"No."
West’s voice was calm, but firm enough that it cut through the tense silence like a blade.
Every awakened present turned toward him.
"I go with them," West continued while nodding toward Harlan’s wife and the two children standing behind him. The girl clutched the woman’s sleeve with swollen and red eyes.
The boy stood straighter, trying very hard to look brave.
While West added; "Who’s going to protect them if I don’t?"
The guards surrounding West imdiately disapproved.
"No."
"You can’t leave."
"That’s not negotiable."
The words ca from multiple directions—guards, gang leaders, even the Mafia spokesman himself. The circle around West tightened subtly as awakened auras pressed down like an invisible cage.
"This isn’t about protection," one of the guards said coolly. "It’s about what happened here."
Another added, "And what you may have taken."
West could instantly tell that they were suspicious. Who wouldn’t be? An awakened had been in here for two days while no one else had access to it? And it was a place that was supposed to be crawling with loot...
They had forgotten that ruins were dangerous even for awakened folks, especially when it was just a solo awakener and not a group.
For people who lived their lives asuring profit and loss, the survival of others was hardly any concern to them.
Harlan’s wife stiffened. "He didn’t take anything," she said quickly. "He saved us."
The boy stepped forward with fists clenched and fury far too big for his small fra.
"You’re all disgusting!" he shouted. "Big Brother West saved everyone and you’re just wicked, evil, stinking people!"
A ripple of surprise ran through the group.
Timothy raised an eyebrow.
"...What is the child talking about?"
Before West could answer, a familiar voice spoke up.
"I’ll explain."
Ross stepped forward.
Several guards shifted imdiately, but Timothy gestured for them to stand down.
Ross took a breath. "West didn’t just survive. He led the civilians. When the ruin ford, he kept them calm, navigated the paths, avoided monsters. When things went bad, he stayed behind to draw the creatures away so the others could escape."
Murmurs spread.
Ross continued with a serious tone. "There are survivors topside who can confirm this. They’re still waiting because they believed West would sohow make it out."
West eyes widened slightly in surprise.
’They’re still waiting...?’
"That’s true," soone from Black Furnace added. "We heard it from the civilians ourselves."
Iron Chain’s side stirred.
Raze Calder stepped forward slightly with his arms crossed. "We can confirm West lived in the neighborhood. He was dragged down when the ruin ford, sa as everyone else."
More voices joined in.
"He didn’t sneak in."
"He was already here."
"He survived because he protected others."
The pressure in the air shifted was soon redirected.
West exhaled slowly.
"So," he said while spreading his hands slightly, "can I go now?"
Timothy didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he stepped closer, studying West with unsettling focus.
"What really happened here?" Timothy asked, gesturing vaguely upward—toward the region of total destruction they had seen earlier. "The blast. The tremor. The light."
His gaze sharpened.
"Was that you?"
West laughed with a look of amusent.
"?" he said. "I’m just a Tier 1 nobody. If I could do sothing like that, don’t you think I’d be a little more... arrogant?"
A few chuckles rippled through the gathered gangs.
Timothy didn’t laugh.
"Then what happened?"
West shrugged. "I don’t know. Honestly. All I did was try to survive."
He t Timothy’s gaze steadily. "You know how ruins work. Awakeners clear them in groups. I was alone. If anything happened down here, it wasn’t because of . It was a miracle I survived at all."
His tone sounded sincere and believable.
And most importantly, it aligned perfectly with what they expected.
Timothy studied him for several long seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Search him."
The guards moved instantly.
West didn’t resist as hands patted him down, checked his pockets, scanned him with abilities ant to detect spatial storage or hidden items. One guard even pressed a palm to West’s back, probing deeper.
Nothing.
No artifacts.
No weapons.
No loot.
The guards stepped back.
"Clear," one of them reported.
Timothy nodded once more.
"You may leave."
The tension broke like a snapped cord.
Harlan’s wife sagged in relief, clutching her children closer. The boy looked triumphant, sticking his tongue out briefly at one of the guards before being pulled away.
Ross stepped forward again. "I’ll escort him. Make sure he gets to the exit safely."
Timothy glanced at him. "Why?"
Ross didn’t miss a beat. "He’s my girlfriend’s brother."
West turned sharply. "Uh—?"
Timothy waved a hand dismissively. "Very well."
The escort was granted.
As they began moving back toward the exit, Ross stayed close to West’s side.
"You okay?" Ross asked quietly. "You look like hell. Are you injured?"
West eyed him warily.
The concern felt... strange and uncomfortable.
"I’m fine," West replied.
Ross nodded, then added, "You really scared everyone, you know."
West said nothing.
A few seconds later, Ross spoke again. "Aria’s been a ss."
That na made everything click.
West’s steps slowed for half a beat.
"...Aria?"
Ross glanced at him, surprised. "Yeah. My girlfriend."
West stared and then he finally recognized Ross. Ross’s face had always been a kind of blur in his mory because he was hardly ever had the cafe.
He left Aria waiting most tis and never ca.
And even when he did, it was very brief. West would either only see his back or spot him in shades from a small distance.
West almost laughed when he realized that Aria told Ross they were siblings.
As they walked, Ross kept talking... checking if West needed support, if he was dizzy, if he needed to rest. The attention was intense enough that it almost felt invasive.
’Creepy...’
West nodded along, half-listening.
Internally, he smirked.
’They wasted ti searching . And they’re going to waste even more ti searching the ruins...’
Because everything of value... was gone.
Taken.
He glanced once toward the depths of the ruin behind them.
’You can have what’s left,’ he thought. ’I already took what mattered.’
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