The invisible force field vanished.
Olivia immediately rushed toward Levi and wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind.
“Levi!”
“You need to wake up!”
Her voice trembled with fear.
For a brief moment…
Nothing happened.
Then Levi slowly blinked.
His eyes regained focus.
He looked down at the arms wrapped around him before speaking softly.
“…Olivia?”
She let out a long breath of relief.
“You scared me.”
Levi frowned.
“What happened?”
“You’ve been standing here for almost thirty minutes.”
“I couldn’t wake you.”
Levi looked around the forest.
It felt as though only a few minutes had passed.
The White Room.
The mysterious woman.
Had it all been real?
He wasn’t sure.
Olivia quickly ran over and gently woke Carmen while leaving everyone else asleep.
Carmen slowly opened her eyes.
She groaned as she sat up on the cold forest floor.
“I hate sleeping outside.”
She brushed leaves from her clothes before remembering what had happened.
Her eyes widened.
“Levi!”
She jumped to her feet and ran toward him.
Without hesitation, she threw her arms around him.
Now Levi had one sister hugging him from the front…
And the other hugging him from behind.
“You can’t scare us like that!”
“We thought we lost you!”
Carmen’s voice shook as she buried her face against his shoulder.
Levi smiled softly.
“I’m alright.”
“I just…”
“…met someone.”
Olivia looked up at him with watery eyes.
“You were not alright.” Get faster updates on g.com.
“You can’t disappear like that.”
“What if something had happened to you?”
Levi lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t know that would happen.”
Carmen tightened her grip.
“You always say you’ll be careful.”
“And then you do something reckless.”
Levi laughed quietly.
“…That’s fair.”
The twins refused to let him go.
For the first time in a long while…
Levi simply stood there and accepted the embrace.
No words.
No strategy.
No planning.
Just silence.
It reminded him of when they were children.
Back then…
Whenever something frightened them…
The three of them would hold onto each other until everything felt safe again.
Some habits never changed.
Finally, Levi smiled.
“You know…”
“I can’t breathe.”
Neither sister moved.
“Just a little longer.”
They answered at the exact same time.
Levi couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright.”
“We’ll stay like this for a minute.”
The three siblings remained there beneath the trees.
The cool breeze gently moved through the forest.
For a brief moment…
The harshness of the Dryland disappeared.
Several minutes later, the twins finally released him.
Levi looked toward the others, who were still sleeping peacefully beneath the trees.
“What happened to them?”
Olivia adjusted her glasses.
“They’ll wake up soon.”
“They won’t remember what happened.”
Levi immediately understood.
“You used your power.”
“…I didn’t know what else to do.”
Levi sighed.
He wanted to scold her.
Instead…
He gently placed a hand on her head.
“Thank you.”
Her eyes widened.
“I’ll explain everything later.”
“There are some things I can tell you.”
“And…”
“There are some things I can’t.”
The twins nodded.
They understood.
If Levi was keeping something secret…
There had to be a reason.
As the others slowly began waking one by one, Olivia’s altered memories settled naturally into their minds.
Instead of remembering Levi standing frozen beneath the tree…
They remembered laughing together before deciding to rest for a while.
No one questioned it.
Only three people remembered the truth.
Levi.
Carmen.
And Olivia.
Levi looked back toward the tree one final time.
The mysterious woman was gone.
But her words still echoed inside his mind.
“You should trust Carmen more.”
“Open the chest.”
“I’ll see you again, Levi.”
He placed a hand over the bag slung across his shoulder.
Inside…
Rested the golden chest his father had left behind.
For reasons he couldn’t explain…
He felt as though opening it would change his life forever.
Without another word, Levi turned toward the truck.
“Come on.”
“We should head back.”
The twins smiled.
“Right behind you, Brother.”
Together…
The three siblings walked back toward the others.
None of them realized…
That the greatest change in Levi’s life had already begun.