Chapter 281 Volume IV - Epilogue
The day I came back to the Academy... I expected to see Aiden here.
I had spent almost three months in Neutral, so I figured he'd be back before me. That's why I was surprised when I couldn't find him anywhere, but... I didn't think much of it.
His work must have been prolonged. What else could it have been? He was smart, but he was also strong. I had yet to see him not get what he wanted.
So, I decided to wait for him. Then, shortly after I entered the academy, rector Melany called me to her office.
She asked, of course, what I was doing, how much I had improved... And when she received her answer, her mouth was agape. She asked countless questions, but my answers to most of them were cursory since I could not reveal Lithoa's existence. When she finally realized that she wasn't going to get a straight answer from me, she gave up and... I was released.
I first met with my study group.
Julian was welcoming my return with excitement. Lucia and Sue were their usual selves, happy to be my friends in the same group, even if they didn't talk to me much.
Alice... her expression didn't change when she saw me. In fact, she ignored me as if she was annoyed. I didn't expect her to still be like that after the James thing, but I didn't say anything.
Celine was the only one missing from our group besides Aiden. Still, no one questioned her presence. After all, everyone knew where she was.
Besides the study group, I also met with my spear instructor.
Her mouth hung open, just like Rector Melany's, when she saw how strong I had become despite my age.
Then, like that… the days went by. Then weeks... weeks without Aiden returning. Still, I kept waiting, trusting him.
As word slowly spread among the students about how powerful I had become... I learned that I had become one of the new legends of the academy. Being the subject of rumors, being talked about, and the stares I received... uncomfortable at first, but I got used to them.
After all, I had been receiving much harsher stares over the years.
So, a month after I returned to the academy... I woke up in the morning and what I saw made me freeze in my tracks.
The news said that the war on the Holar continent was over. The North Holar had won the war, the South Holar had been defeated and the continent was now one united country.
But that was not the important thing. As the latest images from the war leaked out, as the last information became available to the world... it was not the war, but something else that made the news.
A student who took part in the dwarves' war, and even helped bring it to an end. A young man, not yet twenty, with black hair and gray eyes: Aiden Tenebra.
I couldn't help grinning as his achievements were listed one by one on the screen. I knew he would come back with something big this time, but I didn't think he would make himself famous all over the world. I was happy and my desire to become stronger increased exponentially, as I saw myself as his friend and at the same time his rival.
But as the news continued to tell the story, a sacrifice was revealed to the world. The news that Aiden was in a coma suddenly swept the media.
It was criticized as to how the North Holar could bring someone not even twenty years old into the war as a soldier. It was wondered how someone so young, studying at the CDA academy was able to step into the Holar continent. How this person achieved these successes was another question altogether.
But... none of that mattered to me.
"Aiden... in a coma...?"
In the first seconds I saw the news, the mere thought of it made no sense to me. Aiden couldn't fail, he was someone who always got what he wanted. He always gave me that vibe.
And now... there was no chance of him waking up, he was bedridden, and in a coma...?
I didn't believe it.
I clenched my fist so hard that blood was dripping from my palms. It was Lithoa who calmed me down as my emotions became harder to control with each passing second.
Hours passed, and the news of Aiden's actions continued to spread. The information that he was in a coma was confirmed. The whole world was awash with his name.
"Aiden Tenebra, nineteen years old, a citizen of the Cevilian Kingdom, and a CDA student..."
"The Hero of the Holar has been declared comatose!"
"How did a nineteen-year-old find himself a soldier on the Holar continent?"
"Aiden Tenebra's experiences, his story..."
I finally turned off the news, took a deep breath, and leaned back. I closed my eyes, letting myself go into the silence and darkness for a moment.
I opened my eyes again and just stared at the white ceiling.
I hadn't imagined it like this... that something like this could happen... it had never even crossed my mind.
When I came back after getting stronger in the Neutral, I thought that Aiden and I would enter that tournament that was postponed all the time and that we would meet in the finals.
When he saw how much stronger I had gotten, he would be stunned, he would just freeze...
No... this wasn't it. It wasn't supposed to be like this...
I squinted, clenched my fist even more. I was silent for a while longer, thinking nothing.
Finally... I spoke in a low voice. I called out to the person who I knew had the answer to everything, who had always and forever helped me.
"Lithoa... is there any way to heal him?"
I was aware of how advanced the technology of the dwarves was. There was a good chance they could have healed Aiden. But if they could do that... Why didn't they give a proper response to the information that he was in a coma in the first place?
It was bothering me. It was like... it was like they weren't sure if he was going to wake up. That's exactly why I wanted to try my own luck.
Lithoa remained silent as if he had not heard my question. I knew he was thinking, so I didn't say anything, I just waited.
My answer came a few seconds later.
'There is.'
--Volume IV: War of the Dwarves--
--The End--
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