Keynes stood in the lobby, fighting the maelstrom of emotions, like a lone, trapped boat trying to find its way to a shore. He stared at the note in his hand and couldn’t—didn’t want to—believe in what it said. His family was here. How?

“What’s the matter?” Alice asked, worried as his emotions spread to her.

“If this is…” Words failed him. He didn’t know what to think; what to do.

“Master…” Alice whispered.

Keynes looked at her. She tried to understand what he was going through but even he didn’t comprehend it. One thing he shouldn’t be doing was to wait. Whoever that man was, he was dangerous.

“Let’s go,” Keynes said, putting the memorised note into his pocket.

He climbed the stairs. With each step, tremors in his chest grew, until he began questioning the whole thing.

Did it happen? But then he felt the note in his pocket and his steps steadied. Then more doubts came.

What if it is a trap?

Even so, he couldn’t stop. He asked Alice to check the room. She confirmed that it didn’t look like a trap.

Keynes frowned, stopping before the door to his room. He took a deep breath, wishing for the ability to void his emotions, then he opened it.

As he entered the room, he froze. Completely. His family was there as the note indicated but there were four others whom he should’ve expected.

But why were they laying on the floor?

Alice…

“They’re alive… ah, and they are starting to regain their consciousness.”

Keynes was stupefied. He could only watch.

Christopher Wolf was the first person to get to his feet. He looked around, disoriented. Then his eyes fell on Keynes and disorientation became a shock.

Kaito Ren was the next and his emotions were much more muted but still enough leaked out betraying his thoughts. He was astounded.

Daiyu Fen was third and she was pissed off.

Then… was Vivena’s turn to open her eyes and sit down. When she noticed Keynes she went stiff. Keynes forces his eyes off her to where his father and mother slowly regained their consciousness.

Harter was the last as he wasn’t an ascender yet.

“KEYNES!” his mother shouted and after a clumsy struggle, she got to her feet. She crashed into Keynes like a speeding train.

Keynes’s father was more reserved, like usual. He approached Keynes then embraced them. The silence lasted until Harter asked.

“Gosh, you look terrible.”

“But I am finally stronger than you,” Keynes replied.

“We’ll see about that.” Harter joined them on his shaky legs.

There were tears and a lot of silence and hugging.

“Master…” Alice murmured and Keynes opened his eyes, taking the room in. Yes, they had things to talk over.

Keep an eye on the building. Keynes told her and she vanished. The farther away from him, the more diminished her powers were but that was all he could do for now.

“Mom, dad, Harter, take a seat.”

Harter and their father did as Keynes asked but his mother didn’t want to let go of him.

“Mom,” he whispered but couldn’t squeeze any more words out of his mouth. She sniffed and released him reluctantly, following her husband and Harter to the sofa.

“Nice friends you have,” Daiyu Fen said. “They need—”

“Fen,” Kaito Ren interrupted her. “Give Keynes a moment, shall you?”

“Of course.”

“I thought he was with you,” Keynes replied.

Everyone in the room exchanged worried glances.

“He wasn’t with us,” Christopher Wolf said.

That raised more questions and made Keynes think about an escape plan. Kaito Ren was here. He could portal them out of here…

“Keynes, is it safe here?” Christopher Wolf asked, perhaps having the same thoughts Keynes had.

“I… can’t say anymore.”

“If that man worked for the World Government or us, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Vivena spoke up for the first time. “He told us that you need your family and I am guessing that if he thought it was dangerous here, he’d bring you to us.”

“I agree,” Kaito Ren added.

“In this case… shall we talk now?” Christopher Wolf asked but Keynes shook his head.

“I need some time with my family. Can you leave us for a moment?” Keynes asked. “And could you find out what happened to the receptionist?”

***

“Is it true?” Harter asked after the door closed. “Did you really open the rifts?”

“Harter.” Their mother’s tone was dangerously low. She sounded different.

“It’s okay.”

Keynes told them what happened to him after the World Government had kidnapped him. They were outraged, though the worst feeling came from their powerlessness. They couldn’t do anything about it.

Keynes assured them that some things were going to change and people like Freeman would no longer stay unpunished.

They told Keynes their story, which boiled down to being held in a secured location in Lower London under the pretence that their lives were too important and it was for their benefit. He was glad that nothing happened to them but then he realised with growing dread that it’d been a close call. Kaito Ren and the rest freed them shortly after Keynes fled. This was an unhealthy amount of luck.

“From now on, you’ll need to start advancing.”

His parents stared at him confused.

“Keynes, we are civilians,” his father said. “We don’t want to have anything to do with the atrocities the army does. Ricky told me enough.” Ricky was Keynes’s uncle and an ex-soldier. Ricky was Level 2 and told the Kid family that levelling up was a gut-wrenching process.

“Things are different now. It’s a different essence we use. It comes from the rift monsters.”

“You expect us to kill rift monsters?”

Keynes stood up. His parents needed to digest the things he’d told them. They weren’t ready to take the details in or what he planned.

