A tense silence filled the atmosphere as Tessa stared at Corey without saying anything even after all that he said.

Corey's expression was neutral and void of any emotion, but hidden in his eyes was a sharpness that was slowly showing its edge the longer Tessa remained silent.

After a long thirty seconds of silence, Tessa finally released a sigh.

"Her soul is very weak and fragile, and I'm trying to nurture her soul so that it won't die. Whenever we switch, we use a part of our soul's strength. Although it's miniscule, her soul is very weak and if she switches, she would use up all the soul energy I've poured into her and it would be very difficult for her to switch back to me."

"She would also be extremely weak after she switches, and she would also be vulnerable. To tell you how weak she is, normally, we have random conversations, but now she can't even speak to me because she's too weak."

Corey's expression eased up, and the sharpness in his eyes was sheathed. He furrowed his brows slightly for a second, and then he spoke.

"Still switch to her. If you have to wait for a million years before she's able to switch back to you, then so be it. And if you try to take over her body without her permission... I'll kill you."

This time around, Corey's eyes were frigid cold, and Tessa felt a chill across her soul.

Despite the fact that a big part of her looked down on Corey because he was just a Tier 3 and not even an Immortal, and with her vast experience, she could not help but not take Corey seriously.

However, she knew just how dangerous was. He was far more dangerous and baffling than any mortal she had encountered.

Pope Arzhel should never have died to a Tier 3 because of who he truly was and what he could do. But he had died in a pathetic way.

"No problem. I'll switch with her, but can you promise me something?"

Corey looked at Tessa without saying anything, but his expression told her that he was listening.

"Promise me that you won't kill me after I switch with her. He did a lot to bring me back to life, and I really don't want to die after living for so little." Tessa said with a slightly tensed expression, and Corey stared into her eyes with an emotionless gaze.

"Depends on whether you're innocent and whether Anna wants you to live or not."

Tessa's lips parted open and closed multiple times. Though she wanted to speak, her instincts were telling her that Corey's patience was running thin.

She exhaled softly, and then she closed her eyes.

Some seconds later, Corey's expression began to change and his gaze began to soften as Tessa's appearance changed.

No longer did Corey see Tessa's face on his sister's body. Now, he was looking at Anna, his precious little sister whose face was a lot more mature than what he knew.

"Anna." Corey said softly, and Anna's eyes fluttered open weakly.

"Hmm?" She looked around with visible exhaustion and confusion in her eyes.

"Ehn?" She blinked repeatedly seeing Corey, and then she looked around once again in confusion.

Her exhaustion temporarily disappeared as her soul, spirit, and consciousness was slowly awakened.

Seeing the garden-like environment around her and Corey's appearance, she could not help but mutter.

"Is this another dream? I preferred it when I was asleep and not dreaming of anything."

When Corey heard Anna speak in the mature yet familiar voice he recognized, he could not help but smile brightly.

A smile which he had never shown for a very long time.

Without saying anything, he took a step toward her and hugged her tightly.

"Huh? Anna was stunned.

"I missed you, Anna." Corey whispered with a big smile filled with the most complex emotions he had ever shown.

"This has never happened before. I don't think my brother has ever taken the initiative to hug me before in my dreams. What sort of torture has the mad man prepared for me this time around? I've tried my best to hold on and not give up since I know I have to somehow get revenge for my parents, but... it's hard. It's so hard."

"Brother give me strength."

"I know this is fake and you're not real. You're probably here to cause me more pain. A few moments later, the scene will change and we'll probably live happy for a 'long' time before it would all change and I'll have to watch you die."

"It's hard, Corey. It's very hard. I want to give up but just give me strength please, brother."

Tears began to pour down from Anna's eyes as she spoke without hugging back Corey. She believed that this Corey that was hugging her was a fake. She believed it was all a dream, and for her, she knew that it she hugged Corey back, it would be her accepting this fake Corey and the pain she would suffer at the end would drastically increase.

Meanwhile, Corey felt his heart shatter into a million pieces when he heard the pain in her voice.

The last time Anna cried in his presence was when she was very little, barely five years old. She had never cried like this and with his senses, he knew just how much pain she was in.

Though he had saved Anna, he would have to slowly heal the pain, scars, and wounds in her soul and heart.

It would take a long time, but he was absolutely going to make sure that he healed every injury she had. No matter how little.

Drop

A teardrop fell from Corey's eyes as he could not hold it in anymore. He was both sad and happy at the same time.

"Anna. It's not a dream. It's real. I'm real."

Anna sniffed and wiped away her tears with a pained smile.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Let's just get this over with please. I still have a pope I want to fucking kill."

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