532 She Won't Run Anymore
The metal sheet rose into the air and started the 'tour' of this secret realm—now known by the name as 'Guardians' Tomb'.
As they flew from one place to another, already having passed several dozen miles, Varian noted that the secret realm was perfectly maintained.
Previously, random areas were frozen for miles while lava flowed through others. Craters filling your field of vision and random vines sprawled throughout were normal.
But now—
There were even several statues across the secret realm, depicting the bravest souls.
They attracted children the most. These young kids were then taught about the bravery of these warriors.
Then there were special regions filled with holograms—they depicted the battles, mostly censored versions, but in some places, the raw versions too.
They were mostly visited by teenagers. Their blood boiled at the sight and they vowed to be better citizens.
The secret realm was also filled with exquisite buildings spread all over. They shared the history, ideology, and achievements of Shadow Guardians.
Most of the adults and the majority of the visitors went to these locations.
Then, there was finally a very serene location with a huge gate.
Varian and Enigma walked in. Since Varian maintained a considerable distance from her, they looked like strangers.
"This is…"
In front of them was a tall stele—it was as tall as a ten-story building and was thick enough to allow hundreds of people to surround it simultaneously.
Enigma walked to the pitch-black stone stele and gazed up.
The names engraved in white on the stele came into view.
'Mira, John, Vin…' As she read the familiar names, Enigma's eyes reddened and before she knew it, tears dripped from the corner of her eyes and drenched her veil.
An overwhelming sadness overcame her as Enigma suddenly collapsed onto her knees.
The surrounding men and women were also surprised, but no one came to help her.
They could understand her reaction—they too lost someone dear. So, they gave her what she needed the most at the moment.
Space.
As the surrounding public made some distance, Enigma stared at the stele on her knees.
"I…" There seemed to be a lump in her throat, but she tried hard to say something. "Arghh…"
All that came out was a groan filled with deep grief and pain.
Enigma lowered her head and let the tears fall.
When she had no more tears to shed, she slowly stood up and offered a single large white flower to the stele.
The moment the flower touched the Stele, it gave off a soft white light and bloomed before turning into shimmering particles and flying away with the wind.
"Peace." Enigma sent her final prayers and turned around.
She walked to Varian but stopped far enough to not cause a repulsion.
Varian stared at her in silence, as if he was knowing her all over again.
Enigma parted her lips and said in a hoarse tone, without meaning to. "What?"
"…Fulfill their wishes. That's the best you can do." He said in a low voice, catching her off-guard.
"Huh?" Enigma looked at him in confusion.
"When someone close to you leaves you forever, the best thing you can do is live a good life for yourself. The next best thing is to fulfill their wish if you can." Varian said with a blurred gaze.
As the wind blew gently, he seemed to see the fateful night that turned his life upside down.
Enigma noticed his gaze and bit her lip. She nodded lightly and walked out.
On the way out, Varian noticed a few things.
'The Xanders' image is damaged.' Just like buildings and holograms depicting the goodness of guardians, there were also buildings and holograms depicting the sins of the evil Cail Xander and Iris Xander.
It had a subtle effect on the public perception of the Xanders.
'While they only blame these two members and not the Xander family…the perfect reputation, the perfect image, the perfect glory that Xanders maintained—it is gone.'
Varian smirked. 'This is just the beginning.'
"Why that smirk?" Enigma asked with a strange gaze. She didn't seem to like his action in the secret realm. After all, it was easy to misunderstand.
"I am thinking about the Xanders. Their fall has just begun." Varian said with overwhelming confidence.
"…your current strength won't help you," Enigma said bluntly.
"I know." Varian wasn't offended in the slightest and instead explained patiently. "So, I plan to grow stronger. As strong as I can. The stronger I grow, the more damage I can inflict."
"Stronger, huh. What are you going to do?" She titled her head lightly.
"Earth Ruins," Varian said nonchalantly, but Enigma froze in place.
"What happened?"
"Ruins are too dangerous for a level 6! You need to be at least a level 7." Enigma said in a concerned tone. Then she patted her forehead as if she realized something. "You want to go there because…"
"Sia." Varian shrugged. "It's the 30th of the month already. Before the ruins close, I am confident about finding her.
On the way, I can also improve my strengths. Ruins are a good place to grow strong, aren't they?"
Looking at Varian's confident yet stubborn grin, Enigma didn't know what to say.
Out of the 45 days in the third month, 30 were over. It would be significantly harder to search for Sia in Earth Ruins in just 15 days. But his stubborn smile told her that he wouldn't back down.
'The time has finally come…' Enigma closed her eyes and sighed.
"I can advance to level 7 in the ruins." Varian rubbed his chin and continued. "And my memories…they're slowly coming back with each passing day. I think I'll be able to get my full memories back once I reach level 7."
"She'll meet you in the ruins," Enigma said softly. Despite
"Oh, how come you are so confident? No one can communicate to the outside world once in ruins, no?" Varian squinted his eyes.
Enigma took a deep breath and stared at him solemnly.
"…She won't run anymore."
