For the umpteenth time, he cursed his own naivete. He’d allowed his own pain to be exploited by his father. It didn’t matter that his father had shown a semblance of humanity toward Yiran, that he’d given Yiran some attention. That warm and golden morning in the coastal inn had been a peek through the looking glass into a different timeline of what could’ve been possible between father and son.
Inthisreality, Song Liming was the leader of the Hybrid Revenants.
No altruistic platitudes or chest-beating speeches could cover up the fact that, from the very beginning, Song Liming’s plan was one of annihilation. He wanted to install himself as the head of the Song family and form a new order with Hybrids and magic practitioners who abided by his rule. How was it different from what the Guild was doing?
No. His father’s visionwasdifferent. It was far worse. The Guild wasn’t infallible, and it did dubious things for survival. But at its core, Exorcists wanted to protect life, and they risked their lives to keep ordinary people safe. His father wanted to tear all that down, and he’d started his culling from the top. Was this his way of giving Yiran back his so-called birthright?
Yiran didn’t want it.
Magic pulsed through his body in waves as he hid in the shadows of one of the campus buildings. For the first time in years, it felt like he could breathe normally. Like he was whole and free. Knowing the cost of this freedom, he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. He could pinpoint the moment in time when he felt his spirit core unlocking completely: the second after his grandfather drew his last breath.
Song Wei must have used the other variation of the forbidden technique, tying the block to his own spirit core to suppress Yiran’s. L had said that method would drain the suppressor’s life force. Why would his grandfather risk his own life to do this instead of severing Yiran’s magic from him permanently? It was awful to know he would never get a chance to ask his grandfather about it.
Yiran imagined the old man and his gruff expression, telling the younger Song to get his shit together. It was time to stop being a coward, to face himself and accept the ugliness that came with it. Too many people had been harmed. It was time to decide what he truly stood for. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.
He stared at his burner phone, praying he’d memorized her number correctly.
Seconds later, a text notification bar appeared on the screen.
A flavor of ice cream shouldn’t be a friendship breaker.
Yiran punched the air.
Rui had replied. Itcouldbe a trap to lure him in for the Guild’s arrest, but his gut said otherwise. She was still a friend, not a foe.
There was no second-guessing where they would meet. Stealthily, Yiran made his way to Rui’s favorite spot on campus—the bench by the sea where they’d had their tiff over ice cream. The park was dark, the Academy buildings empty and silent. Facing away from the water, he leaned against the railing, waiting anxiously.
It didn’t take long for two figures to appear in the distance. From their heights and gaits, Yiran knew exactly who they were.
He waved, unable to stop himself from smiling. It was good to seeher again. He’d been such a fool to push her away; his own problems had never been her fault. Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by the force of Rui flinging herself onto him and wrapping her arms around him.
“Too... tight, Darcy.”
“Yeah, she does that,” Zizi said, almost sympathetically.
“Hey... wizard,” Yiran wheezed. “Thought you were... missing.”
“I took a little side trip.”
Zizi seemed wary, as if he was expecting Yiran to do something untoward to Rui. Yiran didn’t know why he would think that whenRuiwas the one squeezing the life out of him.
“See, I told you he’d be here,” she said triumphantly, finally letting go. Zizi rolled his eyes, and she whipped back to Yiran. “I know you didn’t do it. I don’t think Ada or Teshin or Mai believe it either.”
He was grateful for his friends’ faith in him, but he also noticed thatAshwasn’t on the list of names Rui had mentioned.
“The Guild is looking for you,” she told him.
She didn’t have to say why. He knew. “They think I killed my grandfather, don’t they?” he said, resigned. He didn’t know how to prove his innocence.
Zizi was eyeing him with suspicion. “There’s something different about you, Mochi.”
Yiran’s sarcastic retort fizzled out, and he conceded with a nod instead. He pulled on his glove and channeled his magic slowly, letting it trickle out as he tried his best to retain all the control he could.
A small defensive shield appeared briefly, glowing crimson in the dark.
“My spirit core was never ordinary,” he said after he’d stopped channeling.
“Excess energy,” Rui said with a look of awe and understanding. “You absorbed it—youabsorbedmy spiritual energy during the first separation spell. That’s why so much of it transferred to you and you could use it to cast magic. My sword that night—it was huge.” She clutched her face. “Youmade it bigger. All this time, we thought it was a fluke. We thought it was something else because we all assumed you were born a normie. But it wasyouall along.”
