Steady. Comfortable.
How long had it been since she'd slept this peacefully?
Warmth wrapped around her entire body. She sank into that rare, luxurious ease—so much so that, for a moment, she didn't even want to wake up.
But Reunion, already far down the wrong path, was still waiting for her return. There were still things she had to do—things she hadn't finished.
In the end, Talulah forced her eyes open.
"Where… am I…?"
A clean white ceiling filled her vision. Draped over her was a soft quilt, lightly scented and gentle against her skin.
Still dazed, Talulah pushed herself upright and looked around at the room she was in.
It was slightly cramped, but neat and bright. The spotless floor and sparse furniture reflected a faint sheen. The air carried the sharp sting of disinfectant—yet instead of discomfort, it gave her a strange sense of reassurance.
Lowering her gaze, she touched the clean white sleepwear she was wearing and murmured to herself.
"Am I… in a hospital?"
"Mm…"
A voice?
Someone!
The sudden sleepy murmur snapped Talulah fully alert. She whipped her head toward the sound coming from the edge of the bed—
And the figure she had longed for, day and night, was reflected in her eyes.
"…It's my… little brother…"
The guarded tension in her body dissolved instantly. In its place came an involuntary trembling—half excitement, half disbelief.
There he was: a Draco sleeping with his head on the bedside, lips faintly smacking as if he were chewing something in his dreams.
Talulah slowly extended her right hand, shaking as it reached for him.
Memories surfaced, one after another.
A village swallowed by fire.
Snowfields filled with wailing.
Her own descent into ruin—until the day she first learned that blood kin existed.
Then Chernobog: the battlefield, the slaughter—when she saw that face, so uncannily like her own.
Exhilaration. Joy. A fierce, bubbling excitement.
None of those words could truly capture what it felt like, deep in the blackest shadow, to see a sliver of dawn.
She should have committed unforgivable sins—then burned herself away in endless flames.
She should have left behind nothing but a cursed name in history—then vanished beneath the disappointed eyes of those who once followed her.
And yet now she lay in a warm room. Her comrades still lived. And the brother she couldn't stop thinking about was right beside her.
It all felt like a dream—beautiful, unreal, too perfect to believe. Almost too perfect to accept that everything before this had been real.
Until her fingers slipped through smooth silver hair.
Until the hard dragon horns allowed her touch without resistance.
Only then did a single tear spill from the corner of Talulah's eye.
It was real.
None of it had been a dream.
Her younger brother. Her kin. Her family.
She stroked his hair gently—hair as smooth as Yan silk—and couldn't stop herself from combing it again and again, unwilling to let go.
The intimacy of blood, rising from something deep within her veins, brought her a joy so pure it made her breath catch.
"Little brother…"
She tried the word—one she'd never had before—and the corners of her mouth lifted without her even meaning to.
Then an exhausted, helpless sigh broke the moment.
"…I mean—aren't you going a bit far, sis? Even if we're siblings, isn't it kind of inappropriate to keep stroking a man's head like that?"
Talulah froze.
The Draco at the bedside had woken at some point, and now those bright eyes stared straight at her.
Her slender, pale hand stopped midair.
After a brief pause—after thinking it over—Talulah still set her hand back down on his head.
Meeting his baffled gaze, she wiped away the tear at her eye and let out a quiet laugh.
"What's inappropriate about me touching my own little brother's head?"
"It feels weird, okay? Stop it."
Chen Mo shook his head hard, knocking away the hand that was clearly about to start feeling up his horns too.
"Talulah, how are you feeling? Any discomfort?"
Talulah shook her head. She had never felt so light—like a burden weighing ten thousand pounds had finally been set down.
But she quickly collected herself, her expression turning serious as she looked at the face that was almost the same as her own.
"Since you've been living in Lungmen this whole time, Ch'en should have taught you proper etiquette."
"Xiao Mo… can I call you Xiao Mo?"
Stretching by the bed, Chen Mo nodded casually. Wei Yenwu called him that too—one more person didn't matter.
Talulah visibly relaxed. Then, smiling openly now, she said—
"Then, Xiao Mo, you should be calling me 'Big Sister'."
Chen Mo's face instantly collapsed.
The flavor was way too strong. No wonder she and Ch'en were sisters.
"Hah… okay, Big Sister. Since you're awake, I'll go notify the doctor so she can come check you again."
He turned to leave.
Talulah suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Wait, Xiao Mo—where is this place? What about everyone in Reunion? They're… right now…"
"This is Rhodes Island."
Click.
The door swung open.
Backlit by the bright corridor behind her, Kal'tsit walked into the dimmer room with a tablet in hand, her face expressionless.
"Good morning, Talulah, leader of Reunion."
"Thanks to your race, the degree of Originium assimilation in your somatic cells is still in acceptable condition. The density of Originium crystallization in your blood is also not as bad as I expected."
"Other than that, there are no abnormalities. Your body is robust; there are no hidden disorders."
"However, psychologically and mentally, I recommend further evaluation."
After delivering that entire clinical report in one cold, uninterrupted stream, Kal'tsit put the tablet away.
"Now. What questions do you have?"
Still foggy from the barrage, Talulah shook her head. She didn't care how her body was doing.
After seeing her brother, there was only one thing she cared about.
"Where are Reunion's people?"
"Reunion is following along not far from Rhodes Island."
Chen Mo sat down beside her with a smile and, without drawing attention to it, peeled her fingers off his wrist.
"You slept for a full day. They were worried sick."
"In the end, with some persuasion from me, they agreed to bring you onto Rhodes Island for a checkup."
"And we're already out of Ursus territory."
"Take my advice—don't even think about going back to Ursus, Big Sister."
"…I understand."
Talulah lowered her eyes, thinking for a moment, then nodded.
She wasn't an idiot. She understood exactly what he meant.
When she led Reunion to attack Chernobog, the Ursus army groups hadn't come to reinforce it—only because she had been under Koschei's control.
Ursus would never move against Koschei. Everything he did served Ursus.
But Talulah wasn't arrogant enough to believe she could walk back in unpunished.
If she returned, the major Ursus army groups would show her—and Reunion—what the true meaning of a black hand was.
So what future did Reunion have now?
And internally… it needed a thorough purge and restructuring.
As Talulah was still weighing plans for what came next, her hand was suddenly caught again, snapping her attention back.
"Don't think so much," Chen Mo said. "You're already off that land."
"For the next stretch… why not relax a little?"
Looking at the grinning face beside her—so similar to her own—Talulah's lingering worry softened into a gentler, almost indulgent warmth.
"If you say so, Xiao Mo…"
Then—for now—
She would allow herself to rest, just a little.
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