Liam walked up to Cyril and Silvia with a peculiar expression on his face, fiercely glaring at Cyril, who lay on the ground, his hand covering his mouth. The way Liam looked at Cyril was as if he was watching his arch-nemesis.
'This guy took the lead and shamelessly kissed Silvia? He went against our agreement to play fair!"
Liam felt betrayed by Cyril and wanted to say something to him before noticing Cyril removing his hand from his mouth to speak.
"Sorry, Liam… It was an accident… I was impulsive… I should have let you catch her instead."
Cyril said, his mouth full of blood, as though someone had brutally punched him on the lips, causing him to bleed profusely.
Liam swallowed the words that were in his throat, feeling bad for Cyril when he saw his current condition. Blood dripped from the corner of Cyril's mouth as he spoke to him.
Although he maintained a cold and indifferent attitude toward Cyril, he believed that was the only way to get him to forget about Silvia, whom he liked very much. Furthermore, he was certain that Cyril, who spent more time with Silvia, did in fact like her, unlike what he claimed, and that he was merely pretending to be ignorant about it.
That aside, Cyril was his only friend in the orphanage apart from Silvia. Without a doubt, Cyril was weak, or rather he was just unlucky, but Cyril was still someone whom he felt threatened by, despite the fact that Cyril was born weak.
That was why Liam had gradually become cold toward him. However, seeing him bleeding today reminded him of when Cyril nearly died from blood loss one time when they were young. Liam was so worried about him that he carelessly ran deep into the Edge Forest to pick up medicinal grasses needed to help stop the endless bleeding since they had run out of them.
Back then, they all cared about each other, and there were no complications like now. Thinking about this, Liam felt strange in his heart. He also noticed that his feelings were conflicted. He wondered what he had been thinking about all this time.
Why should they become alienated over things such as love and ruin their relationship over the years? Even Liam himself didn't know why he had made such a decision back then.
The current situation made Liam doubt his stance for the first time. Should he pretend not to care about Cyril or should he care about him as he did before?
After pondering for a moment, he unhesitatingly bent down and extended his hand.
"Grab on!"
Cyril looked at the extended hand with a puzzled expression.
Liam felt annoyed by his expression and impatiently said: "Take my hand! There's an infirmary nearby. Maybe they can help you stop the bleeding!"
"O-Okay…"
Cyril used his left hand to cover the blood dripping from his mouth, feeling lightheaded as he attempted to grab Liam's hand. Seeing his wobbling movement, Liam took the initiative and carried him like one would toward their partner.
Under the curious gazes of the crowd, they walked away. Silvia followed closely behind with her head down, feeling guilty about the current situation. Therefore, she didn't say anything until they reached the infirmary.
On the other hand, the dignified and aloof old man didn't really care about what was happening down there and merely called on the next participant to come onto the awakening platform.
"Gideon!"
…
A while later.
Inside the Public Infirmary near the Awakening Venue.
Liam and Silvia stood at the edge of Cyril's bed. Cyril was bandaged. There was a wrap around his bottom lip, and he grimaced in pain from time to time. As the medicinal balm was applied to his lips, he felt as though tiny ants were constantly biting and stinging his bottom lip.
After a few moments, Cyril got used to the pain and indistinctly said: "I'm okay now. I think it will be my turn soon. We should make our way back."
Liam felt awkward and left the room without saying anything, but he didn't leave right away. Instead, he stood by the door.
Silvia still stood on the side of the bed with bloodshot veins in her eyes, seeming to have cried recently.
Cyril noticed her sad and depressed expression and comforted her, saying: "Don't worry, Silvia. It's not your fault."
"But… But…"
Silvia was too emotional to speak properly.
Cyril interrupted, pointed at his mouth, which was no longer bleeding like before, and said: "I'm okay now. See? Besides, this is not the first time that I've been hurt. I'm already used to it."
Silvia still insisted: "But if I didn't jump…"
"No."
Cyril shook his head and said: "You were simply happy about your enlightened talent, which was completely normal. I would be too if I awakened your talent, though I doubt it. Haha…"
Silvia only nodded slowly. She helped Cyril off the bed, met up with Liam, who was behind the door, and the three of them went to the avenue of the Awakening Ceremony.
…
"For the third and last time, Cyril! If you don't come up to undergo your awakening ceremony, you'll be taken off the list of participants this year!"
When the three of them arrived at the scene, the dignified and aloof old man had a furious expression on his face as he called Cyril's name for the third time, meaning he was on the verge of being disqualified.
Cyril and the others who saw and heard this were shocked.
Cyril, in particular, shouted frantically: "I'm here! I'm here! Sorry for the delay, elder!"
As soon as Cyril spoke with his indistinct voice, he instantly attracted the attention of the others in the venue.
"Wait! Isn't he the strange-looking guy who was hurt trying to catch a falling girl?"
"Yeah, that's him! He tried to catch that girl who had Grade 9 and above talent and hurt his lips instead! Hahaha! Sucks to be him, trying to play a hero!"
"No wonder he didn't respond just now! He was taken away a while ago by his friend. From his current appearance, he seems to have gone to treat his injuries! Looking at him again still makes me feel kinda strange. He looks like he aged backward with those insane amounts of wrinkles on his face."
"Who cares! He should hurry up, get on the platform, and get his turn over with so others can also get their turn!"
Cyril dragged his fatigued body to the awakening platform and arrived in front of the dignified and furious old man who was glaring at him with undisguised displeasure.
'What a thing! He's nothing but bones! Why does he even bother to come to participate?! Even someone as old as I am doesn't have that many wrinkles on my face, yet this boy has so many of them! He looks like he would die at any moment, so why bother coming here?! What a waste of time! Had I known it was him, I would've proceeded to the next person!'
The dignified and aloof old man inwardly cursed and complained when he saw the unsightly and unpleasant appearance of Cyril.
Once Cyril stood before him, he indifferently instructed: "Place your dominant hand on the awakening orb, and let's get this over with! You've already wasted enough time as it is!"
Cyril slowly nodded his head in acknowledgment and approached the awakening orb with many thoughts coursing through his mind. He glanced at the orb in the socket with a complicated but yearning desire in his heart.
His fate would be decided the moment he touched that round object in front of him. No matter what outcome was displayed, whether pleasing or unpleasing, he would have to accept it and move on.