Chapter 528: Safety.
Chapter 528: Safety.
Moon noticed Selene’s flustered reaction. He sighed internally and clarified quickly.
"I mean the tournament. It’s going to be more demanding than yesterday. And there’s still a hostile organization out there. The dark organization. They’ve been quiet for too long. Word is going around that they might use the second stage as an opportunity to strike."
Selene’s flush dropped almost immediately, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Are you saying you think they’ll attack today?"
"I’m saying it’s possible. The bracket is concentrated with the kingdom’s strongest young Evolvers, all in one place. The cameras are rolling, the audience is massive. If they wanted maximum impact, today would be the day they’d pick."
"I’m not asking you to back out. I know you wouldn’t anyway. But I need you to stay alert. Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, don’t second-guess it. Move first, think later."
Selene nodded slowly. She had grown up around her brother. She knew exactly what it looked like when someone was speaking from real intelligence rather than vague speculation.
"You’ve heard something."
Moon didn’t confirm or deny. He simply held her gaze.
Seeing his reaction, Selene didn’t push him.
"Thank you for letting me know, I’ll be careful... I promise."
Moon nodded. "Good."
A small momentary silence stretched between them.
Then Selene tilted her head slightly, a faint smile returning to her lips.
"You sounded very serious just now."
"I am very serious."
"I noticed." Selene reached across the table and rested her fingers lightly on the back of his hand. "Don’t worry about me too much. I can hold my own. And I trust you to do the same."
Moon’s expression softened.
"I’ll be fine."
From the kitchen, the unmistakable sound of a dish being washed very, very slowly drifted out, accompanied by the equally unmistakable silence of someone trying to listen in without being heard.
Both of them noticed at the same time.
Selene’s lips twitched.
"Yara..."
A clatter sounded from the kitchen as a plate was suddenly washed with much more enthusiasm.
"I’m doing dishes! Mind your own business!"
Moon and Selene both broke into light laughter.
Then they spent the next thirty minutes just relaxing and hanging out together. During that time, Yara emerged from the kitchen, the dishes finally finished, and joined them at the table. The three of them talked about small things. Speculation about what kind of format the second stage might take.
Then Moon glanced at the time on his phone and set the device in his pocket.
"We should head out. It’s good to arrive early. Scout the place before things start."
Selene nodded and stood up.
Yara stood up as well, ready to head out with them.
Moon looked at her for a moment, his expression hesitating internally. The conversation he had been dreading since this morning needed to happen, and there was no good way to start it.
He decided to just say it.
"Yara. It’s better if you head to the Second Sanctuary today."
Yara’s face fell immediately.
"Why? You don’t want me to watch?"
"I would love for you to watch." Moon said gently. "But like I told Selene earlier, today could get dangerous. You’re not a participant in the tournament. You don’t need to be in the venue where it will get most dangerous."
Yara’s brows furrowed, the earlier playful energy she had completely drained from her expression.
"But you guys are going. And I’m not any more important than either of you. If something goes wrong, I want to be there for you. I don’t want to hear about it on the news. I don’t want to be safe and useless somewhere while you’re both in the middle of it."
She crossed her arms. "You can’t ask me to just sit in another world and watch bad stuff happen."
Moon sighed.
"Yara. If the tournament gets attacked, things would get very complicated very fast. The venue holds hundreds of thousands of people. The exits would be packed. The dark organization would be specifically targeting Evolvers in the bracket. You wouldn’t be helping us."
Selene nodded her head, "I think Moon is right. And besides, if nothing happens today and Moon turns out to be wrong about the threat, you can just come watch the next stage. The matches will be live-streamed. You’ll be able to see every moment as the broadcasts are always recorded. You won’t miss anything important."
Yara opened her mouth to argue.
Selene continued, gentler this time.
"Yara. We don’t know how they’d attack. We don’t know when. And we might not be near you when it happens. If something goes wrong, the two of us are going to be focused on staying alive, we won’t be able to protect you at the same time. Please."
The fight in Yara’s posture slowly drained out.
She looked between the two of them. Selene’s pleading eyes. Moon’s calm yet serious expression.
Yara let out a slow, frustrated breath.
"Fine! Fine, I’ll go to the Sanctuary today."
Then Yara pointed her finger at Moon with a sudden flash of intensity.
"But you, no, both of you. Listen to me very carefully."
She looked between them.
"Take care of yourselves. I mean it. If anything starts going sideways, if anything feels wrong, if you think for even a second that you can’t handle it, you run. You don’t try to be heroes. You don’t try to fight things you can’t beat. You get out, like we did last time."
Her voice cracked slightly on the last words. She turned her head away quickly.
"Okay?"
Moon nodded.
"Okay."
Selene reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand.
"Okay. We promise."
Yara nodded once, "Good, let me just grab a few things from my room before we head out."
Yara made her way to the room without looking back.
Moon and Selene watched her go.
"She’s tougher than she looks." Selene said quietly.
"I know."
Once Yara returned from her room, the trio set out together.