The room was quiet.
Stella, Lena, and Ethan sat around the dimly lit table, the weight of the moment pressing down on them.
Hugo leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table, his gaze distant. The past was creeping back.
Then, finally, he spoke.
"The Solstice… was like a brother to me."
Lena's expression shifted. "Brother?"
Hugo nodded, his voice low. "Not by blood. But in war, bonds form that are stronger than blood."
He exhaled, his fingers tightening slightly. "Back then, we fought together. We had the same dream—to end the war, to give people a future without fear."
He looked at them, his golden eyes unreadable.
"But dreams don't always last."
A silence hung in the air.
Ethan, normally full of energy, remained still. Even he could tell—this was a story Hugo had never told before.
Stella leaned forward slightly. "What happened?"
Hugo didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to the window, watching the moonlight reflect off the glass.
Then, he began the story.
Hugo's eyes remained on the window, the moonlight casting shadows across his face.
Then, he spoke.
"The Eclipse War wasn't just a battle. It was a choice."
Lena frowned. "A choice?"
Hugo nodded. "A war against the Perfect Lifeforms wasn't something that just happened overnight. It started because of people like us—people who couldn't stand being controlled anymore. And at the center of it all… was Solstice."
Stella leaned forward. "So, what was he like?"
A small breath escaped Hugo's lips. Not quite a laugh. Not quite a sigh.
"He was… everything I wasn't."
He finally turned to face them.
"Where I was reckless, he was patient. Where I hesitated, he acted. And where I saw war as a burden… he saw it as a responsibility."
Hugo's hands tightened slightly.
"He believed we could end it together."
The room was silent.
Ethan, for once, didn't say anything.
Hugo exhaled. "And for a while, I believed it too."
Stella watched him carefully. "…But?"
Hugo's golden eyes darkened.
"…But the war didn't go the way we thought it would."
Hugo's voice was steady, but his eyes were distant.
"After the war ended… everything changed."
Lena and Ethan listened in silence, their expressions tense.
Stella, however, watched Hugo closely.
There was something in his voice—regret.
Hugo exhaled.
"Solstice was always the strongest of us. The most determined. The most willing to do whatever it took."
He glanced down at the table, his fingers brushing against its surface.
"But in the end… he wanted power more than anyone."
Ethan blinked. "Power?"
Hugo nodded slowly.
"The war was over, but he couldn't let go. He wasn't satisfied. He wasn't fighting for freedom anymore."
He lifted his gaze, his golden eyes sharp with memory.
"He was consumed."
A low, resonating hum filled the room.
Cosmos.
The legendary sword, resting against the wall, vibrated softly.
Then, it spoke.
"And that… is where the real battle began."
Cosmos hummed again, the sound low and steady, almost like a voice remembering something long buried.
Then—it spoke.
"The war should have ended there."
The glow of its Arcana pulsed faintly.
"But Solstice… refused to let go."
Lena swallowed. "What do you mean?"
Cosmos' hum deepened. "He had already won. The Perfect Lifeforms were gone. The world was free. But it wasn't enough."
Hugo stayed silent, his fingers curled slightly on the table.
Cosmos continued.
"Solstice had wielded Vengeance, the Sword of the Black Hole. At first, it was just a tool—a weapon to destroy the enemy. But Vengeance is not a weapon meant for balance. It only consumes."
Ethan tensed. "Consumes?"
"Everything."
The weight of the word settled over them.
Cosmos' hum was softer now. "The Solstice I knew was a warrior. A leader. A man with a dream. But in the end, he became something else."
Stella clenched her fists. "And then…?"
Cosmos' glow flickered.
"Then came the final battle."
A silence stretched between them.
Hugo finally spoke, his voice low.
"The battle between the Hero of the Eclipse… and Solstice."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Cosmos' hum lingered in the air, but it was Hugo who finally spoke next.
"That battle… was unlike any other."
He lifted his gaze, the golden light in his eyes flickering with something unreadable.
"Solstice had fully given himself to Vengeance. He wasn't the man I fought beside anymore."
Lena hesitated. "So how did you stop him?"
Hugo exhaled slowly. Then—he revealed the truth.
"Cosmos has one final form."
Ethan blinked. "Final form?"
Hugo nodded. "The power Solstice had with Vengeance was beyond anything I had faced before. Corona and Luna weren't enough."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice steady.
"So I activated Eclipse Mode."
A pulse of energy filled the room as he spoke the words.
Stella's eyes widened. "Eclipse… Mode?"
Hugo rested his hand lightly on Cosmos' hilt.
"The true power of Cosmos. The form I used to defeat the Three Titans."
Cosmos hummed again, this time stronger.
"And the form I used… to seal Solstice away."
The weight of his words settled over them.
He had unleashed the ultimate power.
But at what cost?
The room felt smaller.
Hugo's words hung in the air, heavy and absolute.
