Chapter 174 Exogens II
Liam walked toward Lilith slowly, the weight of everything that had just happened sinking heavily into his chest. Each step echoed in the quiet underground space. His eyes were locked on her hands—still swirling gently with frost, icy mist dancing in the air around her fingers like silent whispers. It was surreal.
When he finally reached her, he paused in front of her, eyes wide with awe and disbelief. Slowly, cautiously, he reached out, his fingers trembling slightly. The moment his skin brushed hers, he expected the sharp bite of cold, the sting of ice—but it never came. Instead, it felt oddly... familiar. Like he was touching her, only her, stripped of all the walls and layers. The frost obeyed her completely, molding itself around his touch. It was as though her power recognized him, accepted him.
Lilith smiled faintly, her breathing still a little uneven from what had just occurred. "You might wanna look back," she said softly, her voice laced with both wonder and warning.
Liam turned slowly, and his jaw almost dropped.
Lana stood across the room, a look of stunned fascination on her face as flames coiled lazily around her palms. The fire wasn’t raging. It was beautiful—steady, warm, alive. Her hands were lit like twin torches, bathing her face in a soft orange glow that danced in her wide eyes. She stared at her hands in disbelief, then slowly smiled.
"It’s so freaking cool," she whispered, laughing breathlessly as she twisted her wrists, the flames responding to her movement like loyal pets.
But Liam and Lilith didn’t laugh. They exchanged a glance, one that held weight. Fear. Lana noticed.
Her smile faded as the fire extinguished from her hands. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lilith answered first, her voice serious. "Because your life just changed, Lana. And not in a good way."
Liam nodded, running a hand through his tousled hair, his eyes now fixed on the machine that had caused all of this. "You heard what my father said. They were killing him. His whole team. People who tried to own whatever this thing was meant to do."
Lilith stepped forward. "Now think... how do you think those same people would react if they knew you just gained powers from the same device they were trying to own?"