Chapter 123: Chapter 123: System's Uncertainty

As Elio concluded his speech, he felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. Yet, looking at the faces surrounding him, some fearful, others hopeful, he knew he wouldn't be alone on this journey.

The room, once filled with tension and fear, now buzzed with a different energy.

Gradually, the message began to spread among the soldiers to unlock the main door. The building's occupants started to move, some with haste, others with caution, but all with the sense of living through a historic moment.

The sound of footsteps and murmurs filled the air as people headed towards the exit. Some discussed animatedly about what they had just witnessed, while others remained silent, still processing recent events.

The building, which had been the stage for a historic battle moments ago, now slowly emptied, as if exhaling a long sigh of relief.

♢♢♢♢

A few minutes later, amidst the general movement, Lucien opened his eyes...

His gaze, initially unfocused, centered on Elio, who rushed to help him up. Lucien, still disoriented, was surprised to notice how quickly his body had recovered.

"What... what happened?" Lucien asked, his voice hoarse but growing stronger.

Elio explained quickly: "I put my System's Armor on you. Selene... I put Fathoran's on her."

Lucien's eyes widened. "Fathoran's armor? Then..."

Elio pointed to the body, still lying a few meters from them, confirming what Lucien already suspected. "Yes, he's dead... But now, the important one is Selene."

Both turned their gaze to Selene's motionless figure, Fathoran's armor working to regenerate her wounds.

"Do you think her arm will reconnect despite...?" Elio began, not daring to finish the question.

Lucien, gathering strength, approached Selene. "The armor was able to regenerate even a heart, perhaps..."

♢♢♢♢

A few minutes later, Selene's breathing became perfectly calm. It seemed to have worked...

They had to control the chaos generated by the battle, so they couldn't keep wasting time. Lucien lifted Selene in his arms.

As they headed towards the exit, Elio walked alongside Lucien. "I obtained Fathoran's mana. Should I... should I give it to you to manage the city?"

Lucien glanced at him, a slight smile appearing on his tired face. "Elio, you said it yourself: you're the leader now. We must listen to you... Keep the mana with you. I'll teach you how to manage it properly."

As they made their way through the increasingly dense crowd, the air buzzed with speculations and fears.

"What if it's a trap by Fathoran?" "What will happen to the privileged families?" "How will Elio handle the population limit?"

"Is it true?" "Has Fathoran really fallen?" "What does this mean for us?"

Lena, driven by her anxiety, led the group, her pace quick and determined. The boys followed closely, their faces full of emotion.

Zara, walking next to Lena, couldn't stop smiling. "It's finally over," she murmured, more to herself than to others.

Brok seemed unable to fully accept the situation. "To think that someone so thin could..."

Kriz let out a laugh. "Seriously? After everything he's done, you still doubted him?"

"It's not that," Brok replied. "It's just that... well, the founder's muscles were bigger, weren't they? What were the odds?"

"Muscles and odds have never meant much to Elio," Ren interjected. "That boy already did the impossible by returning from down there."

As they approached the central building, the crowd grew denser.

Elio's mother, her heart beating rapidly, made her way through the crowd. Her eyes frantically scanned each face, looking for her son.

So many emotions swirled inside her: pride for what Elio had accomplished, fear for the dangers he had faced, and a deep hope for the future that was opening before them.

"Let me through!" she shouted. "My son is in there!"

The boys followed her closely, forming a protective shield around her. Ivan, Kriz, and Brok used their bodies to create a path, while Zara, Ren, and Micah stayed close to Lena, making sure she didn't stumble.

And then, through the tide of bodies and voices, they saw him. Elio stood at the entrance of the building, his figure radiating an authority none of them had seen in him before. Beside him, Lucien carried an unconscious Selene.

"Elio!" Lena's cry cut through the air, laden with love, relief, and a thousand other emotions.

Elio turned, his eyes meeting his mother's. For a moment, all the facade of leadership disappeared, and he was once again simply a son who needed his mother.

"Mother!" he exclaimed.

As mother and son melted into an embrace, Elio's friends looked at each other.

At that moment, surrounded by those he loved and by a city that looked to him for guidance, Elio felt the full weight of what he had accomplished and what still remained to be done.

Fathoran's era had ended, and a new page in the city's history was about to be written.