“I will do the killing.”

Their faces told him everything. They were shocked and he didn’t blame them. Before the first outbreak, Keynes was a pacifist and rather shy boy.

Harter stood up as well.

“What about me?”

“You must wait for your ascension, brother.”

Keynes put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, gave his family a reassuring smile and left. The reunion was difficult for him. He was a changed person and they wouldn’t understand him. Despite the two outbreaks, war and Keynes’s cursed Talent, they still tried to cling to their old life.

He sighed, wondering about Vivena’s words. Why did that mysterious man think Keynes needed his family now? As he stood in the corridor waiting for his friends to return, he looked into himself and noticed how easily he spoke about killing the rift monsters and changing society. Even though his emotional affliction was gone and he couldn’t void his emotions, some of the coldness remained in him.

Is this why?

It didn’t really help him as it added more questions to the hundreds he already had. Who was that man and how did he know?

It must be a Talent. Something that tells him what he needs to do… It was possible, even plausible. It almost put Keynes at ease.

“Argh,” Keynes hissed, frustrated. He hated to be in a similar situation so soon after he’d escaped Freeman.

“What’s the matter?” Daiyu Fen asked him as she stepped through a wall. She had a Phasing Talent. “Your family is giving you a hard time, huh?”

“It’s good to see you too,” Keynes replied. “Where’s the rest?”

Daiyu Fen shrugged but she gave him an intense stare. Back in Scotland, it’d be enough to make him uncomfortable. But no longer, I guess, I have changed more than I expected.

Daiyu Fen stepped closer to him and he sensed her intent.

“Long hair suits you.”

Keynes touched his hair that reached his shoulders. He was meant to cut them but there always was something more pressing to do. Hearing from Daiyu Fen that it suited him? He didn’t want to consider what this could mean coming from her.

“I know,” he replied and passed her. “Let’s find the rest. We have things to discuss.”

***

The hotel had only ten rooms and two floors so it wasn’t particularly large. The recent events in the Alps monster zone (as Keynes preferred to call it) drove people away from here and Keynes was the only person staying in the hotel.

He found them in the lobby.

Kaito Ren shook his head. They didn’t find the receptionist. It could mean one of two things. The receptionist was also the owner of the hotel and usually closed the hotel after 10 p.m. (it would also explain why this place wasn’t popular) and he retreated to his room but it was too early for that and the main door was left open. The alternative was dire and meant that the man was dead.

Is there anyone in an earshot? Keynes asked Alice.

No. Unless they hide from my senses.

Something Keynes no longer could rule out. The assassin had almost killed him because neither Keynes nor Alice had sensed the man. Then the mysterious man showed complete disregard for their senses, hiding from them entirely.

“First of all,” Keynes said. “I’d like to thank you for saving my family. I am in your debt.”

“And don’t be surprised when I come to collect it,” Daiyu Fen said.

Everyone glanced at her. Even Kaito Ren didn’t hide his annoyance. A part of Keynes expected to see some reaction from Vivena but she seemed distant or thoughtful.

“What?”

Daiyu Fen had been outspoken in Scotland but there was an aggressive edge to her now. We all change. Sometimes it is as simple as that and searching for a hidden meaning is a fool’s errand.

“It’s fine,” Keynes told them. “Let’s talk about our next move.”

“Wait.” Vivena raised her hand. “Shouldn’t we talk about the outbreaks first?”

“What about them?”

“You have caused them.” She sounded accusatory and judging by the reactions of others, they appeared to agree with her.

“I had no choice,” Keynes said, then he frowned and asked. “Did you tell them, Ren?”

“No. She’s already known. They raided the Jamaican base.”

Sakura.

He almost asked about her but no, this wasn’t the time for that.

Daiyu Fen opened her mouth but Keynes cut her off.

“We will talk about what happened but first we must agree on what we are going to do next. This is important.”

Daiyu Fen took a chair, not hiding irritation on her face. Okay, there was something wrong with her. He’d need to speak to her after this and find out what bothered her.

“I agree,” Christopher Wolf said. “I don’t like the way we’ve been brought here. We need an emergency plan.”

They all nodded, although Vivena looked impatient and Keynes gave her the floor.

“We should contact my family, they will help you.”

“No,” Keynes refused her idea out of hand. “I will never again put myself in that kind of situation.”

“We may welcome some help,” Christopher Wolf added. “Without giving away our position.”

That set off Daiyu Fen and she snapped at the ex-director who showed a surprising level of restraint toward her. Kaito Ren had to step in and calm her down.

Keynes took Daiyu Fen’s side. Asking the Saels for help was playing with fire no matter how careful they would be. So the answer was no.

“I am not sure what your circumstances are, Keynes, so it’s hard to say what we should do next.” Kaito Ren took a neutral stance, which sounded reasonable.

“Our next move depends on whether you plan to stick with me or not.”

“Yes for now,” Christopher Wolf and Kaito Ren said.

“Yes,” Vivena said with conviction, which told him that she had an agenda here.

