Shameless One

Shun pushed aside the whirlwind of thoughts that had overwhelmed him, focusing on the present. His gaze fell upon Silver, and he materialized the glove of World Walker, intent on demonstrating his capabilities. The glove shimmered in his grasp, its ethereal energy pulsing, a testament to the power it contained.

Silver's expression remained unreadable as her eyes briefly flicked to the glove. "Isn't that Noah Heeden's…" she murmured.

Shun nodded solemnly. "From what I understand, this ability is not unique to me. There are others who possess the power to claim another's ethereal arm upon their death. I am one of them, and so were these two." He gestured toward the lifeless bodies of March and August.

He raised his hands and focused, attempting to conjure a portal, an action as familiar to him as breathing. But instead of the familiar surge of energy, Shun was met with a sudden wave of dizziness. His surroundings blurred, dissolving into a vortex of nothingness. He struggled to maintain his focus, but his consciousness slipped away.

When his senses returned, he found himself standing amidst the ruins of what appeared to be a once majestic palace. The scale of the place suggested it had been a fortress of great importance. The grandeur had long since crumbled, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Shun stood there, unable to move, as though trapped in the body of another. His vision drifted, and he saw a sign on the ground, broken and splintered, yet the words were unnervingly clear:

"Whatever you desire, Luca Azoria shall make true."

It dawned on him then: he was standing at the top of a church of the Cult of Luca Azoria, perhaps even the Prime Church Hades. Yet, the sight before him was one of desolation, a scene that should have been impossible. The cult, with its immortal army and its formidable power, could not be so easily toppled. 

After the Three Champions had parted ways, they vowed to maintain peace within the three realms and leave each other undisturbed. Even though they had deceased, no one dared to break this treaty due to their respect for the three warriors. Shun could be sure that this wasn't the work of Lordrixis or the Eternal Dynasty.

Shun wanted to believe that this was a vision of the future. However, his instincts told him that this was certainly the present day, and the Cult of Luca Azoria was under attack by another mysterious force.

A voice, deep and ancient, broke the silence. It echoed with malice. "I found you, possessor of the true Harvester."

Shun's heart froze. The voice, though unfamiliar, carried a weight of menace that sent a chill down his spine. Before he could grasp the significance of the words, his vision spun again. Reality returned with a violent snap, and he was back in his own body. He shook his head, trying to steady himself, his hands trembling.

Silver stood before him, her gaze questioning. "Shun? What were you trying to demonstrate?"

But the World Walker glove on his hand had lost its radiant glow. It remained luxurious in appearance, but now it felt like nothing more than a decorative piece, an ordinary glove without the power it once held.

Shun's heart sank as he stood there, unsure of how to explain the overwhelming experience. The sudden shift in power had shattered his confidence, leaving him feeling more vulnerable than ever.

Without his power, what could Shun possibly do? The bitter truth clawed its way to the forefront of his mind—one he had evaded for as long as he could remember. He was no better than anyone else. The admiration, the fear others had shown him, as well as his happiness and contentment, it all hinged on a single thing: his ability to harvest ethereal arms. Nothing more.

With the Harvester in his possession, he was still just a desperate orphan scraping by in a world too vast and cruel to care. 

No, that wasn't true. Even with the Harvester's unparalleled power, Shun was no different.

Hands trembling, he began materializing the ethereal arms he had collected, testing their brilliance one by one. Relief surged through him as most of them manifested intact, their energy undiminished. But every weapon taken from March and August—every fragment of their legacy—was dull, their essence extinguished like the World Walker. Their powers refused to respond to his call. 

Still, the realization hit him harder than he could have anticipated. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in his hands.

The terror from earlier clawed its way back into his chest, constricting his breath. What would he do if all his ethereal arms had vanished? The thought was unbearable. Worse, he knew this fear would haunt him forever, lingering in the shadow at every single moment. 

"Yours to have, yours to lose."

The words echoed in his mind like a cruel taunt. Without power, he was consumed by the need to claim it. With power, he was trapped by the fear of losing it. What was the point? If everything could be taken away, why seek it in the first place? 

His vision blurred, and he felt the sting of tears threatening to fall. But just before he unravelled completely, a gentle hand rested on his head.

"Shun," Silver said softly. "I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, don't be afraid."

Her voice pierced the suffocating fog of his despair, offering a moment of clarity. The weight in his chest didn't disappear, but it lightened enough for him to breathe. "Something… something went wrong," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Something terrible is coming. And I… I'm not ready."

Silver knelt beside him, her voice steady and warm. "Even if things go wrong, you won't face it alone. I'll be here, always. And so will Glynn, Jayden, our classmates, and everyone else who cares about you."

Her words were simple, yet they swept through him like a cleansing breeze, easing the jagged edges of his fear. It wasn't just the words—it was the sincerity in her tone, the gentle motion of her hand stroking his hair. This was the first time anyone had ever comforted him like this.

Before the Harvester, before SIGMA Academy, before he arrived in the royal capital, Shun had known nothing but solitude. When pain came, he bore it in silence, hiding away in dark corners until he could force himself to move forward. Bloodied wounds and broken resolve had been his constant companions, and he had never expected anyone to care enough to change that.

But now, with Silver by his side, he couldn't deny it. Not everyone in this world was cruel or indifferent. Not everything revolved around power or ambition. There was more—something he hadn't allowed himself to see.

He looked up at Silver, her gentle smile radiant against the storm of his thoughts. A shift stirred within him, a quiet yet profound revelation. The crushing weight on his heart began to transform into something else, something lighter.

Maybe… maybe there was a point.

Even if his power vanished, the people he had met, the bonds he had formed—they would remain. Even if the journey ended in failure, the moments that led him here were worth everything.

It wasn't his power that brought him happiness. It was the connections he had forged, the trust and camaraderie he had found.

Shun rose to his feet, the shadows of doubt and fear swept away for once more. His power remained, but even if it hadn't, he knew now that he wasn't the same orphan he had once been. He was no longer alone, he had a place in this cruel world.

A cold determination gleamed in his eyes as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Silver, holding her tightly.

"Shun?" Silver's voice was filled with confusion, her body stiffening slightly under the unexpected embrace. The randomness of the moment left her at a loss.

Yet, for Shun, the softness of her touch and the delicate trace of her scent brought memories rushing back. 

It wasn't dramatic, wasn't significant, wasn't special, wasn't emotional.

It was just small moments—training together, quiet conversations, fleeting exchanges—that had somehow come to mean everything to him.

It baffled him. They hadn't known each other long, and nothing significant had happened between them. And yet, it felt as though he had known her for lifetimes. Through every trial, she had walked beside him silently, never faltering, never hesitating.

And then it struck him. His feelings for her were finally clear.

It wasn't gratitude.

Wasn't appreciation.

Wasn't comfort.

Wasn't love.

It was something deeper—a sense of reunion, as though he had found something significant he had once lost, something irreplaceable. It was the same feeling he'd had when he realized his powers weren't truly gone.

And this time, Shun silently vowed to never let it go.