Chapter 167 A Week Later

Liam had finished explaining everything.

The room had been silent the entire time, the weight of his words hanging thick in the air. Lana and Vanessa sat still, their eyes wide, minds racing to process what they had just heard. Though Liam had only spoken briefly, it was Lilith who had done most of the explaining, her voice calm, cold, and terrifyingly precise. She laid the truth bare, word by word, like peeling away layers of a world they had never known existed.

Lana blinked, her lips parting but no sound coming out at first. Her mind felt like it was spinning in circles, lost between disbelief and shock. Finally, she found her voice, though it was no more than a whisper.

"So... there are people... with powers?"

Liam nodded once, silently.

Vanessa, who had been sitting with her elbows resting on her knees and her fingers laced together, slowly straightened up. Her expression wasn’t angry or scared—it was hollow, like her brain was still trying to catch up with what she’d just heard.

"And you... you’re one of them?" she asked quietly.

Again, Liam nodded.

For a moment, no one said anything. The silence was thick, only broken by the soft hum of electricity and the occasional creak of the couch as someone shifted. Lana leaned back and stared blankly at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

"This is insane," she muttered. "It’s actually insane."

Liam looked between the two of them before speaking again, his voice serious but calm.

"You can’t tell anyone about this. No one. Not a single soul."

Lana scoffed softly, shaking her head as she leaned forward with her arms resting on her thighs.

"I’m not dumb," she said, her voice firmer now. "I know when to shut up about something that could get all of us killed."

Vanessa nodded too. "The same goes for me. I’ve seen enough tonight to know this isn’t the kind of thing you run your mouth about."

Liam let out a slow breath and gave a small, approving nod. He leaned back against the couch, the tension in his body easing slightly. He looked to his side at Lilith, who sat poised and calm, like none of this surprised her in the slightest.

"You were right," Liam said. "There really are crazy people out there. With crazy powers."

Lilith’s brows drew together slightly, a subtle crease forming between them.

"They don’t usually make public appearances," she said thoughtfully, her voice low. "Something must have forced one of them to come out. Something unusual."

Liam frowned. "Something like me?"

But Lilith shook her head slowly, her golden eyes never leaving his.

"No. Your life isn’t important enough for that. Not to them."

Her words were blunt, but there was no cruelty in them. Just honesty. The kind of truth that cut sharper than a knife.

Liam frowned deeper, the tension returning to his face. "Then why? Why did he come after me like that? I’ve never seen him before. Never even heard of anyone like him. He didn’t even try to talk to me. He just showed up and... tried to kill me."

Lilith leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, hands clasped under her chin.

"Did you notice anything strange before the fight?" she asked.

Liam exhaled in frustration. "Everything about it was strange. He controlled earth, Lilith. He broke down the walls of my place like they were made of paper. I couldn’t land a single hit. If Vanessa hadn’t shown up..." He shook his head. "I’d be dead right now."

He looked at Lilith again, the confusion in his eyes impossible to miss.

Lilith stared at the floor for a long moment, her jaw tightening.

"I wish I could tell you," she finally said with a sigh. "But I don’t know either. I’ve never seen anything like this. That kind of power, appearing so recklessly? It’s not normal."

She leaned back against the seat, her eyes slightly narrowed as she stared into space, as if trying to piece together a puzzle without enough pieces. "Something is changing. That’s the only thing I’m sure of."

The room fell into silence again.

Vanessa leaned back, crossing her arms, still shaken but steady. Lana rested her chin on her hand, eyes unfocused, mind clearly lost in thought.

They had all come from different worlds.

But now they were sitting together, connected by something terrifying and new.

Whatever was happening, it had only just begun.

----

A week passed.

Liam recovered faster than anyone could have imagined. Day by day, strength returned to his limbs, and his movements regained their precision and sharpness. His body, enhanced by the system flowing within him, mended itself with impossible efficiency. By the end of the seventh day, it was almost like the battle never happened.

Lana had resumed her normal life, just like Liam asked her to. As the city buzzed around her, she returned to the spotlight with a radiant smile, effortlessly sliding back into her role as the "Couple of the Year" sweetheart. The attack, the fight, the blood—all of it was buried deep within her, tucked away beneath makeup, cameras, and magazine covers. No one knew the storm she had weathered. No one could tell what she had seen. But behind those dazzling photos and charming interviews, Lana carried the memory of that night like a shadow clinging to her heels.

Still, even with the pressure and publicity pulling her in all directions, Lana never forgot about Liam. Every day, she found time to check in. Whether it was for a minute or an hour, she would stop by Lilith’s house, stepping into the eerie calm of that luxurious fortress to make sure Liam was doing alright. And each time, she found him better than before—smiling more, moving more, as if the nightmare had only sharpened him.

Vanessa, too, had been a regular visitor. But her days were far more intense.

The police force had been on high alert for a while now, the unexplained destruction—it wall all because of the nightcrawler’s saga. But Vanessa knew the truth, she knew who the Nightcrawler really was.

Liam had told her himself.

Vanessa had told him to get more careful.

Especially now, with the new arrival in town.

The city had received a transfer from higher authorities—an unusual move, but not surprising, given the violent crime rate and mounting pressure on the department. He was both a forensic specialist and a detective, a rare dual title that most couldn’t earn in a lifetime. Rumor had it that he was a prodigy. Young, brilliant, and unrelenting. A man with a perfect track record. No criminal had ever managed to slip past his grip—not one.

And now, he was on the Nightcrawler’s case.

Vanessa wasn’t just worried—she was terrified.

She had seen what this man could do through his reports and the whispers of other departments. His investigations were clean, fast, and brutal. His conclusions were always correct. He didn’t make mistakes. And he had no patience for red tape, politics, or internal shielding. If he thought Liam was the Nightcrawler—and with enough time, he absolutely would—then Liam wouldn’t have a chance at freedom again.

That was why Vanessa had warned him. Repeatedly. She told Liam to lay low, to stop, to disappear if he had to. Because this new threat wasn’t some masked thug with powers—it was someone trained, experienced, and unstoppable in his own way. A force of nature with a badge.