[Tournament Day, Continued - From Aetron's Perspective]
That strange pain and confusion in my mind descended like a fog over the rest of the tournament. Null's voice had fallen silent; like me, she was trying to understand why the presence of that red-haired princess created such an anomaly in her internal systems. This feeling... this pain... Where did it come from? This girl wasn't in Epsilon's memories. She wasn't in Aetron's memories either. Then whose pain was this? Mine? Who was I anyway? Epsilon? It was too late now to say "I am Epsilon." I had taken the life of that child who died in the forest. This family, this body... I was Aetron now. Aetron is living with Epsilon's memories.
When my turn came again, a confident, calm youth stood before me. The gold and blue symbols of House Luminis were embroidered on him.
"I congratulate you on reaching Resonance level," the youth said, bowing graciously. "I am Elara, from House Luminis."
I returned the respect equally. "Thank you for your courtesy."
"I watched your... performance earlier," Elara continued, but this time the courtesy in his voice was gone, replaced by sharp sarcasm. "It was quite impressive. But tell me, can you also fight with a real sword, or do you only know circus tricks?"
"On the contrary, he knows very different things," Null's voice corrected, reappearing in my mind. Her voice was ice-cold. "But he has valid points. Honor is a vital concept for these people. For your family, for Clan Selenae... you must show them you're a real warrior."
I took a deep breath. "Love, it's time to use that surprise I prepared for you."
"What surprise?"
"Control permission, granted."
When she grasped the meaning of these words, there was surprise in Null's tone: "You... you're allowing me to control your body?"
"This fight is yours, love. Show them what we can do."
My body relaxed momentarily. My eyes closed, then when they reopened my gaze was completely different. Cold, analytical, deadly.
Null took the steel sword the arena official extended. She weighed the weapon in her hand, turned it a few times to test its weight. Then she turned to Elara.
"I," she said, with my voice but the tone entirely Null's, "will defeat you in just three moves."
Elara's face contorted with anger. "Arrogant brat!" he shouted, attacking.
First move: As Elara's sword descended toward my neck, Null pulled aside with millimeter precision. At the same moment, she struck her own sword at the weakest point of the enemy weapon. Crack! A thin crack appeared on Elara's sword.
Second move: Elara, with shock and anger, launched his second attack. Null escaped with a perfect backward flip. In that critical moment when Elara lost his balance, Null struck his wrist with the flat of her sword. "AHHH!" With Elara's cry of pain, his sword flew from his hand.
Third move: Null caught the hilt of the spinning sword in the air and appeared behind Elara in an instant. With the pommel of the sword in her left hand, she delivered a precise blow to the back of Elara's neck. Elara collapsed silently to the ground.
The arena was plunged into absolute silence. In the stands where the Luminis tribe sat was a silence full of shock and shame. Null calmly placed both swords on the ground and returned control to me.
"Next!" I shouted, turning to the crowd. "These one-on-one fights have gotten too boring. I choose Ancestor Aerna's method!"
These words created shock waves in the stands. This meant fighting multiple opponents at once. Niyara's face turned pale white with worry. "Kadros, this is madness!"
"I believe in my son," Kadros said, but the tension in his voice was palpable.
The last four young warriors remaining in the arena—one from Selenae, the other three from different clans—stepped forward in amazement.
Thera had jumped up, clenching her tiny fists: "Brother! Show them! You're the strongest!"
"Watch your brother, little warrior," I said, winking confidently at Thera.
All four attacked from different directions at once. I closed my eyes. "Null, now!"
Edgium energy radiated from my body like a powerful wave. The four warriors' swords froze in the air before reaching their targets. My Resonance power held the weapons suspended. This move had drawn a significant portion of my energy. I felt a slight ringing in my mind.
"Your energy level has dropped to 73%, Aetron," Null warned. "Mental fatigue is beginning. Finish this."
First, I focused on the Valerius warrior closest to me. He was attacking relying on brute force. While holding his sword in the air, I softened the ground beneath his foot and dropped him to the ground. The second opponent, from House Luminis, was approaching more tactically. While his sword hung in the air, he drew a dagger. With Null's analysis, I anticipated his move and mentally hurled one of the other swords toward him. He was forced to drop his dagger. I turned to the child from my own clan, lightly touching his stomach with the reverse of my sword.
But just then, the fourth and most experienced warrior I'd forgotten grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it in my face, abandoning his sword.
