Ron didn't recognize her.
He hurried after her and entered the house.
Inside, he found Ava, clearly startled.
"I— I'm sorry," Ron said quickly. "I didn't recognize you."
She shook her head. "It's okay."
Ron sat on the sofa. Ava stood beside him.
She studied him carefully.
"A… um… Ron" she asked, uncertain.
"Yes," he replied.
"Have you eaten?" she asked, concern slipping into her voice.
Ron paused, then smiled.
"If I say no… will you make something for me?"
"Yes," Ava said softly. "I bought groceries. And you made me breakfast earlier… thank you."
"No problem," Ron said. "We should help each other."
The atmosphere shifted.
"And now I'm curious what you'll make," Ron added, trying to sound normal.
Ava smiled and walked toward the kitchen.
Ron leaned back and sighed, his thoughts drifting to Locki.
This place… Hero Town… it's full of mysteries.
Ava cooked quietly. She was usually good at reading expressions—but Ron was different. Hard to read.
When she first met him in the hospital, he already felt distant.
Carter said Ron lost everyone he loved, she thought. But he treats me normally. Like a husband. Maybe… with time, we'll grow closer.
She shook her head.
What are you thinking, Ava?
She glanced at the living room.
Ron had fallen asleep on the couch again.
"He really loves that couch," she muttered. "I saw him sleep on one in the hospital too. He'd rather sleep there than in his room… or beside his wife."
She sighed.
"No. We're only married because he can protect me."
She focused back on cooking.
When the food was ready, Ava set the table and walked over to wake him.
She shook his shoulder gently.
Ron's eyes opened, unfocused.
He looked at Ava—but in his mind, her figure overlapped with Dream's.
His expression changed.
Before Ava could react, Ron stood up and pulled her into a tight hug.
Ava froze.
"I miss you, Drea—" Ron whispered.
Then his body went limp. He fell asleep again.
Ava's eyes widened.
Slowly, she guided him back onto the couch. She stepped away, her heart pounding.
"Ron," she called evenly, forcing calm into her voice. "Dinner's ready."
After several calls, Ron woke up.
He looked around, confused.
"Ron… are you okay?" Ava asked, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Yes," he said with a smile. "I'm fine. Thanks for the meal. I'll wash my hands."
As he walked away, Ava sat down.
So he's pretending, she thought. And he clearly misses his first wife. To him… I'm just a replacement.
Ron returned and ate normally, praising her cooking.
Ava's expression didn't change. She ate silently.
"How was your day, Ava?" Ron asked.
"Good," she replied.
"I met Carter today. We talked about work and—" Ron continued, like any normal husband would.
Ava only nodded, giving short replies.
Ron noticed—but said nothing.
They finished eating in silence.
"I'll wash the dishes," Ron offered.
"No, I'll do it," Ava insisted.
Ron agreed.
"Ron," she said, "I'm going to meet my school friends today."
"Okay," Ron replied. "Be careful."
Ron stepped outside.
As Ron left, Ava's gaze lingered on him.
Her mind drifted back to a memory from fourth grade. Ava had a best friend named Madison. Madison had an older brother, and back then, life seemed simple and happy. Time moved gently, and everything felt safe.
Then one day, Madison stopped coming to school.
Worried, Ava went to visit her—but Madison's house had been taken over by debt collectors. Later, a teacher told her that Madison had moved back to her village.
Ava asked Carter to go with her to see Madison, and he agreed.
That Sunday, they stood outside the village house. They knocked, but no one answered.
A neighbor emerged and told them everything.
Madison's brother had married. At first, his wife seemed kind—but she soon revealed a cruel heart. She stole company secrets and ruined his life. Debts piled up, and everything fell apart.
To protect Madison from the collectors, her brother disowned her.
Not long after, he took his own life. Before dying, he left Madison the village house and a small sum of money—enough to see her through her teenage years if she lived carefully.
But Madison vanished. Completely. Without a trace.
Ava cried that day—not just for Madison, but for everything Madison had lost, and for the helplessness she had felt herself.
