Julius’s POV
I tried to pry my eyes open, forcing them apart little by little as if they were glued shut.
The mont I did, pain slamd into all over again.
The impact from earlier still lingered, like sothing had been ripped straight out of my chest and left a hollow space behind. My ribs ached with every tiny movent, and it felt wrong in a way I couldn’t properly explain. Breathing didn’t co naturally anymore. It felt forced and strained.
I tried to wheeze, but sothing inside resisted.
Air wouldn’t pass through properly. It was like there was an invisible wall lodged deep in my lungs, blocking everything. Every attempt to breathe sent sharp pain shooting through my chest, twisting and digging deeper the more I tried. Thinking straight beca difficult. My thoughts ca out sluggish, scattered, and it was like they were lagging behind reality.
Dust filled the air around .
It wasn’t just a little either. Thick layers of it hovered everywhere, swirling slowly, and clinging to the air like it refused to settle. My vision was clouded with everything reduced to vague shapes and shifting shadows.
I pushed myself up, my body protesting the entire ti.
My legs trembled as I stood, and I raised a hand, waving it in front of to clear the dust. The movent felt heavier than it should have, like my own body was working against . Bit by bit, the haze started to thin out, enough for to see properly again.
"You thought you could just do sothing like that?!" I shouted, my voice rough and uneven.
The words ca out louder than expected, partly from anger, partly because I needed to hear sothing other than my own ragged breathing.
I lifted my gaze.
There he was.
The person who had completely turned my life upside down was flying there, still fighting Moriarty like nothing had changed. Even with Moriarty’s transformation, even with everything he had unleashed, he was still being overwheld.
It didn’t make sense.
At least, logically, I could understand it. Anyone with eyes could see that he was strong. If he could hold his ground against both and Moriarty in his normal form, then that alone proved it. A part of knew that. A part of could even admit it if I really tried.
But I couldn’t accept it.
Accepting it felt like swallowing sothing bitter that wouldn’t go down. It ant acknowledging that everything he had done to , everything he had taken, ca without consequence. Like it was all just a joke to him.
That thought alone irritated .
No, irritated wasn’t enough. It burned.
It clawed at the back of my mind, refusing to settle, pushing closer and closer to the edge. The image of his face didn’t help either. That smug look, like he was enjoying every second of this, like my struggle ant nothing to him.
I couldn’t stand it.
My legs tensed without even thinking about it. Muscles tightened, coiling like compressed springs ready to snap.
Then I moved.
The ground beneath cracked slightly as I pushed off, my body launching forward. The air rushed past , brushing against my skin, and for a brief mont, it felt like I was cutting straight through it.
I aid straight for him.
There was no hesitation this ti.
He was busy dealing with Moriarty. That was my opening. I pulled my arm back and threw a punch, putting everything I had left into it.
Before it could land, sothing stopped .
A barrier.
It appeared instantly, blocking my strike like it had been waiting for it. My fist slamd against it, and instead of breaking like before, it held firm.
That sa barrier.
Earlier, it had shattered so easily. It felt fragile back then, like thin glass ready to crack under pressure. Now it was completely different.
It was solid. Unmoving. It didn’t even tremble from the impact.
"If you’re going to co at , keep the screaming to yourself. You’re more annoying than anything when you shout like that," he said.
His voice carried a casual tone, like this was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
The next thing I knew, everything flipped.
My body jerked backward, force hitting before I could even process what happened. There was no ti to react and no ti to brace myself. One mont I was there, and the next, I was flying.
Just like that.
Sent away like I didn’t matter.
Like I was nothing more than so insignificant insect that had gotten too close to a fight it didn’t belong in.
As I was thrown back, my thoughts spiraled.
Everything hit all at once.
I was supposed to beco the king of this country.
That was the plan. That was the future that had already been set.
So being kicked away like this... it didn’t fit. It didn’t make sense.
This had to be a joke.
It had to be.
A joke. A joke. A joke.
The word repeated itself in my head, over and over, like if I said it enough tis, it would beco true.
There was no way I would lose like this.
No way I would be completely defeated by soone like him.
I refused to believe it.
And yet, my body kept flying.
I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t even adjust my position. The air rushed past , while I remained completely helpless.
It felt longer than it should have.
Two minutes. Maybe three.
Ti dragged while I was suspended like that, unable to do anything but wait for the inevitable.
Then I hit the ground.
The impact was brutal.
The mont I crashed, the ground beneath gave way, forming a massive crater. Debris shot outward, dust erupting once again and swallowing everything around . This crater was deeper than the last one, wider too, like the damage was stacking with each hit I took.
Pain followed imdiately.
It took a mont just to gather myself again. My body refused to cooperate.
I coughed.
Blood spilled from my mouth, dripping onto the ground below. I wiped at it instinctively, though it didn’t really help.
Still, I forced myself up.
I pushed against the ground, rising to my feet, but my knees betrayed . They wobbled, shaking under my weight like they couldn’t hold properly.
Was this fear?
The thought ca and went quickly.
Of course not.
Fear wasn’t sothing I felt. It never had been.
And yet, my legs kept trembling.
They buckled slightly, forcing to steady myself before I fell again. It didn’t make sense. I had only been hit a few tis. That was it. I had landed more hits on him than he had on .
So why did it feel like this?
Why did my body react like this?
Why did I feel... scared?
My thoughts started to blur again.
Everything inside my head felt distant, like I was losing focus little by little. That strange feeling spread through , eating away at everything else.
It was unfamiliar.
Unwelco.
And yet, undeniable.
It felt like the first ti I had ever co face to face with sothing like this.
Despair.
A kind of despair so overwhelming that even my eyes instinctively wanted to turn away from it.
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