Neo, revived, open his eyes.

A burning sensation surged through his body.

He clutched his heart and doubled over.

Groans escaped his lips.

He lacked the Divine Energy to heal completely after the revival.

The torturous pain nearly knocked him out when suddenly Neo felt someone place their hand on his back.

A comfortable flow of energy entered his body through those hands.

The pain disappeared.

Healed, Neo raised his eyes.

"Amelia? What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you."

She scratched her cheeks.

After helping him sit on the sofa, she prepared a drink for him.

"Thanks." Neo sipped the drink. "But how did you enter the room? I'm sure I locked the door."

"Neo, congrats on completing the mission—"

"Amelia, don't change the topic."

"…Mom gave the keys to me."

"Why does she have keys to my room?"

"She has the keys to my room too." Amelia stared at him in annoyance. "You should be happy you don't need to share the bed with her."

"She sleeps with you?"

"Yes, and she…"

Amelia let out a subdued frustrated scream.

"I can't sleep with her! She hugs me too tightly! I haven't slept properly a day since she came here!"

Neo placed the empty cup on the table.

"Why didn't she come to meet me herself?"

"She doesn't want to meet you right now. Mom's frustrated she couldn't help you."

Amelia sighed.

"She is thinking she failed you."

"What?"

"Don't ask me what goes through her head."

Amelia shrugged.

She stood up.

"I came here to check up on you. You can rest now."

Just as she was about to leave, she stooped at the door and turned to look at him.

"Welcome back."

Amelia left and the door closed behind her.

Neo massaged the back of his neck.

"I guess I need to buy a new lock."

After taking a bath, he slept.

The mission had been too exhausting.

He wanted to rest.

In the morning, he woke up with a jolt when his senses warned him of an incoming attack.

He rolled off from the bed and dodged the poison-coated dagger by a hair's breadth.

The assassin was wearing a shroud of shadows that hid his body and face.

'Did Zeus Clan send him? No, even they won't do as assassination so openly.'

Neo got in a position to fight.

Suddenly, a dagger pierced his heart from the behind.

The second assassin, who sneaked up on Neo, twisted the blade.

Neo looked down at the tip of the blade coming out of his chest.

"How…?"

His Death affinity never warned him of the sneak attack—

Neo woke up.

He was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.

Looking around, he noticed it was only midnight.

"Was it a dream?"

He grabbed his forehead.

"It was too realistic to be a dream."

The faint headache made it hard for him to think straight.

Hearing the voices, Neo realized it was not a simple dream.

It was a hallucination created by the Darkness.

"Seems like I overused the Darkness during the mission. I can't control it properly anymore."

The volume of the noises increased.

Neo could not sleep.

The hallucinations of the assassins began to appear in front of his eyes while he was awake.

He groaned.

His head felt like it would explode.

Amidst the countless voices speaking to him, he heard the voice of Obitus.

Hold me…

Neo….

The sword called out to him.

Neo found it hard to concentrate.

He bit his lips and tried to look around the room.

The hallucinations made it hard for him to find the sword.

One moment, he was falling from the sky, the other he was burning alive, and suddenly, he was fighting the assassins.

Neo…

Move to the right…

Continue forward…

The sword guided him through the hallucinations.

He reached the place where the sword should've been.

Yes, now grab me….

Neo held the air in front of him.

He felt the cold grip of the handle in his arms as his control over his elements was boosted by Obitus.

The voices disappeared along with the hallucinations.

Neo was back in his room.

He fell to his knees, shivering uncontrollably.

"Thanks, Obitus."

A surge of positive emotions appeared in his mind.

No need to thank me…

I will always help you no matter what…

Now, go sleep….

You need rest….

Neo nodded.

He held the sword in his hand and lay on the bed.

Normally, Neo kept a lid on his Darkness affinity to stop it from going berserk.

He could not hold the lid down while he was asleep.

It was not a problem until today since his Darkness affinity was never strong enough.

But after the mission his Darkness affinity grew a lot stronger.

He could not suppress it anymore unless he was diverting his focus towards it, which was impossible to achieve while he was asleep.

Neo did not know what he would've done without Obitus.

The sword increased his control over his elements.

He had to sleep with the sword in his hands if he did not want to fall victim to the hallucinations again.

In the morning, Neo received a notification from the academy.

[All participants of the recent S-rank mission must report to the assembly hall in 1 hour.]

[Mission Evaluation Report will be distributed.]

[Please make sure to attend the meeting.]

He ordered the food to his room.

After filling his stomach, he moved towards the venue.

He met Jack on the way.

"Hi, yawn, how are you?"

"Good enough, I guess. What about you? Did you stay awake the whole night?"

"I've been sleeping since we returned.

"I'm tired due to the side effect of the revival." Jack answered as he yawned.

The two reached the assembly hall.

They met Arthur, Felix, Mars, Sean and Nathan.

Noticing their sorrowful expression, Neo spoke,

"Why do you all look like shit?"

Arthur raised his head when he heard Neo's voice.

He stared at Neo.

"It's just that too many died during the mission. Leonora, Clara, you…"

Suddenly, Arthur closed his mouth.

He stared at Neo, turned his head, stared at Jack, turned his head, and stared at Neo again.

"Felix, can you pinch me?"

"Sure, but pinch me too."

Felix, in her female body, stared at Neo and Jack with a stupefied expression.

The others were no different.

Arthur winced when Felix pinched him.

"Neo …. are you really alive?"

"Yes, I am and please stop acting like you saw a ghost—"

"You are alive!"

Arthur jumped from his seat.

He hugged Neo and Jack with a speed that made them think they were hit by a truck.

"You are alive! You are alive!"

Tears strolled down Arthur's cheek.

His voice cracked.

"Tha-thank you for being alive."

Jack looked at Neo with awkward expression, not sure of what to do.

Before Neo could do anything, Felix followed Arthur's example and hugged them tightly.

After a minute of crying, Arthur calmed down.

He wiped his tears and stared at Neo.

"How did you survive? Lucas told us you stayed back to buy time for us."

"Lucas told you that?"

"Yes? Isn't that what happened?"

Neo smiled.

He saw Lucas, Harrison, and Cassandra entering the hall from the corner of his eyes.

"Actually, yeah, that's what happened back then."

"Then how did you return—"