Chapter 885: The inevitable [1]

I stared at the screen hovering before me.

For several seconds, I didn’t move.

I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing.

[◆ Main Quest: Prevent the Calamities from awakening or dying.]

[Aoife K. Megrail: Awakening

Progress — 76%]

[Kiera Mylne: Awakening

Progress — 82%]

[Evelyn J. Verlice: Awakening

Progress — 65%]

"..."

My eyes remained fixed on Kiera’s name.

82%.

No.

That wasn’t right.

I had lowered it.

Before we reached Karah Togg, I remember going through the trouble of reducing the meter for both her and Aoife using [Outer Hand]. I didn’t quite remember how low their number was, but I knew that it was lower than the current number being displayed before Kiera.

[+1%]

A new notification appeared.

My entire body stiffened.

[Kiera Mylne: Awakening

Progress — 83%]

"How is this...?"

The words barely escaped my lips.

How could this happen all of a sudden? Wasn’t she supposed to be with Leon? Why would she...

Unless—

My head slowly lifted.

The white formations around the chamber continued to pulse quietly, their light reflecting off the chains scattered across the ground.

A single name appeared in my mind.

Dawn.

My jaw tightened.

’He’s taken hold of Kiera.’

But why? Why is he trying to increase her meter? Wasn’t he supposed to contain her? Wasn’t that his entire goal?

The moment I left—

"...Fuck."

My fingers curled so tightly that my nails dug into my palms.

It wasn’t just her. I was sure of it.

Aoife.

Evelyn.

All three of them.

’He’s targeting the Calamities.’

This was something that I should’ve seen coming from miles away. My head had been so muffled with thoughts of Noel that nothing else seemed to matter to me.

"You s-ee?"

A weak voice sounded beside me.

I turned.

Noel’s weak face appeared next to me, his breathing incredibly shallow. Even speaking seemed to take incredible effort for him.

Still, his eyes remained fixed on me.

"...I... am your weakness."

He still smiled at me as he spoke. Something in his eyes bothered me, but I quickly brushed him off.

"Save your strength."

"Y-ou... were warned, and yet... you ignored it."

"..."

"And then..."

Noel took a slow breath, his voice shaking as he struggled to speak.

"...You wonder why everything always ends up like this."

I looked away.

"Not now."

"When, then?"

His voice was weak enough that I almost didn’t hear him.

"When everything... goes the way you see?"

My eyes returned to him.

Noel slowly lifted his head.

"You think he forced you here?"

"....."

My teeth clenched.

"He does not guess. He does not hope. He does not force. He sees... And that is what the Great Sun does."

"....."

Noel’s eyes slowly closed.

"Because you always move... according to what the Great Sun wants."

The words settled heavily over the surroundings.

I stared at him.

"He didn’t drag you here, Julien. He didn’t make you leave everyone behind. He just..."

Noel paused to breathe.

"⎯gave you something you wanted badly enough."

My jaw tightened further.

The more I thought about it, the tighter my jaw became. From the start, he hadn’t forced me to do anything.

I had moved on my own.

Made my own choices.

All of it was because of me. There was no one to blame but myself, and I understood this. I never denied my own responsibility.

But⎯

"...The Sun does not act."

Noel’s voice whispered into the air.

"It watches."

A faint laugh escaped Noel’s lips before immediately turning into a rough cough.

"Careful"

I adjusted him carefully behind my back before turning toward the open passage ahead. The white formations were already glowing. From the looks of it, the barrier was starting to heal.

"..."

I took the first step forward, before taking the next, moving out of the area one step at a time. The chamber disappeared behind me as I entered the corridor, Noel’s breathing faint against my ear.

Step. Step.

For half a second, the stone beneath my foot turned red.

My feet sank.

Blood spread beneath my boot.

It moved through the cracks in the stone before slowly gathering around the edges of my sole.

My lips trembled.

Then... I blinked, and it all faded.

"..."

I moved again.

Step.

Kiera stood ahead of me.

Her white hair was stained red, her head lowered as blood dripped steadily from her fingertips.

