Three hours later.
Liam's eyes slowly opened.
The room lights were dim, a quiet hum of electronics filling the air. For a moment, he just stared at the ceiling, trying to piece together where he was.
Then—
"NO WAY THAT HIT!"
Siegfreed's voice exploded across the room.
Liam turned his head slightly.
Siegfreed and Aspera were on the couch, controllers in hand, leaning forward like their lives depended on the match.
"You're cheating!" Siegfreed shouted.
"I'm literally not!" Aspera laughed. "You just suck!"
Then Siegfreed glanced toward the bed.
"…Wait."
Aspera followed his gaze.
"Oh."
Liam was awake.
Both of them instantly dropped the game.
Siegfreed gasped dramatically.
"LIAM!"
Before Liam could even process it, Siegfreed launched himself across the room and landed directly on top of him.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Liam groaned. "WDYM I'm alive??"
"All I did was get my arm reattached," he said flatly.
"Dude… this is sexual assault. You're pushing your boundaries, man."
A pause.
"…And when the hell did you get this heavy?"
Mr. N yawned, visibly annoyed, thinking,By the time we're done here and enter that courtroom with the Elite Guards, I'm positive they've already killed each other.
A bead of sweat rolled down his face as a vivid image flashed in his mind.
Demi… screaming… standing on a mountain of corpses.
He slowly facepalmed.
"…We're cooked."
Siegfreed, way too excited, hopped off Liam and bounced back onto the couch beside Aspera like nothing happened.
Aspera leaned back with a smug grin.
"Ouuuu," she teased. "Is that your man?"
Siegfreed turned tomato red instantly.
"Like—totally!"
Liam dragged his hand down his face in pure exhaustion.
He facepalmed. "Why am I being forced into a gay relationship…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Something felt wrong.
Or…
Right.
Slowly, Liam lifted his arm.
His arm.
The one that had been gone.
His eyes widened. He turned it. Flexed his fingers.
"…What."
Across the room, Solomon leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"Don't thank me," Solomon said calmly.
Liam looked at him, Solomon nodded slightly.
"The arm." A pause. He felt it, his prime. He could feel it.
It felt stronger his action potential was spiking. He could feel it flowing through his veins
"Use it to defeat Elite Guard Rank 1." Solomon whispered as he walked away.
"I'll be thankful then."
Liam closed his palm "Elite Gaurds Rank 1 and Rank 2"