Daniel Mercer had been shot.
He wasn't particularly happy about it.
He sat with his back against a low stone wall, one hand pressed against his right thigh. Blood had soaked through his trousers and was spreading across the gravel beneath him. Every movement sent a fresh stab of pain through his leg, and the pressure of his palm against the wound wasn't helping nearly as much as he'd hoped.
He'd never been shot before.
He could confidently say he didn't recommend it.
"Bloody hell, Evie."
The road was empty.
Beyond the opposite verge, the woodland stretched away in a tangle of trunks and undergrowth. Evelyn had disappeared into those trees several minutes ago, taking his pistol with her.
He'd called after her.
She hadn't stopped.
Daniel glanced down at his leg.
He understood that she'd been upset. She'd been through a great deal recently, and he hadn't expected her to react particularly well to another death.
But shooting him?
That had been unnecessary.
Especially considering that, unlike Evelyn, he couldn't simply come back if something went wrong.
He pressed harder against the wound and winced.
He'd have to explain that distinction to her.
Later.
When she'd calmed down.
He tried adjusting his position, then abandoned the attempt when pain shot up toward his hip.
"Fuck."
He breathed through his teeth until the worst of it passed.
He wasn't angry with her.
Not really.
He was concerned.
The way she'd behaved after coming back had been deeply unsettling. He'd known Evelyn since they were children, and he'd never seen her laugh like that. One moment she'd been shouting at him, the next she'd been laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
Then she'd started crying.
Then laughing again.
She'd asked whether he wanted to shoot her a third time.
He hadn't known what to say to that.
Of course he didn't want to shoot her again.
He'd only needed to establish whether Undying worked consistently.
And now he knew.
That should have been reassuring.
Instead, she'd acted as though he'd done something unforgivable.
Daniel frowned.
She'd mentioned being burned alive.
He remembered that part particularly well.
She'd said it while laughing, in that strange, breathless voice, as though she were telling him something absurdly funny.
He'd been shocked.
Burned alive.
He couldn't imagine how much that must have hurt.
It sounded dreadful.
But she'd come back.
That was what he couldn't understand about her reaction.
Whatever the fire had done to her, it hadn't lasted. Her skin was intact. Her body worked perfectly. There weren't even any scars.
He knew pain was unpleasant. His leg was providing a fairly convincing demonstration of that right now.
And he certainly wouldn't volunteer to be burned alive himself.
But Evelyn was different.
She could survive it.
More than survive it. She could return without a scratch.
People endured painful medical procedures every day. Adventurers suffered terrible injuries in dungeons because the rewards justified the risks. Healers restored broken bones and severed limbs, and nobody suggested that an injury remained physically dangerous after it had been completely healed.
Evelyn had something infinitely more valuable.
She could come back from death itself.
He understood that she didn't enjoy the experience. He wasn't expecting her to enjoy it.
But the way she'd looked at him—
As though he were the worst person in the world.
As though she'd genuinely believed he wanted to hurt her.
That was what bothered him.
He'd always cared about her.
He still did.
He'd been the one to find her at the university. He'd stayed with her when she died. He'd searched for her afterward, even when everyone else seemed interested only in the reward.
And now he'd found her again.
She ought to have been relieved.
Instead, she'd shot him.
Daniel sighed.
She wasn't thinking clearly.
The fear, the constant running, the people hunting her—it was obviously affecting her judgment. She'd been through too much to make sensible decisions about her own situation.
Which was exactly why she needed someone who could.
Someone who knew her.
Someone she could trust.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone.
The screen was cracked, but it still worked.
At least something had survived the afternoon.
He selected a contact and called.
The man answered after three rings.
"Mercer."
"I found her."
A pause.
"Where?"
"Near Briarford. The wooded road east of the town."
"Is she with you?"
"Not at the moment."
Silence.
"Daniel."
"She's gone into the woods."
"You told us you could bring her in."
"I found her, didn't I?"
"That wasn't the arrangement."
Daniel looked down at his leg.
"There's been a complication."
"What kind of complication?"
"She shot me."
Another silence.
Then, very slowly, "She what?"
"In the leg. I'm bleeding quite a lot, actually. I'd appreciate it if you sent someone."
The man exhaled sharply.
"Stay where you are."
"I wasn't planning on going anywhere."
