Big boom! Leo won!"

Felix finally caught his breath and checked the wall clock. "Alright, as much as I’d love to stay and tease you, I need to get Leo back before Darius starts tearing the city apart looking for him."

Leo’s smile vanished instantly. "Leaving now?"

"Yeah, buddy. Nap time soon."

"I want more games," Leo whined, tugging on Felix’s collar. "With Liora."

He looked at Liora and pointed. "She come too?"

Liora froze on the spot. Her eyes went wide, and her blush spread all the way to the tips of her ears.

Felix looked at her, saw how flustered she was, and smiled gently. "Not today, buddy. But we’ll see about next time, okay?"

Leo thought about that, then seemed satisfied. "Okay!"

Felix turned back to Liora. "I’ll let Elena know how much you helped out today. Next time I come by, we’ll set aside proper time for a real session. Just the two of us, plus a rematch on that racing game."

Her eyes lit up with bright hope. "Really?"

"Even if I crush you again?"

Felix gave an exasperated sigh. "Liora, please. Have some mercy on a healer’s fragile ego."

Her jaw dropped, a proud grin fighting its way through. "Never! I’m taking first place every single time."

Leo started giggling again, and Felix shook his head with mock sadness. "Look at that, Leo. Pure ruthlessness. That’s what happens when you spend too much time around top-tier gamers."

"Hey! Don’t make me sound like the villain!"

"I’m just preparing the boy for reality," Felix teased, giving her a wink.

Liora puffed her cheeks out, but the delighted smile spreading across her face was impossible to hide.

Felix’s playful smirk softened, turning quiet. "Liora."

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Today was... really bad out there," Felix said, his voice dropping low. "A lot of things went wrong across the city. I’ll explain everything when I have more time."

Liora looked at the dark circles under his eyes, noticing how pale he still looked underneath the cheerful act. Her heart squeezed. "Are you really okay, Felix?"

Felix paused. Then he gave her a small, honest smile. "I’m exhausted. But I’ll be fine."

She looked at him for a long moment, then said softly, "Please be careful. Don’t push yourself too much."

For once, Felix didn’t fire back with a witty joke. He reached out with his free hand and gently patted the top of her hair, his touch warm and steady.

"I’ll be careful," he promised. "And I’ll be back soon."

Liora’s breath hitched slightly, her cheeks warming under his palm. "...Okay."

Felix pulled his hand back, gave her a small wave, and turned toward the door. Leo waved his little hand over Felix’s shoulder.

"Bye-bye, Liora!"

Liora smiled, raising her hand. "Bye, Leo. Be a good boy for your dad."

"I good boy!"

Felix glanced back one last time through the open hatch. "Thanks again, Liora."

CLUNK. HISSSS.

The heavy blast door slid shut, and the lock clicked into place.

Liora stood alone in the center of the quiet room for a long minute, staring at the closed steel panel.

Then she walked back over to the bed and picked up the controller. The screen was still on, showing the colorful island with their giant, silly mansion, completely packed with ten digital beds and a mountain of toy blocks.

A small, quiet smile spread across her face.

She sank down onto the edge of the mattress, her thumbs lightly brushing the cool plastic of the controller.

?’Felix... oh, Felix.’

?’What have you done to me?’

?’You showed me a future...’

?The tip of her tongue slowly traced the curve of her lower lip, tasting the lingering warmth of the room.

A shiver ran through her, not from the chill, but from a sudden, suffocating surge of hunger.

?’And I will make it real. Just you and me. No one else.’

?Her thoughts tipped over the edge, spiraling into unhinged fixation. Her pupils flared, bleeding into a toxic, luminous shade of magenta that pulsed with erratic heat.

Even against the heavy iron hum of the mana dampeners, threads of ink-black miasma slithered up from her wrists, wrapping around her forearms like living veins.

The dark power fed on her devotion, amplifying every possessive instinct until the air around her warped with suffocating gravity.

?Her breath hitched in a quiet, delirious giggle.

?Then, snapping the madness behind an innocent mask, her thumb tapped start.

?The screen flared to life, and she began playing again, humming a cheerful, rhythmic melody while the shadows under her skin whispered his name.

Outside Acheron Deep, the world was reeling from a disaster that had taken thousands of lives. Felix was on his way to an emergency council.

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