CHAPTER 72: WAKING UP AND FORMING A NEW BOND
Kael woke up with a start, instantly springing to his feet, his eyes alert to his surroundings and his nerves taut.
But when he came to, he found himself within a dilapidated room, with a massive hole on one of its sides that looked as if a hulking frame had smashed through it. He barely spared the sight a glance before his attention shifted to the three figures—no, two figures and one familiar—within the room.
The trio ran around, with Rose and the small chick chasing Sophia, who was giggling as she evaded their charge, darting between broken desks and rubble.
The sight made Kael's eyes widen. He almost questioned if everything he remembered these past few days had just been a fever dream. But the thought had barely formed before he squashed it.
The room alone spoke volumes about their situation.
Sophia, who happened to turn to evade Rose's hand, suddenly screamed when she saw Kael standing there looking at them with visible surprise on his face.
"Big brother Kael!"
She ran towards him, but she had barely taken a few steps before Rose overtook her and entered her brother's embrace. Sophia didn't mind and also hugged the confused Kael from the side.
Kael dropped to his knees, hugging the two little girls. Their warmth helped ground him through the haze of confusion his mind was in, but after a short while, he couldn't help but ask the little girls what was going on.
The more his little sister explained the situation, the more Kael paled. He had made a grave mistake on the battlefield, one that should have not only cost him his life but had also almost made him lose his sister and team.
When he heard he had been unconscious for an entire day despite his familiar having healed him, Kael realized he really had gotten over his head. For a guy who prided himself on his intelligence, he had made a stupid mistake.
But he shoved the feeling of introspection away for now. He could do that later.
Thankfully, no night event had happened last night while he was unconscious. If not, he didn't know what he would have done.
They were on the fourth day of the apocalypse, and according to his sister, they were in one of the rooms on the second floor of the main building. Together with a group apparently headed by their old principal, they had been able to stave off any attacks from the lone undead so far.
Kael noticed how different his sister and Sophia appeared. The little girls weren't wearing their uniforms and were in some kind of tight black combat suits. Not to mention, each had a weird metallic shape strapped to their sides.
'Is that a gun?'
Kael's mind almost blanked out, his hold tightening on the two girls.
'It seems many things happened while I was unconscious. But first...'
He stood and unwrapped his hands from the two girls, their cute eyes following his actions as he walked past them and knelt in front of the last presence in the room.
Looking at the little chick, which was gazing at him with wide ruby eyes and a small crown of fire flickering on its head, Kael's eyes moistened.
"Thank you."
Thinking of how he had almost lost his sister, he felt as if his heart had been pierced and his innards twisted by invisible hands. It was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.
The little chick was about to move when it was stopped by Kael's next words.
"And I am sorry..." His voice cracked for a moment before he gathered himself. "I am sorry for treating you the way I did before."
He had felt so angry when he saw a little chick appear when he had been expecting a completely different sight. It should just be remembered that the system had informed him that if he had chosen Path One, he would have received all his familiars.
So how could he have reacted any differently, even when he had tried to pull through his anger and regret, only to suddenly feel like he had been scammed once again?
He had a lot of complicated emotions he didn't know how to express. He was an introvert, and he had never been good with words.
But it seemed he didn't need to.
The little chick climbed onto his legs, prompting Kael to watch it through blurry eyes. Then it controlled one of its wings and expertly wiped away the tear that had formed at the corner of Kael's eyes.
Only now did Kael notice the intelligent light flashing within the eyes of this familiar of his. It appeared no less intelligent than a human. In fact, it seemed even more eerily perceptive.
He slowly pulled the little chick into his embrace, as he felt the gentle warmth emanating from the flickering flames on its body.
But what he didn't expect was that immediately when their heads touched, a bright crimson glow enveloped their figures.
Rose and Sophia raised their arms to shield their sight, the light too intense to withstand even for their mana-enhanced bodies.
Enveloped within the glow, Kael felt a deep, almost intimate connection suddenly form between him and the little chick, a connection that seemed to reach into the depths of his very soul.
As the light slowly died down, he heard a chirp directly within his mind, and weirdly enough, he could tell the meaning behind the sound.
But before he could respond, a system message flashed before his eyes.
[A bond has been formed]
Then a status screen that almost sent him reeling from shock appeared before him.
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