Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 156: Ch154. [World Quest] (14) - Sense/Awakening

Chapter 156: Ch154. [World Quest] (14) - Sense/Awakening

[Your Attribute – Shadow of the End – is ready to evolve]

[Shadow of the end – Attribute’s evolution is in progress]

Miles stared at the holographic pop-up window intently, curious as to what would happen next, although his curiosity was almost overshadowed by the storm of emotions that flooded his heart after what he had witnessed.

"I can’t believe it... She’s just like me... In a way." He spoke, breaking the silence of his own mind.

The ping of the system’s next message broke his concentration, though.

[Your Attribute has evolved]

[Shadow of the End – has now become – Ender’s Heart]

Miles raised his brow, but there was a certain familiarity hiding in his gaze.

Back during the fight, he had felt something, but just like with Cheshire, he wasn’t able to put a finger on it.

His lips curled upwards, and he closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply, full of relief.

***

In the arena, Sarissa stared at Miles’ body, still on his knees, with an expression that mixed slight incredulity, utter shock, and absolute pain.

In the flicker of a moment, the shadow that coated Miles’ body seemed to dim a little, almost fading, but after what felt like an eternity, and a breath at the same time, the shadow became darker and darker still.

It pulsed, sending an enormous shockwave throughout the arena, and then collapsed into...

No one could believe their eyes, even when they saw it happening in real time.

Miles’ second shadow was not collapsing. It was more like it was being drained, but into the wound in his chest. Where there was once blood flowing like a river, now there was the eerie image of Miles’ blood being sucked back into him along with his second shadow.

Seconds passed painfully slowly, or it was only their perception of time that had been altered by the impossibility of what was unfolding before them.

Even Mara looked like she had been struck by lightning up on the balcony.

The only figure that stood there, unperturbed, was the Archivist.

When all the blood was back inside Miles body, and the last sandy grain of his second shadow had been sucked into him, the piercing wound began closing slowly, until it was like he had never been wounded at all.

The only trace of it was the small hole in his T-shirt’s chest.

Then, a shockwave even more potent than the previous one shook the entire arena, sending Sarissa flying back, hitting her head on the invisible barrier.

The force was so tremendous that it bled through the barrier itself, and Diego had to brace himself to not be sent flying like Sarissa.

"B-big bro...?" His voice creaked slightly, surprise and fear in same measures coming from it.

Slowly, Miles opened his eyes, and a breath of life escaped his lips. Slow, deliberate, as he flexed his fingers and got up.

He rose like a man unburdened, like the weight of death had been shrugged off his shoulders and buried beneath the sands of time itself.

Every movement he made was slow, but precise, like he was testing new limbs. Or maybe, limbs that had remembered something ancient, final.

Sarissa watched, dazed and wide-eyed, clutching her blade like it could somehow still protect her from the impossible.

Miles did not speak at first. He just stood there, his chest rising and falling with steady, measured breaths.

He blinked, and something in his gaze shifted. His pupils, once a soft tone of hazel, were now tinged with a glowing ring of obsidian. And then, he looked at Sarissa.

"You held back." His voice was rough, quiet. "Even when you could’ve finished me. Why?"

Sarissa, still on her knees, clenched her jaw and averted her gaze.

"Because I didn’t want to kill you."

"Liar..." Miles rebuked, though his voice lacked venom. "You’ve killed me before. You’ve done worse, countless times, to achieve something you craved more than anything."

"That’s not-" Sarissa started, but the words caught in her throat.

"I saw it." Miles countered. "Your regressions. All of them."

Her head snapped toward him, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.

"You didn’t just live through them. You survived them, over and over, and over. That’s not strength. That’s torment."

She said nothing in return.

Miles stepped closer. The sound of his boots echoing too sharply against the stone floor.

Each step radiated pressure, like the arena itself was holding its breath.

"And yet, despite all that..." He stopped in front of her. "You still stood here. You still fought me like I was your equal."

"You are my equal..." Sarissa’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Miles blinked, and something inside him twisted. Like an old wound, maybe, or the ghost of one.

He could feel the air shifting. Not magic, not power. Just... Understanding.

"I hated you." He confessed, not looking away. "For being untouchable. For looking down on me. For being everything that I couldn’t be."

Sarissa flinched, not because of the words, but because she knew the weight behind them.

She knew that hate, intimately. She had felt it in her skin.

And now, after having lived through Miles’ life, seen through his eyes, his reaction back when they first met – officially, in this turn – made perfect sense.

"HE’S THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE!"

Diego was, indeed, the only family Miles had, and even though, he chose to move forward, in search of the strength he needed to protect himself.

That Miles in front of her... He was so different from the ones she had met in her previous turns it ached to look at. Determined, sometimes laid-back, idiotically optimistic, and yet...

’You got through the same hell as I did, only in a different way...’ But she dared not to say the words. She couldn’t.

She did not know whether to cry, to scream, or to finally breathe.

"But now I see it." Miles added, and this time, he reached down, offering her his hand. "You weren’t above me. Not really. You were ahead of me, because you broke... And kept walking anyway."

Sarissa looked at his hand, and for a moment, her face was unreadable. Her fingers twitched.

Then, she reached up, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she took it.

The moment their hands met, a new window popped up in front of both of them:

[Optional Quest Unlocked: The End and the Beginning]

[Objective: Face the Abyss Together. Survive. Evolve.]

[Reward: ???]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes] [No]

They exchanged glances.

"I guess this duel is over." Miles said.

"Not quite." came the Archivist’s voice, sharp and cold.

Both turned toward the balcony, where the Archivist now stood, her hands clasped behind her back, eyes burning violet like twin nebulae.

"This duel was not meant to take one of your lives." She said. "It was meant to reveal. And it has."

A soft clapping began, slow and sarcastic.

Mara stepped forward from the shadows of the balcony, her face twisted in something between amusement and concern.

"Well, that was dramatic." She said, feigning nonchalance as she cocked her head, her voice tinged with a hint of bewilderment and worry. "But if you two are done soul-searching, we’ve got a bigger problem."

Diego climbed over the barrier now that it had begun to fade, rushing toward them with wide eyes as he hugged Miles as if he was going to fade if Diego ever let go. "What problem?! What’s going on?!"

"The dungeon... I think it responded to that weird power of yours." Mara’s face darkened, looking at Miles.

"What do you mean?" He turned towards her.

She pointed toward the far wall of the arena, where cracks had begun to form, tendrils of darkness threading through stone like veins full of black ink.

"I mean..." Her tone was grim as she scratched the back of her head. "I think you just woke it up for good."

The ground trembled, and with it came a sound, deep, echoing, and ancient.

Like the dungeon itself was breathing.

Miles looked down at his hands, feeling the pulse of the [Ender’s Heart] still beating within him, and clenched his fist.

"So be it." He whispered.

Sarissa, still kneeling, let out a sharp breath and stood.

"I guess we don’t get to rest."

"No." Miles replied. "But now we finally stand a chance."