章節 67: Chapter 67: For Me, By Me, and Only Me [1]

After the discussion with the Professor, it wasn't an understatement to say that Lyra had a lot to think about. Her life was changing drastically at an absurd pace, and it seemed surreal. But Lyra knew better than to mistake it all for a dream; it felt too real for that.

She needed time to slowly absorb all the changes that had happened and even more time to brace herself for the changes yet to come.

The destiny of someone with an Organic Core was heavy, weighed with darkness. If word got out in the current society, Lyra would be hunted down, not only because she was a Rogue (a Knight unaffiliated with the legal system or organizations), but for the most important reason that she was a walking time bomb—and also a treasure chest of research resources.

Yes, she would be strapped down and torn open for her insides to be studied. The cold thought made her shudder.

At the current moment, Lyra was in a small room given to her for some time alone. This was already unexpected; after all, contrary to Huey, Lyra was still a resident of the Walls. In the Outsiders' terms, she was a Wall Devil and their greatest arch-nemesis.

Even Lyra could still clearly feel the animosity directed at her from the people. And in all honesty, she felt the same towards them. But if Lyra was asked why she felt this way, her response would most likely be: "Because they're Outsiders."

Just like the Ntuli Tribe and the Outsiders, those of the Walls, especially their younger generations, were taught and raised in an environment that was discriminatory toward the Outsiders. They were taught that the Outsiders were savages driven mad by the apocalypse who would mindlessly stage attacks against any envoy from the Walls. Many Knights had died and fallen to them, rather than to Elder Gods.

Lyra was no different from the many who were raised and taught like this. Similarly, the younger generation of the Outsiders was raised to utterly despise the people from the Walls. And like that, the animosity between the Outsiders and those from the Walls was kept alive for many, many years.

And many more to come. It was an unending cycle of hate. Perhaps these unjustified emotions were also multiplied now that she was a Knight. Despite Huey's protection and the influence he seemingly had here, Lyra never once let her guard down or relaxed since she woke up.

For some reason, the Ntuli people acted completely differently with Huey. Some, though very few, still shot him hateful looks and glares from the side, but no one dared show overt animosity towards him—not like the way they did with Lyra.

Lyra hadn't spent enough time with Huey since waking up, so she couldn't fully experience the extent of his influence herself. But she had heard how he had easily resolved an issue that had been troubling their Tribe. She also knew the Ntuli people were battle freaks and warmongers who respected strength, and she had seen firsthand how powerful Huey was.

Maybe that's why, Lyra thought as she stared at the jagged ceiling above her. The room given to her wasn't wide or anything special; it was even a bit too plain for her taste. But she couldn't complain. It served its purpose regardless, which was to give her some time alone to sort out her thoughts.

As she lay on the mat-covered ground, her sapphire eyes turned wistful and glassy. She stared quietly into nothingness for a few minutes until eventually, her lips parted.

"How long has it been now?" Since she met Huey, it was just a little over a week. She traveled with him for about three days, then went into a coma for about that long. Thinking about it, she had only just woken up hours ago, and even that felt so long and distant.

She was still getting used to her body, and occasionally the back of her nape would tingle and sting. She hadn't regained full control of her senses and would end up hearing or smelling a lot more than she appreciated. She had to be careful about every step she took and each finger she raised. The hidden power retained in her body seemed almost boundless and ready to burst forward if she wasn't careful.

"Being a Knight... is so not easy," Lyra thought with a deep and exhausted sigh. She felt things a lot more deeply now, thanks to her Organic Core. Hathaway had said it would take about a full week before she could fully adjust to her new body and senses. For her, it might be a little shorter or even longer.

Throughout it all, she would experience the most heightened state of emotions and feelings. The first week was always the hardest part after a transplant for Knights, especially those with Organic Cores. As they were still in the process of adapting, they were more easily at risk of succumbing to the whispers and going mad. But it was also at the end of the week that their new personality, state, and emotions would be fixed permanently.

On the subject of the whispers, Lyra hadn't heard them anymore since the spar against Tyla.

She wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, she was told the whispers would be most incessant during the first week, but she had only heard them once, and even then for a short while.

"Ahh, it's all so confusing and complicated," she groaned, feeling frustrated. She knew her emotions were high-strung, so she managed to stop herself from smashing a wall. Instead, Lyra took deep breaths and calmed herself.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door, followed by the mechanical whirring of it sliding open. It all happened so fast that Lyra didn't have enough time to recompose herself. She instantly jumped to her feet, wary and ready for a confrontation. The thought that she was still deep inside hostile territory never left her mind, and she was always ready for things to go wrong.

But as soon as she looked towards the entrance, only an unintelligible sound left her lips. "Uh?"

Meanwhile, the person at the entrance didn't seem to take her sudden actions to heart and tacitly entered the room. It was Huey, still wearing the clothes given to him by Tyla, though this time his long black hair was unrestrained and cascaded ferally down his tall back.

Huey stared at the dumfounded Lyra before finally speaking. His lips parted, and then he said to her, "We need to talk."

At that moment, Lyra felt an indescribable weight against her chest, dreading the possible reason why Huey was here.

***

A/N: Apologies for the very late chapter. I had issues with my phone for a while, so I couldn't edit this in time. I'm really sorry.

It's a new week, and the Webnovel dreaded reset has already happened! Back to close to zero power stones, and out of the rankings. And thank you @Brad_Seymour for the golden tickets, I really, really appreciate it so much! For that, three chapters tomorrow (i can't today, cuz I'm booked tightly.)

Help me out with you're power stones and golden tickets guys! I want to see RED high up there in the rankings, and we get a multitude of bonus chapters till I drop! See stone goals in the Author's Thoughts below. Thank you!