Chapter 641: Lyra Shade
"...Are you Lyra?" Max muttered out loud, his voice barely more than a whisper. A wave of shock surged through him as he stared at the girl standing before him. It had been so long, so many events had passed, and yet... he remembered.
It was vague—like a dream slipping through his fingers—but he could recall meeting a girl with that exact face, those same piercing eyes, during the recruitment assessment for the Phoenix Order Guild.
Back then, she had caught his eye, not for her beauty, but for her strength. She had ranked second in talent—just below him. A quiet, promising genius who disappeared from his life just as quickly as she entered.
He had assumed she was one of the many talented people he had left behind in his rapid rise through the Lower Domain. People who, despite their gifts, couldn’t keep up with the abnormal pace at which he climbed. But now, here she was—standing before him in the Middle Domain, her aura calm yet undeniably powerful.
The lady gave a graceful smile, her eyes soft yet knowing. "You’ve got that right."
Max took a step back, completely stunned. "But how is that possible...!?" His voice carried a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "You were just... one of the promising recruits in that assessment. I never heard about you after that."
He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Lyra had shown promise, sure, but so had many others. And yet they had all faded into obscurity as he continued to grow stronger, faster than anyone could have predicted.
He had assumed Lyra had stayed behind with the others—too slow, too normal. After all, his rise wasn’t just a climb, it was a break from the very boundaries that held geniuses back in the Lower Domain. So how? How was she here now... and stronger than ever?
Lyra smiled knowingly, her expression calm and almost teasing. "Of course, you wouldn’t have heard about me—because I didn’t want to stand out back then. I chose to keep a low profile. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t around... or that I didn’t help you."