Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream

When the doors parted, Veronica expected Kyle to step out. She thought that, whatever the reason being, he was prepared to come out now and return with her.

Instead, he remained within the temple’s perimeter, simply watching them.

Veronica said nothing and didn’t hear anything. And yet she knew what he wanted.

She slowly made her way into the temple.

The Sentinels did not move an inch.

Amanda was still unconscious in her arms, her face deathly pale and her body frighteningly weak. Veronica could feel the girl’s Genesis reserves running dangerously low.

She herself was trembling from head to toe, yet she held Amanda securely and continued toward Kyle.

The closer she drew, the more she noticed something strange about him.

He looked different.

Aside from his eyes, which had turned golden, everything about him appeared unchanged. His face, his features, even the way he stood were all familiar. And yet, there was something about his presence that felt fundamentally different.

Strangely, Veronica felt no alarm.

Not even the slightest hint of danger.

Was the desperation of reuniting with him clouding her senses, or were her instincts telling her that she had nothing to fear?

"Give her to me."

Kyle’s voice was devoid of the emotion that should have been there.

Veronica frowned.

"Kyle... who am I?"

She could not shake the feeling that there was someone else hiding behind that familiar face...and yet, he was the Kyle she always knew.

Kyle stared at her for several moments before finally speaking.

"Veronica, give her to me. Her circuits are suffering severely."

His words eased some of the tension in her chest.

Slowly, she extended Amanda toward him.

Kyle took her into his arms with utmost care, as though she were something fragile enough to shatter at the slightest touch.

Almost immediately, Veronica noticed a change.

The pallor in Amanda’s face began to fade, slowly returning to its natural complexion.

It was then that Veronica realized something else.

She was no longer trembling.

She had not even noticed when it stopped.

Her clothes, which had been soaked moments ago, were completely dry. Even the violent thunderstorm that had surrounded the temple seemed distant now, its deafening roar reduced to a faint murmur in the distance.

Veronica’s gaze shifted toward Kyle.

He was looking back at her.

Yet, in those golden eyes, Veronica could not find Kyle.

The realization unsettled her more than she wanted to admit. There was something familiar about the man standing before her, yet something essential was missing. Still, rather than dwell on the unease, she forced herself to ask the questions that had been circling her mind.

"What... happened to you? Why did you suddenly come here? And, in the first place, how did you even get here?"

Kyle did not answer immediately.

Instead, he extended one hand toward her while keeping Amanda securely cradled in his other arm.

"Come with me. We will talk once Amanda wakes up."

Veronica pressed her lips together before reaching out and taking his hand.

"Ah."

Her feet moved.

And yet, somehow, she did not.

She was still standing exactly where she had been, but the world around her had changed completely.

Veronica’s eyes widened.

A garden stretched out before her, vibrant and serene. Flowers of countless colors bloomed in every direction, their petals swaying gently beneath a pleasant breeze. The air was warm and soothing, carrying the faint fragrance of blossoms.

Small creatures darted through the greenery. Squirrels scurried between the trees while rabbits hopped leisurely across the grass, completely unafraid of the people who had suddenly appeared among them.

It was peaceful.

Almost impossibly so.

The scene was a complete contradiction to everything she had ever imagined a temple to be.

And after enduring hours of bitter cold, violent rain, and relentless thunder outside, this place felt like nothing short of heaven.

"Where are we?" she asked, glancing around in bewilderment.

Kyle was already moving toward a bed that had appeared out of thin air. A soft mattress rested atop its frame, surrounded by several pillows.

He gently laid Amanda down and pulled a smooth blanket over her before motioning toward the nearby table.

"Come, sit. I prepared something for you to eat."

Veronica turned toward where he was gesturing and found a small, round tea table waiting beneath the shade of a nearby tree. Three chairs were arranged around it, with a steaming teapot resting at the center.

As she approached, she noticed the spread of food laid out before her. There were sandwiches, cookies, pastries, and several other snacks, all arranged neatly within reach.

Now that she was here, with Kyle beside her and Amanda seemingly safe, the tension that had kept her going for so long finally began to loosen.

And with it came the hunger she had been suppressing.

Her stomach churned.

"Go ahead and eat. I know how stubborn you two have been for the past four days."

Veronica glanced at him.

"So, you have been watching us, huh?"

He did not respond. He remained beside the bed, one hand hovering over Amanda’s face. From the faint glow gathering around his fingers, Veronica assumed he was healing her.

Now, how he was doing so was just another question amongst the tens of them she had stored in her head.

She quietly took a seat and reached for a cookie.

To her surprise, she could touch it.

Even more surprising, she could eat it.

The cookie was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. After days of surviving on little more than Genesis, the simple taste felt almost unreal.

She finished the first one, only to realize how dry her throat had become.

Before she could reach for the teapot, someone poured her a cup of tea.

Veronica looked up, expecting to see Kyle.

Instead, her eyes widened.

A familiar blond boy stood beside her, quietly pouring the tea.

"Ethan?!"

The name escaped her in disbelief.

It was Ethan.

And yet, it wasn’t.

Once again, Veronica felt that strange sensation. Something about him was fundamentally different. It wasn’t merely his eyes, which had turned the same golden shade as Kyle’s. His entire face seemed to radiate an unnatural beauty, as though every feature had been carefully refined and restructured to make him more charming.

The sight left her utterly bewildered and somehow unsettled.

"He is no longer the Ethan you knew."

Kyle’s voice broke through her thoughts.

He had taken the seat across from Veronica. As though following an unspoken command, the boy who supposedly was Ethan poured him a cup of tea as well before quietly retreating to the side of the tree.

Veronica’s gaze remained fixed on him for another moment before she turned back to Kyle.

"What... happened to him?"

Kyle exhaled softly.

"I wiped away the existence known as Ethan. What remained was an attendant who serves me here. Nothing more."

Veronica’s brows rose.

"You erased Ethan? But how?"

Kyle’s expression did not change.

He looked directly into her eyes, his golden gaze unnervingly calm.

"These past three days, I have been busy, Veronica."

He paused.

"Very busy."

A shiver ran down Veronica’s spine.

She had no idea what Kyle had done during those three days.

But one thing was becoming increasingly clear.

Something within him had changed.

And whatever it was, she suspected she had only begun to glimpse its true extent.

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