Chapter 189: Crossing Threshold
"Maeve! Are you alright? I heard there was an explosion at an ergency gate site earlier today. Was that you? Are you okay?" Jonathan sounds frantic, panicked.
Maeve sighs as she listens to the voicemail.
When she arrived at the residence, she found several text ssages and one voice ssage, all from Jonathan.
She had told him she resigned from her job at the Library right before she moved in with Rhaenas.
He had been really upset.
But Maeve didn’t think she was wrong.
She truly felt that she belonged with Rhaenas. That they were her family.
Jonathan was never her family.
He raised her, yes. But he wasn’t her family.
Their relationship had always been clear from the beginning.
Jonathan made it clear.
And he reminded her of it, all the ti.
He only raised her because he believed she was the perfect candidate to replace him as a Custodian. That was it.
And he had never truly taught her magic. He gave her a few sentences to morize, then sent her away to figure out how to summon fire on her own. That was it.
She called him "Teacher" because that was what apprentices called Custodians.
Maeve was not ungrateful. But she had always been clear about where the line was. She believed Jonathan knew where that line stood as well.
Apparently, she was wrong.
Now, Jonathan was acting as if he owned her.
Since her resonance to Light awakened, she could see more clearly. Right now, Jonathan was confused. He himself no longer knew where that line was.
He was not a bad man. Maeve knew that.
He was old. Desperate. Cornered by circumstances. And he believed he had found a way out.
And that way out was Maeve.
Now, he had co to collect.
Unconsciously.
Maeve sighs again and checks the ti.
"It’s too late to call. And I don’t want to talk to him over the phone. I need to see him. I need to make it clear to him," Maeve mutters to herself.
She puts her phone down and heads to the bathroom to take a shower.
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Julian joins the n in the living room just as Linus says, "Rhaenas is impressive."
Julian grins and takes a seat. "Thank you, Mr. Linus, for saying that. I think we are too."
They all laugh.
Linus continues, "I have to give credit where it’s due. Your team is impressive. I feel like a fanboy." He chuckles lightly.
"Wow, Dad," Liam comnts.
"I’ve never seen you this happy. Not even when Mom kisses you."
Linus glares at his son.
"I’m being serious and you tease ?"
Liam presses his lips together, but his eyes are twinkling with a smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Linus. Truly," Arthur interjects.
"Rhaenas will have my full support," Linus says. "I’ll write a recomndation letter and give it to Claudia. I’ll also recomnd you to anyone who’s having trouble clearing high-level dungeons."
Claudia nods, agreeing.
His phone vibrates.
Linus checks it and smiles faintly.
"Good timing. I just received a report. There were no casualties at the site from the explosion. Congratulations."
He turns to Julian.
"Your Aegis is amazing."
Then he looks at the three of them.
"You did the right thing by trying to block the explosion with the Aegis. Even though so of it still escaped, you stopped the most powerful blast."
The three Rhaenas exchange faint smiles.
"But, sir," Julian says, frowning slightly, "I don’t understand how the explosion went beyond the gate. That shouldn’t be possible. There should be an inner barrier ford by the dungeon to prevent anything inside from exiting."
He looks at Arthur and Liam.
"Otherwise, haelions could leave the dungeon. And that would be disastrous."
All four n and one woman fall silent.
Each of them imagines the sa thing.
And none of them like it.
"Do we know why or how it happened?" Julian asks.
Linus shakes his head. "So far, no. It’s unprecedented."
Julian leans back, his expression serious.
Arthur notices imdiately. "What are you thinking, Jules?"
"I don’t know," Julian admits. "I don’t have all the data, but..." He sighs.
"Why do I have this feeling that the dungeons are gradually evolving? I an, in general. Across all of Altheon." He pauses, gathering his thoughts.
"You know I collect cleared dungeon data to add to HB. I gather data from all over the world, not just from our country."
He looks at the others.
"And based on that data, the dungeons are evolving. Not just mutated ones. Regular dungeons too. It’s slow, but it’s happening."
His jaw tightens.
"And today... today is the most disturbing change so far. Sothing from inside an uncleared dungeon crossed the barrier into our world."
He falls silent for a mont.
"If this continues," Julian says grimly, "haelions coming out of dungeons won’t be impossible anymore."
The other three n and Claudia frown. It’s not sothing they want to hear. But they know Julian well enough to know he isn’t exaggerating.
"How long, Jules?" Arthur asks quietly. "Before sothing like that happens?"
Julian shakes his head.
"I don’t know. I don’t even know if it’s truly possible, or if it’s really heading in that direction. I’m only basing this on what happened today."
He exhales slowly.
"Unless we start seeing similar reports from other dungeons, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions."
Claudia, who has been silently listening for most of the conversation, suddenly takes out her vibrating phone.
"It’s Mom," she says casually.
She opens the ssage, scans it once, then her lips slowly curve into a grin.
"Dad," she says, amusent lacing her voice, "we should probably head ho."
Linus raises an eyebrow. "Why?"
"She’s sulking," Claudia replies lightly. "Because we all left her alone at ho."
She chuckles, scrolling down.
"And she’s threatening to co over here and move in. Permanently."
Linus exhales, rubbing his temple, but there’s unmistakable fondness in his expression.
"...Then we should leave," he says, standing up. "It’s late anyway."
Everyone begins to rise from their seats.
"No need," Claudia cuts in quickly, already grabbing her bag and moving toward the door. "We’ll head out on our own. You guys should rest."
She takes two steps, then pauses.
"Oh—right." She turns back, as if she almost forgot sothing trivial.
"I already submitted the license registration for Rhaenas," she adds casually.
"All the paperwork is done. What’s left now are the recomndation letters."
She gestures between Linus and Arthur.
"One from my dad," she says plainly, "and hopefully another one from Captain Chambers."
Her gaze settles on Arthur, sharp and expectant.
"So when you go see him tomorrow," Claudia says with a grin, "make sure you impress the hell out of him. Enough that he practically volunteers to write one for us."
Arthur smiles, unbothered, and dips his head slightly.
"Yes, ma’am."
Claudia smirks, satisfied, and turns back toward the door.
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