CHAPTER 26 - I'M HOME

After the group left the bar, they arrived at the bar 'Drown'. They mysteriously appeared outside

the mirror they entered through. As usual, everyone in the bar seemed to subconsciously ignore

them.

The group noticed a silver-haired man waving at them with a smirk. It was Valerio. The twins

and Mathew immediately moved towards Valerio.

Jayden closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm finally home" he muttered with a sigh. It has been 5 years since he stepped foot in the real

world. He was sure that no one would have searched for him in these 5 years.

"Feels good to be back doesn't it, Jayden" Mathew asked with a smile as he saw Jayden moving

towards them.

"I can't put the feeling to words" Jayden replied, feeling a bit emotional.

"Ah you guys brought back Arthur safe and sound" Valerio replied with a nod. He saw the

unconscious Arthur in Kael's hand. He sensed he was just unconscious and was not injured

seriously, rather he was more concerned about Lyra's condition.

"Hmm..about that" Kael looked around in hesitation.

"Save it for later, you guys just came back" Valerio patted his shoulder with a smile and took

Arthur from Kael's possession.

"Jayden, this is Mr. Valerio we were talking about earlier" Mathew introduced the two.

Jayden extended his arm and shook Valerio's hand.

"Hello Mr Valerio, I'm Jayden. Nice to meet you" Jayden introduced himself with a smile.

'I can't sense any Nova from him, he's concealing it completely. Just by a glance, I can tell, this

Man…he's strong, stronger than anyone I've seen Jayden thought to himself in caution and

amazement.

"Hello Jayden, nice to meet you. I believe Mathew explained everything you need to know"

Valerio also introduced himself with a smile.

"Yeah, he did" Jayden nodded.

"Good. If you want, you can call me Mr Val or Val" Valerio said out of nowhere. The twins looked

at each other and let out a chuckle.

"Sure" Jayden replied with a confused expression.

Valerio looked at the unconscious Arthur with a deep gaze and noticed something.

"Jayden, sorry for being rude but there is something that needs my immediate attention, so we

have to leave now" Valerio replied in a serious tone.

"Does it have anything to do with Arthur?" Jayden asked.

"I'm afraid so" Valerio replied with a sigh. He could feel the headache coming.

"Then Mr Val, please allow me to accompany you," Jayden said with a slight bow. Since Arthur

was the first friend he had in 5 years, and he wanted to know his condition.

"Sure, come with us" Valerio replied with a nod.

Soon the group left the bar and quickly reached Raven's burger. The shop was currently closed.

Valerio opened the door and they entered the shop.

"Bro, this is the place where we all work. Uncle Val owns this place" Kael said with a laugh.

"Oh okay but what are we gonna do here?" Jayden asked in confusion.

'Is this burger shop their place of operations?' he thought curiously.

"You'll see" Mathew replied with a smirk.

Soon they reached the storage room. Kael moved some boxes and pulled the hidden lever. A

part of the flooring opened and revealed some steps that led to a metallic platform.

"C'mon bro," Kael said with a laugh as he looked at the hesitating Jayden.

The group stepped on the platform. Jayden was looking at this curiously. The platform slowly

descended downwards as they reached the underground facility.

"Woah, you are giving this magician a good show, you know that," Jayden said in amazement as

entered the underground facility.

There were many computer screens at one end, some rooms spread through the facility, a gym

area, and a separate area for sparring.

Everything he witnessed was organized perfectly.

Valerio put Arthur in a separate room to let him get some rest. The room just had a bed and a

chair. Valerio put Arthur on the bed.

At the same time, he also pursued Lyra to take some rest. Lyra remained stubborn but in the end,

compromised. She entered another room to take some rest. The room had a lot of glowing orbs

placed in glass cases.

"Now, can anyone tell me what happened? Why am I sensing Nova seeping out of Arthur?"

Valerio asked the remaining people who were in the training area with a frown. It was the reason

he wanted to rush to the shop.

"About that… Uncle Val, I think Arthur just underwent an awakening" Kael replied hesitantly.

"He what??" Valerio asked in shock.

"Yeah, I saw his eyes. It had some lines meeting at the center" Kael explained the incident to

Valerio.

"Are you sure about what you saw?" Valerio asked with a frown.

"Yeah Uncle Val" Kael replied with a sigh. Why was everyone questioning his credibility? First, it

was Mathew and now Valerio.

"If I had seen it somewhere I wouldn't have been so shocked now. I've poured my everything

into researching the eyes for the past 8 years. But I've never seen or heard about anything like

that" Valerio replied with a sigh.

'More, I need more' he thought to himself.

"Kael also told us that he saw a pattern on Arthur extending from his cheeks to his eyebrow. You

know anything about that?" Jayden asked.

"Once again, I've never seen or heard anything like that" he replied, shaking his head.

"Mr Val…his Nova, it was terrifying. The bloodlust was unlike anything I've seen before" Mathew

replied in a low tone, his body still remembering that intense bloodlust.

"We'll find answers as soon as possible. Currently, he's resting. Let's wait till he wakes up to ask

the questions" Valerio replied. He thought for a bit and looked at Jayden weirdly.

"Jayden, how did you get in that mirror world?" Valerio asked curiously.

"Well let me take you all back to 8 years ago", Jayden said as he slowly shifted his gaze upwards