The call ended.
Daniel lowered the phone.
Well.
That could have gone better.
Still, they'd come.
They needed him.
Whether they liked admitting it or not.
He leaned his head against the stone wall and closed his eyes.
It had all started with a quest.
***
That Thursday morning, Daniel had been finishing his breakfast when a System window appeared in front of him.
That wasn't unusual.
Personal quests were part of everyday life. Some were connected to a person's class or profession. Others appeared seemingly at random, offering rewards for completing specific tasks.
Daniel had received plenty over the years.
Help someone with a delivery.
Visit a particular location.
Complete a difficult assignment.
Most offered modest amounts of experience or gold.
Nothing especially exciting.
But this one had been different.
[PERSONAL QUEST]
**Find Evelyn Holloway**
Objective: Locate Evelyn Holloway.
Rewards:
- 5,000 Gold - Additional Reward: ???
Status: Active
Daniel stared at the window.
"Evelyn?"
He laughed.
Of all the people in the world.
He knew Evelyn Holloway.
They'd grown up together, lived on the same street, and spent countless afternoons at each other's houses. He knew her parents, her sister Lucy, and her younger brother Oliver.
He knew she was studying psychology at the University of Manchester.
Five thousand gold for finding someone he could probably contact with a single phone call?
That was absurd.
He checked the quest again.
The reward remained unchanged.
Five thousand gold.
And something else.
Daniel wasn't wealthy. He had a job, paid his bills, and managed well enough, but five thousand gold was more than he could reasonably expect to earn from ordinary personal quests in years.
Whatever the System wanted, it clearly considered the task important.
He considered calling Evelyn.
But the quest said to find her.
Not call her.
Not ask where she was.
Find her.
And for that kind of reward, he wasn't going to risk completing the objective incorrectly.
He knew she had lectures that morning. He didn't know her exact timetable, but the psychology department wasn't particularly difficult to locate.
He grabbed his jacket, picked up his keys, and left.
The journey to the university took longer than he'd hoped.
Traffic was heavy, parking was irritating, and the campus was full of students who seemed determined to stand in groups wherever he needed to walk.
By the time he reached the psychology building, he was beginning to regret not calling her first.
Then he found her.
She was sitting in a lecture theatre, visible through a narrow window in the corridor outside.
Daniel recognized her immediately.
Dark hair falling over one shoulder. Notebook open. Her head tilted slightly as she looked toward the ceiling rather than the professor.
He smiled.
That was Evelyn.
He waited for the notification.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
He'd found her.
He was looking directly at her.
Why hadn't the quest completed?
He checked the objective again.
*Locate Evelyn Holloway.*
That was exactly what he'd done.
Perhaps the System wanted him to make contact.
He considered going inside, but the lecture was in progress. Interrupting an entire room of students seemed unnecessary, particularly when he could simply wait until it finished.
He glanced at the clock.
There was still some time left.
Fine.
He could wait.
He found a place farther along the corridor where he could keep an eye on the entrance without standing directly in front of it.
Every so often, he glanced through the window.
Evelyn was writing something now.
The professor was talking.
Everything seemed perfectly ordinary.
Then the World Quest appeared.
[WORLD QUEST]
**KILL EVELYN HOLLOWAY**
Objective: Permanently eliminate the designated target.
Rewards:
- 100,000 Gold - Legendary Equipment Set - Additional Reward: ???
Quest available to all eligible participants.
Daniel stared.
He read the title twice.
Then a third time.
Evelyn Holloway.
The same name.
The same person.
He'd received a personal quest to find her only that morning.
And now the entire world had received an instruction to kill her.
He opened his personal quest.
[PERSONAL QUEST]
**Find Evelyn Holloway**
Objective: Locate Evelyn Holloway.
Rewards:
- 5,000 Gold - Additional Reward: ???
Status: Active
Still active.
Daniel felt a strange tightness in his chest.
The System had sent him to find Evelyn before the World Quest appeared.
Before anyone knew her name would become the most valuable target on Earth.
That couldn't be coincidence.
He looked through the window.
Inside the lecture theatre, students were staring at their notifications. Some were talking. Others had turned toward the back of the room.
Toward Evelyn.
Daniel moved closer to the door.
He could hear raised voices.
He couldn't make out the words.
Someone stood.
Then another person.