From that pain, Ava made a vow.
If I ever get married, she thought, I will care for my husband. I will love him, no matter what. I will never abandon him.
Back in the present,
Ron had left the house.
Ava stood up, thinking of the promise she had made to herself.
"I promised myself… but this time, I'm not in the wrong, am I?" she whispered.
Shaking off the thought, she pulled out her phone and typed into her old high school friends' group chat.
"Where and what time?"
A reply came almost instantly:
"We've arrived and checked in at the Dash Hotel near the educational institute."
"So when do you want to meet?" Ava texted.
"As soon as possible," came the reply.
"Let's meet in an hour," Ava typed, her heart lifting.
It's been five years… she thought, smiling softly. I'm finally going to see them again.
Meanwhile, Ron wandered outside, a sense of unease nagging at him.
I'm trying my best to be good to her, he thought. But she deserves more. Maybe I should talk to Carter about it.
His phone rang suddenly. It was Finian.
"Ron, can you come over? Now. It's an emergency," Finian said, his tone slightly strained, though he tried to sound calm.
Without hesitation, Ron teleported.
An hour later, Ava was ready to leave. She locked the house behind her.
"Ron has a key… but even if he didn't, he could teleport inside," she thought, smiling faintly.
She walked quickly toward the meetup point. But when she arrived, the street was empty.
The surroundings felt eerily familiar. During the zombie apocalypse, she had been chased through streets just like this.
Suddenly, she stumbled.
Zombies emerged from the shadows, snarling and snapping. Ava froze, terror gripping her.
Then, from behind, a red-colored slash cut through the horde. The zombies vaporized instantly.
Ava spun around to see a beautiful woman standing there. Her eyes glowed red, and a crimson energy radiated around her.
The woman stepped closer, and Ava's fear grew—but then she knelt beside her and gently stroked her hair.
"You're safe," the woman said.
Ava's legs gave out, and she collapsed from exhaustion and hunger.
Before her consciousness faded, she heard the woman speak again:
"Rest assured. I'll make sure you're safe for his sake. You have to take care of him while I am not prese—"
Ava blacked out.
Then,
"Ava!"
A familiar voice pulled her back to reality.
She opened her eyes and saw her high school friends standing before her.
A genuine, wide smile spread across her face.
There were three of them—and one was Ava herself.
"The high school gang is back," one of the women said, laughing.
Elsewhere
In a Dark Room, nine chairs surrounded a table. Only one chair was filled, Green eyed man sat in his chair, lost in thought.
Only hour an hour was left for the meeting to begin.
Green Eyed man thought about the Past. The day Ancient Mill was destroyed.
The room was dark.
That Day
Nine chairs surrounded a circular table, their occupants hidden in shadow.
"The Ancient Mill has been destroyed," said the green-eyed man, his voice calm but heavy.
"We left the artifact there," the black-haired woman said sharply.
"The Mill is gone," the green-eyed man replied. "And its boss was defeated."
Silence fell.
"No… that's impossible," said the white-haired woman. "Shukyaa was defeated?"
"Yes," the green-eyed man confirmed.
A blonde-haired woman turned toward her. "Who is Shukyaa?"
"An ancient creature," the white-haired woman said
The Green Eyed mans spoke, "Created by a being from an age long forgotten."
The blonde woman nodded slowly."How did they defeat Shukyaa?" the black-haired woman asked."I heard Ron struck its core," one of the men said.
"Core?" another man echoed.
"You could call it a heart," the first man replied.
The green-eyed man leaned back.
"It was all DA's doing."
The black-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Shukyaa has no core. No heart," the green-eyed man said. "He can only be defeated by his creator… or someone connected to that power."
The room grew colder.
"And DA," he continued, "possesses abilities related—however faintly—to Shukyaa's creator."
Back in the present.
The green-eyed man lowered his gaze, lost in thought. He pick Ron's picture, he was walking with Dream. Both were smiling in the picture.
"The more I look at him… the more he reminds me of that man."