Chapter 52: Tevin’s Enlightenment
"Why?" Professor David whispered.
Merek didn’t turn to face him, his voice quiet but resolute. "At level 20, you stop leveling through essence alone. From then on, you must meet certain conditions to ascend. Entering that forest..." he glanced toward the distant white glow through the trees "might be the only way I can fulfill that requirement. I’ll return once I’m done."
"What if you die?" David asked, his voice sharp with desperation.
"I won’t." Merek’s reply came like steel, short and final. He didn’t need to convince anyone. He just needed to survive.
A moment of silence passed, then Nero stepped forward, his voice cutting through the still night. "Let’s stay here."
The group, which had once numbered 102, now stood at 97, 98 if Professor David was counted, and a full hundred if Felicity, Tevin, and Merek were included.
A hundred people moving through a silent street was no small thing. The collective shuffling of shoes against cracked asphalt echoed ominously, each step loud enough to be heard by any mutant lurking a mile away. In this new world, even breath was a weapon. Too much of it, and you brought death to your doorstep.
Nero pointed toward a looming building just ahead, its sign barely legible in the flickering torch light of Everburn. The words were clear for his enhanced eyesight.
Charlie’s Total Fitness.
Recognition lit in Fred’s eyes. "This... This was one of the biggest gyms in Blue Star City," she murmured. "Its founder was one of the richest men in the world. What’s a franchise doing way out here?"
"Making money, what else," Nero muttered. "I’ll go check."