He considered entering, but Evelyn was already gathering her belongings.
She looked terrified.
Daniel's expression tightened.
Of course she was.
The entire world had just been offered a fortune for her death.
And what a fortune.
One hundred thousand gold.
A Legendary Equipment Set.
Daniel wasn't going to pretend he hadn't noticed the reward.
He had.
One hundred thousand gold was enough to change his life completely. He could buy a house, stop worrying about money, invest in equipment, and do things he'd never seriously imagined being able to afford.
The equipment alone might be worth even more.
He thought about it.
Of course he did.
Anyone would.
But then he looked at Evelyn again.
She was pushing past someone near the door.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were shaking.
Daniel knew what people were capable of when money was involved.
He'd seen the news reports about adventurers murdering one another over rare Dungeon drops. He knew about criminal groups that trafficked in stolen System equipment and people who disappeared after discovering valuable skills.
And this was a hundred thousand gold.
Not a rare item.
Not a few thousand coins.
There would be people willing to do absolutely anything for it.
People who might enjoy making her suffer.
People who wouldn't care that she was frightened.
Daniel felt his jaw tighten.
He couldn't let someone like that reach her first.
The lecture theatre door opened.
Evelyn hurried out.
He started toward her, but a group of students emerged behind her, and she was already moving down the corridor.
Daniel followed.
At a distance.
He didn't want to frighten her by suddenly appearing among the people who were already staring at her.
He watched her turn a corner.
He quickened his pace.
By the time he reached the stairs, she was gone.
He heard hurried footsteps below.
Then a shout.
He descended, following the direction she'd taken.
For a moment, he lost her in the ground-floor crowd.
Then he spotted her farther along the corridor.
She was leaning against a wall, phone pressed to her ear.
Daniel stopped.
She was talking to someone.
Lucy, perhaps.
He couldn't hear the conversation, and there was no reason to interrupt.
He waited.
Evelyn ended the call.
She stared at her phone, then began walking again.
Daniel followed.
She was limping slightly.
Her old knee injury, probably.
He remembered when she'd torn the ligament playing football. She'd complained about it for months afterward, and he'd teased her about finally having an excuse to avoid running.
She'd thrown a cushion at him.
The memory made him smile.
Then he looked at the World Quest again.
One hundred thousand gold.
He imagined someone else finding her.
An experienced adventurer who could overpower her without effort.
A criminal who might keep her alive for days, perhaps hoping to discover whether the quest could be exploited somehow.
Someone who saw her as nothing more than a reward.
He couldn't allow that.
If she was going to die, it should be quick.
As painless as possible.
Someone who cared about her ought to be the one to do it.
And yes, he'd receive the reward.
That was a benefit.
There was no point denying it.
But he would have done it more gently than any stranger.
He knew he would.
His hand brushed against the folding knife in his jacket pocket.
He'd carried it for years. A perfectly ordinary pocketknife, useful for opening packages, cutting string, and the occasional task that required a sharp blade.
He hadn't brought it for Evelyn.
He hadn't even thought about it until now.
But it was there.
He knew where to strike. Or at least he thought he did. One quick movement, and it would be over before she had time to understand what was happening.
It wouldn't be pleasant.
But it would be better than whatever someone else might do to her.
Evelyn stopped in a quieter section of corridor.
Daniel approached.
"Evelyn?"
She turned.
For one glorious moment, relief flooded her face.
"Daniel?"
A System notification appeared.
[PERSONAL QUEST COMPLETED]
**Find Evelyn Holloway**
Rewards:
- 5,000 Gold
Status: Complete
Daniel barely heard the chime.
He stared at the window.
Completed.
Not when he'd seen her through the lecture theatre window.
Not when he'd followed her through the university.
Only now.
When he'd approached her.
When she'd recognized him.
The System had wanted an actual encounter.
It had sent him to her.
And now, with the World Quest hanging over them both, he understood why.
Evelyn hurried toward him.
She looked as though she might cry.
He pushed the notification aside.
"Evie!"
He went to meet her.
***
Daniel opened his eyes.
The woodland road was still empty.
His leg hurt considerably more than it had a few minutes earlier.
He checked the time.
The others should arrive soon.
He shifted his hand against the wound and grimaced.
He remembered that first encounter perfectly.
Evelyn had been so relieved to see him.
