Chapter 72: 72 | Lyra’s Awakening II
Seeing Lyra gaze at her like that, Mira raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
Lyra blinked in confusion. She quickly typed on her phone.
"Did you say something just now?"
The AI glasses read the words aloud in their flat, emotionless tone.
Mira looked puzzled. Her brow furrowed.
"No. I only spoke a minute ago. I have not spoken since then."
Selene nodded in agreement.
"I did not hear her say anything either."
Lyra froze.
A strange feeling crept into her chest. It was Like standing at the edge of a cliff in the dark, knowing something was there but not being able to see it.
Then the voice came again.
"So sad. She’s truly desperate to awaken a second talent to help her hear sounds again."
Lyra’s breathing hitched, and her heart skipped a beat.
This time the voice sounded clearer, and she saw Mira didn’t open her mouth, but she clearly heard her voice.
And it was coming from inside her head.
She looked deeply at Mira again. Her eyes were wide. Searching.
"You really did not say anything and are not tricking me?"
Mira slowly shook her head. Her expression was serious now, concern replacing her earlier confusion.
"No. I have been quiet this whole time."
Selene’s expression gradually turned serious as well. Through her vibrating sight, she could see Lyra’s heartbeat increasing. The vibrations coming from her body were accelerating, her chest pulsing faster than before.
"Lyra, a-re you actually hearing voices?"
Lyra swallowed. Her throat felt tight and dry.
She slowly typed.
"It sounds like Mira’s voice."
Mira frowned.
"But I never said it, and you also can’t hear anything."
The AI glasses translated the words, and the apartment became eerily quiet.
A chill ran down all three of their spines simultaneously.
Lyra slowly sat back down on the couch in dejection. Maybe she really was wishing she had a second talent and was hallucinating Mira’s voice.
’Try again.’
The voice sounded out, and this time it was Selena’s voice.
Lyra didn’t bother checking if it was hallucinations but closed her eyes and tried again.
This time she really calmed herself down and listened.
Nothing happened as expected.
But after 7 minutes, a strange frequency seemed to spread through the room. It radiated outward from her mind like a pulse, similar to Selene’s echolocation but different.
It was faint at first. Almost impossible to notice. Like hearing a whisper from across a vast field, carried on wind that kept shifting direction.
Yet the more she focused, the louder it became.
Then a gentle voice echoed inside her mind.
’Come on. One more try. You can do it.’
Lyra’s eyes snapped open.
She looked directly at Selene. Her expression changed, and her lips parted slightly.
Selene blinked.
"What?"
Lyra immediately began typing furiously. Her thumbs hammered the screen, making mistakes in her haste.
The AI speaker read her words correctly without including the mistakes.
"You keep encouraging me."
Selene stared at her.
"I did not. I swear on my life, I did not say anything."
Lyra’s fingers paused above the screen.
First it was Mira, and now it was Selene.
If it was not them, then whose voice was she hearing?
Suddenly her body trembled violently.
A sharp pulse exploded inside her mind. It was like a door being kicked open. A wall collapsing. A dam breaking after years of holding back pressure.
"BOOM!"
The world around her suddenly became noisy.
Countless voices flooded into her consciousness all at once.
Fragments of thoughts from everywhere.
The neighbor on the left thinking about what to make for lunch, the words drifting through her mind like smoke.
A child on the street below wondering if it would rain, a dog somewhere nearby feeling hungry but loved playing toss and chase.
Random emotions washed over her in waves. Confusion. Hunger. Sleepiness. Boredom. Excitement. Loneliness. They came from every direction, overlapping and mixing until she could not tell where one ended and another began.
Everything rushed into her mind at once—a tidal wave of unfiltered consciousness from every living thing within range.
"Mmm."
She made a sound of discomfort. She couldn’t feel pain due to Dexter taking her pain away, but she still felt the discomfort.
Lyra instinctively covered her head with both hands. Her fingers pressed against her temples hard enough to hurt. Her face turned pale, and her body curled inward, making herself as small as possible.
Mira immediately wheeled herself forward. Her Spectral Arms reached out, the crimson limbs extending toward Lyra.
"Lyra! What is wrong?"
Selene hurried over as well. She could see Lyra’s body shaking and the rapid pulsing of her heart even from across the room.
Lyra squeezed her eyes shut. The voices became even louder and more insistent.
Dozens of minds pressing against hers simultaneously, all of them unaware that she could hear them.
Then one voice suddenly became clear. Crystal clear. It cut through the noise like a blade through static.
’What’s wrong with her?’
’Is this a backlash?’
Lyra’s body froze.
That voice.
It belonged to Mira.
She recognized the tone. She had heard it 2 years ago, during the expenditure.
Slowly, Lyra opened her eyes.
She looked at Mira without blinking.
Mira frowned.
"What?"
Lyra typed with trembling fingers.
The AI speaker spoke.
"You were thinking about me."
Mira blinked.
"Of course I was. You just collapsed. I am worried about you."
"No." Lyra shook her head firmly, her expression intense.
She typed again.
"I think I heard your thoughts."
"Eh?"
The room fell completely silent.
Selene stared at her in disbelief. Her mouth hung open slightly.
Mira’s pupils contracted.
"What?"
Lyra took a deep breath.
She closed her eyes again.
The strange frequency returned. This time she controlled it and focused it solely on the person sitting directly in front of her, blocking out everything else.
Immediately a stream of thoughts entered her mind.
’Did she really awaken too?’
Lyra opened her eyes again in shock then she unconsciously spoke to them.
’Mira, you just said this in your mind. ’Did she really awaken too? It will be best if all three of us awakened with no one left behind.’’
Mira’s face changed slightly.
"I, I never said those aloud. But I was thinking of them. Which means you’ve also awakened and you can read minds."
She stopped as her eyes widened when she realized Lyra didn’t actually use the AI glasses to speak, she spoke directly into her mind.
Selene was stunned as she also heard Lyra’s voice.
Their eyes widened as they both stared at Lyra as though she had grown two heads.
Lyra only realized after they told her.
’You can hear us and speak now? Your second talent is truly amazing.’
’Since it’s not just reading minds but speaking directly into them, it’s called Telepathy Talent.’
Mira nodded her head with a small smile
Lyra stared blankly at them. She had actually awakened too, and for the first time in two years, she could hear people’s voices and also express herself.
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