67 Lily Awakes

The moment Lin Ke thought this, his brain froze. Slowly, he began to try and process what he himself had just thought.

'Wh-what? What is this? Why am I…'

"Lin Ke? Are you okay? Why are you staring at me like that?" Lia looks at him concernedly.

Quickly, Lin Ke looks away, his heart beating rapidly. 'Shit… What is this feeling? Why am I acting like this?'

Lin Ke stutters. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Mhm! I'm perfectly fine! Don't worry!"

Lia tilts her head, confused as to why Lin Ke's face was completely red. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you need some water?"

Lin Ke furiously shakes his head. "No, I'm fine. Really Lia, I'm fine! Oh yeah, Lily will be coming back." Lin Ke attempts to change the topic.

And the attempt worked. Immediately, Lia brightens up. "Really? When? When is she coming back? Where did she go?"

"Well, like I said, she took over my body in order to help us escape and well… apparently that wasn-"

As Lin Ke went about finishing that sentence, he feels as if someone was strangling his throat. Lin Ke freezes. For some reason, Lin Ke feels an ominous presence creeping up behind him. The presence was commanding him, telling him not to talk about what happened. Sweat trickles down his neck.

Lin Ke feels a cold breeze brush the nape of his neck causing him to shiver. Then came the voice. A quiet voice that said softly. "Don't talk… silence is key…" Over and over.

"Lin Ke? Why are you zoned out again? And this time you're completely white!" Lia cries out in alarm.

Just as quickly as it came, the pressure disappeared. If it wasn't so real, if it wasn't so ominous, Lin Ke would have thought it was just a delusion. However, it was too odd to ignore.

Looking at the concerned Lia, Lin Ke tries to shake it off. "Ahaha! I'm fine. So as I was saying… Lily had to recover from taking over my body… She just needs to wait until she's well again."

Lia doesn't look too convinced that he's alright, but decides not to dig too deep into it. "Mm. Alright… Well, since-"

Lia pauses. She stares at Lin Ke in shock. Taking a few steps back from shock, Lia covers her mouth. "Waa-wuwuwaa…" She says unintelligibly.

Lin Ke looks at her, confused. "Hm? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Y-y-you…" Lia stutters. "You have True Energy again! H-how? I thought you would… be… crippled… I mean! Don't get me wrong! I don't want you to be crippled! In fact, I'm super happy you're not! But how?"

Lin Ke looks down at himself. "Oh! You're right! I can feel my True Energy coursing through my body! And it's so fast!!!!"

Lin Ke had just realized he was now cured. Earlier, he had been so caught up in the moment, blindsided by the pain that he didn't realize Queen Mary had accomplished what she promised him. Lin Ke couldn't help but feel a bright smile edge its way onto his face.

However, Lia was still looking at him in confusion, looking for an answer.

Lin Ke scratches his head. With an odd expression on his face, Lin Ke doesn't know how to explain this. He probably couldn't just say that Queen Mary did some shenanigans and then it worked but… With the presence he felt earlier, Lin Ke feels hesitant to try that again in such short notice.

Lin Ke laughs nervously. "Ahhh… Well… I have a faint idea… but I'm not sure."

Quickly switching the topic, Lin Ke asks. "That's right! Do you want to go grab a bite? I'm feeling kind of hungry."

Lia looks at him deeply for a moment. Then, she smiles. "Mmm. Alright! Let's go get some food! I saw this really good steakhouse close by, wanna go?"

"Oooh! Steak? Sure! Let's g-"

"Yo."

Lin Ke freezes. The voice was so familiar… However… it's been so long since he heard it… The voice that reverberated through his head, unable to be heard by anyone but him.

A huge smile appears on his face. "LILY!" Lin Ke shouts out loud.

Lia snaps her head back in surprise. "Hmm? Lily? Where? I thought that she needed a while?"

"I still can't manifest myself outside your body for a while longer. Perhaps another day or two and I'll be fine." Lily says in Lin Ke's head.

"Lily says a day or two more." Lin Ke tells Lia.

"Waaah!!! Well, Lily can hear me right? Helloooo? Lily? I miss you so much!! Get better soon!"

"Hm! Why is she being so noisy?" Lily says quietly. However, there's a hint of happiness in her voice.

Shaking his head, Lin Ke smiles. "Lily said she misses you too."

"Hey! I didn't say that!" Lily says in an annoyed voice.

"Well, let's go then." Lin Ke ignores Lily.

Together, they walk out the door, through the halls of the hotel, and out the front door.

Lin Ke looked around as they strolled down the streets of the crowded city. This was his first time out of the hotel room in forever, and he hadn't gotten the chance to see this city yet.

��Hey Lin Ke." Lily calls as they walk through the city.

"Yeah?"

"...Mmmmmm…. NNNNNN… Th-t-thank you." Lily mumbles.

"Hm?" Lin Ke scratches his head… "Ahhh, no problem… There's not really a need to thank me though. You got in trouble for me."

"Nnnnn. But still…" Lily says bashfully. "I-I didn't think you would…"

"What are you talking about? Of course I would help you! Why would I not help you?" Lin Ke asked.

"Well, I thought that… because you always seemed so annoyed at me… since I push you so much… you would… you know."

Lin Ke shakes his head with a light smile. "Dummy. No matter what you do, you're still the one who introduced me to this world. The one who's been with me since the start of this journey! Of course I need you with me! Since we started this journey together, we have to finish it together too!"

Lily froze. In her small corner inside Lin Ke's mind, Lily feels a special kind of warmth, blossoming from deep within her. Slowly, she cracks a small smile.

"However… Do you know what you got yourself into?"