Realm Lord
Chapter 148: Is It Worth It

Chapter 148: Is It Worth It

Standing in front of the towering monolith that served as the core of the second realm, Arthur and Josh prepared to go their separate ways.

Before they touched the monolith to initiate their transfers, Josh turned to face Arthur one final time. What Arthur saw on the boy’s face took his breath away—it was one of the biggest and most genuine smiles he had ever witnessed. Despite everything that had happened, despite the terror and near-death experience, Josh’s expression radiated pure gratitude and something that looked almost like wonder.

Gloss still coated Josh’s eyes from the tears he had shed earlier, but now they seemed to shine with a different kind of emotion. When he spoke, his voice was broken but filled with an intensity that made Arthur’s chest tighten.

"Arthur Kendrick."

The sudden use of his full name startled Arthur, sending a jolt of surprise through his system. He looked at Josh with confusion written clearly across his features, unsure why the boy had chosen this moment for such formality.

"Yes?" Arthur replied, his voice uncertain.

Josh’s smile somehow managed to grow even deeper, transforming his entire face. The expression was so pure, so completely without artifice, that it was almost painful to look at directly.

"I won’t forget that name until the day I die," Josh said, his words carrying the weight of absolute sincerity. "If it wasn’t for you being there to save me, I most certainly would have died a horrible death today. You’re a hero."

What was meant to be the highest compliment instead stung deep in his heart, each letter cutting through his defenses like a blade. His eyes immediately averted from Josh’s earnest gaze, unable to bear the weight of such undeserved praise.

Arthur put his hand on the cool surface of the monolith, feeling the familiar tingle that signaled the beginning of his transfer back to the first realm. As the energy began to build around him, he spoke in a tone so low it was barely audible above the humming of the core.

"I’m no hero," Arthur said, his voice heavy with self-recrimination. "I’m... I-I’m a coward."

Josh’s face contorted in confusion, his brow furrowing as he tried to process Arthur’s unexpected response. But before the conversation could continue, before Josh could voice the questions that were clearly forming in his mind, Arthur found himself back in his bedroom, staring up at the familiar cracks in his ceiling.

The transition between realms always left him slightly disoriented, but this time the feeling was amplified by the emotional weight of what had just transpired. Arthur didn’t move for quite a while, instead opting to simply lie there in silence as his mind raced with thoughts he couldn’t quiet.

’He would have died if I wasn’t there today,’ Arthur thought, the realization sitting in his stomach like a stone. ’He would have been mutilated and eaten by those goblins. That bright smile, that genuine gratitude—it all would have been snuffed out in a few terrible minutes.’

The image of Josh backed against the wall, tears streaming down his face as he begged the goblins to stay away, played over and over in Arthur’s mind.

’Even if it’s just one person,’ Arthur continued thinking, his thoughts growing more focused. ’Even if I only save one person... is it worth it?’

He lay there for several more minutes, wrestling with the question that seemed to encapsulate everything he had been struggling with. The pragmatic part of his mind, the part that had been shaped by disappointment and abandonment, argued that one person wasn’t worth the risk. That he couldn’t save everyone, so why try to save anyone?

But then he thought about Josh’s smile, about the genuine gratitude in the boy’s voice, about the fact that someone was alive right now who wouldn’t have been if Arthur had chosen differently.

Arthur grunted and sighed in frustration, the internal debate reaching a crescendo that demanded resolution.

’Of course it is,’ he finally admitted to himself, the thought carrying the weight of absolute truth. ’If my powers can save one person from death... from a life built on hatred of those who had the power but didn’t use it... people like me... then it’s worth it.’

The realization was both liberating and terrifying. It meant accepting responsibility not just for his own choices, but for the consequences of his inaction. It meant acknowledging that Aziel had been right all along, that he had been hiding behind his past trauma.

Arthur put his hands over his face and dragged them downward tiredly, feeling the weight of his decision settling over him like a heavy cloak. After another moment of internal struggle, he got out of bed with a groan that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his soul.

The walk to his bedroom door felt longer than usual, each step carrying him closer to a conversation that would change everything. He could hear Aziel on the other side, moving around in the kitchen with the casual sounds of someone going about their daily routine. Arthur stood behind the door for a long moment, his hand on the handle, hesitating as doubt tried to creep back in.

Finally, he sighed deeply and forced himself past the threshold, walking into the kitchen where he found Aziel eating a container of yogurt. His roommate was sitting at their small table, scrolling through something on his phone while he ate, the picture of casual domesticity.

Arthur walked up to him and stood there in silence for a moment, gathering his courage. The words he was about to speak would irrevocably alter the course of his life, and some part of him wanted to savor these last few seconds of the old Arthur.

Aziel looked up from his phone and stared at Arthur with an expression of slight disgust, clearly still upset about their argument from the night before.

"What do you want?" Aziel asked harshly, taking another spoonful of yogurt with more force than was strictly necessary.

Arthur took a deep breath, steeling himself for what came next. When he spoke, his voice was steady despite the magnitude of what he was saying.

"I’m going with you to District 3," Arthur said, each word carefully enunciated. "Y-you were right."

Aziel stared at him blankly for a moment, his spoon frozen halfway to his mouth. His jaw hung open slightly, exposing the not-yet-swallowed yogurt, and Arthur could see the exact moment when his words registered in his friend’s mind.

"Weally?" Aziel asked, his mouth still stuffed with yogurt, the word coming out muffled and almost comical.

The absurdity of the moment broke some of the tension, and Arthur watched as Aziel quickly swallowed and coughed awkwardly, clearly flustered by his own reaction. When he had regained his composure, Aziel looked at Arthur with an expression that was trying very hard to appear snug and knowing.

"I mean, yeah, of course I was right," Aziel said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in a gesture that was supposed to convey superiority but mostly just looked like he was trying not to smile.

But the act didn’t last long. One eye popped open, and Arthur could see the genuine joy beginning to spread across his friend’s face. The smile that followed was infectious, growing wider with each passing second until Aziel couldn’t contain it anymore.

Aziel walked toward Arthur, his earlier frustration completely forgotten in the face of this unexpected victory.

"You made the right choice."