The bright light from the rift dimd seconds later, revealing the world I was more accustod to. It was nightti, but there were no clouds in the sky. The moonlight shone bright, but it was nothing compared to the lights showered on us from the helicopters scattered across the wind.
Barricades held back cheering civilians with placards, chanting our nas loudly as cara flashes bombarded my location, forcing to cover my eyes with my hand.
"They have returned! Texas is safe!" a voice shouted from afar, but I couldn’t identify the source due to the chaos.
I could hear heavy footsteps from behind and assud more people were walking out of the rift, so I paid them no attention. Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness and chaos, I lowered my hands—and saw so many people cheering with posters of myself.
Girls scread at the top of their lungs, fighting to get a better view of . Cell phones pointed in my direction as they greedily took as many pictures as possible.
Soldiers tried to hold them back, but they fought like wild animals, and for a mont, I was confused.
Looking down at my shirtless body—I had thrown away the low-quality shirt I got from Solinthar before walking into the rift—I finally understood why everything was happening.
Currently, I was built like a Greek god. Slightly pale skin, natural black eyes, and a fiery red dot at the center. I believed I had grown a bit taller too, but I’d have to confirm that later.
Regardless, I was every woman’s dream man. That stronger-looking, masculine figure with a pinch of danger and mystery. What the system deed as punishnt for wielding realms had made far more famous.
Silence.
Suddenly, everywhere went quiet, and the caras stopped flashing. For a mont, I was confused—but then I noticed everyone’s eyes were fixated beside . Looking over, I realized Kenza was standing by my side with my trench coat draped over her shoulders.
My eyes narrowed as my brain worked fast, piecing everything together.
Shirtless . Her with my trench coat.
It was a recipe for a mouth-watering scandal.
This reminded of Righteous’s threats before we went on the expedition. She was the one who stepped in to help , and the dia team had been there as well.
Coupled with the fact that we worked together in the fight for Louisiana... Sotis I hated how fast my brain worked and how quickly it pieced these things together.
It was infuriating.
To make matters worse, Kenza soon caught onto the commotion and naturally turned to look at . For a mont, our eyes t—and the caras began flashing more aggressively than ever.
It took us a second or two to break away from each other’s gaze, but we had already given these hungry reporters months’ worth of spicy content to keep their viewers excited.
Fuck my life.
I wanted to face-palm, but I dared not break my calm deanor in front of so many people.
"Big brother!" Jake’s voice drew my attention.
Jake was dressed in a thick green sweater, blue jeans, and glasses that made him look like a geek. It reminded of the first ti I t him in the fields. Beside him was Major Miller and a few others I didn’t know—but I assud they were personal assistants or managers of the other Limitless here.
Jake ran over to and pulled out his fist for a fist bump. I hesitated at first but reluctantly obliged.
Bam.
"Cold," he comnted before quickly shoving his hands into his pockets.
"It’s cold?" I asked while glancing around.
Only then did I notice everyone was dressed in thick sweaters. This was weird, because it usually isn’t this cold in April—especially in Texas. Southern states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona are usually hot during this ti.
My eyes narrowed at the thought, and I couldn’t help but wonder if sothing unusual was happening on Earth.
Relax, Adam. Not everything is a life-ending event. Maybe you’re overthinking this.
I told myself before shifting my attention back to Jake.
"Let’s go," I said.
More than anything, I needed a hot bath to calm my nerves—and then a hot al for my belly. I hadn’t eaten a thing while in Solinthar. Not because I didn’t feel hungry eventually, but because I didn’t want to look human.
If I had co down to eat a al with the queen, princess, and prince, over ti I would have beco more human to them. I’d beco reachable, and it would ruin the god-like image I was trying to build.
Serena would beco bolder in her advances.
Caleum would grow more disrespectful.
And the queen...
Strangely, I had nothing bad to say about the old woman. She was exactly what Queen Emma should have been—and it pissed off that she was old.
If there was so way to improve her lifespan, I wouldn’t hesitate to make sure she remained on the throne. Because of the way things stood, I might end up killing Serena and Caleum and stealing the throne for myself after she dies.
"All right! Co with !" Jake’s voice snapped out of my reverie.
The road where civilians were gathered was barricaded, making space for us to leave through the sidewalks.
Walking down the narrow sidewalk, the cheers grew louder and reporters stuck out their microphones.
"What was the world on the other side like?" they asked, but we weren’t allowed to talk about that.
That information was reserved for the governnt alone, so I said nothing and kept walking. However, midway, I froze as I spotted soone oddly familiar from the corner of my eye.
Standing amongst the crowd was soone much paler than I was, with incredibly long hair flowing down his shoulders and even lower. His hair was black—but from shoulder-length down, it turned white.
No—it wasn’t dyed white. It seed natural, like that of a man whose hair was turning gray.
He was dressed in all-black Chinese traditional robes and wore a warm smile, like I was a long-lost brother. Unlike my eyes, his were completely gray—and in his hand was the king piece from a chess set.
"Found you."
He moved his lips—and no sound ca out. Yet I could hear his voice loudly in my ears.
It took just a mont, but that was all I needed to piece everything together and realize who this man was.
"LEE BAI!"
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