She'd trusted him.
And he'd tried to make things easier for her.
He'd taken her into a quieter corridor, away from the crowds and the people who were beginning to recognize her.
She'd asked why he was at the university.
He'd told her he'd heard what happened and come to find her.
That hadn't been entirely accurate.
He'd arrived before the World Quest appeared.
But he'd come to find her.
That part was true.
He remembered her asking for help.
The way she'd looked at him.
The way she'd started crying when he hugged her.
He hadn't enjoyed what came next.
Not remotely.
He'd intended the knife to kill her quickly.
He'd expected her to collapse, lose consciousness, and be spared the sort of prolonged suffering that someone else might have inflicted.
It hadn't happened that way.
There had been far more blood than he'd anticipated.
She'd screamed.
She'd begged him to call an ambulance.
He could still remember her staring at him, unable to understand why he wasn't helping.
He'd stayed beside her.
Held her hand.
Told her he was there.
He'd wanted her to know she wasn't alone.
And when she'd finally stopped moving, he'd felt terrible.
He'd known she would die.
That had been the point.
But knowing something would happen and watching it happen were two different things.
He'd sat beside her body, staring at the blood on the floor, wondering how long it would take before someone found them.
He'd expected the World Quest to complete.
Expected the reward.
Expected to have to explain himself to the authorities.
He hadn't expected her to open her eyes again.
How could he have?
Evelyn was an ordinary university student.
She'd never been an adventurer. Never fought a monster. Never shown any sign of possessing a resurrection ability.
People didn't simply come back from death.
Not without exceptionally rare skills or powerful intervention.
And even those had limits.
But Evelyn had returned.
Alive.
Whole.
The wound was gone.
The blood remained on her clothes, but her body had been restored.
Daniel remembered staring at her.
He'd been astonished.
Relieved, too.
He hadn't wanted her dead for the sake of having her dead. He'd wanted to spare her what the rest of the world might do to her.
And now she was alive again.
The World Quest was still active.
He hadn't received the hundred thousand gold.
That was disappointing, naturally.
But something much more important had happened.
He'd discovered that Evelyn couldn't be killed permanently.
Or at least that she could survive something that should have killed her.
He hadn't understood the full extent of it then.
He'd needed to learn more.
And she'd run before he could.
He couldn't blame her for being confused that first time.
It must have been an extraordinary experience.
But now?
Now she'd survived several deaths.
She knew what Undying could do.
And she was still behaving as though death were the worst thing that could happen to her.
Daniel shook his head.
He remembered her words after he'd shot her.
*Actually, no, it wasn't. None of them were.*
He'd believed her.
Of course he had.
Being burned alive couldn't possibly be pleasant.
Neither could being poisoned, stabbed, or shot.
But she was alive.
That was the point.
He wasn't dismissing her pain. He understood that it had hurt.
He simply couldn't understand why she insisted on treating the experience as though it had permanently harmed her.
She'd returned without injuries.
She could walk, breathe, think, and talk.
She'd even managed to shoot him.
Her body was fine.
Her mind, however—
Daniel frowned.
That was where the real problem lay.
She was frightened of her own ability.
Frightened of something that should have made her the most extraordinary person alive.
She needed help understanding it.
And the System had chosen him to provide that help.
He was certain of it.
***
The second personal quest had appeared that morning.
Daniel had been sitting in a rented room, listening to Marcus Bellamy explain why the organization was becoming impatient.
They'd agreed to work with him because he knew Evelyn.
He'd told them he could find her.
They'd provided information, transport, and access to resources he couldn't have obtained on his own.
Daniel had contributed money from his first quest reward.
It had seemed a sensible arrangement.
They wanted Evelyn found.
He wanted to help her.
Their interests aligned.
Mostly.
The trouble was that Evelyn had disappeared.
She'd escaped Northstar, according to the latest information, and nobody knew where she'd gone.
The organization had people searching across Greater Manchester and beyond.
So far, they'd found nothing.
Marcus had been making his dissatisfaction very clear.
"You said you knew how she thinks."
"I do."
"Then where is she?"
"If I knew that, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Daniel, we're spending a great deal of money on this."
"So am I."
"Your contribution doesn't cover a fraction of our expenses."
Daniel had been preparing a response when a System window appeared.