You don’t get to decide everything for us.

My chest tightened.

I continued walking.

She disappeared.

Step.

Leon appeared next.

He lay face down against the ground, one arm twisted beneath him while blood pooled beneath his head.

Exactly as I’d seen him.

Exactly as I knew he could end up.

My foot came down.

Right through the blood.

My breathing grew heavier.

Knowing how I might die doesn’t mean you get to decide how I live.

"..."

My fingers tightened around Noel’s legs.

I kept walking.

Each step carried me farther through the corridor, but the stone beneath me had long since disappeared.

All I could see was red.

Blood stretched from one end of the passage to the other, rippling beneath my feet with every step I took.

Aoife.

Evelyn.

Kiera.

Leon.

Faces appeared and disappeared around me, each one accompanied by words I had already heard before.

Warnings I had ignored.

Choices I had made for them.

Things I’d convinced myself were necessary because I knew more than they did.

Because I had seen what happened if I didn’t.

Because I was trying to save them.

’I’m doing this for them.’

The thought came automatically.

It always did.

And for the first time, it sounded hollow.

Noel shifted faintly against my back.

"You see them... don’t you?"

"..."

I didn’t answer.

There was no need.

He already knew. Of course, he knew.

I stepped forward again.

The blood rose around my ankles.

’Keep moving.’

Whether Dawn expected it or not didn’t matter anymore.

Kiera’s meter was rising.

The others were still outside.

And whatever he wanted from me...

I had no choice but to face the consequences of my actions. Even if every step forward was taken over the blood of the people I cared about.

I walk the inevitable.

***

"Has anyone seen Kiera?"

Aoife stood beside the window, looking towards the corridor as Evelyn raised her head from the table.

"I thought she was in the room."

"She isn’t. I already checked."

Evelyn’s brows drew together as Anne appeared from the adjoining room, having apparently heard their conversation.

"Her robe’s gone as well. Did she say anything before leaving?"

For a moment, nobody answered. Then An’as, who had been sitting near the entrance, slowly straightened.

"She asked me whether I knew where Tharvek kept his guards. I thought she was asking about Julien’s work."

Aoife turned towards him, her expression changing.

"When was this?"

"A while ago. She didn’t say she was going anywhere."

A faint sigh escaped Evelyn’s mouth as she leaned back in her seat.

"She went to look for Julien."

It made sense when she thought about it. Kiera had been unusually quiet after Julien’s visit, and whenever someone mentioned him, her expression grew worse.

"She kept saying there was something wrong with him," Evelyn added. "After the way he spoke to Leon, she probably decided to find him herself."

"That doesn’t mean she should’ve gone alone."

Aoife’s voice was sharper than before as her gaze returned to the corridor. She understood why Kiera was concerned, but Julien hadn’t exactly made it easy for them to track him.

Looking for him was probably like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"We should at least check the nearby streets," Anne said, reaching for the robe hanging beside the door.

Before she could take it down, the handle turned.

Everyone looked up as Leon entered, his clothes still carrying traces of sand. There was dried blood near his sleeve, though the skin beneath it appeared uninjured.

He paused beneath their gazes.

"...Did something happen?"

Evelyn stood, looking him over before meeting his eyes.

"We think Kiera went to find Julien. Did you see her on your way back?"

Leon slowly shook his head, the faint ease in his expression fading.

"I came straight back from the arena."

"You should sit down first. You look exhausted."

Anne pointed at the sofa next to her.

"I’m alright. I’m just a little tired."

Unlike before, it didn’t sound as though he was trying to hide anything. His breathing was steady, and while his shoulders hung slightly, his gaze was clearer than it had been in days.

Evelyn noticed the difference, but before she could ask about the fight, a knock sounded from behind him.

To Tok—!

Leon turned, his hand still resting near the door.

A man in plain robes stood outside, holding a folded letter with both hands. His eyes moved briefly over the room before settling on Leon.

The atmosphere changed at the sight of him.

"The elder has asked me to deliver this."

He extended the letter with a small bow.

Leon hesitated before accepting it, his gaze lingering on the seal as Aoife approached from behind.

