The Gamer's POV

Chapter 346: A Spark on the Roof, A Light in the Dark

Athena turned to him. She had already popped half a dozen grapes into her mouth, probably out of nervous habit.

She quickly chewed and swallowed them. "Uh... I am well, my Lord." She thought for a few seconds, then the words started to spill out a bit faster. "I’m actually glad for the moments I get to come out like this. I enjoy the duels at the tournament, and honestly, testing my limits against strong opponents makes me feel truly alive. Back in the Sanctuary, it can get so quiet, you know? Not that I mind the peace, but sometimes I just find myself pacing around, polishing my armor over and over again, or practicing my forms until the sun goes down just to keep my mind occupied. So being here, even just sitting on a roof feels... different. In a good way."

Cedric studied her. The way she was rambling on was almost as if she was happy to finally speak to someone after a long time.

"Must have felt lonely being the only one there before now?" Cedric mused softly.

Athena paused, looking down at the bowl in her hands. "It was... quiet, my Lord. Very quiet." Then, her expression shifted, a sudden spark returning to her eyes as she looked back up. "But after Redd came in, things changed completely. He brought the kind of noise that I actually like. I enjoy fighting him."

She then chuckled. "I don’t know why, but just seeing him pisses me off. I can’t explain it. I just want to hit him in the face and then crack him in the head, like pow, pow!"

Cedric smiled. "You do know that one of the natural traits of an Oni is annoying people, right?"

"Really?"

"Yeah." Cedric brightened further as he took another grape from the bowl. "Turns out just looking at him is enough to trigger something inside you. Like you just want to smear his nose into the ground."

He paused and suddenly looked exhausted. "Goodness, my blood pressure is going up from just thinking about him."

Athena giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. She then leaned over and said, "He keeps trying to tempt me into helping him come up with a way to take off that mask on his face."

"Aish..." Cedric clicked his tongue. "Tut, tut, tut. Now I really feel like hitting him myself."

Athena smiled playfully. "And I feel like watching you do it."

Cedric coughed a chuckle, then sniffed.

A few seconds passed, and he noticed that she was no longer stuffing grapes into her mouth but was now eating them at a much calmer pace.

He smiled.

Athena looked down at the bowl and murmured, "I’d like us to duel one day, my Lord. I feel like I could learn a lot from you."

Cedric blinked several times as he pointed a finger at himself. "Me?"

She nodded eagerly with bright eyes. "Yeah."

A second passed... and then...

"Fine," Cedric grinned, leaning back a bit. "But you should know that I am not very good at holding back."

She grinned. "Don’t worry, you don’t need to hold back because I won’t hold back either."

’Oh, would you look at that...’

Cedric raised an eyebrow, quietly amused by her competitive spirit.

Athena took the last grape, tossing it into her mouth.

Just then, Cedric felt one of his ravens call out to him. It was the raven he had left with Argentos so that the Hollow One could use it to signal him when he had made up his mind. Tapping into the eyes of the bird, Cedric saw Argentos looking at the bird expectantly. There were a few other Hollow Ones in the room with him, and all of them sat around the bird in grim, silent anticipation.

The bird cawed to let Argentos know that Cedric was now listening.

At that moment, Argentos spoke clearly, "We’ve made up our mind."

...Cedric turned to Athena. He smiled, reached out, and gently patted her back. "Wait here for me."

Athena smiled and nodded.

Cedric then let himself fall off the roof ledge. As he did, his form scattered into a swarm of feathers, reappearing in the center of the throne room.

’Is sitting on the ground a cultural thing?’ Cedric thought as he looked at the others before nodding in acknowledgment. Then he lowered himself onto the cold stone floor to join them.

After a long moment, Argentos sighed and began in a bitter voice. "I recall that this stronghold... the last human stronghold used to have about ten thousand people. Over time, that number unfortunately has dwindled unnaturally. Some killed themselves because they could no longer bear the despair, they could not bear this eternal life of emptiness. Others who could not take their own lives let themselves be killed by those who had succumbed to the madness of this place."

He paused and his blue eyes grew cloudy. "The recent red bridge incident took even more lives, and many more of us said farewell during the war. Now, there are barely two thousand people left. Among this number, about three hundred and fifty are children who survived all this time."

He looked into Cedric’s eyes. "You said you can restore just a few at the moment."

He paused, and when Cedric slowly nodded, he pleaded, "Then... restore the children. Put an end to their stagnant existence so that they may grow again. That they may have a chance at a real life."

Cedric felt his heart grow heavy. After a moment, he nodded again.

Argentos then looked away and exhaled hard.

"A few adults have been chosen to join them. They shall be their parents and shall raise them in the light, teaching them what it means to be human again. As for the rest of us, we will remain hollow. We will continue to protect them and make sure that no harm ever comes to their fragile new lives."

Despite knowing that this was just an attempt that could either succeed beyond their wildest dreams or fail utterly, the hope in all of their eyes was undeniable.

Cedric exhaled.

Argentos touched his chest, his forehead, and raised a hand to the side. The others in the room then followed suit, repeating the gesture one after another in respectful silence.

Cedric was the last to perform the gesture.