Out of every city that survived the Last War and the Apocalypse, Rome was possibly the oldest. Perhaps New Athens existed longer, but before the Apocalypse, people mostly abandoned it.


    In comparison, Rome''s population always remained high. From the period of its founding, throughout the height of its republic and empire, into the future as the center of the world''s largest religion, and at the end, as a tourist destination.


    Rome''s reputation and history remained intact, as far as everyone knew. Its population was between 25-30 million, its walls stretched high, and its people were loyal to the bitter end.


    After seizing the area, the Federal Alliance disregarded the people''s input in decision-making. This caused a serious discord in the populace, and Adam''s propaganda only widened it.


    Right now, about ninety percent of the population was loyal to the Angelic Order. Another nine percent stayed on the fence. After the recent changes, though, and the coming siege, they were sure most will change their minds.


    Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Especially after Sera''s arrival and show of force, the attendance within the Angelic Order''s churches increased by quite a lot.


    Adam, Lilith and Faith also spent their time hunting spies and insurgents. In the past week since their arrival, there had been a few attempts at terrorism, but the enemies did not know what they faced.


    Lilith''s ability to go into people''s dreams gave her a chance to figure out their motives before they acted. Faith was a bit different. She spent most of her time in her shadow form, exploring.


    It was an invasion of the citizen''s privacy, but she alone found dozens of spy circles. None were Evolved, but even a regular human could cause a disturbance if sufficiently devoted.


    The problem wasn''t only the enemies within the walls. By now, the Federal Alliance army was only a few days away, but not long after Sera''s arrival, the news came...


    The larger army headed for them from the north, while a smaller army came from the south.


    There was a city far below Rome called Catania. Its population was half of Rome''s, but they still had military strength.


    Each army had more troops than Rome, and together, they could cause a lot of trouble. They all hoped the Aegis System would hold. Mary and James had made adjustments to it, which in theory should make it more versatile.


    Throughout the week, every defensive plan had been determined, so now they could only wait for their enemies to arrive.


    They spoke about raiding the enemy, but overall, it seemed like a rubbish idea. The real damage would''ve been killing the Transcended within their armies, but that was simply unachievable with a raid.


    Because of the sudden free time, Sera and Vicky spent the days exploring Rome. Bea came along a few times too, but Sera still wasn''t feeling comfortable around her.


    Their strange connection only caused her distrust to increase, but for Vicky, she made sacrifices.


    She hummed some song she heard playing on New Year''s eve. Sera never listened to music. It was too emotional and gave her a constant reminder of what she was missing in life.


    But she had to admit, listening to it with friends and family gave her a strange sense a gratitude. It didn''t exactly cause her to be happy, but made her cold heart feel warmer.


    She definitely understood why people loved to listening and dancing to music. It was a pure form of expression, like having sex, but less intimate.


    In the past three weeks, she and Vicky had no heart-to-heart talk, but even Sera with her social stupidity could sense how anxious Vicky was.


    She was on the edge of asking something, but just couldn''t bring herself over it. They silently watched the horizon darken, and eventually, Sera had enough.


    "So Vicky... When will you tell me what''s bothering you?"


    True emotionless fashion, Sera made no leading small talk, and instead jumped straight to the problem. A moment of shock gave way to Vicky, considering a lie, but after a few seconds she just dejectedly sighed.


    "Can''t hide my tenseness from you, it seems... It''s nothing really, not a real problem, but more of a curious question... You spent the past few weeks with us, and you know most of your past..."


    The lead up to the eventual question was very annoying to Sera. She had already guessed what her daughter was going to ask, but felt it would be rude to interrupt her, so she just suffered in silence.


    "I know a lot had changed, and the future is uncertain at best, but have you considered what happens after this war?"


    Vicky''s voice sounded meek, like she feared Sera''s answer. Her mother stopped brushing her hair and stared into her white eyes with a small, comforting smile.


    "You want to know about me and Bea, don''t you?" she asked, and her daughter gently nodded.


    Sera sighed and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. She stayed silent for a few minutes, then whispered into her ear.


    "My future is uncertain. I will reclaim my soul''s other half, which will change me. I don''t know how extensive or destructive the change will be, so I can''t make promises..."


    She pulled away from the hug and stared into her daughter''s teary eyes.


    "But I and Bea will always love and take care of you. No matter what, you will never have to worry about that!"


    Vicky nodded with much more understanding, but the answer didn''t seem to satisfy her.


    "We can revisit the relationship status when all this craziness had ended. I can''t even feel love right now, so making big decisions is out of the question!"


    Hearing this brought a small reserved smile to Vicky''s face, and they cuddled a bit more before the night fully set.