Bliss had made it quite clear that she would not answer any more questions from the three of them. Whatever curiosity they still carried, whatever confusion lingered in their minds, it would have to wait. Before any of them could object, or even open their mouths to speak again, both she and Lenny vanished in a flash of light.
It was the sa way they had arrived, instant, clean, and absolute.
When they reappeared, they were no longer standing atop the mountain or surrounded by Werewolves and tension. Instead, they found themselves inside a study room.
The room itself was large but cramped at the sa ti, filled with towering bookshelves that reached up toward the ceiling. Old tos, scrolls, and loose parchnt were scattered across every available surface, so stacked carefully, others abandoned in careless piles. Crystals of various shapes and colors lay embedded in the walls and placed atop desks, so glowing faintly while others remained dark and dormant.
There was blood on the floor.
It had dried long ago, darkened into brown stains that soaked into the stone beneath their feet. In the center of the room stood a heavy table, its surface carved with markings, runes, symbols, and circular patterns etched so deeply that they would never fade. Whatever ritual had been perford there had not been a simple one.
Through the tall, cracked windows, the outside world was visible. They were high up, far above the ground, surrounded by clouds drifting slowly past. It was clear now, they were inside a Mage tower, one that had been abandoned for a very long ti.
And yet, despite its state, soone had been using it.
In secret.
“Did you really an what you said out there?” Lenny asked imdiately, his voice sharper than usual. He turned toward Bliss, disbelief written plainly across his face. “That none of this is real? How could you believe what they said so easily?”
Bliss did not hesitate. She turned calmly, eting his gaze without flinching.
“Lenny,” she replied evenly, “I’ve told you many things over the years. You should be able to tell when I am speaking the truth, and when I am simply playing around.”
Lenny fell silent.
The truth was, he didn’t fully understand Bliss, not now, and perhaps not ever. Even in his own mind, he preferred to let her believe that he was always one step ahead, that he understood her reasoning completely. In reality, he didn’t. What he did have, however, was preparation.
Lenny planned for every variable.
If sothing went wrong, he wanted to be ready. If sothing unexpected occurred, he wanted an answer waiting. He always assud the worst-case scenario, and built solutions around it.
“But what if you’re wrong?” Lenny pressed, unable to let it go. “What if they really are from the future? Couldn’t we have asked them questions? Picked their minds? Used that knowledge to prepare, to create outcos far stronger than your predictions?”
His voice rose slightly, frustration seeping through.
“There’s a chance you’re wrong,” he finished.
Bliss lowered her eyes for a mont.
“Lenny,” she said quietly, “I already knew before I even t them that this was not our real world.”
He froze.
“There are things I haven’t told you about myself,” she continued. “Things that I should be able to do, things I cannot do here. If this were real, there would be no restrictions. But I am limited.”
She inhaled slowly.
“I knew from the beginning.”
Lenny dropped into his chair heavily, running a hand through his hair before letting out a long breath. Preparations were nearly complete for dealing with Unzoku. Everything they had worked toward, everything they had sacrificed for, and now he was being told that none of it was real.
How was he supposed to keep going?
Seeing his reaction, Bliss moved closer, pulling a chair toward him and sitting backward on it, resting her arms along the top.
“Since we can be honest with each other,” she said, “I’ll take this chance to ask sothing I normally wouldn’t.”
She studied him closely.
“Why did you decide to get involved in this case? You asked what the outco would have been if we hadn’t interfered. You already knew the answer.”
Lenny laughed, though there was no humor in it.
“Do you really think that outco was guaranteed?” he replied. “Did you forget who he is? He is also soone who can break destiny itself. A person capable of slipping past your visions. We can’t rely on certainty when it cos to him.”
He leaned forward, eyes dark.
“The reason I insisted we get involved, no matter what, was because I believe this threat is even more dangerous than the one I made contact with long ago.”
Bliss remained silent.
For a mont, Lenny thought she might dismiss him, call his fears exaggerated. But she didn’t. The fact that she was helping at all told him everything he needed to know.
“There’s sothing else I should tell you,” Bliss finally said. “Since this isn’t the real world… I suppose there’s no harm in it.”
She paused.
“There’s a reason I suggested sealing Unzoku instead of killing him.”
Lenny’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s because of a vision,” she continued. “Through my visions, I have witnessed the collapse of Earth countless tis. Across different tilines. Different variations. Sotis altered. Sotis delayed.”
Her voice lowered.
“But all it takes is one mont for destiny not to be changed.”
She looked directly at him.
“One of those ends cos at the hands of Unzoku.”
Lenny stiffened.
“I see him entering the Red Space,” Bliss said. “Growing stronger than ever. Stronger than anyone else who exists. And when he returns… he becos unstoppable. I thought we were stopping that with Jack and Steve, but maybe…”
****
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