My mind wouldn't stop spinning. No matter how hard I tried to focus, it kept jumping to conclusions, piecing together every little interaction between Sarah and North. And every time, it kept circling back to the same insane idea, Sarah might actually like North.
I shook my head to push the thought away and turned to look at North.
Large brown eyes. Soft, cute features. And that kind smile that always made something in my chest flutter.
Yeah.....maybe the idea wasn't that crazy after all.
I took a deep breath, forced a smile onto my face, and walked over to her.
"Hi there."
She adjusted her uniform slightly, brushing some dust off her shoulder, then smiled up at me.
"Hello to you too."
"How've you been?" I asked.
"Good," she said with a nod. "Just trying to get stronger."
I nodded back.
"You're doing great. Also… you promised me a meal when I got back. Don't think I forgot."
Her eyes widened a little in surprise.
"Umm… yeah, sure! I remember. I know you don't really care what we eat, but still, any preference?"
I shrugged. "Whatever you want me to eat."
She laughed softly. "I knew you'd say that."
Then she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Also, why are your dramatic entrances always shirtless?"
I gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of my head.
"I swear it's not on purpose."
She smirked and said with mock seriousness.
"Yeah, totally believe you."
I chuckled and looked away for a second, letting my eyes scan the battlefield. Only a few low-level crawlers remained, scattered and half-heartedly attacking.
When I looked back at North, I caught her staring at my chest. I followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the tattoo.
She must've noticed me noticing, because she spoke up.
"When did you get time to upgrade your tattoo?"
I blinked, not expecting the question. My thoughts flashed back to the moment the Null Heart changed it. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just went with the first thing that popped into my head.
"Just before coming here."
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.
"And you decided to draw a circle around the gears? Also, who gets tattoos of gears?"
I shrugged again, trying to play it cool.
"What can I say? I like gears. Two Gear, Three Gear... and Gear Five is my favorite."
She laughed.
"You're so weird."
I gave a playful bow.
"I'll take that as a compliment, my lady."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone heading toward us. I turned my head and saw it was Logan.
A grin spread across my face as I raised a hand and waved. "Hey!"
North followed my gaze. When she realized who it was, she stepped up beside me, standing a little straighter.
Logan reached us in a few seconds, looking like he was in a pretty good mood. I spoke first.
"Logan! How've you been, man?"
He gave a light laugh. "Doing alright. But compared to you? I'm nothing."
I chuckled at that, shaking my head.
He gestured to the two people standing behind him.
"Let me introduce you, this is Dio, and this is Luke. They didn't believe I was actually friends with the Billion Ironhart."
I tilted my head, confused.
"Why wouldn't they believe that?"
Logan shook his head dramatically.
"Brother, you're a celebrity now. These guys thought I was too average to be friends with someone like you. So I figured I'd drag them over and flex a little."
I laughed and shook both Dio and Luke's hands. They seemed friendly.
Luke raised his hands like he was defending himself.
"He's exaggerating. We just said you two didn't seem like close friends."
Logan gave a proud smirk and clapped Luke on the back.
"Still counts."
We all laughed and started chatting.
Logan told me about the training their unit had been going through, lots of drills, long hours, and not much sleep. Apparently, they'd just wrapped up a field test before the alarm sounded and the raid began.
The last few crawlers were getting taken care of, and the battlefield was finally calming down.
People started forming little groups, talking, joking, catching up with each other. There was a strange energy in the air, like a big release of tension. Relief, maybe. Excitement. Even joy.
But as I looked around at the smiling faces, something weighed down in my chest.
They didn't know.
They had no idea what happened to Unit 77.
My smile faded, and the noise around me felt like it was coming from far away. The burned bodies. The empty expressions. The silence. It all came rushing back.
North nudged me gently with her elbow. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice soft. "You look... off."
I looked at her and paused, wondering if I should tell her. But then I decided against it. Everyone would find out soon enough, once we returned to base.
I forced a smile onto my face. "It's nothing. Just remembered something."
She didn't look convinced. Her gaze lingered on me for a second longer before she nodded slowly.
"Alright," she said quietly. "But if it's something bad… you can tell me. Okay?"
"Yeah," I said. "Thanks."
Steve made his way back to us, and a few seconds later, Sarah did too. She walked over and stood right next to North.
I leaned in slightly and whispered to North, "I thought you two didn't really get along?"
She glanced at me and replied, "It's not like that. She just... always challenges me. We're kind of rivals, I guess. But we get along okay."
I nodded slowly, then muttered, "Still, I think you should keep some distance. She's kind of violent, you know? Not sure she's the best influence on you."
North let out a quiet laugh. "Why are you suddenly acting like my mom?"
Before I could say anything else, Sarah's voice cut in.
"I can hear you, Billion. What do you mean I'm violent?"
I raised both hands in surrender and avoided her gaze.
"I didn't say anything."
She narrowed her eyes, but I kept my mouth shut. Some battles just weren't worth fighting.
We waited for Arkas or June to arrive now that the battle was over.
I figured I might as well check my notifications.
[Level Up!]
[Level 43 → Level 44]
I frowned. After all that, only one level? Felt a little underwhelming.
A few more minutes passed before Arkas appeared out of nowhere, his sudden presence pulling everyone's attention. The chatter stopped immediately, and we all stood a little straighter.
Arkas looked around at us and then spoke, his voice calm but heavy.
"I have bad news to share," he said. "Yesterday, Unit 77 was ambushed by a group of Abominations, led by a Phantom. The entire staff, including the unit commander, and ninety-three probationary soldiers… were killed."
Gasps and stunned cries echoed all around me.
Steve turned to look at me, but I didn't move. I just kept my eyes on Arkas.
His gaze swept across the crowd, then locked onto mine as he continued.
"The Empire mourns their loss. Every single one of them. But for those of us still standing, this is more than just a tragedy, it's a reminder. A brutal one. That our lives… are fragile. That death doesn't care how strong we are or how hard we've worked."
He paused, just long enough for the gravity of his words to sink in.
"Commander Bruno Harold of Unit 77 was a newly promoted Grandmaster. A man of strength, wisdom, and conviction. He believed in peace, and he spent his entire life working toward it. But in a single instant, all of it, his power, his dreams, his legacy—was erased."
He let that hang in the air before finishing.
"So you have a choice. You can wait for your turn to die… or you can fight, train, and grow until you're strong enough to shatter the cage we've all been born into. Choose wisely."