World Awakening: The Legendary Player
Chapter 54: You Should Stay

Chapter 54: You Should Stay

Serian sat there on the ground for a long time, the alley was quiet now, and the bodies were gone. They had just vanished into little golden specks of light, so it was like they were never even there. Her ankle was hurting a lot, a steady throbbing pain that made her feel a little sick.

Her mind was clear now, and the conversation with that being, Auraelia, replayed over and over.

’I will stay by Nox’s side. To be his ally.’ She remembered making that promise. It had felt so right in that moment, when she was about to die. She understood now, she really did.

Auraelia’s words about Nox being alone, about his pain, it all clicked with what she had seen in him. That coldness he had wasn’t just him being a jerk, it was something else, something deeper.

’He’s just... broken,’ she thought, ’and that thing, that Mana, it’s just him using his own hurt to fight back.’ The thought made sense, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Allying herself with a human, it went against everything she had ever been taught. Her people had suffered because of humans.

But then she thought about him again. He had fought for her. He hadn’t run away from Lola, even when he was clearly outmatched. And he had been... decent to her. He hadn’t treated her like a princess, he’d just treated her like a person.

’But why does a powerful being like Auraelia care so much about him?’ she wondered, pushing herself up with a grunt of pain. Her ankle screamed at her, and she had to lean against the wall for support. ’What’s so special about that human boy?’

She didn’t have any answers, just a new promise she had to keep.

She took a limping step out of the alley. The city was still busy, people walking by without a clue what had just happened a few feet away. She needed to find him. ’He said he was going to meet his friends. His... girls.’ She remembered the word he had used and she did not like how it sounded.

---

Nox walked through the city center. The clean streets and shiny buildings were familiar to him. He’d grown up in this city, and he’d walked these same sidewalks countless times before, usually feeling invisible or angry.

This part of the city, with its expensive shops and nice restaurants, had always felt like a different world, one he could only look at from the outside.

Now, it still felt like a different world, but for a whole other reason. He looked at the people in their clean clothes, talking on their phones, acting like nothing had changed.

’Look at them,’ he thought, a thought of something like pity, or maybe contempt, passing through him. ’They have no idea. They’re just a few blocks away from monsters and death, and they’re worried about what to have for lunch.’

He didn’t feel like an outcast anymore, he just felt... separate. Like he was seeing the real world, and they were all still living in a dream.

He pushed the thought away and focused, his eyes scanning the crowds. He wasn’t here to judge people. He was here to find the girls.

’Where the hell are they?’

He was about to give up and just find a bench to wait on when he spotted her. Kendra. She wasn’t hard to miss. She was standing near a big fountain, arguing with some guy who was at least a foot taller than her.

’Of course she’s arguing with someone,’ he thought, a small smirk touching his lips. He walked over, weaving through the crowd.

"...and I’m telling you, you’re standing in my spot!" She was saying, jabbing a finger into the guy’s chest. "So move it before I move you."

The guy just laughed. "Your spot? The whole city’s a free-for-all, lady. Now get lost."

"Hey," Nox said, his voice quiet but it cut through their argument.

Kendra spun around, her eyes widening when she saw him. "Nox! Where the hell have you been? We were about to think you ditched us or got yourself killed!" She sounded pissed off, but he could hear the relief underneath it.

The big guy she was arguing with looked from Nox to Kendra, then just grunted and walked away.

"I got held up," he said simply. "Are you guys okay? Did you find your families?"

Kendra’s angry expression softened a little. "Yeah, we did. My family’s fine, my little brother was a wreck but he’s okay." She looked around. "Vasa and Yeda are over there." She pointed towards a small cafe with outdoor seating. "They found their people too. We were just waiting for you."

"Good," he said, and he meant it. He was glad they were okay.

They walked over to the cafe. Vasa and Yeda were sitting at a small table, and they both looked up as he and Kendra approached. Yeda’s face broke into a huge smile.

"Nox! You’re here!" she said, jumping up from her chair.

Vasa just gave him a small nod, her eyes doing a quick, analytical scan of him. "Your condition appears to have stabilized."

"Yeah, I’m good," he said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "What about you guys? Everything alright at home?"

Yeda nodded, her smile fading a little. "My parents are safe, but our house is... it’s not good. We’re staying with some neighbors for now."

Vasa stirred her drink with a small spoon. "My family has secured our residence. They are prepared for further incidents."

There was a little silent, then Yeda spoke.

"It’s just... it’s still a mess back home," she said quietly, stirring her now-cold drink with a straw. "My mom, she just wouldn’t let go of me, she was crying so much." Her eyes got a little shiny, making her look down at the table. "She was so scared."

"Yeah, same," Kendra added, her voice a bit rough. "My little brother cried for like an hour straight when I walked in the door." She shook her head, a flash of anger in her eyes. "I wanted to punch something, seeing him like that, you know? He’s just a kid."

Vasa just gave a small nod. "My parents have already inventoried our supplies," she stated, her voice as calm as ever. "They’re boarding up the downstairs windows. They said it was the logical thing to do."

Nox just sat there, quiet, listening to them. He watched Kendra get all fired up, saw Yeda trying not to cry, and Vasa just being... Vasa. They were talking about their families, about going home to people who were worried sick about them.

And even when they talked about the bad stuff, the messed-up houses and the fear, they would smile a little bit when they mentioned their families.

He understood now. They had something to go back to, something to protect. They had lives, real lives with people in them, and those lives were here, in this city that was trying to hold itself together. They didn’t belong out there with him, fighting whatever monsters crawled out of the next hole in the ground.

He waited for a pause in their conversation, then he spoke, his voice low. "You guys should stay here."