[PERSONAL QUEST]
**An Unexpected Encounter**
Objective: Travel to the wooded road east of Briarford.
Rewards:
- 2,500 Gold - Additional Reward: ???
Status: Active
Daniel had stopped listening.
Briarford.
A small market town beyond the outskirts of Greater Manchester.
He'd never had any particular reason to visit.
But the quest had appeared at precisely the moment he needed help finding Evelyn.
Just as the first one had.
He'd looked at Marcus.
"I have somewhere to be."
Marcus had stared at him.
"What?"
"I need a car."
"Daniel—"
"Trust me."
Marcus hadn't looked especially reassured.
But he'd provided the car.
Daniel had driven to Briarford and followed the directions given by the quest.
There was nothing remarkable about the road.
A low stone wall.
Woodland on either side.
A narrow stretch of cracked tarmac.
No houses nearby.
No shops.
No obvious reason for anyone to be there.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Daniel had begun to wonder whether he was supposed to do something else when he heard footsteps.
He turned.
And there she was.
Evelyn.
Walking out of the woodland in filthy clothes, wearing oversized boots and looking as though she'd spent several days sleeping in a ditch.
Daniel had almost laughed.
Of course.
Of course it was her.
He hadn't known for certain that the quest would lead him to Evelyn.
It hadn't mentioned her name.
But he'd suspected.
And now she'd appeared exactly where the System had sent him.
He'd watched her approach.
She'd stopped when she recognized him.
He'd said her name.
"Evie."
And the quest had completed.
He hadn't checked the reward immediately.
He'd been more interested in talking to her.
She'd demanded to know how he'd found her.
He'd tried to explain that it wasn't important.
She hadn't agreed.
She'd been suspicious from the beginning.
He'd hoped that seeing a familiar face would calm her down.
Instead, she'd looked ready to run.
That was when he'd decided he needed to confirm Undying.
He'd already seen her return from a stab wound.
But one resurrection wasn't proof that the ability worked every time.
Perhaps it had a cooldown.
Perhaps it had conditions.
Perhaps she'd simply been extraordinarily lucky.
He couldn't build a plan around something he didn't understand.
So he'd drawn his pistol.
He hadn't wanted to frighten her.
He'd simply needed an answer.
He'd shot her in the chest.
And she'd died.
Then she'd come back.
Perfectly healthy.
No wound.
No damage.
No lasting physical consequences.
The answer was clear.
Undying worked.
Daniel had felt an enormous sense of relief.
Evelyn hadn't shared it.
That was unfortunate.
He'd expected her to be upset, certainly. He hadn't expected the laughing, the shouting, the tears, or the way she'd struck him when he tried to stop her leaving.
Then the gun had gone off.
And now he was sitting beside a wall with a bullet wound in his leg.
Daniel sighed.
He really needed to find a better way of explaining things to her.
He opened his System interface.
[PERSONAL QUEST COMPLETED]
**An Unexpected Encounter**
Objective: Travel to the wooded road east of Briarford.
Rewards:
- 2,500 Gold - Additional Reward: ???
Status: Complete
He smiled.
Another two thousand five hundred gold.
The System had rewarded him again.
He'd already spent a portion of the first five thousand on the search, but the new money would help cover his treatment and future expenses.
More importantly, there was still the additional reward.
He selected it.
The window changed.
[QUEST REWARD UNLOCKED]
**Skill Acquired: Fated Link — Lv. 1**
Establishes a one-sided connection to a designated individual.
Provides a vague sense of the target's general direction over long distances.
Does not reveal exact location, distance, or surroundings.
Daniel stared.
A skill.
Not gold.
Not equipment.
A skill.
He read the description again.
Then another window appeared.
[FATED LINK — Lv. 1]
Designated Individual: **Evelyn Holloway**
Connection: Established
For several seconds, Daniel didn't move.
Then he smiled.
Slowly.
Of course.
He closed his eyes and concentrated.
At first, nothing happened.
Then he felt something faint at the edge of his awareness.
Not a voice.
Not a thought.
Something more subtle.
A sense of direction.
He couldn't have explained exactly how he knew.
There was no marker on a map, no glowing trail, no distance indicator.
But when he thought about Evelyn, he felt a slight pull.
Somewhere beyond the trees.
He opened his eyes and turned his head.
The sensation shifted with him.
