Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The Awakening of the Stallion.
Noah remained silent and the goddess did not speak again, but the images of Yume remained present in his mind.
The goddess’s question returned to his mind.
"Are you trying to save the relationship between Yume and Luna... or are you trying to prevent someone from loving you because you’re afraid of getting hurt again?"
Noah lowered his head.
All this time he had repeated the same idea.
’All of this is to save the story.’
’All of this is so Luna and Yume can end up together.’
’All of this is to avoid the worst ending.’
It was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. There was another reason, one he had never wanted to admit.
If Yume fell in love with Luna, he would never have to respond to her feelings, never have to trust anyone again, never go through the same thing.
He didn’t want to hear words like those again.
"I can’t wait for all of this to be over."
He didn’t want to feel used again, or wonder if someone truly wanted him. It was easier to convince himself that everything was for the sake of the story, because then he never had to look inside himself.
The goddess continued watching him.
"Noah."
He slowly raised his gaze.
"You don’t have to answer me."
The goddess smiled.
"You’ve already found the answer."
Silence returned, but this time it was different. It no longer felt uncomfortable; it was simply a moment of calm.
Then something happened.
A light appeared around Noah. At first it was small, then it began to expand.
Noah looked down and saw that his body was glowing.
"What’s happening?"
He asked.
The goddess observed the light.
"It seems one of the abilities you obtained by strengthening your bonds has just activated."
The light grew stronger.
"An ability?"
"Yes."
Noah felt warmth spread throughout his body. It wasn’t pain, it was the complete opposite.
The sensation was pleasant, as if something were being rebuilt.
The goddess closed her eyes for a few seconds.
"Automatic healing."
Noah blinked.
"What?"
"That ability had remained inactive."
The goddess looked at him again.
"It needed a condition to activate."
"Which was?"
"That you stopped rejecting your own bonds..."
And she added.
"That said, it will heal you as long as your body isn’t completely torn apart..."
Noah remained motionless as the light grew once more and then everything disappeared.
The goddess took a step back.
"It’s time."
Noah felt the ground vanish beneath him and his consciousness began to drift away.
The goddess’s voice was the last thing he heard.
"Go, my dear stallion."
Noah opened his eyes abruptly.
"Agh!"
He breathed hard. His body was still in the same place where he had fallen. The sky was still covered in smoke and the smell of dust hung in the air.
For a few seconds he remained still, but then he remembered the battle and Yume.
He got up immediately.
He looked at his chest. His clothes were still torn and there was dried blood, but the wound had disappeared. There was absolutely nothing left.
"I have to get to Yume."
He didn’t waste time wondering how. It didn’t matter. He simply stood up.
His legs trembled for a moment, but then he began to run as fast as he could.
The streets were destroyed. There were overturned vehicles, broken glass, rubble, people being evacuated, and several emergency workers running in different directions.
One of them saw Noah.
"Hey!"
Noah didn’t answer and kept running.
Another rescuer tried to stop him.
"You can’t go through here!"
Noah dodged the man and continued forward.
’Yume.’
That was all he could think about. Nothing else.
Turning a corner, he found a collapsed building. He jumped over the debris and kept running.
His breathing began to speed up, but he didn’t slow down. As he advanced, he heard an explosion that made the ground shake again.
Noah looked up. A huge column of dark energy could be seen even from that distance.
’There.’
He accelerated even more and ran for several minutes while the energy continued to grow.
Noah clenched his teeth.
’Please.’
Finally he arrived. He stopped and stood completely still.
In front of him, the city was devastated beside the dark energy that continued to spread, and at the center of it all was Yume.
’It can’t be...’
She barely looked like Yume anymore. Her body was surrounded by a massive amount of darkness, her outfit had completely changed, and the energy poured out uncontrollably.
Her face could barely be distinguished amid all that darkness.
She remained motionless, head tilted as if she were no longer aware of what was happening.
Several meters away, Luna kept trying to get closer, but every time she did, the barrier repelled her and she fell to the ground again.
She was already breathing with difficulty and her transformation was beginning to destabilize from exhaustion, but she still stood up once more.
"Yume!"
She shouted again, but received no response, so she prepared another attack.
She fired and the energy collided with the barrier without producing any effect.
Luna slowly lowered the spheres of energy. For the first time, she seemed to have no idea what to do.
Then she heard footsteps. She turned immediately and her eyes opened wide.
"Noah...?"
Noah was still breathing hard from the run, but he was alive.
Luna looked at him as if she were seeing a ghost.
"You..."
She didn’t finish the sentence.
Noah said nothing. He only looked at Yume.
His expression changed, because there were no more doubts, no more excuses, just a decision. He took a step forward.
The darkness continued to grow and Yume remained completely out of control.
Noah clenched his fists and kept walking toward her.
The real confrontation had just begun.
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