"The elder from the arena?"

"Yes. He would like to speak with you."

Leon opened the letter, his eyes moving across the brief message. There was little explanation beyond the invitation, and when he finished reading, he looked back at the messenger.

"What does he want to discuss?"

"I wasn’t told. I was only asked to bring you, should you accept."

The man stepped back, leaving Leon standing in the doorway with the letter in his hand.

"...I’d be careful if I were you."

Anne muttered.

"As far as I’m aware, his relationship with the Dune Conqueror isn’t great. He might want to drag you into his political mess."

Leon understood her suspicion. He had barely returned from the arena, and the elder already wanted to see him. There was a good chance that the invitation had something to do with the Dune Conqueror.

Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen.

"He and the Dune Conqueror are certainly not on good terms..."

Leon said with a small nod.

Aoife crossed her arms whilst looking at the letter.

"That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s on your side. Things could still be dangerous."

"I know. But he might be willing to answer a few questions."

His gaze lowered towards the letter once more.

The elder had tried to stop what happened to Gorian. He hadn’t succeeded, but Leon still remembered the anger on his face when Julien intervened.

Perhaps they wanted something similar. At the very least, he needed to hear what the man had to say.

Maybe...

They could help each other out.

Leon looked back at the others.

"I’ll go and speak with him."

Evelyn studied his expression for a moment. Then, as her lips parted to say something, she eventually closed her mouth and nodded.

"Just be careful. You don’t have to agree to anything because he helped you before."

"I’m only going to listen."

Anne pulled her robe from the hook and glanced towards An’as.

"We’ll ask around for Kiera. You two should stay here in case she comes back."

Aoife looked as though she wanted to object, but eventually nodded. Sending everyone out would only make it harder to find each other.

Leon waited until the messenger gave them the elder’s address, then stepped outside.

As the door closed behind him, he briefly looked down at his hand. The blood had dried between his knuckles, settling into the creases of skin that had already healed.

He rubbed it away with his thumb and followed the messenger.

*

The elder’s residence was as luxurious as he expected.

After leading him through a narrow courtyard, the messenger stopped before a wooden door and knocked twice. A few seconds passed before it opened, revealing a room with a low table near the center.

The elder sat on the opposite side, his long white beard resting against his robes.

Up close, he appeared thinner than Leon remembered. His hands lay on the table, the skin drawn tightly over his fingers, but there was nothing weak about the gaze that settled on him.

Leon stepped inside as the messenger bowed and withdrew, closing the door quietly behind him.

He had prepared several questions on the way here. About the invitation, the Ranking Battles, and why the elder had allowed Tharvek to interfere with them for so long.

However, before he could introduce himself, the elder spoke.

"Do you wish to fight Tharvek?"

Leon stopped, his lips parting slightly.

What?

This was the last thing he could’ve ever expected in this situation. Not even the chance to introduce himself or speak to him, and he was suddenly asked if he wanted to fight the Dune Conqueror.

The elder remained seated, watching him as he waited for an answer.

Julien’s warning briefly crossed his mind.

’I need you to give up on the fights.’

’I won’t sugarcoat things. If you continue like this, you’re going to die. You can’t defeat Tharvek. He’s too strong for you.’

’I’ve gone up against him myself, and while I haven’t fought him properly, I can tell that you’re not his match.’

’It doesn’t matter. You’ll still lose.’

’Because I’ve seen it.’

’I’ve seen your death. That’s why you need to stop.’

’I said quit, so you’re quitting. Aren’t you my knight? Listen to what I’m telling you, damn it.’

His voice whispered inside his mind, alongside the numerous images.

Julien’s expression. The blood-soaked sand. The hollow faces of the people in the arena, watching the death of each participant.

Then the elder sitting calmly before him.

Leon’s fingers curled slightly at his side as a faint pressure settled over his chest.

Slowly, he let out a slow breath.

There were still many things he didn’t know, including whether the man in front of him could be trusted. But he didn’t need an answer to those questions to know the answer to this one.

He met the elder’s gaze.

"...Yes. I want to."