"Eclipse Mode."
Stella, Lena, and Ethan didn't move. Didn't breathe.
Finally, Lena spoke, her voice careful. "What… exactly does it do?"
Hugo's fingers grazed Cosmos' hilt, his golden eyes unreadable.
"It grants supremacy."
Ethan blinked. "Supremacy?"
Hugo nodded. "Over everything."
He glanced up, his gaze sharp.
"Time. Space. Reality. Arcana itself."
His voice remained steady, but there was a weight to it.
"Eclipse Mode doesn't just enhance my strength. It turns me into something else. Something beyond human. A force that bends the world itself."
A shiver ran down Ethan's spine. "Wait… so you basically turn into a god?"
Hugo didn't answer immediately.
Then, he exhaled.
"More than that."
Stella felt a chill run through her. "Then… why don't you use it all the time?"
For the first time, Hugo's hand tightened around Cosmos.
Then, he closed his eyes.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.
"Because I can't."
Lena frowned. "What?"
Hugo opened his eyes, staring down at the table.
"After the battle with Solstice… I swore I would never use it again."
A silence stretched between them.
Ethan hesitated. "So… what happens if you try?"
Hugo's expression didn't change.
"I can't." He tapped the side of his head. "I've tried. But the moment I reach for it… I stop myself."
Stella's eyes widened slightly.
"You have a mental block."
Hugo nodded once.
The strongest ability in existence—and his own mind refused to let him use it.
A weapon sealed not by force, but by his own will.
And for the first time—they realized how much he feared it.
The room was quiet.
No one knew what to say.
Hugo exhaled slowly, his fingers tracing small patterns on the table.
Then—he continued.
"After the battle… I wandered."
Lena and Ethan remained silent, listening.
Stella, however, watched him carefully.
"I traveled from city to city, country to country. Searching." His golden eyes dimmed slightly.
"For a reason to fight again. A purpose."
A bitter chuckle left his lips.
"But the more I searched… the more reasons I found to stop."
Ethan swallowed. "What do you mean?"
Hugo's gaze turned to the window, watching the moonlight stretch across the floor.
"I've seen people die. Watched families torn apart. Seen smiles turn into graves."
His voice was calm. Too calm.
"I thought if I kept walking, I'd find something to make it all worth it. Something that justified everything I'd done."
He shook his head.
"But all I found was more suffering."
Stella clenched her fists.
And then—she understood.
Her eyes widened slightly as realization settled in.
This was why he stopped being a hero.
Not because of power. Not because of guilt.
But because he was tired.
Because after everything he did, everything he sacrificed—nothing changed.
Hugo finally fell silent.
The weight of his words settled over the room like a storm.
No one spoke.
Lena's hands were clenched in her lap. Stella's gaze was fixed on Hugo, her thoughts racing. Even Cosmos had gone silent.
For a moment, it felt like the past itself had come alive in the room, suffocating them all.
Then—
"Welp! That was depressing."
Ethan clapped his hands together, forcing a grin.
Hugo blinked.
Lena shot him a glare. "Ethan—"
"Nope! Nope. We're not doing this." Ethan waved his hands dramatically. "I refuse to sit here in brooding silence. We'll be here all night."
He pointed at Hugo. "You need a nap."
Then at Stella. "You need to stop staring at him like you're reading his soul."
And then at Lena. "And you—just… breathe, okay?"
Lena groaned. "Ethan—"
"Exactly, that's the spirit!" Ethan grinned. "Now! I say we all get some sleep, because there is still a tournament to win tomorrow."
He leaned forward. "Unless, of course, you're planning to let Darius walk away with the title?"
Stella snorted.
Hugo… actually let out a small chuckle.
Ethan pointed triumphantly. "See? That's a victory. Now! Everyone—bed."
Lena rolled her eyes but stood up first. "Fine."
Stella sighed but smirked slightly. "You're ridiculous."
Hugo said nothing—but for the first time that night, some of the weight in his eyes lifted.
Maybe, just maybe—it wasn't too late to fight again.
Across the village, in a small old house, Darius sat alone in his room.
The only sound was the faint static of a tiny device on the table in front of him.
A listening bug.
It had been a simple idea—plant the device in Hugo's room and listen in. He wanted to hear how his future opponent thought, how he trained, how he prepared for a fight.
Instead… he had heard everything.
Hugo's past.
His war.
His loss.
His pain.
Darius sat there, staring at nothing, his hands clenched into fists.
His chest felt… heavy.
And before he even realized it—
Tears started falling from his eyes.
"…Damn it," he muttered, wiping them away. "That old man's story was… too much."
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
Then, slowly, he looked at Drill Fang leaning against the wall.
"…I have to beat him," Darius whispered. "Not just for me. But for him too."
The finals weren't just about winning anymore.
They were about proving something—to Hugo, to himself, and to the world.