Lily was having the time of her life.

For the first time in what felt like forever, everything seemed... right. Her mum was healthy—actually healthy. Not "pretending to be fine" healthy, but up and moving, laughing, eating like she hadn't in months. The colour had returned to Bell's cheeks, and the shadows under her eyes had lifted. Every time Lily caught her mum smiling, it sent a little spark of warmth through her chest.

They were doing something. Real. Important. Scary as hell, yeah—but exciting too. The System, the fighting, the prepping, the goblins—it was all a mad blend of danger and discovery. And for once, Lily didn't feel like a bystander watching life happen. She was in it. Part of something bigger.

She'd missed Kai more than she'd realised. Being just one year apart, they'd grown up more like twins. Climbing trees, sneaking snacks, watching dodgy horror movies when their parents weren't home. He was still the same—quiet but with a dry sense of humour that always came out when she needed a laugh. And now they were back together, fighting monsters and swinging machetes like something out of a video game. It was the kind of reunion she didn't know she'd needed.

Uncle Tarn—no, Uncle Tarni, she reminded herself with a grin—had cut his hair. Well her Dad had cut it. He had always said that he would keep his dreadlock until the day he died. And he hadn't touched a drink in days. He was different. Lighter. Happier. Like someone had finally taken the weight off his back and let him breathe. There was a new clarity in his eyes, and it suited him.

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Even her Mum and Dad looked like teenagers in love again. It was wild. They'd been solid enough back when she was young, but now... there was something else. Something alive. She'd caught them sneaking kisses in the kitchen, laughing at in-jokes, leaning into each other like they were falling in love all over again. It was beautiful. Weird, but beautiful.

And then there was the System.

Lily had been skeptical at first—who wouldn't be? It sounded like a fever dream wrapped in a sci-fi novel. Stats, levels, skills, danger. But it was real. Tangible. And she could feel it humming under her skin. The potential. The promise.

She had a machete on her hip.

She had titles.

She was going to get skills.

Maybe even spells.

Spells! The idea made her giddy. She didn't know what kind, or when, or how, but the idea that she might one day hurl fireballs or heal wounds with a touch—it made her brain buzz with excitement. The future used to be a vague blur of work and rent and dull relationships that never went anywhere.

Now it was full of possibilities.

Now it was hers to shape.

As the sun dipped behind the gum trees and the wind rustled through the gravel around the house, Lily stood on the stilted balcony, looking out over their little slice of chaos and wonder. They were surrounded by monsters, trapped in a patch of land where the world bent to strange new rules.

Except for missing James, she wouldn't have it any other way.

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