Utopian System

The Artromus's absence in the sky finally allowed what Elio had been waiting for.

Without wasting time, he ran toward the wind deposit, his heart beating with fear of what he would find there.

Upon arrival, creating and sealing an opening in the tunnel was a matter of seconds. The cores glowed around him while he emerged to the exterior, each one absorbed in his upward path toward the crater.

The winged salamander responded to his will, propelling him upward with precision. Without the Locus that previously plagued the area, the ascent was surprisingly easy.

But nothing had prepared him for what he found upon descending into the chamber.

Micah lay where he had fallen, his body motionless like a silent accusation. The absence of his head and book was like a second death, a final insult from the Artromus.

Elio knelt beside his friend's body, his fists clenched until his nails dug into his palms. The decision he had made when facing the Artromus crystallized into something deeper, more relentless: each of these monsters would pay for this.

They would pay for existing.

The flames of the new sacred fire ritual enveloped Micah's body. It was all he could offer him now: a dignified end, a final respect. The armor and weapons, at least, could return to his family.

'The book must be out there,' he thought while the flames consumed his friend's remains. 'That bastard probably threw it away so the cores wouldn't obstruct him when leaving.'

It didn't matter. Although he couldn't recover the original book today, he would someday... Besides, he would ensure Micah's family received a ton of cores and mana. It was the least he could do to honor his memory.

When only ashes remained, Elio carefully collected the armor and weapons.

His gaze turned toward the waiting statue, but his thoughts were on the silent promise he had just made: No Artromus would survive their encounter with him.

♢♢♢♢

The statue came alive under his touch, displaying its exchange options.

Elio studied the menu carefully, hoping to find something extraordinary in this special place, but the options were surprisingly familiar. Everything available in the city's common statues was here too, with a single difference:

Wind Emblem - 100,000 mana points.

His eyes stopped on his current balance: 100 points. The same his mother had given him... or were they different? He couldn't be sure, but seeing that number caused a pang of nostalgia, reminding him of that day that seemed so distant now.

He couldn't buy more right now but...

'At least we know where to get more emblems,' he thought while moving away from the statue. The information was valuable, but would have to wait.

Two more urgent challenges awaited him: facing Zara's wrath and if he survived that, the Earth deposit.

A small bitter smile formed on his lips as he began his descent. The order of those challenges probably wasn't casual; an angry Zara could be more dangerous than any Artromus.

Elio entered the tunnel again and then ran to the earth deposit. He was so fast that he had time to arrive a bit before Zara's group emerged.

♢♢♢♢

Zara's group's exit brought with it the counter reset: 24 more hours with the emblems.

The girls' group practically vibrated with energy, their statistics almost at maximum would recover completely in a matter of minutes.

Elio's team was also at their optimal point, but he... The battle against the Artromus had drained almost all his mana and resistance. It would take him some hours to recover completely.

Zara's eyes scanned the area, searching for Elio.

She found him standing near the tunnel entrance, and for a moment, her entire body tensed ready to unleash the fury she had been accumulating.

'Perfect,' thought Zara, her emotions mixing between rage and concern.

The words burned in her throat, ready to release them all: about selfishness, about acting alone, about...

But then she saw what he was carrying.

The armor shone with that characteristic system glow, immaculate as the day Micah had received it. The weapons, perfectly preserved, seemed to wait for the return of an owner who would never come back.

They belonged to Micah.

The tears began to flow before she could try to stop them. All the prepared fury evaporated, replaced by a raw and renewed pain. Her suspicions about Elio's true motives were confirmed in the most painful way possible.

There were no reproaches. No words.

Zara simply approached and hugged him, her arms surrounding him and the armor, as if trying to embrace the memory of their lost friend as well.

The tears fell silently while they shared this moment of pain and mutual understanding.

But this time was different.

This time there was a change in Elio, the way he stood straight even while carrying the weight of these relics. His eyes, though sad, no longer showed that storm of unprocessed emotions.

He had accepted the pain, had transformed it into something more.

♢♢♢♢

When the tears finally began to subside, something else started growing inside Zara.

The concern and pain gave way to a fury she had been containing.
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"You're a complete idiot," her voice started soft, almost a whisper. "How could you?"

Her hands separated from the armor, her fists clenching. "All this time... all this time telling me not to do anything stupid, not to seek revenge alone..."

Zara's voice began to rise, rage filtering into every word. "And what do you do? You sneak away like a coward! You leave us behind! As if we didn't also have the right to..."

"Do you have any idea how I felt when I realized?" Her eyes, still wet, now shone with fury. "When I understood that while you played the responsible leader with me, you were planning your little suicide mission?"

The words now came out like an unstoppable torrent while her hands gestured violently. "Wasn't losing Micah enough?! Did you need us to worry about you too?!"

"Do you have any idea how I felt?" Her voice broke slightly, but the rage only grew. "If that monster had...! If you had...!" She couldn't even complete the phrase, fear and fury mixing in her throat.

"What were we supposed to do then?! Collect your body too?! Another armor to take to another family?!"

Tears threatened to return, but this time they were of rage.

"We were supposed to be a team! To be in this together! But you decided your pain was more important than ours! That your revenge was worth more than our concern!"

The others watched the scene in silence.

Lila especially understood every word, every gesture of Zara's fury. Her own tears fell silently as she nodded at the accusations, the memory of the fear she felt upon realizing Elio's intentions still fresh in her mind.

"And you're not even defending yourself!" Zara's hands closed into fists against Elio's chest, hitting in frustration. "Say something! Justify yourself! Anything!"

But Elio remained silent, accepting each hit, each push.

He felt he deserved them, that it was the minimum he could pay for the fear and anguish he had caused them. But even that was denied to him; the system, with cruel irony, made the difference between his defense and Zara's attack turn each blow into something insignificant.

Zara's frustration grew upon noticing she couldn't even cause him physical pain. Her slaps, which should leave marks, barely moved his face.

When it seemed Zara was completely losing control, Elio finally spoke:

"We still have a mission," his voice was soft but firm. "There's another artromus waiting in the next deposit."

And then, as if deliberately wanting to provoke her anger more, he added: "And I would prefer to face it alone."

The silence that followed was deafening. The disbelief on everyone's faces slowly transformed into something more dangerous as Elio's words sank into Zara's consciousness.

"I know," Elio admitted as protests multiplied. "I know it's selfish to ask this of you."

"It's more than selfish!" Zara's voice trembled with indignation. "It's stupid! It's..."

It wasn't just her anymore. The others' voices joined in, a cascade of arguments about teamwork, about not repeating mistakes, about being in this together.

Then Elio saw it: the subtle glow of electricity beginning to form around Zara's hand. That would pierce his defense, that would hurt…

In a fluid movement, Elio closed the distance between them, enveloping Zara in an embrace that took her by surprise.

"Don't think that with this you're going to...!" she began, electricity still crackling at her fingers.

Elio silenced her in the only way that occurred to him: leaning forward, he pressed his lips against hers.