Time passed, and it was now the second day after Cyan and Rumi left them.

"It’s a success!"

Anise raised both her arms in the air. A seer spark of hope enlightened on her face.

She stood up hurriedly from the moss floor holding the time device with both hands, extra careful.

"Irene! I did it! It’s a success!"

She shouted with joy as she ran to the other side. The light inside the thick tree’s hole was dim, but Anise still didn’t have any difficulty seeing.

She huffed, stopped behind Irene who was leaning onto Leon’s shoulder slightly seated against the wall.

Anise paused.

Leon looked much healthier than before after Rumi merged with his consciousness again. His heartbeat perfected, his skin started to glow, and more importantly his mana core had seen a significant recovery. It was a sight that he will wake in just about a day or two.

Despite going through a lot, Anise still felt relieved seeing both Irene and Leon like this.

She squatted just in front of them.

Irene and Leon looked soundlessly sleeping without any worry on their faces. Irene was slightly resting her tiny head on Leon’s shoulder while holding his wrist gently.

She always held his wrist so that she could feel his pulse. After they had lost access to the medical equipment, this was the only way for her to stay alert for his health.

"How cute." Anise muttered.

She poked Irene’s cheek softly.

"Wake up..." She whispered.

As she did that, Irene simply mumbled something and buried her head into Leon’s shoulder even more.

"Haaah... this girl."

Anise sighed and turned to look at Leon.

"What spell did you cast on her to make her fall for you this hard?"

She said it to him, knowing well he was not listening to her.

Irene was harder to get. She looked charming as hell and many... many men had tried to approach her when she used to go to the balls. But they had all failed no matter how rich they were, or how handsome they looked.

And here in front of her sat Leon.

"Hmm. Is it your face or something else she fell for?"

Anise blinked. Then she shook her head quickly.

"Oh no, what am I doing?"

She rubbed her forehead.

"Haaah..."

She poked Irene’s cheek again.

"Hey. Irene. Wake up. I have a good news for you."

"Mhmmm... five minutes..." Irene mumbled against Leon’s shoulder.

Anise’s eyes twitched.

She pinched Irene’s cheek and pulled it harder this time.

"Wake. Up."

"Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow!! This hurts!"

Irene’s eyes shot open and met Anise’s.

"D-doctor. What are you doing?"

"I have been calling your name for the last five minutes. But you are just sticking to this young boy’s arm."

Irene rubbed her cheek and looked beside her.

Leon’s face was close to her own. His breaths cherished her cheek softly. And suddenly a bright flush spread across her face as she shot her head sideways immediately.

"Cough... I... I was just tired. Yes. Tired."

She said while looking anywhere except at Anise.

"Oh... It does not look like it."

"Doctor..."

Irene puffed her cheeks and then quickly changed the subject.

"Anyways, what did you want to say?"

"Oh right!"

Anise’s face brightened again. The earlier tease vanished as she remembered her excitement.

She brought the Time Device in front of Irene’s face.

"I succeeded. Now we can communicate to the outside world via this."

Irene’s eyes widened.

She stared at the small device in Anise’s hand.

"Wait... really? You actually did it?"

Anise nodded vigorously.

"Yes! After two weeks of tampering with the wavelengths and recalibrating the signal frequencies, I finally found the right configuration. The device can now reach the outside of Evana’s barrier."

Irene sat up properly now. Her sleepiness is completely gone. She gently set Leon’s wrist down on the moss floor and turned her full attention to Anise.

"Does that mean we can now reach his sister?"

Anise nodded.

"If what Rumi said is true, then it’s easier to get in contact with either the Moon Tower or the Blood Calamity Tower."

Irene blinked.

"What do you mean by that?"

Anise sat down properly on the moss floor and turned the Time Device in her hands.

"Rumi told me about this device before she left." Anise explained. "The Time Device was crafted by Silvermoon herself. It was originally meant only for monitoring Evana City. There are only two in existence. Both are with us right now."

She tapped the small prism gently.

"But because the device was built by her, she had added a small secret detail to it. A hidden function that only she would know about."

Irene leaned closer.

"This device can establish communication with the offices of the Blood Calamity Tower and the Moon Tower."

Irene’s eyes widened.

Anise continued.

"According to her, Veronica Valentine’s office has a special device which can create any artificial environment that she desires. It operates on a specific wavelength that only Silvermoon knows. And that wavelength can actually be mimicked by this Time Device. But only if the source also holds her creative essence."

She held up the device.

"Which we do too. Rumi told me me the configs which i refined and was able to successfully connect to this small device."

Irene’s hand trembled slightly.

"Rumi prepared this for us..."

"Yes." Anise nodded. "Her last gift. She knew we would need it."

Irene looked at Leon. and then looked away.

"So we can actually project a holographic communication between us and Veronica?"

"Yes."

"But..."

Irene hesitated.

"What will we even say to her? Knowing that her brother was missing for that many years, she would pro—"

"Irene."

Anise cut her off gently.

Irene looked at her.

"She is Silvermoon’s chosen. And more importantly, she is his sister. If what I have heard from Rumi and Cyan were true, then she would be delighted to see Leon again."

Irene took a slow breath.

She had heard stories about Veronica from Cyan, Ethan and Rumi over the years. The Blood Calamity Tower Head. The strongest human to ever exist in this era. Leon’s older sister who supposedly cared for him more than anything in the world.

But Irene had never met her.

What if she did not like Irene? What if she blamed them for what happened to Leon? What if...

"Anyways." Anise said, breaking her thoughts. "Let’s get ready."

She positioned herself beside Irene and placed the Time Device in front of them.

The small prism flipped open into four components.

One of them projected a hologram which appeared to scan the whole inside of the tree house. Then it made a three dimensional video in real time, displaying all three of them inside the hologram. Irene, Anise, and Leon.

Irene was startled as she saw this.

"Is it recording us?"

"Ehh... not really. This is kind of projecting us in real time." Anise corrected. "Veronica will see exactly what we see right now."

"I am starting it. Get ready."

Irene suddenly went nervous. She looked at her hologram self and quickly made adjustments to her hair. She straightened her clothes. Wiped a smudge off her cheek. Tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Anise noticed her behavior.

"Relax... she is just his sister. Not his mother. Save the impressing for later."

"What?!"

Irene’s face went red.

Before she could say anything in response, the holographic screen changed.

Lines of commands appeared.

[Connecting...]

A countdown started.

[Searching for the closest domain]

A few seconds passed.

[Search completed]

[Connected to Blood Tower]

The screen flickered.

And then the previous projection vanished. In its place appeared a different scene entirely.

An old medieval era type room. Wooden walls with intricate carvings. A massive desk made of dark mahogany. Books stacked in neat piles. And behind the desk was a huge floor to ceiling window that looked out at a sky full of crimson clouds.

Just in front of the window, looking outside with her back turned to them, was a woman.

She appeared to be in her early thirties. She was tall, has slender figure. Long black hair that flowed down to her waist. She was wearing a long black coat over tight black pants and polished black boots.

She looked cold from here. Almost untouchable. Like a statue carved out of obsidian.

Irene held her breath.

Then suddenly, the woman’s posture shifted slightly.

She had sensed something behind her.

She turned around slowly.

Her eyes met the hologram.

Sharp golden eyes. The same eyes as Leon. But much colder. She noticed the hologram of three people standing in her office.

"...."

"...."

"...."

All three of them stared at each other for two whole minutes.