Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 415: Linked

Chapter 415: Linked

Sonya had returned to Hermes’s domain. With the odd severed hand—still clutching a torn piece of a white coat—she made her way toward one of the buildings that housed Hermes’s followers. It was their residential quarter.

Thanks to her achievements while serving in Hermes’s forces, Sonya had earned herself a fairly decent residence, even though she hadn’t been with the force for very long. It gave her a proper bed, good accommodations, and a private workspace where she could tinker with her equipment, repair it, or add small modifications.

The room wasn’t equipped for major upgrades—it could only handle basic fixes and tweaks. For more advanced modifications or repairing seriously damaged gear, she still had to visit the main blacksmith. But for what she was about to do, the room would suffice.

As she reached her door, Sonya looked around to make sure no one had followed her. Then she stepped inside and locked it behind her.

She didn’t remove her armor, only set down her bow and quiver, and immediately headed to her private tinkering space. Sonya took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to do—but she felt it was too late to back out now.

She pulled the severed arm from her inventory and placed it on the table she normally used for weapon and armor maintenance. The fingers were pale. Blood still oozed slightly from the severed end—most of it had dried, but a little continued to drip onto the table.

Up close, Sonya could already sense the foreign energy pulsing inside the arm. This wasn’t something she should be touching, let alone getting involved with. Her instincts warned her to back off again.

But she ignored them. She reached out and grasped the torn part of the white coat. Instantly, a chilling sensation crept from the hand into her body. She grimaced, bracing herself for the pain and that haunting vision of the eye to return.

But nothing came. No vision, no searing pain—only the strange energy seeping into her.

"What is this?" Sonya wondered aloud. Still, she let the energy flow through her. Then she felt it—a presence. Faint, but familiar. She froze in surprise, but when she sensed no hostility, she relaxed again.

What had started as a faint presence began to take form—a dark silhouette formed from a thin black mist. It shaped itself into a tall male figure.

Sonya swallowed hard. She figured this must be the one the severed hand belonged to. But even after watching the recording, she still wasn’t sure if it was really Clyde.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Sonya, it’s me—Clyde."

Sonya blinked. "Is it really you? How... how did you end up like this?"

Clyde’s silhouette gave a faint smile. "It’s a long story. But I can tell you everything myself. Asqa is with me, too."

"Yes. I saw everything," Sonya replied.

"Oh, so it’s already spread, huh?" Clyde said. "I figured something that big wouldn’t stay secret for long."

"Clyde... I have so many questions." Sonya stared at the silhouette, emotions and questions swirling in her heart. She not sure where to even begin.

"I know. Like I said—we need to meet."

Seeing no other option, Sonya nodded. "Alright. How do we meet?"

"Just wait a little longer. When the time comes, I’ll let you know. Don’t worry, it won’t be long. Until then, be careful."

Sonya nodded again. Clyde’s silhouette faded into mist and vanished completely.

---

Clyde opened his eyes.

The connection with Sonya had ended, but the lingering trace of her presence still echoed in his thoughts. He could barely make out her features because just like Sonya, Clyde can only see a vague silhouette in the mist as if he saw it through a veil of fog. But he that knew she was in shock.

Her emotions had pulsed through the link like waves against a dam. Clyde can feel them clearly.

He was still standing in the middle of a ruined road and surrounded by monsters. Twisted and mutated creatures shrieked and howled, their claws dragging across broken stone as they swarmed toward him. But none reached him.

Asqa moved around his still form and cutting down everything that dared get close. Each kill brought her more strength and more Exp, and yet her focus never wavered from Clyde.

"It’s done," he said quietly.

His voice was little more than a whisper, but Asqa heard him. She didn’t say a word in response. The moment he took off and soaring above the horde with a sudden burst of force, she followed without hesitation.

Below them, the monsters screamed in frustration, robbed of their prey. But neither of them looked back.

A few moments later, they landed atop a half collapsed building, overlooking the twisted city below. The sky above was dim and bruised with smoke from their batttle. Here, far from the chaos, Clyde finally turned to Asqa.

"I spoke with Sonya," he said, eyes still focused on the distance. "But she didn’t se me completely. I think she just a shadow like I saw her. But she knows now and said that she’ll come to meet us."

Asqa nodded, listening silently as Clyde began to explain everything about his severed hand that served as an unexpected link between them, the energy transfer, and the momentary bridge he had formed to reach Sonya.

Asqa’a eyes drifted toward the horizon, where the city twisted and bled into smoke and shadows.

So Sonya would come. That was a good news.

She allowed herself a small imperceptible smile. The three of them had been separated for far too long, thrown across domains and battles, clawing their way through the madness of the higher realms. But now... they were finally closing the distance.

"We just need to wait and we’ll see her again." Asqa said softly, more to herself than anyone.

Then, turning back toward the edge of the rooftop, she added with a more grounded tone, "Let’s keep farming Exp for a while longer. Then we’ll return to rest."

Clyde gave a brief nod, and without another word, the two descended back into the chaos below.

For the next hour, the ruined streets echoed with the cries of beasts and the clash of weapons again. Every monster they felled fueled their growth, and add another drop of power to prepare for what was coming.

Eventually, after they thought that they already done here, Clyde raised his hand, forming a swirling black and gold rift in the air. The portal shimmered with the energy.

They stepped through it together.

The Ruin faded, replaced by the quiet halls of the mansion. The tension of the battlefield faded behind the safety of their hidden Ruin.

---

The next morning arrived quietly.

Clyde sat alone in his room with the door shut for now and the curtains drawn. Outside, the world stirred with the early rhythm of soldiers who keep in guards, but inside here all was still.

He closed his eyes and focused inward.

He reached for that familiar yet unknowable presence—the Ancient One. The being who watched, waited, and lent his strength in cryptic moments of need.

Clyde didn’t call with words, he simply projected intent. His clarity, precision, a focused question:

"Can I open a portal for Sonya now?"

The Ancient One stirred and answered.

"You can. The path is stabilized. You may call her here whenever you are ready. My power is yours to use."

Clyde opened his eyes slowly, a small smile tugging at his lips. The satisfaction of progress settled in his chest like solid ground beneath his feet.

"Good," he said quietly.

The presence faded, their connection complete.

So Clyde didn’t wait.

The moment the Ancient One’s voice faded, he closed his eyes again and reached out—this time, not to the Ancient One but to Sonya.

He focused on the lingering thread of her presence, the same one he had felt the night before.

Then it sharpened.

He could see her face in his mind. Expectant and a little anxious. She was waiting, just like she said she would. And now, it was time.

Clyde drew in a breath and pushed.

This wasn’t like the first connection. To open a portal across another domains, even with the Ancient One’s power at his disposal, required far more than just intent.

Energy surged through his body, and he felt the strain ripple in his limbs, pressing behind his eyes and in the pit of his stomach. The power twisted and resisted.

Minutes passed. His body trembled slightly from the effort, but he didn’t stop.

And then finally the air split with a whisper of force. A swirling tear in space shimmered into existence in the middle of the room, light pulsing along its edges like veins of gold in obsidian.

On the other side, Sonya’s eyes widened in shock.

"Come," Clyde said, voice calm despite the strain still echoing in his bones. "Step inside."

Sonya blinked, clearly stunned—but only for a moment. She gave a firm nod and, without hesitation, stepped through.

In the next instant, she was standing inside Clyde’s room.

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