Faint.
Uncertain.
But there.
He couldn't tell whether she was a hundred metres away or several kilometres.
He couldn't even tell whether she was moving.
But he had a direction.
A connection.
Daniel let out a quiet laugh.
The System had given him a way to find her again.
It had sent him to her twice.
And now it had given him a skill that connected him directly to Evelyn Holloway.
He'd never heard of anything like it.
There could be no clearer sign.
He wasn't imagining his role in all this.
He wasn't simply another person chasing the World Quest reward.
He'd been chosen.
And now he had proof.
***
The car arrived twenty minutes later.
A dark estate car slowed near the bend and pulled onto the gravel beside the road.
Two men climbed out.
Daniel recognized both.
Marcus Bellamy was a broad-shouldered man in his forties, wearing a dark coat over practical travelling clothes. He had a permanently dissatisfied expression, which Daniel suspected had become worse since they'd started working together.
The second man was younger, leaner, and considerably less interested in conversation.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
Then at the blood on the road.
Then back at Daniel.
"Jesus Christ."
Daniel raised a hand.
"Hello, Marcus."
"What the hell happened?"
"I told you. She shot me."
Marcus stared at his leg.
"With what?"
"A gun."
"I can see that, you idiot. Where did she get it?"
"Mine."
Marcus closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he opened them again.
"You gave Evelyn Holloway a gun?"
"Not intentionally."
"Daniel."
"She took it during a disagreement."
"A disagreement."
"Yes."
Marcus looked toward the woods.
"Where is she?"
"She ran."
"Which direction?"
Daniel hesitated.
He could feel the faint pull of Fated Link.
But he wasn't particularly inclined to explain that just yet.
"Into the trees."
Marcus swore.
The younger man crouched beside Daniel and examined his leg.
"Bullet went through?"
"I think so."
"Can you move your foot?"
Daniel did.
Pain shot up his thigh.
He hissed.
"Yes."
"Good. Keep pressure on it."
The man opened a medical kit and began preparing a dressing.
Marcus stood over them, arms folded.
"You said you could bring her in."
Daniel looked up.
"I found her."
"And where is she now?"
"I just told you."
"So you failed."
Daniel's expression cooled.
"I found her twice."
Marcus said nothing.
"Twice," Daniel repeated. "How many times have your people found her?"
"We've had teams searching for days."
"That wasn't my question."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Daniel held his gaze.
"You have experienced adventurers, trackers, investigators, and enough resources to search half the country. And yet I'm the one who found her."
"You also managed to get yourself shot."
"Yes. An unfortunate complication."
"An unfortunate—"
Marcus stopped.
He looked as though he was considering several responses, none of them particularly polite.
Daniel waited.
He wasn't worried.
They needed him.
He knew that.
And now he had Fated Link.
He could find Evelyn again.
They couldn't.
Eventually, Marcus exhaled.
"Get him in the car."
The younger man finished securing the dressing.
"There's a healer waiting at the safe house."
"Good," Daniel said. "I'd rather like to keep the leg."
"You'll keep it," the man replied. "Assuming you stop moving."
They helped him to his feet.
Pain flared through his thigh, sharp enough to make his vision blur.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
For one unpleasant moment, he thought he might faint.
Then the younger man took more of his weight, and together they managed to get him to the car.
Marcus opened the rear door.
Daniel lowered himself onto the seat with considerable difficulty.
"Careful," he muttered.
"Believe me," Marcus said, "we're being careful."
The younger man climbed in beside him to keep an eye on the wound.
Marcus shut the door.
A moment later, the engine started.
Daniel leaned back against the seat.
Through the window, he watched the stone wall and the empty road slide past.
He could still feel the connection.
Faint.
Persistent.
Somewhere beyond the trees, Evelyn was moving.
He wondered whether she was frightened.
Probably.
He wished she wouldn't be.
There was no reason for it.
He wasn't going to hurt her unnecessarily.
He'd only done what the situation required.
And now he had proof that the System agreed.
Two quests.
Two rewards.
A new skill.
A connection that led directly to her.
How much clearer could it possibly be?
Daniel closed his eyes.
Evelyn would understand eventually.
She had to.
He was the only person who could help her.
And the System had chosen him.
*Next time.*
A small smile touched his lips.
*Next time, she'd understand.*