Charles Xander slowly walked out of the barrier, leaving behind an utterly silent audience.
In his human form, there were visible injuries on his body. His arm was burnt, the skin was scalded and flesh was visible at multiple places.
His eyes were bloodshot like he didn't sleep for weeks.
His footsteps were also erratic like a drunkard.
Yet…
"…."
All that prevailed was silence.
Filled with respect. Admiration. And longing.
'You deserve none of this.' Varian clenched his fist and breathed heavily. Every time Charles strength amazed someone, he was reminded of the fact that his talent was built on her pain.
That crazy woman Julia…she really deserved to die a thousand times.
But she was already dead.
Now, even though Charles wasn't responsible for Sia ending up in the lab, and despite the fact that he never knew about Julia's true experiments, Varian felt an immense hatred towards him.
It was as if he was the one who was responsible for everything!
The hatred wasn't rational, but fuck rationality!
Every debt had a debtor, and Julia's debt…Charles must pay!
"…hey? Don't be so anxious. You're not gonna fight him…oh wait, you challenged to surpass him right? You must be tense."
Maissa's words snapped him out of his thoughts as his world turned normal.
"Haa" Sighing deeply, Varian relaxed his fists and said. "I am no anxious because of his strength. He's not worthy."
"wow! Even though you're stronger than Charles was when he is in first year, you took ambrosia or whatever." She said.
"Heh." Varian smirked and didn't answer. Truth would speak for itself.
Maissa pouted at his response and left with words he didn't understand. "I hope you enjoy what you're about to face."
Varian ignored her.
A bad decision.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
As the biggest duel ended, no one fought anymore.
The socialization truly began.
Only then did he understand Maissa's words.
"Varian, we are from Mars Warriors Academy, we have an excellent Sovereign treasure—Juno. It's very suitable to train your resistance against Telepaths and Telekinetics.
Our academy is also willing to offer you 30,000 merit points. Our Dean will personally guide you and you'll have bodyguards of Level 8 round the clock.
I believe a smart man like you will not miss this opportu—"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's end it there." Varian raised his hand and said in mild annoyance. "I'm not changing academies."
The girl that tried to poach him wasn't discouraged at all. She She slightly bent forward and flashed a charming smile.
"We can discuss the t—"
"Leave." Varian said curtly, his voice was slow, but powerful.
The girl, despite being a peak level 5 paled at his words and stiffly nodded. "I-I'm sorry for disturbing you."
She left with an awkward smile.
Like the four girls before her.
"Seriously…" Varian downed the champagne and stood up.
Han Nial didn't return after all.
And Richard informed him of the 'rumors' about his 'rising strength in the battles'.
In his words.
"Young Master, I don't know what's true and I don't want to ask. But several Level 9s are already watching you.
Even…Sovereign Kreo Bell and Sovereign Julius commented about your improvement.
Some are really suspicious.
I steered the general opinion in your favor. But there's only so much I can do. For now, please lay low."
Fucking hell!
"I should've just let Sarah go serious when she beat—when we practiced." Varian stood up from his table and muttered under his breath.
"Sarah…wait, where did she go sulking?" He looked around the hall and didn't find any traces.
Every top genius was more or less eye catching. Even he had some twenty people on tables near him.
"Varian, do you want to be a guest member of Darwin Family? We control a crucial part of the supply chain. The conditions we propose are—"
"Thanks, but no thanks. I won't be affiliating myself with any other power. I've said this a hundred times already, but please tell the same to other powers." Varian said and walked away.
"But…we didn't propose our conditions yet." The young man muttered in frustration and disappointment.
All that answered him was Varian's receding back that slowly vanished.
Seeing this, the twenty people sitting on the tables nearby got up and left.
*** *** *** ***
Infinity Tower was the tallest building in the Infini City.
Its structure was like a normal tower, except its top was a floor in the shape of infinity—this floor itself spanned a hundred square miles.
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Even from the outer space, one could see a huge infinity symbol glowing in white.
Even under the darkest of nights, it shone with vibrant neon colors. This city floating in space was home to a million.
The sight was enough to captivate anyone.
Not her.
As she gazed at the distant red moon, Sarah sighed as she recalled the match against Ashtarh.
She lost.
She lasted a while against him, but there was a clear gap in their strengths.
Losing against him wasn't the thing that bugged her the most. It was Charles match with Caleb, Philia, Helia and Rodey Nial.
They were defeated too swiftly.
She saw it. As did they.
Charles touched the bottleneck of Level 7.
"…" Sarah clenched her fist and sighed deeply.
She had a wish. Still has.
A wish she hid in her subconscious. Something she didn't wish to think about and treat it like it didn't exist.
But in moments like these, it always came back to her.
Her wish was…
She wanted her father to be happy.
She wanted him to smile.
….and maybe say, "I'm proud of you Sarah."
He used to say that about her brother.
"I am the proudest father. Haha!"
"Sometimes, I feel I am blessed."
"Sarah, you always me make smile. He always makes me proud. You're the biggest gifts heaven gave me."
….it all stopped.
His pride died in form and flesh in the Pluto war.
She grieved her brother's and mother's death. But what he felt was on another level entirely.
It was like something inside him was broken. Perhaps with their death, he lost something forever. She couldn't understand.
But from then on, no matter how hard she tried, she was never able to make him smile again.
'Since I can't be your smile…I want to be your pride.'
That was her decision back then. It was the reason she pushed herself.
Except…the dual paths she never complained about previously turned out to be curses.
Even though she was more talented than her brother, even though she worked even hard, even though her accomplishments were higher…she could never remove the upper ceiling.
Level 9.
That was the farthest she could go.
And that meant, she would never be his pride.
Unlike Charles, unlike William, unlike Ashtarh, unlike Maissa…
"Unlike Varian…" Sarah bit her lip and closed her eyes with a complicated expression.
If she could do anything to be a single path awakener, she'd do it.
No matter the cost.
'But…am I right to deceive father like this?' As she recalled Varian using teleportation in the dungeon, Sarah's heart tightened.
A part of her didn't want to deceive Evander anymore.
Yet…
Because of that one lie, Evander was happy.
Varian was safe.
Was it too much to hide a lie to keep them happy for a long time…even if that happiness was bound to crumble one day?
'Even if he's a dual awakener, with the strength he had shown at the banquet…he'll reach level 6 in a few months and level 7 at the same time as Charles.' Sarah thought as she glanced at the distant red moon in the sky.
Everything should've been been perfect, however—
"But…I am really unwilling. Why can't he be proud about me?" Sarah's hands gripped tighter as she lowered her head.
She was genuinely happy for Varian. But there was also envy. Not towards his strength or achievements or secrets.
But for the acknowledgement he gained from her father.
Why can't it be her?
Earlier, it was Charles. Now it's Varian.
Forget Charles, but she couldn't completely blame Varian.
Still, she felt a grudge.
Thinking of the strength he showed in the duels before she left, she puffed her cheeks and muttered.
"Varian, I thought you were weak and went easy on you. But from now, hmph!"
Under the starlight, her lips curled into a smile as her eyes glittered brighter than any star.
Even though she was feeling terrible, her mood was somehow lifted.
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