Chapter 99: A Winner's Speech

For several seconds, I couldn’t move beneath the lights trained on me.

The applause was still going. Voices rose from the crowd, blending together. Some people shouted my name, while others turned to the person beside them and pointed at me. When I looked at the large screen above the stage, I found Evelyn staring back with her red eyes wide in surprise.

My name was written beneath her.

Noctis Evernight — First Place.

My lips parted.

The Evelyn on the screen did the same.

I really won…

The judges’ scores, the other contestants’ performances, the fact that I was standing among people with millions of followers… All those thoughts that had been tangled up in my head a few minutes ago lost their importance beside the result on the screen.

First.

Just then, blue text appeared in my field of vision.

[Quest completed.]

[Finish in the top three in the NovaCon Grand Cosplay Competition.]

[Reward: 5★ Card ×1]

[Reward added to inventory.]

I looked at the text, then back at the screen.

Even the system was saying the same thing.

Normally, winning a five-star card should have made it impossible for me to think about anything else. I should have been impatient to use it and see what I would get.

But my eyes kept returning to the crowd.

People were applauding me.

I tried to find Eris. She was a little beyond the front rows, looking at me from between two people. Her smile was so wide that the moment I saw her, I started smiling too.

I gave a small shrug.

All right. So this was what coming first felt like.

I took my first step.

As the skirt of my wedding dress moved out of the way of my foot, I focused on Umbrella. I had just shaped an entire stage however I wanted. Changing the costume on my own body no longer felt difficult.

On my second step, blue appeared at the roots of my white hair.

The color spread through the fine strands toward the ends. As the hair falling down my back began to shorten, the white receded from my shoulders. A few long strands turned to liquid and disappeared behind my neck.

The large screen was still following my movements.

The white-haired bride was slowly giving way to someone with blue hair.

I took another step.

The crimson faded from my eyes. Blue appeared around the edges of my irises, pushing the red inward until it swallowed it completely. The sharp points of the black crown on my head bent. Its solid shape suddenly collapsed, flowing into my hair in thin, gleaming streams.

The sound coming from the crowd changed.

Gasps and cries of surprise mixed with the applause.

The raven on my shoulder turned its head one last time. It started to spread a wing, then the edges of its feathers stuck together. Its black body dissolved. As its claws left my shoulder, the remaining liquid flowed down my arm in a narrow strip.

The bracelet on my left wrist grew a little thicker.

I kept walking.

The crimson stains on the wedding dress broke apart. Black spread through the white fabric like thin veins, covering the folds of the skirt one by one. The lace flattened, and the puffed layers drew inward toward my legs.

A split formed down the middle of the skirt.

With my next step, black pants had replaced the wide wedding dress.

The fabric around my waist loosened and reshaped itself. As the details that gave me Evelyn’s silhouette disappeared, the white covering my torso darkened too. A black top with a raised collar extended along my arms. Its zipper, seams, and pockets took shape one after another.

The tracksuit I always wore.

Over the last few steps, the thin layer covering my face also withdrew. Evelyn’s flawless skin gave way to the faint bruise on my cheek and the small wound at the corner of my mouth.

I kept the firm layer supporting my arm beneath my clothes.

I wasn’t stupid enough to remove it.

By the time I reached the center of the stage, nothing remained of Evelyn.

I slipped both hands into my pockets and stopped.

Someone in the crowd shouted something. I couldn’t make out the words, but immediately afterward, I saw others turning to each other and talking. More people were raising their phones.

They must think I’m using an artifact now.

Or that I’ve awakened some strange Nexus.

They wouldn’t easily find another explanation for someone changing forms in front of so many people.

The corners of my lips lifted slightly.

I love Umbrella a little more every day.

Mira Solis stood a few steps away. She looked at my face, then at the large screen. It took her a moment to recover her smile.

“It seems our winner wanted to give us another little show on the way up to the stage.”

Applause rose from the audience.

Mira turned to me.

“Watching Evelyn was impressive enough on its own. But seeing you standing here after all of that…” She gave a small laugh. “Considering this is your first competition, I hardly know what to say.”

She brought the microphone closer.

“Noctis, how do you feel as NovaCon’s winner?”

I calmly tilted my head.

“I’m very excited.”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of excitement in my voice.

Mira waited for a moment. She looked at my face, probably trying to figure out whether I was going to say anything else.

I looked back at her.

“Ahaha… I see. It can be difficult to put your feelings into words at a moment like this.”

There was a slight strain at the edges of her smile.

In truth, my heart was still racing. Even the fingers hidden in my pockets hadn’t quite settled down.

But she didn’t need to know that.

“Is there anything you’d like to share?” Mira continued. “Or anything you’d like to say to the fans who supported you?”

“Yes, there is.”

I turned toward the crowd.

It didn’t take me long to find Eris again. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she watched me closely.

“First, I’d like to thank my dear friend Eris and my ungrateful followers.”

A few people laughed.

“If it weren’t for them, I’d probably be lying on my couch at home right now, drinking lemon soda and watching some weird zombie movie.”

Eris shook her head slightly, but couldn’t hide her smile.

She had worn the same expression when she registered me for this competition. Instead of listening to my protests, she had already started thinking about what I would wear.

I was glad she had.

“Second…”

My gaze shifted to the edge of the stage.

The other contestants were there.

When I met KuroNeko’s eyes, then those of my other competitors, the mischievous little kid inside me perked up.

Do it.

You’ll regret leaving without saying it.

My smile widened a little.

