Before Alex could answer, red smoke emerged from his body. It drifted over Emily and gathered above her.
The smoke condensed and slowly formed Vesa's shape.
Vesa flew down toward Emily's forehead. Its wings split in half.
The upper parts twisted and turned into thin, human-like hands.
Its sharp claws pricked Emily's skin. A small bead of blood appeared and coated its nails red.
Vesa lifted one finger and began to move it through the air in tight patterns.
Each stroke left a thin green glow hanging in place.
Alex watched, but he could barely follow the movements.
Vesa worked for only a short time.
A complete rune floated in the air above Emily. With a small gesture, Vesa pushed the rune forward.
The rune entered Emily's forehead.
Green light burst out the moment it made contact. It spread across the room and painted everything in a green hue.
The light was so bright that Alex had to close his eyes. When he opened them again, Vesa was gone.
He looked at Emily. Her white hair faded back to its usual golden color.
Her pale face regained a healthy rosy tone.
Relief washed through Alex. He slumped back onto the couch.
A small chuckle escaped him, then turned into full laughter.
Now that the danger had passed, his mind went back over what he had done.
He laughed because he realized how reckless he had been.
Normally he always looked for the safest method, but this time he had taken one risk after another.
He remembered each pain he had gone through, his body bitten apart, his limbs torn off.
The memory made his muscles tense for a moment.
He sighed and looked at Emily's peaceful sleeping face.
"I never knew they mattered so much to me," he said quietly.
He wondered what he would have done if he had possessed this power when his father disappeared.
"Should I look for Dad, then? I need to go to a Category Five dungeon anyway," Alex mumbled to himself.
He then remembered he needed to talk to Mingyue as well. His mistake would affect her too.
"Forget it for now.
I should check if I can go catch them all," he said with a small chuckle, thinking of an old anime joke from his childhood.
Alex took out the storage box, feeling excited again, and opened the interface.
"FUCK. It is dead."
The saber-toothed wolf lay on the ground inside. Its body was completely still.
Alex realized it had probably died from the backlash of using its abilities.
"Brother, who are you cursing at? Is it a game again?"
Emily's voice came from the bed. She pushed herself up and sat, holding her head.
She touched her forehead and tried to remember what had happened.
The memories came back in broken pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle.
Her eyes widened. Cold sweat formed on her skin as panic rose inside her.
She jumped off the bed and rushed over to Alex. She grabbed his shoulders and quickly checked his body for injuries.
"You!? What happened to you?
Are you alright now? Last time..."
Her voice faded. Her hand moved to her own neck.
"Shouldn't I have..."
Alex took a water bottle from his storage ring and placed it on the table in front of her.
"Drink first, Emily. I am sorry I failed you as your brother.
I put your life at risk. Are you afraid of me now?"
He kept his eyes on the bottle and did not look at her face. He was afraid she would lie.
Ever since his ability awakened, it had become easy for Alex to see lies in people's expressions.
At first, he had thought that was a blessing. But the first few months were painful.
He started noticing how often people around him lied.
That was one of the reasons he spent so much time in the virtual world.
In that world, he could not tell if people were lying, so it bothered him less.
Emily understood what was going through his mind when she saw him like this.
It was not the first time she had seen him act this way, and it hurt her.
She walked closer and hugged Alex tightly.
"I am your family, you dumb brother, not those shallow people with their own agendas. Why would I lie to you?" she said.
Then she grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at her.
"I am afraid, afraid you will leave me too, like Dad. Tell me what happened.
I will not let you go until you tell me everything."
Alex froze at her words. Then he smirked and flicked his knuckles against her head.
"Who are you calling dumb, you silly sister of mine?"
Emily pouted and stepped back, stomping her foot like she was angry.
The sound of breaking stone echoed.
CRACK.
The floor beneath her foot split. Emily stared down at it, shocked.
She was sure she had not used much strength.
She closed her eyes and focused inward. She could feel another source of energy flowing inside her body now.
Her eyes opened again, and she looked sharply at Alex.
She did not speak. She took the water bottle, drank to ease her dry throat, then sat on the couch.
Under her steady gaze, Alex sighed.
He was not sure how much Emily would believe, but he knew he had to tell her the truth.
His sister always seemed to know when he was hiding something.
"First of all, what is inside your body is a rune made from life force," Alex said.
He then explained everything. He told her about the rune, about Vesa, about vampires, and about the Progenitor.
He explained Mingyue's role and the existence of the cultivation world. He did not leave anything out.
He also took out the storage cube and showed it to her. He told her what he planned to do with it.
Emily listened without interrupting. She sat completely still, barely even blinking.
The information shocked her and piled up in her mind.
"So you are saying the blood you consumed is Progenitor blood?" she asked slowly.
"Yes. Do you know about it?" Alex asked.
"There is only one thing I know," Emily said. "Every new hunter is told this.
If they hear anything about the Progenitor, they must report it to the association and stay away as far as possible." Her eyes were full of worry as she looked at Alex.
"There are other Progenitors?" Alex muttered.
[Of course, King. Every race has one, even humans.]
Alex frowned.
Humans were not limited to his planet. Mingyue was a cultivator, but she was still considered human.
That meant the human Progenitor had to be incredibly strong.
He wanted to ask Vesa more questions, but Emily was sitting right in front of him. For now, he held back.