Chapter 126: Awakened Tournament Crisis (32)

"Hello again," Null said warmly. "It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?"

Elio couldn’t answer.

Null glanced him over from head to toe, his expression becoming almost sentimental.

"Look at you. You’ve grown up well." He chuckled. "You’re much taller now than the last time we saw each other. And those shoulders... My, oh my. You’ve certainly been training."

He sounded like a relative admiring a child who had grown during a long absence.

As though they were meeting at a family gathering.

Null spread his arms.

"Speaking of which..."

His eyes swept across the devastated streets, the collapsing buildings, and the enormous tentacles that thrashed between the ruins of the Stadium.

"Do you like the little show I’ve prepared for you?"

His smile became brighter.

"I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to catch up. Something memorable. Something that would make you understand just how much effort we’ve gone through to find you."

Elio stared at him.

Then something inside him snapped.

"Why?!"

The shout ripped from his throat with such force that it startled even him.

His purple Essence flared around his body, coiling like agitated serpents. The pain in his ribs vanished beneath a sudden surge of anger, and for a fleeting moment, the terror in his eyes was overshadowed by something far more volatile.

"Why did you do it?!"

He pointed toward the ruined battlefield.

"Why sabotage the second round?! People have died in there! And now you’re doing this?!"

His voice cracked.

"Look around you! People are being killed! The entire stadium is falling apart! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Null listened patiently.

Then he laughed.

He laughed as though Elio had just told him the most amusing joke in the world.

"Oh, Elio..."

He shook his head.

"You’re still so dramatic."

"ANSWER ME!"

"Because of you."

The words came so casually that Elio fell silent.

Null leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"All of this is your fault."

Elio’s expression stiffened.

"My fault...?"

"Of course." Null gestured toward the destruction with one hand. "Did you think we would simply forget about you? Did you think you could take what was given to you, disappear without a word, and live happily ever after?"

His smile softened.

"Really, Elio. I expected more from you."

Elio felt his stomach twist.

’No.’

He didn’t want to hear this.

’Stop.’

He knew where the conversation was going. He knew the words that would follow, and yet some desperate, helpless part of him still wished Null would stop talking.

Unfortunately, Null had never been the sort of person to care about what Elio wanted.

"She gave you such a precious gift..."

His voice was gentle.

Almost loving.

"And you’re going to selfishly take it and run away?"

Elio’s stomach lurched.

For an instant, the ruined street seemed to tilt beneath his feet.

His breath became shallow. His fingers went numb, and the purple Essence surrounding his body flickered wildly before nearly disappearing altogether.

A single mention of that woman made him feel as though he was about to throw his entire guts up.

A memory clawed its way into the back of his mind, bringing with it sensations he had spent years trying to bury. The weight of expectations. The suffocating sense of obligation. The dreadful certainty that his own desires had never truly belonged to him.

He had escaped.

He had run until he could no longer hear their voices. He had hidden himself away, worked, trained, and fought until he had become strong enough to believe that the past could no longer reach him.

And now Null was standing in front of him, smiling as though none of it had ever mattered.

"You..." Elio whispered.

His voice was barely audible.

Null watched him closely.

"Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? How many people have had to work to clean up the mess you made?"

He sighed, shaking his head as though disappointed.

"This all wouldn’t have happened if you’d simply listened."

Elio’s expression changed.

The anger drained away.

The fear remained, but even that seemed to sink into something deeper, leaving behind a terrible emptiness.

His shoulders slumped.

The Essence around him faded until only a few weak purple wisps remained against his skin.

For a moment, he looked less like one of the most talented young Awakened in the world and more like a tired boy who had finally run out of places to hide.

"...If I come back with you..."

Null’s smile paused.

Elio stared at the ground.

"If I agree to return, will you stop this madness?"

His voice was quiet, devoid of the confidence he had shown throughout the tryouts.

"Will you leave everyone else alone?"

The question hung between them.

Null blinked, genuine surprise etched across his face.

Then his face lit up.

"Elio..."

He rose from his seat and stepped down onto a lower piece of debris. His expression was almost radiant with delight, and he extended one hand toward the young man.

"Of course."

He spoke without hesitation.

"If you come back with me, I’ll end this madness in the blink of an eye. Every tentacle, every attack, every last bit of destruction. I’ll make it all disappear."

He opened his palm.

"Just come home."

The word struck Elio harder than any physical attack.

’...Home?’

He almost laughed.

There had been a time when he would have given anything to believe that word meant something good. A time when he had desperately wanted to believe the people around him were doing everything for his sake.

He knew better now.

He knew what that place was.

He knew what they wanted from him.

And yet...

His gaze drifted toward Null’s outstretched hand.

Behind the man, another building collapsed. A tremendous crash rolled through the street, followed by the distant roar of a tentacle tearing through the remains of a structure.

Elio thought of the stadium.

Of the people trapped inside.

Of the Awakened who had fought beside him.

The black-haired young man had been the first person in a long time who made Elio feel genuinely excited about fighting someone. Someone who challenged him, forced him to think, and pushed him to reveal more of his strength than he had intended.

For the first time in years, Elio had found himself looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.

But if he could end this now...

If surrendering himself meant everyone else could live...

Would that really be so terrible?

His foot moved.

One step.

Then another.

Null waited patiently, his hand still extended.

"That’s it," he murmured. "Come on. There’s no need to make this difficult."

Elio’s vision blurred.

He hated this.

He hated that his body was moving.

He hated that a part of him desperately wanted to reach for that hand, if only because doing so would mean he wouldn’t have to make another choice.

He was tired.

So terribly tired.

Maybe he could endure it again. Maybe he could return to the place he had escaped and bear whatever awaited him, as long as nobody else had to suffer because of him.

His hand slowly rose.

His fingers trembled as he reached toward Null’s.

’Almost there.’

’Just a little farther.’

"ELIO!"

A voice thundered from above.

Elio flinched.

A streak of crimson tore through the sky, descending between the buildings like a falling meteor. The enormous tentacles surrounding the street suddenly writhed as a mass of vicious red Essence erupted across them.

Teeth emerged from the crimson mass.

Dozens of eyes opened.

Mouths split apart, biting into the flesh of the tentacles and devouring them with horrifying speed. The monsters thrashed and twisted, smashing into the surrounding ruins as the red Essence spread across their surfaces, consuming everything it touched.

Then a figure dropped through the cloud of dust.