“I… I need to find Tulli.” Daiyu Fen sighed, and some of her aggression turned into frustration. “I am afraid of what the World Government is going to do to her.”

Alice.

Yes, master.

Tell me about their cores and the makeup of their bodies.

It… doesn’t look good. Everyone except for him—she pointed at Kaito Ren—is at the very bottom of the spiritual ladder. As for their bodies; She—Alice pointed at Daiyu Fen—looks very promising, Level 2 and three maxed out attributes. The Level 5 has exclusively advanced on human essence as well as the red-haired Level 3. The blonde used rift essence to advance to Level 2 but she doesn’t have any maxed-out attributes.

In other words, they were not ready for a rescue mission.

“If we go now.” Keynes faced Daiyu Fen. “We will certainly fail. We are too weak.”

Daiyu Fen gave him a hard stare.

“I didn’t ask you to go. I can do it myself.”

Others didn’t say anything and Keynes didn’t like their passiveness.

“You cannot.” He told them about his mistake with ‘Joe Brown’s’ name and how the government quickly picked up on that. After breaking his family free, the government surely expected them to try to rescue Tulli or others from the Scottish cluster.

“I need a walk. I will tell you what I have decided after I get back.” Daiyu Fen stood up and left. No one tried to stop her. She didn’t bother with doors and phased through them.

“So the government knows you’re in this region,” Christopher Wolf mused. "Wouldn’t it be safer to leave as quickly as possible?”

“It would, perhaps, but it is also the best place to be unless you can book me a plane to Australia.”

“To Australia?” Vivena asked. “Australia’s gone. There are so many monsters every attempt to reclaim the land has failed.”

Keynes nodded, he expected that much. It would take time for the government to switch to high-level bullets or melee weapons from the rifts.

“It’s because they are doing it all wrong. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I am not going anywhere right now. The government has left thirteen rifts uncleared so they can farm the essence, then the White Masks came and bombed the walls, freeing the monsters. There are several millions of them at large.”

Christopher Wolf gave Kaito Ren a long look that indicated a strong level of intimacy between the two men. Keynes waited but Vivena took the silence for a chance to speak.

“Keynes, are you planning to clear the rifts? It sounds risky. I am sure the government monitors them.”

“I don’t intend to clear these rifts. I actually think the government has got the right idea but they are monopolising the access to rifts.”

“Yes—”

“Like the Old Blood monopolises knowledge, hiding it from the public.”

“What are you talking about?”

He told them about Emerald Lake and noticed a slight change in Vivena. She said that her family also owned estates there but didn’t want to speak about the secrets Keynes implied her family had.

“Keynes, what is your goal here?” Christopher Wolf asked.

“To get stronger.”

“And it cannot be done anywhere else?”

He sensed that they were going to argue with him and he didn’t want that. He’d made up his mind and wasn’t going to change it so he needed to make one thing clear.

“If you wish to stay with me, then you must understand that I will not follow anyone. I’ll listen to your ideas and comments but I will thread my own paths. I don’t want there to be any confusion in future.”

“I am okay with that,” Vivena said too quickly and he almost sighed because he didn’t like her agenda now that he knew what it was.

Christopher Wolf and Kaito Ren took a moment but agreed too.

“As long as it is reasonable.”

“I agree too,” Daiyu Fen said, startling them. She walked out of the wall. “But under one condition, we must get stronger fast.”

While they scowled at her, Keynes smiled.

“Sure. Let’s talk about the details.”

***

A few hours later, Keynes left the hotel and walked to the bank of Lake Geneva. It was a starry night and he really hoped the government didn’t have a technology that could see his face from space because he didn’t wear his favourite cloak.

A slow rhythmical beat of waves was intruded by steps. He expected her to come to him earlier. After they had shared their stories, Vivena was bursting with a desire for a private conversation.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

“I came to—”

“I know why you came, Vivena, and my answer is no.” He realised that the flood that threatened his heart was kept away only by his willpower. His perfect memory allowed him to see her in detail like a picture or a video and yet, once she came here in person, unexpected things started happening to him.

He almost asked Alice to give him a hand here even though he didn’t know if there was anything she could do. In the end, he buckled up and stood his ground, watching the distant shore.

“Keynes, my family can help you. We won’t let the other families or Columbus Curt know about you. We will keep you safe.” Her voice was softer than when she hadn’t been an ascender. And he sensed a note of desperation.

“Do you mean Foxglove or Sael?” He didn’t need to say it and it was the hurt part of him talking but sometimes some things had to be said even if these words were going to cut.

Vivena didn’t answer for a long moment then she looked at him.

“You have changed. You are different, so distant.”

And you’re either naïve or cruel.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You have now.”

“No. I don’t.”

“Keynes… can you at least promise me you won't cause another outbreak?”

He squinted at her, feeling the trembling in his chest. His willpower was losing the battle he couldn’t lose.

“I will do my best,” he said and left, knowing how close he was to getting lost in the unfair beauty of her eyes.