Effect: The Next Generation [✔️]

▹94◃

-

Hours Later

-

"Reirei~!"

"You're awake~!"

Xinya and Nitro immediately hugged Xinrei as soon as he woke up and sat up in his infirmary bed.

When they let him go, they both noticed how his body had been returned back to normal. He had gained back all the weight that he had lost, and his power felt even stronger to them than before. Not only that, they were both happy to see how the life and sparkles in his eyes had returned completely as well.

"Hey, what's with you guys?? You already knew that I would be alright didn't you? You two didn't have that little faith in me, did you~?"

Xinrei lightly teased the two, surprising them both with his suddenly playful attitude.

It wouldn't have surprised them much, but none of them have seen this side of him for a very long time. However, they were still very happy to see this side of Xinrei return nonetheless.

"Pfft. We knew that you'd pull through. Don't insult us like that Rei"

Nitro playfully pouted and folded his arms.

"Yeah, I know~. It's just been a while since I've teased either of you~. But hey, where's da-"

"Xinrei~~~! You're finally awake~~!"

Renjun suddenly burst into the room after hearing Xinrei's voice.

He picked the boy up out of the bed, and swung him around as he hugged him in his loving embrace.

"Dad~! You really are back~!"

"I am~. I'm really sorry for leaving all of you like that Xinrei.."

"It's ok~. I understand why you did it now. And your plan worked in the end didn't it?"

"It did. But atoning for my sins and keeping you all safe wasn't the only part of my plan. I also wanted to find a way to get to Tristin's heart, and it worked"

"Get to his heart??"

"That's right. As most of us saw, the Tristin we know isn't his true nature. His tragic backstory was enough to prove that as well. And just like Tayden, he has a split personality that he also refers to as "Li". The problem at hand now is that Li has taken control of Tristin completely, and because of his broken heart, there's no telling what Li will make Tristin do"

"But he's not our enemy anymore right?? He knows that Tayden is with us and that were keeping him safe. And he even offered to spare us. So, what does that insinuate?"

Nitro asked.

"This does in fact mean that he's not our enemy, and its likely that Tristin doesn't see us as his enemies anymore, even if Li might see us that way later on. Now that he knows that Tayden did survive and he's in our care, he won't want to come after us anymore unless we go against him"

"And now that he knows that I'm alive as well, he'll really do his best to avoid us"

Doni added, walking into the room with Tayden right beside him.

"That's right.. I wanted to ask you something earlier Doni-hyung. Before, you said that you were the one that saved Tayden, and Tristin-hyung said that you two were friends. You even still refer to him as your best friend. But, on the day we met back in Ocean Town, you said that you were from another universe. You lied about that, didn't you?

"...That's right. I'm from the same dimension as Tristin, Tayden, and the Gang Stars. I lied about my origins and hid my identity to keep myself and Tayden safe. I didn't want to take him away from his father, and I didn't want to leave my best friend either, but I had no choice. With the state he was in, there was no telling what would've happened. Neither of us even knows what happened to the others..."