Chapter 347

".....?!!!"

The big four legacy families... a collection of families with powerful meta-humans under their absolute grasp.

Families that were practically on top of the world. Untouchable. Powerful and god-like.

They existed far beyond the normal meta-human gradings, wielding gifts so formidable that their abilities could not be easily classified by standard metrics.

Hence, each leader of these respective families rightfully earned the legendary rank of a "Special-grade" meta-human.

And right here, in this damp cave, Caster had just casually revealed he was an integral part of that very world.

And judging by his last name, it seemed highly likely that he was a direct descendant or an heir to that immense power.

Ray discreetly cut his eyes in Nebula’s direction to gauge her reaction.

Unlike the others in the cavern whose faces were completely open, she didn’t emit much emotion, nor did she look particularly shocked at the world-shattering reveal.

Even Trisha, who was usually cold, distant, and completely emotionless, was intently staring at Caster with widened, processing eyes.

She was also completely blown out of her mind by the news, yet Nebula barely reacted at all, keeping her composure perfectly.

"Yo-Yo-You are part of the big four like Berg?!" Van shouted in pure, undiluted shock, his voice echoing slightly off the cavern walls.

Then, he snapped his head around in Kai’s direction, a new realization dawning on him.

"What now? Are you also part of that family? For Caster to be so completely shocked on hearing your last name, it has to mean..."

"No. No, I’m not. My family is entirely different," Kai interrupted smoothly, cutting the boy off before he could spiral into more theories.

Trish raised a brow, her interest thoroughly piqued. "How so?"

"...."

Kai remained completely silent for a few seconds, letting the suspense build, then let out a low chuckle.

"If I tell you anything specific about my family, it either means one of two things," the legacy said as he lifted two fingers firmly into the air.

"One; I officially consider you an enemy, and two; the exact date of your death has been decided. That’s the only way I can say anything more on the matter, so unfortunately for your curiosity, my mouth is sealed shut."

They all stared at the handsome legacy for a few minutes, scanning his expression and wondering if he was just pulling a dark joke on them or not.

But unfortunately for their peace of mind, his serious eyes told them he wasn’t joking at all.

"Anyway, we still have to think of a realistic way to enter the Obsidian Spire," Ray spoke up, deliberately shifting the conversation and diverting all the heavy attention away from the two legacies.

At the present moment, this family revelation wasn’t the most important thing on their plate.

It didn’t help them know what the immediate next step to take was to survive.

But still, the Tribrid knew he had to be incredibly cautious of Caster now.

The boy technically knew almost everything about the group’s capabilities, including Felix and his monstrous, destructive forms.

If it wasn’t for Kai throwing his weight around, Caster would have still kept his true lineage hidden from them.

Who honestly knew the sheer amount of information he had already managed to divulge back to his powerful family before getting trapped here.

"The main issue is; we don’t even know what specific trials the Spire could present to us, so we can’t better prepare ourselves for the fight," Nebula chimed in, letting out a tired, defeated sigh.

Van smiled softly then looked directly in her direction.

"That’s exactly why we need to visit your cave as soon as possible. Maybe there’s some vital piece of information you missed that we could uncover together. You know, a fresh pair of eyes?"

Nebula smiled warmly then nodded her head in immediate agreement.

"Yeah. That’s entirely right. I might have easily missed something critical during my panicked state when I first arrived."

From there on, the group sat together and discussed several potential plans, scouting routes, and movements they could take, as well as the possible time they could safely set out.

Ray made sure to advocate that they didn’t set out anytime soon, wanting to delay their departure, and for some strange reason, Nebula agreed with his cautious approach.

Well, what did he care about her reasons?

Before they could even think of reaching the treacherous spire area, he absolutely needed to evolve his current form.

Hence, he needed to go on his dangerous nightly hunts for a while longer so he could hit his level milestones in time before they even thought of attempting the spire’s trial.

As Nebula agreed with his timeline, Felix, Caster, and Chloe quickly fell into line and did the same.

The absolute majority took the vote, so it was officially decided: they were to wait some time longer in the cavern to safely observe the region and the patrol patterns of the wolves while smoothing out the rough edges of their plans.

The hours slowly trickled by in relative quiet, and soon enough, the darkness outside signaled it was nighttime.

"You all get some needed rest. I will take the first watch at the entrance," Ray spoke, his voice commanding.

The group nodded along in agreement as they all rose up from the cold, extinguished bonfire to go set themselves up in their different corners of the wide cave.

"Ugh..." Nebula tripped on a bone.

Van instinctively reached out, grabbing her in time and preventing her from falling.

Grabbing his hands, she smiled as she steadied herself.

"Thank you."

Van nodded and wanted to step back, but his hands were still gripped with Nebula smiling at him while looking deep within his eyes.

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat.

"Uh... ahem... you are welcome?"

Realizing her mistake, the girl smiled nervously.

"My bad."

She then tucked her blue hair behind her ear and smiled sheepishly before hurrying away.

Van stared at her retreating back then at his hands before shrugging.

’Weird.’

One by one, the group took their spots and decided to sleep while Ray walked towards the entrance of the cavern and sat in front of it with his back turned to the group.

The sound of wolves howling incredibly loudly could be heard in the air while the boy was left with his thoughts.

His perception was still as active as it could get, and it even stretched far beyond the cavern walls.

He smiled deeply and then looked at his hands—the exact same spot Nebula had grabbed a while ago.

Even though his back was turned to them all, he could feel every single person’s movement in the darkness of the cavern.

The twitch of their fingers, their precise body positioning, and exactly how they were spaced apart.

For some weird reason, it seemed like Caster and Felix were poised in a way that their bodies completely shielded Nebula.

In a way that made it seem like they were ready to protect her in case of an immediate attack, even though they were not in her direct vicinity.

Van placed his hands behind his head while his jacket covered his face as he tried his best to sleep, while his mind ran different scenarios, trying to piece together everything he had just found out today.

Even until now, he still had this uneasy feeling about Nebula that completely refused to go away.

As he was trying to think hard of a plausible answer to the puzzle, he soon drifted off to sleep.

One by one, as the minutes stretched into hours, the group in the room were falling fast asleep.

Two hours later, everybody including Felix was in a deep sleep, leaving Ray alone to keep guard.

Except, he wasn’t keeping guard.

One second, he was sitting right there, and the next, he was gone.

As silent as he could possibly be.