I had imagined this moment countless times. In some versions, they recognized me immediately.
In others, they refused to believe me. Sometimes there were tears. Sometimes laughter. Sometimes anger.
The reality was none of those things.
The reality was shock. Pure, overwhelming shock.
My mother's eyes widened. It was the look of a person whose entire understanding of reality had just been overturned.
I watched the color drain from her face.
Watched her lips part slightly. Watched her stare at me as though she had forgotten how to breathe.
Beside her, Julius looked much the same.
The confidence and composure that had carried him through countless battles simply vanished. For the first time since I had arrived, neither of them looked like Transcendents.
They looked like parents who had just heard their dead son speak.
My mother's lips parted slightly.
"No."
The word escaped almost unconsciously, so soft that I nearly missed it.
