Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sleep With Me Tonight

By the time everyone returned to the orphanage, it was already late into the night. Most of the children were sound asleep. It was one of the children on duty in the attic who first noticed their arrival and hurried downstairs to open the main door. From the anxious look in the child's eyes, Lily and the others could sense a deep unease.

Soon, Hugh and Ander arrived, having been alerted to the commotion. They were both puzzled—why had Lily's group returned after only a single day away? Their surprise only grew when they saw the black-haired girl in Camille’s arms, dressed in a peculiar hooded cloak. Where had Lily and her team found such a strange young woman?

Yet, the group had barely set down their gear when the fatigue of their journey caught up with them. They were eager for a shower before anything else, so Hugh and Ander held back their questions, allowing everyone time to wash and tidy up.

At last, in the third-floor common area, Hugh and Ander paced back and forth like ants on a hot pan, waiting anxiously until at last Lily’s group appeared. Only Stevenson excused himself, claiming he truly needed to rest and hadn’t contributed much during the expedition. He returned to his room.

“You’ll never believe what we’ve been through,” Sandro exclaimed as soon as he sat down, addressing Hugh and Ander.

Dunn nodded gravely in agreement, his expression somber.

Aiden, as always, was expressionless. He simply placed a box of bullets on the table before everyone.

Camille, though sleepy, sensed this meeting was important and forced herself to stay awake.

Lily glanced around at everyone present before beginning to recount, in a steady voice, all that her group had witnessed and experienced during their search and rescue mission to Hugh, Ander, and Ariel—who had come with Camille.

Despite Lily’s calm delivery, her listeners were stunned, their jaws dropping in disbelief—time speeding up for buildings and objects, bizarre creatures with what seemed like twelve colossal pillars above their heads, something akin to a dragon... Was this really the same world that revered science above all else?

“And so, I want to introduce a concept,” Lily said, displaying her fate coin. “That is—Thaumaturgy.” With that, she looked over at Aiden.

“Thaumaturgy...” Everyone turned the word over in their minds.

“We must now accept that before the ‘Wall,’ or the emergence of the ‘2.4 Mist,’ our world was indeed one that worshipped science. But things are different now. Whether it’s my experiences or John’s, or all that we saw on this journey, it’s clear—”

The world has changed. Extraordinary and mysterious powers have begun to interfere with our reality. Although we don’t know what lies beyond the ‘Wall,’ nor do we have a chance to exchange for a new edition of ‘A Detailed Treatise on the 2.4 Mist’ from outsiders, that’s the truth,” Lily summarized.

The word “interfere” came out awkwardly; she had only just learned it from Aiden.

“Lily... is it true that every child experiences something on their coming-of-age day?” Ariel asked softly.

Ever since Lily chased them out of the room on her birthday, Ander and Ariel had both suspected something. Now, with Lily openly admitting her and John’s unusual circumstances, it wasn’t hard to draw the conclusion—the coming-of-age day must be significant.

At this, both Dunn and Sandro looked at Lily. Sandro was confused, but Dunn seemed thoughtful.

Lily took a deep breath. She knew this secret couldn’t stay hidden for much longer. Besides, the orphanage’s fate seemed now tied to time itself. If phenomena like accelerated time spread to their home and the children were left without shelter, they’d stand no chance against the titanic beings that emerged from the mist.

“Yes,” Lily replied, choosing not to evade or obscure the truth.

Sandro finally began to understand, piecing things together: “So... you and John both experienced something on your coming-of-age day, and then gained... some kind of powers?”

“In general, that’s correct,” Lily affirmed.

“But!” she added, “I can’t say for certain that John and I went through the same thing. I remember some fragments, but they don’t overlap at all with what John remembers.

“Moreover, only John and I have undergone such changes in the orphanage so far. We can’t yet determine whether these events are a blessing or a curse. Usually, power comes at a price—the more extraordinary the ability, the heavier the cost.”

Ariel nodded first, then Ander expressed his understanding as well. Sandro looked as though he was about to cry; he thought Lily was simply too kind.

“Hugh, Aiden, I think we need to make a full record of all the children’s birthdays,” Lily turned to discuss with Hugh and Aiden.

“What about John?” Hugh asked uncertainly.

“Until we discover the true cause of the accelerated time phenomenon, I doubt we’ll be able to find him... Besides, the things across the Thames are too formidable for us to face right now.”

Lily herself felt miserable—her words were as much for Hugh as they were for her own reassurance. She couldn’t act on impulse, dragging anyone from the orphanage with her across the Thames; that would be suicide.

“Lily, tomorrow... there’s something... I must do,” Aiden suddenly spoke up.

“Alright, what is it?” Lily was puzzled. What could Aiden be planning, to specifically mention it to her?

“Tomorrow... I’ll tell you,” Aiden replied, keeping his intentions to himself.

“Alright then, I’ll wait,” Lily agreed, though curiosity lingered.

“Oh, right, Aiden...” Lily recalled something.

“The dictionary, right? Wait for me by the stairs near the girls’ rooms in a bit; I’ll bring it to you,” Aiden said, heading for the spiral staircase, leaving Lily and the others exchanging bewildered looks.

“Aiden never changes,” Hugh said with a smile, sidling up to Lily.

“Is everything well at the orphanage?” Lily asked, having not found a moment alone to speak with Hugh since her return. Suddenly, she suggested, “Why don’t you stay with me tonight?”

“Everything’s fine... wait, what?” Hugh was caught off guard. How had the conversation drifted to this? Had Lily awakened to something new?