The battle is won, but the war is far from over. With his new powers on the loose, Oliver must find balance between good and evil - before the world dies.
*****
"The old world walks the earth once again."
Something big is comi...
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-Oliver-
Thank god the days went by fast. Spending the days at school, then the nights alone at the orphanage was taking its toll on me, and there was nothing I wanted more than to stay with Jaden, Arch and Tilly. Besides ending the war, that is.
Arch joined us at school on Friday, making things more bearable for us all. And not only because our little group was whole again. There was something different about him – I could see it the second he stepped out of the car in the morning.
His spirits were more peaceful now.
I had the feeling I knew why, but decided not to say anything about it in case it was something he wasn't ready to talk about. And maybe it was something he wanted to keep to himself for now. I was happy for him.
But as one person was finally finding the right course, another one was slowly losing it. By each passing day, Tilly was turning more and more inward, staying deep in her thoughts and worries. It was painful to witness her impressive aura growing smaller and smaller while she grew sadder.
And the worst part? When Ben walked past her, trying to say hello to her and she didn't reply, I saw her spirit cracking a little. I'd never seen it happen with my own eyes before. Not to a healthy spirit. I saw the purple wound flashing in her soul as we passed Ben in the hallway, like an invisible dagger had slashed her. It stayed and bled the entire day. I tried to heal it, but I couldn't even stop the bleeding.
I'd tried to call for Selene several times that week, but she never replied. I wanted to get mad at her, but I knew the gods were busy keeping us safe. I hadn't seen any of them since Gaea paid me a visit. I hadn't even heard a word from them.
Tilly didn't want to talk about it either, so I did my best to respect her wish, no matter how badly I wanted to tell her to follow her heart. I wasn't sure if that was good advice, and it was easy for me to say since it wasn't I who'd invite Ben into a world he wouldn't understand or even survive.
I did understand why Rayleigh had rules against socializing with humans. Unwanted feelings couldn't grow if you never even spoke to them.
But it was a sad way to live.
Otherwise, the day was as uneventful as the entire week. I was glad about it, but I couldn't trust the silence. I couldn't stop thinking about our enemy. I couldn't stop myself from peering at the sky every time I saw a glimpse of it. The Shadow Realm had returned back to normal, but that didn't ease my soul, especially after what Anthony had said to me.
How was I supposed to act like a regular teenager?
And then something happened that wiped out the entire war out of my mind.
After the last class, I waited for Jaden and the others by the exit so I could spend a few more minutes with them before having to head home. When they arrived, we chatted for a bit, but then Ryder joined us, telling us it was time to get going.
