Chapter 95: Awakened Tournament Crisis

Eden’s expression became serious.

’The deepest depths of the Abyss.’

That was where Mendax had said he would be waiting.

Eden still didn’t understand what that meant.

He didn’t even know whether Mendax had been telling the truth.

But if there was even a chance...

He needed to go.

There was only one problem.

The Abyss wasn’t like a normal Gate.

It was an entire dimension of its own.

Every major country’s Awakened Association had a Warp Gate leading directly into it.

But the minimum requirement for entering was A-Rank.

Normally, that would have been a problem.

Now it wasn’t.

Eden was A-Rank.

But that was merely the requirement for entry.

Humanity had established safe camps inside the Abyss.

Areas that had been secured.

Mapped.

Studied.

Monitored.

Beyond those areas?

Everything changed.

To genuinely explore the Abyss, an Awakened needed to be at least A+.

Preferably S-Rank.

Even then, death was a constant possibility.

And there was one final problem.

Time.

Eden leaned back.

The Abyss didn’t share Earth’s flow of time.

One full day inside the Abyss was equivalent to nearly two weeks in the real world.

That meant even a short expedition could become an enormous amount of time for Mihui.

If he disappeared for several days...

She’d spend months worrying.

After everything that had happened, he couldn’t do that to her.

Eden sighed.

"...Later."

He looked toward the dark window.

"I’ll go later."

He needed more strength.

More preparation.

And, perhaps most importantly, he needed Mihui to stop looking at him like he was one bad decision away from dying.

---

Far away from Eden’s quiet apartment, deep beneath the city, another kind of preparation was underway.

A heavy metal door opened.

Null stepped into a dark chamber.

The air was cold.

The walls were barely visible beneath the weak green light of several Essence lamps.

And everywhere...

There were chains.

Hundreds of them.

People were shackled to the walls.

Civilians.

Men.

Women.

Some were unconscious.

Others were awake, trembling silently.

None were allowed to speak.

At the center of the chamber stood an old man.

Aphelios.

The Mad Summoner.

His frail body looked almost pathetic compared to the sheer amount of power hidden within him.

His pale skin hung loosely over his bones.

His gray hair was disheveled.

And his completely black eyes stared into nothing.

Null approached him.

"Tomorrow is the big day."

Aphelios slowly turned.

Null looked around the chamber.

"Do you have enough sacrifices?"

Aphelios smiled.

"Of course."

His gaze drifted toward the chained civilians.

"There are plenty."

He sighed.

"It’s almost a waste."

Null raised an eyebrow.

"A waste?"

Aphelios shrugged.

"All of this..."

He gestured toward the sacrifices.

"...for him."

Null smiled.

"Don’t think of tomorrow as an event for him."

Aphelios looked at him.

"Think of it as a blow to the Association."

A strange smile appeared across Null’s face.

"They’ve grown far too complacent."

He turned toward the exit.

"Tomorrow, we’ll remind them how fragile their shared comfort really is."

Aphelios chuckled.

The sound echoed through the chamber.

---

The following morning, the associations stadium looked completely different.

The massive structure that had hosted the first two rounds had been transformed into a full-scale arena.

Thousands upon thousands of seats surrounded the battlefield.

And nearly every one of them was filled.

Guild representatives.

Professional Awakeneds.

Association officials.

Reporters.

Fans.

Families.

People who had simply come to witness the newest generation of powerful Awakeneds.

The atmosphere was deafening.

Everywhere Eden looked, enormous screens displayed the remaining participants.

The national broadcast had already begun.

The announcer’s voice thundered throughout the stadium.

"Welcome, everyone, to the third and final round of the Awakened Association’s annual tryouts!"

The crowd erupted.

Eden stood backstage.

He looked toward the enormous arena.

’So this is the final round.’

For the first time, he could feel the scale of the event.

This wasn’t just an Association examination anymore.

This was a spectacle.

A stage.

And everyone was watching.

The announcer continued explaining the rules.

One-on-one duels.

Single elimination.

Top eight participants.

No outside interference.

Victory through surrender, incapacitation, or inability to continue.

And, unlike the previous rounds...

Millions of people were watching.

Eden smiled faintly.

’This should be interesting.’

He turned around.

Then spotted Lucy.

She stood near the entrance to the battlefield, stretching her arms.

Her brown hair was tied back.

Her bright blue eyes were focused.

And despite the enormous crowd outside, she looked completely calm.

Eden walked toward her.

Lucy noticed him.

Her expression immediately brightened.

"Eden."

"How’s B-Rank treating you?"

She smiled.

"Pretty well."

"Good."

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Hey."

Eden laughed.

"I’m joking."

She crossed her arms.

"You’ve gotten pretty cheeky lately."

"I’ve always been that way."

"That’s true."

They stood quietly for a moment.

Then Eden’s expression became more serious.

"There is something I wanted to tell you."

Lucy looked at him.

"If we meet later..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I’m not holding back against you."

Lucy blinked.

Eden continued.

"If we end up facing each other, I’m going all out."

He smiled.

’If I hold back against her, I’ll ruin her progress.’

For a second, Lucy simply stared.

Suddenly, her lips curled upward.

A cocky smile.

"Good."

Eden raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"I was planning on beating you anyway."

Eden couldn’t help but to feel proud of her.

"Oh, you’re confident."

"I’ve been training."

"I can tell."

Lucy stepped closer, her face mere inches from his.

"And Eden?"

"Yeah?"

"I’m not going easy on you either."

The announcer’s voice suddenly thundered through the stadium.

"AND NOW!"

The crowd exploded.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

Eden and Lucy looked toward the arena.

"That’s my cue." Lucy stretched her arms one last time.

"OUR FIRST MATCH OF THE THIRD ROUND!"

The massive doors opened.

"Good luck, Lucy."

A roar erupted from the stands.

"LUVIAN!"

A young man with dark red hair stepped onto the battlefield.

Flames began flickering around his body.

Across from him, Lucy walked into the arena.

Pink Essence slowly gathered around her fists.

The announcer’s voice shook the stadium.

"VERSUS!"

"THE B-RANK RISING STAR—"

"LUCY!"

The two combatants stopped several dozen meters apart.

Luvian’s eyes narrowed.

Lucy raised her fists.

The crowd went wild.

Eden watched from backstage.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’Let’s see how much you’ve both grown.’