Emery could tell that the white-haired girl's breath changed, her heart beat differently as she waited for his answer. He even noticed her hands were trembling slightly, confirming her obvious nervousness.
As Emery searched for the answer to her question, flashes of memory started to appear in his mind.
Their time together at the academy, the time they were stranded on a planet, the journey together to the Alfa station, fighting alongside her on the elven planet, and then finally her taking care of him when he was unable to move.
Meeting her gaze one more time, Emery's heart was moved. The girl in his memories was fearless and her current condition made him want to ease her troubles. He approached her, held her trembling hand, gazed right into her eyes, and said, "I remember all of them."
He could see the joy growing in her eyes when she heard his words but she quickly tried to hide it and then tried to pull her hand away from him.
"That's good... I am glad…" She responded.
Silva then took a few moments to build up the courage, to ask him another question. "If… for some reason, you could no longer remember Earth… Would you... Could you… ever consider this place as your home?"
Upon hearing that, Emery immediately put on a contemplative look as he thought seriously about the question. A few moments later, he finally spoke.
"I'm sorry, Silva. Even now when I only remember part of it… I still know deeply that there is no other place I can call home."
Silva nodded her head with a faint smile as she said, "I see… I guess that's also why you didn't accept Silvermane's throne." Seeing his expression, she quickly said, "Don't worry, I understand your reasons."
The girl in front of him was probably the one who knew him most, hence Emery felt really uneasy to disappoint her with such an answer. Emery knew however that lying would be a much more cruel response.
It took the girl a while to get her bearings. Emery saw her face harden when she appeared to have made a decision and with all seriousness, she turned to him and said, "I believed this is where our fate would end, you should leave right away"
Caught off guard by such unexpected words, Emery asks, "What… Why?"
Her answer was somehow surprising, "I have received news that my mother the queen will be returning in a few hours, you should leave before she arrives."
The girl explained that the queen still somehow blamed him for what happened with her, and staying here would only lead to her judgment.
Emery cut her off and surprised the white-haired girl with his words.
"I'm not afraid. If that's really the case, then I will wait for her to return, and be prepared for any punishment."
Silva took a deep breath before saying, "I'm telling you, this time it's serious… This time, she will not let you go."
Emery was a little flustered because he couldn't grasp the gravity of the situation. Even if he was to blame for Silva's condition, he had been trying to help her recover ever since he found out. So what exactly was the reason she said such words?
Realizing there was something deeper into this, Emery turned serious as he said, "What exactly is going on? What did you not tell me?"
To his surprise, the white-haired girl was emotional as she said, "Didn't you learn anything from your time at Silvermane? Your mutated blood gene is special! They're even willing to make you their king for god's sake!"
"If you stay here, you will either be forced to join our faction, imprisoned for years on end, or even be sent to elven planet for some gains."
It was something so outrageous that he found it hard to believe.
Before Emery could ask for more explanation, he was surprised to see Silva's face turn much pale, the outburst before seems to take a toll on her.
The girl lost her balance and Emery quickly caught her in his arms.
Even in such a condition she still whispered "You…. should leave while you can"
Emery quickly used all the power he had to dash as fast as he could as he carried the girl into the facility.
He could only watch as the experts slowly took her back into the medical tube, a deep feeling of helplessness welling up inside.
Moments later, Duke Syre's footsteps echoed in the hallway as he approached Emery with a group of guards and said.
"There is nothing more you can do here, you should leave right away"
Apparently the Duke had been observing him all this time and now he came to fulfill Silva's wish to make sure Emery left the planet.
"You have an hour before the queen arrives… leave now or not at all"
Not being given much choice, Emery was led to the airfield where Annara and his pack had gathered.
As the group began boarding the spaceship, Emery couldn't help but feel his steps getting heavier. A flash of memory popped into his mind, about a similar situation that happened in the same place in the past – that time he had escaped from Ouroboros.
"Hey, we don't have much time left?!" Annara shouted, obviously emotional with their current situation as well.
When he finally entered the spaceship, Emery couldn't help but look back, considering if leaving was really the correct choice.
It was precisely at this moment that he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Morgana's face. Thanks to their shared bond, the girl had an understanding of the situation and so came to comfort him.
"You really like her, don't you? I have heard her name so many times from your soul back on Earth... Now that I have seen her, I can understand."
Morgana's words made Emery remember about the Khaos Gate once again. At the same time, it made him realize that it was not that important compared to the things that had been troubling him deep inside his chest.
Looking into her eyes, Emery spoke to Morgana. "I'm sorry. We can't leave just yet."
He quickly told Annara about his decision, and the batgirl supported it without question. She was told to continue taking off to space to fool the Ouroboros watchful eyes, while Emery himself opened the door of the spaceship and unhesitatingly jumped out, a pair of light wings appeared on his back as he soared towards a specific destination – the gene facility.
Even if he had to risk being imprisoned or worse, he needed to know the truth.
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