The creaking sound of the door hinge rang sharply, breaking the silence as Steve slowly stepped into his room. Unlike the days when he usually returned after his routine, this time his footsteps felt incredibly heavy, as if the gravity around him was pulling him down.
He slowly closed the door, then sat on the edge of his bed. The luxurious facilities of the TGH room now felt incredibly empty and cold.
Steve lowered his head, staring blankly at the floor. In his mind, Kregt's words kept repeating over and over again.
"Try to see things from different perspectives. From there, you will find peace."
"(Hmm… what…?)"
Steve gave a bitter smile. From Unknown's point of view, it was revenge for the defeat he once suffered at Shiro's hands. But from Steve's perspective… he had just used his own two hands to split apart the only friend who had ever cared about him when he was still the weakest human alive.
Inside his inner world, the same suffocating silence filled the space. Unknown, who usually sat arrogantly and dominantly upon his throne, now looked restless. The King of All Kings glanced toward Steve, sensing the deep mental collapse of his vessel.
Unknown clicked his tongue softly. After thousands of years of living in arrogance, he finally felt the need to lower his pride and reveal a piece of his true nature that had long been buried in darkness.
"(Kid…)" Unknown's voice echoed heavily and awkwardly in Steve's mind.
"…Sorry."
A single word that should have been impossible to come out of Unknown's mouth.
However, Steve didn't answer. The young man remained completely silent, not moving even slightly. Even his breathing sounded heavy and filled with despair.
Receiving such piercing silence as a response made Unknown feel cornered. His enormous ego slowly shrank. He lowered his head and rubbed his face roughly. For the first time, he didn't know what to do.
"(Tch… then what?)" Unknown muttered at last. His tone was no longer arrogant, but rather sounded resigned, weighed down by guilt. "(What can I even do now to fix this, huh?)"
Hearing that, Steve slowly raised his face. The emptiness in his eyes sharpened with the remaining fragments of determination he still possessed. His voice came out hoarse, but carried absolute resolve.
"Apologize directly," Steve said quietly. "Not to me. To the person himself… apologize to Shiro."
"Fine. Do whatever you want…" Unknown could only reluctantly follow Steve's request.
Steve slowly stood up and walked out of his room, passing through the corridors. Around him, some of his friends wanted to greet him, but stopped when they saw the gloomy expression on his face.
Once outside The Great Hunter building, Steve flew weakly. He couldn't focus; his energy became unstable. Steve kept crashing into birds, trees, and even mountain cliffs along the way until he finally arrived at Shiro's clan.
Steve stood silently in front of the gate until a member of the Saikyō no Shiraga clan approached him.
"Lord Stev—"
The woman stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Steve was not acting like his usual self.
"Come in. You must want to see Clan Head Shiro."
She gently took Steve's hand and guided him inside.
"Thank you… Aunt…"
Inside his room, Shiro slowly woke up from his sleep and noticed Gampler lying beside him, fast asleep from exhaustion.
Shiro carefully got up from the bed and gently moved Gampler so he wouldn't wake her.
"Hehe… so weak… Shi…ro…" Gampler murmured in her sleep with a mischievous smile. "On…ly one rou…nd… and you're already tired… Zzzz…"
Shiro could only smile at her behavior. He slowly stepped outside and was greeted by his guards.
"Good morning, Clan Leader."
They saluted him, but one guard responsible for reporting unusual events stepped forward.
"Report, Lord Shiro. Last night there was a small earthquake, but we could not find the source. Respectfully reporting."
"Heh… n-no, it's nothing. Probably just some outsider messing around again."
"Understood, Lord."
Meanwhile, in the corridor leading to Shiro's room, Steve's steps felt extremely heavy as he walked through the main residence of the Saikyō no Shiraga clan. Shiro's aunt walked ahead of him with a gentle smile before sliding open the traditional wooden door separating the room.
Inside, Shiro was sitting cross-legged, enjoying the peaceful morning. His eyes widened slightly when he saw who had arrived.
"Steve? It's unusual for you to visit this early in the morning," Shiro greeted warmly. His voice sounded calm and friendly, completely different from the terrifying aura he usually released in battle arenas.
Shiro gestured with his hand.
"Sit down. Don't just stand there."