“I’d like to tell my competitors they did a good job.”

Relief appeared on Mira’s face.

For a few seconds, at least.

“I’m sure they’re thinking, ‘God, why didn’t I come first?’ right now. They’re looking at me with envy, crying on the inside, and slowly losing their minds.”

Mira’s smile froze.

Part of the crowd burst into laughter, while others looked up in surprise.

ScarletDoll folded their arms across their chest. KuroNeko kept watching me.

Perfect.

“When they get home tonight, they’ll bury themselves in their beds, press their faces into their pillows, and cry.”

Mallow had covered her mouth with one hand. I couldn’t tell whether she was hiding her laughter or her surprise.

Eris, meanwhile, was holding her forehead.

I took my hands out of my pockets. As Umbrella stiffened beneath my injured arm, I spread my arms wide. The ache forced me to slow the movement a little, but I had no intention of ruining this wonderful moment.

“But please, don’t blame yourselves!”

I lifted my head slightly.

“After all, your opponent was the Great Noctis Evernight!”

This time, I heard a few voices shouting my name.

The laughter rising through the applause had made me even bolder. I lowered my arms and gave a small cough. The microphone in Mira’s hand was still close to my mouth.

“Oh, of course. There’s also my dear family.”

I kept the smile on my lips.

“The Evernights.”

As I said the name, I looked straight into the camera.

The screen showed my face a little closer. My blue eyes, the bruise on my cheek, the corner of my mouth…

“You can’t even imagine how much they’ve supported me.”

Mira gave a faint nod. She must have thought this would continue as a normal thank-you speech.

“Words can’t describe how lucky I am to have parents like them and a family like mine.”

I let out a deep breath.

Suddenly, smiling became a little harder.

I pictured Ron sitting on my couch. The grin on his face as he pointed at the broken figures on the floor… Then the torn wedding dress in my bedroom.

I remembered kneeling there with the fabric in my hand.

The dress Eris and I had chosen, worked on, and kept turning back to admire once it was finished.

I pressed my fingers into my palms.

“The family’s worthless child,” I said.

The laughter in the crowd faded.

“The freak you couldn’t even tell was a boy or a girl. The disgrace they kicked out of the family.”

The smile disappeared from Mira’s face.

“That’s what they used to call me.”

I heard my own voice through the speakers.

For several seconds after the words left my mouth, I couldn’t hear anything else in the hall. The people who had been smiling while I teased my competitors were now staring at me.

Mira’s fingers shifted around the microphone.

I continued.

“God… After they threw me out, I thought they’d at least leave me alone for a while.”

My smile grew thinner.

“But my dear family prepared a sweet little surprise for me before the competition.”

I raised my injured arm slightly.

Beneath my clothes, Umbrella supported the movement. Even so, the pain rising from the bones was sharp enough to make sure I couldn’t forget what I wanted to say.

“Broken bones and everything I’d worked on torn to pieces.”

Someone lowered their phone.

My eyes drifted toward Eris.

She wasn’t smiling anymore.

The expression she had worn when she entered my home that morning had returned. The moment when she had been afraid to touch me, unsure what to do after I told her my arm was broken…

I had sent her away, saying I wanted to be alone.

Now I was standing in front of everyone, telling them about the things she had seen that morning.

I turned back to the camera.

“My older brother came to my apartment. He destroyed my costume, my materials, everything I’d used to prepare.”

I swallowed.

“Apparently, entering this competition was a disgrace to the family.”

I thought about the applause when my name had been announced. The first-place result on the large screen. The people who had stood up to watch me walk onto the stage.

The corner of my mouth lifted again.

“Well… I suppose I should thank them for that too.”

Mira’s lips parted. I continued before she could say anything.

“After all, without them, I wouldn’t have been able to give such a magnificent performance.”

It was true.

If my wedding dress hadn’t been torn apart last night, I wouldn’t have tried to recreate it with Umbrella this morning. The system wouldn’t have given me that one-word answer, and I wouldn’t have learned what the item in my possession could do.

But when I woke up in the middle of that ruined room, I hadn’t known any of that.

I could barely move my arm.

For a while, I stared at the red light on the camera.

They had heard me.

The people in the hall, and the people watching the livestream.

I imagined the expression that might appear on my mother’s face. I remembered Ron’s voice as he talked about family honor.

I swallowed the last few words on the tip of my tongue.

That was enough.

I pulled my shoulders back slightly and tilted my head. Then I gave myself a small stretch without putting too much strain on my injured arm.

I could breathe more easily now.

My arm still hurt. The bruises on my cheek were still there. When I returned home, I would see my broken belongings again.

But I didn’t want to take back what I had said.

“Anyway,” I said. “That’s all, mortals.”

I dipped my head slightly in farewell to the crowd.

By the time Mira pulled the microphone back toward herself, I had already turned toward the edge of the stage. I heard her say something behind me, but her voice from the speakers blended into the applause starting up again.

After going down a few steps, I entered the crowd.

Faces turning toward me, phones being raised, people calling my name… Someone approached to ask me something. I gave a brief nod as I passed.

My eyes were searching for Eris.

She was already coming toward me.

When I stopped in front of her, her lips parted.

“Noc…”

I reached out with my good hand and took hers.

Her fingers stayed loose for a moment. Then they slipped between mine and tightened.

I looked at her face.

I could see that she had a lot she wanted to say. Her eyes moved first to my cheek, then to my injured arm. She stood beside me, squeezing my hand a little tighter.

I didn’t let go either.

We started walking through the crowd toward the exit.