"Stay calm," Null's voice said coolly. "Even with your eyes closed, trust my analysis."
I began moving entirely according to Null's guidance in my mind. As the opponent lunged at me for the final blow, Null whispered: "Now, the ground beneath his foot." I focused my Resonance power on the soil under my opponent's foot. The ground became slippery. The warrior who lost his balance fell right in front of me. I pressed the tip of my sword to his throat. "Surrender." The warrior nodded.
I was breathless. My mind was ringing. The arena held its breath for a moment. Then it exploded with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Drunk with victory, my eyes searched for my family. They locked on Kadros and a single word echoed in my mind: Father. Though Epsilon's soul objected, Aetron's heart whispered the truth: He was my father now too. I had to earn his pride. When I looked at Thera, I made a vow within myself: "I'll make you proud of your brother, little warrior." This was an acceptance.
Right then, my path was cut off by a graceful figure. Princess Eirlys.
"Congratulations," she said, her voice soft as silk but confident. "I am Princess Eirlys. It's a great honor to meet you."
"Well, well, well," Null's voice said in my mind in a flat, sarcastic tone. "How... modest a princess. Very impressive, really."
Ignoring her jealousy-mixed discomfort, I said, "I'm... very pleased to meet you too, Princess."
Eirlys smiled and took another step closer. "Your performance was incredible. I've never seen anyone as intelligent and talented as you before."
I was embarrassed by this sincere praise. I turned to Null in my mind with a triumphant air: "See, Null? This kind girl understands how intelligent I am!"
"Aetron," Null's voice said in a patient tone, "she's just being polite—"
"No no, she's really impressed! Look how her eyes are shining! You always say 'clumsy' but actually I'm very talented!"
Null's voice suddenly cracked: "'Quite good'? Without me you would have been humiliated in that sword fight! And you have the nerve to say 'I'm very talented'!"
Eirlys's voice rose again: "If you'd like, tomorrow my father and I could visit your clan."
"Of course, Princess," I said aloud, bowing slightly. "It would be a great honor for us to host you."
The princess responded with a graceful smile and had just begun to turn away when I whispered to Null in my mind with that moment's victory intoxication: "You're jealous, aren't you, love?"
"JEALOUS?" Null's voice exploded. "I'm a logical being! I'm just calculating the strategic risks of this sudden closeness—"
Before she could finish her sentence, her mental anger struck my nervous system like a sudden voltage. My body contracted involuntarily. Like a puppet trying to maintain balance, I stepped forward outside my control. I reached out my hand to stop myself and my fingers hung suspended in the air, millimeters from touching the shoulder of Princess Eirlys, who was turning at that moment.
The air froze. The princess turned to me in shock.
"I... I'm sorry!" I stammered, feeling blood rush to my face. I pulled my hand back as if burned. "I'm so sorry, Princess. I... just... a momentary dizziness. From exhaustion, I think."
Eirlys looked at me in shock for a moment. In her emerald green eyes was a curiosity trying to understand what had happened. As if in that moment she'd seen that I wasn't just tired, that my mind was elsewhere, in the middle of another battle. Then that curious expression on her face transformed into soft understanding. "Of course you're tired. After such intense fights, it's normal. We'll see each other tomorrow when you're rested."
When the princess moved away, I turned to Null in my mind. "Why did you do that, Null? I almost fell on a princess!"
"I just..." Null's voice came with a softer, almost choked tone I'd never heard before in my mind. "I just... in that moment... felt like I was going to lose my place in your heart."
This confession instantly swept away all the sarcasm and victory intoxication inside me. That pure, fragile feeling seeping from behind her logic walls... gripped my heart.
"I could never forget your place in me, love," I thought, taking care that my voice in my mind came out as warm and clear as possible. "You're my only constant point. That will never change."
A moment of silence. Then I heard a whisper coming from the deepest parts of my mind, as innocent and defenseless as a child's question: "Really?"
This question was more important than all the victories in the arena. This was a test of her trust in me.
"Really," I said, without the slightest hesitation in my voice. Then, to disperse that heavy air between us, I added a touch of playfulness. "But if you try to throw me at a princess again with a mental crisis, I might reconsider this decision."
The wave of shame coming from Null's mind was so intense that I almost felt it physically. "Agreed... And... I'm sorry. For what happened."
A strange warmth formed inside me. Null apologizing felt like a greater victory than winning the tournament. I smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter. I think... we're both still learning."
Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting and probably very strange day.