He then turned toward the clan servants outside the door.
"Please bring some warm tea and food."
Steve slowly stepped inside and sat in front of Shiro, but his head remained lowered. His shoulders drooped, and his gaze stared blankly at the tatami mat beneath him. There was no smile or greeting in return.
Seeing his friend's gloomy and exhausted face, Shiro frowned with concern and leaned slightly forward.
"What's wrong, Steve? Your face looks really troubled. Did something bother you again out there?" Shiro smiled lightly, trying to ease the atmosphere. "You've grown stronger now, haven't you?"
Steve bit his lower lip. His hands rested on his knees, gripping the fabric of his pants until his knuckles turned white. The guilt piled up in his chest felt suffocating.
"Shiro…" Steve's voice sounded hoarse and trembling. "I want to tell you something."
Shiro remained silent, listening carefully.
"Actually… the person who fought you in the tournament yesterday… the one who killed you in that arena…" Steve swallowed hard, his voice almost breaking. "…that was me. More precisely, me and an entity named Unknown inside my body."
Before Shiro could process the words, Steve tightly shut his eyes and spoke firmly.
"OPEN!"
In an instant, the air inside the room changed drastically. The calm atmosphere suddenly became heavy and oppressive. A pure dark aura began to pour out from Steve's body. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had become sharp and cold.
Shiro's eyes widened in shock. His heart pounded as his battle instincts reacted to that aura.
It was the exact same aura that had killed him.
The masked man with the four legendary weapons… was truly Steve.
Shiro was so shocked that his body stiffened slightly.
But instead of attacking, the figure controlling Steve's body lowered his gaze. Unknown clicked his tongue softly before clenching his fist over his thigh.
"I… apologize," Unknown said in a heavy voice, forcing the words out of his mouth and tearing down the last of his pride. "Yesterday in the arena… I let my ego take over and killed you. I crossed the line."
Silence filled the room for several seconds.
Surprisingly, the tension in Shiro's face slowly faded. He let out a long breath and leaned back casually. A small smile returned to his face.
"Hah… so that's what happened."
Shiro scratched the back of his head casually.
"Relax. Didn't we already agree that in that tournament we'd fight with everything we had?"
Unknown fell silent, not expecting the strongest man's reaction to be this calm. Feeling his task was finished, Unknown withdrew his aura.
"(Tch. Handle the rest yourself, kid.)"
Unknown returned control of the body.
Steve jolted as his consciousness came back. He looked at Shiro with teary eyes, his chest rising and falling as he tried to contain his emotions.
"But still, Shiro! I let my body kill my only friend! I… I feel like a monster!"
Seeing Steve on the verge of tears, Shiro's expression became serious, yet gentle like that of an older brother.
"Listen, Steve," Shiro said, looking directly into his eyes. "Great power always comes with its own burden. Back when you were still the weakest human with nothing, I always protected you because I knew you had a good heart."
Shiro leaned forward and firmly patted Steve's shoulder.
"Now you have that power. The entity inside your body might be dangerous, but you're still the one holding it. He's also the one who helped you escape your suffering. The fact that you came all the way here with that messy face just to apologize… proves that you're not a bad person, Steve."
Tears finally fell from the corners of Steve's eyes. The massive weight crushing his shoulders slowly shattered.
"Don't let guilt destroy you," Shiro continued with a warm smile. "Just think of yesterday as the most extreme sparring match we've ever had. Besides, honestly… that fight was really exciting. I haven't felt tension pushed to the absolute limit like that in a long time. It was even worse than when I fought Togil."
Steve wiped his tears roughly and gave a small smile.
"You're really crazy about fighting, aren't you, Shiro?"
"Hahaha! Of course!"
Shiro laughed freely.
"Come on, stop looking so gloomy. I forgive you, Steve."
Steve finally laughed softly. A huge sense of relief flowed through his entire body.
"Alright. He and I will train harder so we don't lose control again."
Not long after, Gampler, who had woken up from her sleep because of the noise, slowly walked into the room where Shiro and Steve were.
"Ugh, Shiro~ my back hurts… huu…"
She held her lower back while her legs were still trembling.
Steve and Gampler stared at each other, recognizing one another.
"Eh… Eh Steve?!"
"M-Miss Gampler?"