Heroes of Veridia

Chapter 28: Mind Control

As Evelyn helped Elena to her feet, their eyes met briefly. Almost immediately, Elena's gaze widened, her expression shifting from confusion to something more troubled as her own eyes glowed. Evelyn's smile deepened as she noticed the effect. With a single blink, she severed the connection, and Elena's emotions returned to normal.

With her trademark smile, Evelyn commented, "I have no idea what's happening to me, but let's avoid eye contact, shall we?" Her tone was light, almost mocking.

Elena's lips pressed into a thin line as she studied Evelyn. "There's... something wrong with you."

"Interesting, isn't it?" Evelyn's eyes sparkled with amusement, an unsettling contrast to her detached calm.

"It's creepy," Elena muttered, a shiver running through her.

Evelyn merely shrugged, still smiling as if nothing in the world mattered. "Oh, come on, I'm alive, aren't I?" she said, scooping up Vivian into her arms. "Let's get our little 'Sleeping Beauty' somewhere safe before she has a rude awakening," she quipped, her voice filled with dry amusement.

Elena shook her head in a mix of confusion and frustration. "Sleeping Beauty? Really?" she huffed. "When you woke up, you demanded I heal her, and now... you're just smiling and joking like—like nothing matters!"

Evelyn blinked, her eyes distant but still wearing that unsettling smile. "She's beautiful, and she's sleeping. Makes sense, right? Besides," she chuckled, "I created you to help me, but mostly because I was bored. You're supposed to be on my side." She let out a humorless laugh, as if amused by some cosmic joke only she understood. "See? All fine here. You already healed me, so what's the problem?"

"The problem?" Elena's voice grew sharper. "You were crying minutes ago; now you act like you couldn't care less. The lightning did something to you."

Evelyn's smile widened as she shrugged, her tone nonchalant. "All it did was give me a bit of a thrill and a hair makeover. Sounds like a good deal to me."

Elena opened her mouth to argue but quickly averted her gaze as Evelyn raised a warning finger. "Ah-ah! You know what happens if you look into my eyes."

She bit her lip, nodding in reluctant agreement. "Fine. But do you realize that the lightning has changed you?"

Evelyn's smile only deepened. "Yeah... It's weird, but it seems I can't stop smiling. Oh, and I can control people's emotions now. Strange, right?" She gave a hollow laugh. "And I don't feel a thing. That's the fun part. Anyway, let's get Vivian back to the school before she catches a chill."

"You've lost your emotions?" Elena facepalmed, a mix of concern and disbelief etched into her face.

Evelyn ignored her, raising her voice in a mock call. "Manager! Now would be a good time to show up." She waited a beat, then shrugged when no one appeared. "Well, shocking. He did say I should call his name if I ever needed him."

Elena sighed. "Manager's a title, Evelyn."

Evelyn chuckled, shaking her head. "You really think he'd give his name to just anyone?" She glanced up at the sky, still raining. "Say, can you get rid of this rain?" she asked, her tone playful.

Elena shook her head in resignation.

Evelyn just smiled. "Guess I'll have to do this myself. Let's reach the finish line—it might be our way out." She looked down at Elena. "Come back to Mama."

Elena transformed into vines that shrunk into the seed she had originated from. Evelyn plucked up the seed, placing it on her tongue with a smirk. She knelt down, adjusting Vivian in her arms, and then bolted forward, gathering speed in a burst of power fuelled by the emotions of the creatures around her. Trees, animals, even insects grew still and subdued as she pulled their emotions into herself, surging through the forest with newfound strength.