Chapter 3

Olivia didn't understand.

Days later, she approached me in the Order' s Chicago headquarters, a converted old library.

Her arm was bandaged, a minor injury Mark had probably delegated to a junior member to treat.

"Ethan," she began, her voice soft, hesitant. "Why did you refuse me? Don't you... don't you remember?"

Her eyes searched mine, and I saw it then, a flicker of recognition, of shared memory.

She was reborn too.

The realization hit me, not with shock, but with a cold certainty.

This wasn't just Olivia, this was the Olivia who had let me die.

"Remember what, Olivia?" I asked, my tone indifferent.

"Us," she whispered, a hint of desperation. "How you took care of me. I... I regret what happened. Deeply."

Other Order members nearby glanced over, their expressions disapproving of my coldness towards the "poor orphan."

Mark had, of course, played up his role as the magnanimous savior.

"Regret is a strong word," I said, loud enough for others to hear. "Actions define us, not belated words."

Just then, an alarm blared, a minor magical disturbance downtown.

A street vendor, a mundane, caught in the crossfire of some rogue Gifted.

He was dying.

The Order medics were busy.

I pulled out a small, shimmering vial from my pouch – a Vitality Draught, incredibly rare, capable of snatching life from death' s door, almost as good as a Heartstone Amulet for fresh injuries.

Olivia' s eyes widened. In our past life, I' d used a similar, less potent elixir on her many times for minor scrapes, saving the truly powerful stuff.

She probably thought I' d offer it for her lingering scratch, a gesture of reconciliation.

Instead, I walked past her, towards the exit.

"Ethan, wait!" she called out. "My arm still hurts..."

I paused at the door. "All life is precious, Olivia," I stated, my voice carrying through the suddenly quiet hall. "True compassion isn't about favoritism, or tending to scratches when a life is truly on the line."

I left without a backward glance, heading to save the homeless man.

Later, I heard Olivia had been visibly hurt, confused by this new, unyielding Ethan.

Mark, forced by my public act of saving the vendor, had to commend my "selflessness" at the next Chapter meeting, though his smile was strained.

He had taken both sisters, as I' d pushed him to.

He was already finding them a burden.