Seducing the Guideverse With My System — Raising an Anomaly [BL]

Chapter 283: _I Can Feel Him

"P–Papa?" Orion called out weakly when Devon and the others got back home at last.

They’d just arrived on the open lawn. They were quiet when Gabriel finally opened a portal leading there. So Orion’s voice made Devon’s ears perk up.

"Hey, buddy." The S-Rank smiled wryly, fighting hard to pull himself together as he cradled Orion closer to his chest. "You’re okay now. You’re safe. That evil woman isn’t going to take you from us again, okay?"

Orion only nodded lazily to that. "W–What about Dad?" The question stung harder than Devon expected. "Where’s daddy?"

Viktor, Gabriel and Valentine watched silently behind the father-son duo. None of them could answer even though they desperately wanted to.

Loki was the only one who witnessed Ambrose and the Void Entity falling through that Rift. Devon only saw the aftermath a second later.

No one knew how it showed up. And no one knew where it led to.

Although they could all feel deep in their hearts and through the links that the Guide was still alive... somehow not knowing where he was felt worse than if was dead.

"He’s... he’s on a mission," Devon hated himself for lying to the boy. But he needed to protect him from the truth. At least for now. "He’ll be back. Don’t worry."

Orion stared at his papa without uttering a word. Whether he believed that or not was uncertain as he clutched the Esper’s shirt tightly, burying his face in his chest.

Once inside, Devon went upstairs to put Orion to bed, leaving the others to wait in the living room.

After what felt like ages, Valentine broke the quiet between them. "That was no normal Rift."

Gabriel and Viktor exchanged a look before the former nodded.

"Definitely. Dungeon Rifts don’t just close up seconds after opening."

"With every crazy dungeon phenomenon we’ve seen out there," Viktor crashed onto the nearest couch, "I won’t be surprised if that was the case."

"No." Valentine shook his head. "No, this feels intentional."

"Intentional?"

"Loki said they saw Ambrose dragging the Void Entity through the Rift," the Necromancer pointed out. "Perhaps he has an ability he didn’t share yet that—"

"Whatever the fuck it was," Viktor raised a hand, "Ambrose... is gone. Out there somewhere with the Void Entity with him. Even the fucking Pantheon doesn’t know how to locate them, let alone bring him back."

He scoffed after a beat. "Then again the Pantheon has barely been useful for shit."

Silence settled in the room.

Gradually, Valentine and even Gabriel sat down, their expressions marred with obvious defeat and helplessness.

They got Orion back. Killed Dorothy. Technically no longer had to worry about the Void Entity for now.

But at what cost?

Meanwhile, Devon had just finished tucking Orion into his bed. He pressed a kiss on his forehead, ruffling his hair just a bit.

He just turned around when the little boy stirred.

"Papa?" he called out. "I’m... scared. What if the scary man comes to get me again?"

Devon froze.

He forced a smile despite the ache twisting inside his chest, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. He gently brushed Orion’s messy blond hair away from his forehead.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," he said quietly. "Not while I’m here. Not while any of us are here."

Orion searched his face for several long seconds, as though trying to decide whether those words were true. "Promise?"

"I promise."

The boy seemed to relax a little before another thought crossed his mind. "When Daddy comes back, I want both of you to sleep here with me."

Silence answered him.

Devon lowered his gaze, unable to respond immediately. The empty space on the other side of Orion’s bed suddenly felt enormous.

"Daddy isn’t here right now," he finally reminded softly. "But when he comes back..."

He couldn’t bring himself to finish.

Instead, he climbed onto the mattress beside Orion, who immediately curled against him.

"Can you tell me a story?"

Devon laughed under his breath. "A story, eh?"

"Mhm."

The S-Rank thought for a moment before beginning. "When I was about your age... I was terrified of thunderstorms."

Orion blinked. "You?"

"I know. Hard to believe."

A tiny smile finally appeared on the boy’s face.

"My grandfather used to tell me that every flash of lightning meant dragons were racing across the clouds."

He exaggerated each part just enough to keep Orion interested, turning childhood memories into tales of stubborn dragons, fearless knights and skies filled with fire.

Before long Orion’s breathing evened out. His grip on Devon’s shirt loosened.

And soon he had fallen asleep.

Devon remained there for another minute before carefully slipping off the bed. "...Sleep well, buddy."

He quietly closed the bedroom door behind him.

★★★★★

The living room remained just as heavy as he’d left it.

Valentine looked up first. "How is he?"

"Asleep."

Gabriel released a breath. "That’s good."

No one spoke for several seconds.

Eventually, Devon leaned against the wall. "We need to figure out what comes next."

"The Pantheon still has no idea where Ambrose went," Gabriel said.

"Neither do we," Viktor muttered. "But sitting around won’t help."

Valentine nodded. "If that Rift could be opened once, perhaps it can be opened again."

"Provided we understand what caused it."

"And we don’t."

The conversation stalled before it could truly begin.

Then—

CAW!

Every head turned toward the window.

Another caw echoed outside. Then another.

Gabriel frowned. "... What are ravens doing out there by this time?"

Devon stepped onto the porch first before the others followed.

The night sky was almost completely black.

Not because of clouds.

But because thousands of ravens were sweeping across the sky. They spiralled lower in perfect synchronisation, yet none of them made contact with the ground.

Instead, they circled faster and faster until feathers burst outward like a storm.

The birds slammed together. Bodies folded into one another. Wings disappeared.

Then soon enough the enormous flock shrank into a single raven. It landed a few feet in front of them silently, lifting its head.

Its body unravelled into darkness. Feathers became flowing black fabric.

Within seconds, Loki stood before them, expression lacking its usual playful smugness.

They looked... shaken.

Frightened even.

Their eyes immediately found Devon. "Answer me this." The demand landed harder than any shout. "How did Ambrose open that Rift?"

No one answered. Loki stepped closer still.

"And another thing..." They pressed a hand against their chest, their breathing quickly becoming uneven. "I can feel him. Right here."

Their brows knitted together in visible confusion as they looked from Devon to Viktor, then to Gabriel and Valentine.

"You feel him too, don’t you?" A painful silence settled over the porch. "W–Why does his absence hurt like this?"