Leander slowly opened his eyes... until his mind snapped back to reality and he jumped in shock.
"What? Where's my mom and my brother?"
He looked around and realized he was somewhere different from the courtroom. Then, he noticed the people nearby looking away from him.
"It's over, Leander," Darian was the one who spoke up.
Leander swallowed hard, his face twisting. He immediately understood they had knocked him out so he wouldn't see it happen.
"Give it a second, alright?"
Darian added, then pulled out a cheap-looking artifact. When he used it, a bluish barrier covered the whole room, isolating it from the rest of the house. That way, his younger twin siblings wouldn't hear or see anything.
With a deep breath, Darian started explaining what he had asked the Judge to do.
Leander clenched his fists, shaking. He listened, but couldn't really process it. The pain he felt was beyond words — and nothing could dull it.
"You... kept... their souls?" It was the only thing Leander managed to say, his voice trembling.
Darian showed him the needles in his hands so he could see.
Then he looked at the four people in front of him: "As you can see, all the clan members are gone. Are you guys really staying?"
They sighed, looked Darian in the eyes, and nodded.
"I don't have a home, and I've turned my back on everything in my past. I chose to dedicate my life to Rhea. She's gone... so now I'll take care of her son." — Harper said.
Veyle shot a quick look at Leander: "I feel like this is the safest place. And honestly... I don't want to be far away."
Matteo spoke calmly: "I don't need much. I just wanna live near people I can trust. If I go to some big clan, I'll be surrounded by all kinds of people... and I want to help Leander too."
Darian nodded while Leander stared at them silently. The main reason the three agreed to stay was to support him.
But there was another reason too.
"You're hiding what happened after that explosion, aren't you?" Harper said, and the others turned to look at Darian.
"Hey man... you've got some weird-ass powers for a healer," Matteo said what everyone was thinking.
Veyle added, thoughtfully: "Darian... do you think we could rebuild the clan with you?"
In the end, another big reason those three were staying was that they believed, with Darian, they could actually pull off miracles. He had already shown twice that he could completely turn a situation around. And more and more, they were convinced he hadn't even revealed everything yet.
Darian nodded: "Let's try it together."
After a long sigh, he decided to trust them. Then he raised his hand, and a soft white light appeared.
Everyone focused on him, and saw a small white mark forming in the air.
Darian had learned how to create marks, even without having the white power. It was like copying something that existed in his soul — he just had to will it into existence.
After creating it, he turned to Leander. Then, he took the thorn holding Rhea's soul and opened it.
Leander and the others widened their eyes.
Suddenly, they saw that white mark move, as if drawn toward the thorn.
A blinding, incredibly bright light filled the room.
Everyone activated the ring power in their eyes, allowing them to actually see what was going on.
And immediately... their hearts started pounding like drums.
They saw Rhea's silhouette slowly taking shape in front of Darian. She had her back to them, her figure becoming clearer by the second.
In moments, her eyes focused again. Standing right in front of her was Darian.
The two of them locked eyes for a few seconds.
Then she looked down at herself and let out a soft sigh.
"Hmm... I really did die... weird. This kinda feels like I'm in that other universe, like a summoned spirit."
Darian nodded. Then, the light mark on her forehead began to tremble, starting a connection between them.
"Is this your power?" she focused on Darian, feeling that connection forming.
He gave a small nod. "I've only just learned how to use it. It's kinda complicated, but only people who are... a bit special can use it."
Everyone around was in shock hearing that. They didn't know why, but Rhea couldn't sense them at all. Even with her soul deeply wounded, she'd regained awareness thanks to the power of the mark — and to her, it was like only Darian existed.
"You can choose to refuse," Darian said calmly. "If you do, the world's laws will take you, and you'll reincarnate normally. Or you can make a contract with me. You'll stay by my side forever, and we can fight together. It's kinda like... the contracts Summoners make with Spiritual Guardians."
"Oh, so you'll be my summoner? I can get stronger and fight too?"
She asked quickly, and Darian nodded.
"Yeah, but... my mission's basically suicide. Getting this power came at a heavy cost. I might die real early, and in a pretty pathetic way. All I can promise is that I'll try my damn best."
She nodded, taking a deep breath.
"My son, Leander..."
"He's safe for now. I plan to rebuild your clan with him." Darian answered right away.
Rhea looked him straight in the eye. "I see... Darian, I want to fight. But I also want revenge — against someone really dangerous. I failed... I ended up killing myself... and killing my son..."
She stopped mid-sentence, like she was choking back a sob.
She remembered that moment in the courtroom.
She put a hand on her chest, eyes shut tight, and a muffled grunt escaped her. A spirit couldn't cry, but the pain was overwhelming. No mother could stand watching her child die like that — right in front of her eyes.
"One more enemy doesn't change anything. If you wanna kill someone, then I do too — and I'll help you." Darian said seriously. "If you choose to stay, we're partners."
She stared at him with intensity. After a few seconds, she smiled.
"How weird... not long ago, I was the one who recruited you and taught you everything." She looked deep into his eyes. "Let's fight together. I'll support you however I can... thank you... thank you so much for giving me a second chance to fight."
Through the connection, she could feel all of Darian's intentions.
She also got a glimpse of how massive that power was. He had said it himself — something that incredible came at a huge cost. But if she could get revenge — on her husband and even on the son who had died — then she'd go all the way with no regrets.
The whole conversation only lasted a few minutes, and everyone could hear it, even if Rhea couldn't see anyone but Darian.
Before they could fully process what was happening, everything started to change.
The light that filled the room began twisting and moving.
It all converged into Rhea.
Then, a completely white, glowing humanoid silhouette began to take shape.
That light started molding itself...
It became more and more physical.
It only took a few seconds, and then all the light in the room vanished.
"!"
Rhea opened her eyes — and saw everyone there, staring at her.
Now, she had a "body" like a Spiritual Guardian-in-training from that other universe.
Everyone was staring at her, and she looked down at herself. Her current form looked almost exactly like when she was alive.
One difference was the holy, radiant aura shining around her. The other was... her beauty now felt almost overwhelming — even though her body hadn't changed much.
The reason was clear: everyone could feel the sacred purity of her karma — now her entire existence.
And one more major difference: she now had a real pair of golden wings on her back. They weren't just an illusion from her blessing anymore.
No one could've known this, but she had taken the exact form Darian always pictured in his mind, ever since the first time he saw her — like a golden, radiant angel descending from the heavens.
"M-Mom…" — Leander murmured, his face falling apart.