Chapter 299: The Lives Left Behind by the Fallen Heroes.
With that final pact sealed, the five children stepped out into the night, instantly blending into the bustling shadows of the streets and disappearing toward their destination.
Left alone, Maddy quietly slipped out. Moving like a ghost through the dim alleyways, she blended seamlessly into the darkness and made her way back to the inn. Slipping into her quiet room, she neatly put away her things and sat by the window, looking out over the silent kingdom.
In an instant, the cold aura of the monster progenitor vanished, replaced entirely by the calm, unassuming face of a simple F Rank adventurer. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
While Maddy rested quietly at the inn, her children began their deep immersion into the lives of the fallen heroes.
The first to reach his destination was Aedes, now perfectly embodying the persona of Ed, the party's expert marksman. He walked down a quiet residential street and pushed open the front door of a modest, weathered home.
The moment the door creaked open, a frail old man sitting by a dim hearth slowly forced himself up from his rocking chair. The elderly man was visibly sick, his trembling limbs barely able to support his weight, but the moment he saw Aedes' face, tears welled in his eyes. Using every ounce of his remaining strength, the old man stumbled forward and tightly hugged the chimera, completely convinced his son had returned safely from the jaws of death.
"You're back... my boy is back," the old man choked out, his voice thick with emotion. After a long moment, he pulled away and pointed a shaky finger toward the adjacent bedroom.
Aedes looked through the open doorway. Resting in the bed was a very weak, elderly woman. Though she was too sick to stand, she was crying tears of pure joy, smiling warmly at him from the pillows. Aedes adjusted his expression flawlessly, stepping into the room with a gentle, reassuring smile that perfectly mirrored the devotion of a loving son.
Meanwhile, across the city, Zobin arrived at the dwelling of the man he replaced—Zaun.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside, but no one rose to greet him. The air was cold, stale, and perfectly still. Unlike Aedes, Zobin found himself in absolute silence; the house was completely empty, remaining exactly as the real Zaun had left it before marching off to his demise at Shellgrave Peak.
Zobin closed the door behind him and locked it, his sharp doppelganger eyes instantly adapting to the pitch black darkness of the vacant rooms. Without a sound, he began to pace through the hallways, studying the dust-covered belongings and personal items left behind, absorbing the lonely habits of the man whose life he was now destined to claim.
Following the others, Evangela and Lilitha made their way through the quiet city streets together. Evangela was perfectly embodying Gel, the party's compassionate healer, while Lilitha flawlessly walked in the footsteps of Lita, the group's sharp-witted mage.
Their destination was none other than the grand cathedral, a looming monument of stone and stained glass where both of their human identities had been stationed.
As they stepped through the heavy wooden doors into the quiet, candle-lit sanctuary, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed against the high vaulted ceilings. Striding toward them was a famously sharp-tongued nun, her strict demeanor instantly cracking the moment her eyes landed on the pair.
"You absolute fools!" the nun barked, though her voice trembled with sudden relief.
Without another word, she lunged forward, throwing her arms around Evangela and hugging her incredibly tight. "Do you have any idea how much we worried, sister?"
To pull off the perfect replica and cement the illusion, Evangela's doppelganger instincts reacted instantly. Her eyes welled with flawless, fabricated tears, and she wrapped her arms back around the nun, molding her voice into a perfect display of overwhelming emotion.
"Hela... I'm back," Evangela cried softly into her shoulder, her voice shaking with the exact warmth and affection the real Gel would have shown.
Lilitha, ever competitive and fully committed to her role, leaned into Lita's signature attitude. She simply rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a look of mock disgust at the dramatic display of sisterhood before her. To anyone watching, it was the exact, classic banter Lita always used to mask her affection.
"Oh, please," she said, her voice dripping with her usual sharp, mocking tone. "Stop this drama… Are you two going to stand here and cry all day, or are we actually going to get moving? Because I AM FREAKING… EXHAUSTED!!! Seriously, Hela, you're going to ruin her habit with all those tears. It's embarrassing."
But Hela wasn't deterred. Still crying, she reached out and pulled Lilitha into the tight embrace as well, refusing to let her slide away.
"Don't you start with me, Lita!" Hela choked out through her tears, squeezing them both tightly. "You have no idea... I prayed to the heavens every single night just to bring you both back to us. I couldn't sleep. Every time the wind howled, I thought the worst had happened..."
She poured her heart out, spilling a flood of heartbreaking confessions about the sleepless nights and the terrifying dread that had gripped the church during their long absence.
From the shadows of the altar, the elderly Father of the cathedral stepped forward, a gentle, warm smile gracing his wrinkled face. He watched the three of them with profound relief.
"She speaks the absolute truth, children," the Father said softly, his voice echoing with deep comfort. "Hela barely ate a full meal while you were gone. She waited by the cathedral gates every dusk, praying until her voice went hoarse. You two are her only family in this world, and her heart was completely broken without you."
Hearing this, both Evangela and Lilitha kept their composure flawless, absorbing every detail of the deep emotional ties connecting their stolen identities. They offered comforting words and perfectly played the parts of cherished sisters returned from the brink, locking their deception deep into the heart of the grand cathedral.
"And I wasn't the only one who missed you," Hela added, wiping her eyes as a sudden rumbling sound echoed from the back corridors of the cathedral.