"The warlord can see everything where sunlight falls? What kind of ability is that?"
Lisa put her hands on her shoulder. Her worries were brimming on her face, her resolve from earlier wasn't so strong anymore.
"Are you sure? How do you know?"
"I don't know. Warlords have quite unique abilities. Her abilities allow her to see everything where sunlight falls within this city. By extension, she can see everything at night too, but not so clearly. That's why I called you into the room—she would have seen us talking in the moonlight."
"But she can see us, not listen to us, right?"
"If the walls have eyes, I can't imagine a reason why they don't have ears. Although, that is unlikely. I could have already been caught for suspicion if she could."
Silver could see Lisa's discomfort. She was feeling naked in public. Everything she might have done was under observation; someone knew every bit of her life.
"They know everything? Who I meet, what I talk about, what I want to be? They know everything—not just about me, but everyone. They see everything. That's terrible!"
"Shhhh… we can't talk too loud. The warlord knows we two are in a room alone. I don't want her standing by the door listening to our conversation if she ever gets suspicious."
"Now, how do you know that?"
"Another ability of mine. I can track when someone is walking on the same path as I did, although not their identity, but I will know if she is here."
The light of fireflies was much more useful than he thought. He had already activated the skill for a while. Its low mana cost helped in hiding its presence.
"A proper mana user might identify me using a skill. But the traces themselves do not use mana unless activated. So, the warlords are sure to trigger them if they come."
"Just how many abilities do you have? You are not normal, neither is Sera. What brings the two of you here?"
"I told you already. I am here to prevent the apocalypse before it comes. Sera will have her own role to play in this game, but right now it's not the time. So, you understand me, Lisa—you can't talk or write anything about this away from this room, you understand?"
Lisa nodded slightly. Her face and eyes were already feeling baggy, and her smile wasn't there at all. Her skin felt cold thinking about tomorrow—the sun would rise and those eyes would gnaw at her skin.
"Is it possible… can I sleep here beside Sera today? Please."
"...."
There was much more to discuss and plan that night, but Silver knew not all dreams come to you in one night. The conversation ended, and they all went to sleep.
The sleeping Sera was covered in her blanket under a comfortable smile. Lisa had changed into a comfortable white night dress, and Silver retired to his room.
In the middle of the night, Silver's eyes wouldn't close comfortably. There were minds out there hunting for the outsider, and he wasn't far away. The realm of possibility always made him shudder from fear—there was so much that could happen.
He wondered, toiling around in his bed, about what Mercy had been doing. More than a week since they switched places, and his whereabouts were still a secret. Silver didn't have any gold to send any information from his side either.
"He is strong… too strong. If anyone could kill him, they might need to trap him into a self-restricting bind, not that anyone can push him into one. But there's no driving point for me…"
There was no route to this journey. The more Silver hoped it began, the more he pushed it away and thought about other things. There was a certain feeling that there were other important things—things that actually weren't there.
There was a world that was just lost to him, and he didn't want to go back—not one bit. Of what significance was his life before everything changed?
"...."
Sleep wouldn't come to him, and there was uneasiness swelling inside him. Was it the fear of the warlords or something else? He did not know. When he did close his eyes, he remembered something else.
"That makes the five of us…"
The premonition of the upcoming future was not vivid in his head, yet it made his stomach quiver with dread. Death was a companion that rode along with a man, ready to take him to another journey.
"I don't want to die…"
But the worst fear of any man was to be pulverized to a state where he wished the companion would come and take him away.
The system displayed the blue screen, where the skill "Deus Ex Machina" was lined up as the last skill he used before the light of fireflies.
"What sort of skill is this? Which monster grants this skill? What is the nature of this skill…"
He wasn't able to sleep that night due to all the restlessness his dreams caused him, rolling around in bed until the rays of sunlight fell on his eyes.
The morning was a little tense. Lisa had chosen to leave early, and Sera was still in her bed when Silver was making a morning drink for himself. A spoon in his hand, mixing the water with sugar and herb leaves Lisa had given him for swift recovery.
"Something isn't feeling right… the breakfast should've arrived by now."
The service offered breakfast twice in the morning—the bell ring for breakfast should have come by now.
Soon enough, the bell rang, and Silver opened the door to receive the caterer.
"Good morning, sir. What would you like to have for breakfast?"
"Give me the spiciest things you have. I might need that to keep myself up."
"Forgive me for saying this, but you do seem in the dumps… did you also hear about the mysterious murders yesterday?"
"Mysterious murders?"
"Yes. Yesterday noon, throughout the city, multiple people died due to mysterious causes. Moreover, the news says they were all killed in the same way at the same time."
"I see… I had a gut feeling something was wrong since last night. Do you have more information on this news? Like a framed culprit?"
"All the information I know was on the notice board. They are pointing it on the outsider who attacked the warlord in the north. It seems there have been some problems in the northern districts."
"Some problems? You don't know about the—ach. I'm sorry, please give me the food."
Hurried and worried, with fingers trembling, Silver closed the doors with his special spicy noodles and roasted meat.
He placed the food on the table and sat down on the sofa.
"Sera… she did this. She reversed time."
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