The cheers still echoed as Kaeren stood in the center of the arena.  

But this time, it wasn’t because of surprise or laughter.  

It was because everyone knew: they had just witnessed something that would never happen again.

“Incredible...” whispered someone in the stands.  

“More than just a final,” another replied.

In the front row, a small child stood on a chair and shouted, “Kaeren is amazing!”  

His mother smiled and joined in the applause.  

Not far from them, a group of teenagers who had previously supported Ircos now cheered for Kaeren.  

“He deserved to win,” said one of them.

On the other side of the stands, the king stood and smiled.  

“A battle like this... only comes once in several generations. My duty to help strengthen the people continues,” he murmured.

Noen turned to Xiara. “What’s your plan after this?”  

“I don’t have one. Maybe I’ll just go home. You?”  

“I want to do a lot of things, like visit a book warehouse or something. But I heard the ones here are only open to the royal family and hero title holders.”  

“Not all book warehouses are like that. Some are open to everyone. But of course, those don’t have as many books as the royal ones. I can go with you if you want.”  

“Wow, thanks. That would really help.”  

“Maybe we should try to build a connection with Kaeren,” Raven chimed in.  

“But how? You can’t just approach the winner. Besides, how would we even talk? I don’t understand body language,” Noen replied.

Before anyone could say more,  

The arena lights began to dim slowly.  

The giant screen displayed highlights of the battle: Kaeren staggering, Ircos being thrown, the audience’s cheers slowly rising from silence.

In the medical room, Ircos sat on the examination bed.  

Sweat still dripped from his temples, but his eyes remained calm.  

A medic cleaned the wound on his shoulder. He didn’t complain—he smiled, content.

Kaeren walked alone to the waiting room.  

His hands trembled from the lingering pain of the battle, his throat burned.  

But he felt deeply happy.  

He stared at the ceiling, then closed his eyes.  

For the first time, he felt... there was no need to hide anymore.

In the upper stands, the commentators tried to summarize it all.  

“I think we all agree: this wasn’t just a tournament.”  

“Right. It was a stage where two battles happened at once—Kaeren versus Ircos, and Kaeren versus his trauma.”  

“And Kaeren... he didn’t just fight. It was like he was speaking to his trauma—and to all of us—that he couldn’t be stopped.”

The announcer stepped onto the podium.  

This time, he didn’t try to hype the crowd.  

He simply stood, waiting for the noise to settle.

“Thank you, everyone, for the energy you’ve brought to this event,” he finally said.  

“Today, we witnessed something far beyond a match. With this victory, Kaeren will be granted the title of Hero.”

The audience erupted in applause.  

Some nodded.  

Some wiped away tears.

“With that, we officially close this year’s tournament.  

Thank you for being part of this story.  

See you next year.”

The stage lights dimmed slowly.  

Only a soft glow remained, illuminating the empty arena.  

The participants had likely already left.  

Even Kaeren was no longer in sight.

But in everyone’s hearts, he was still standing there.  

A figure who fought without words.  

And because of that, he was heard the loudest.

Some spectators remained in their seats, unwilling to leave.  

A teenage girl stared at the blank screen and said, “I want to write a story about this.”  

Her friend nodded. “I want to draw them. The way they looked at each other... I can’t get it out of my head.”

Outside the arena, the crowd began to move.  

But no one was in a hurry.  

Everyone walked slowly, as if still carrying the weight of the battle on their shoulders.

In the back corridor, Lyemo stood waiting.  

As Kaeren passed, they locked eyes.  

No words.  

Just a small nod.  

And that was enough.

Orimo approached Kaeren.  

“Congratulations,” he said.  

Kaeren only nodded.  

But his eyes said everything.  

Thank you.

In this tournament, there were no awards for second place or below.  

If you lost, you lost.

Outside the stadium, the sky had begun to darken.  

But the city lights glowed, as if celebrating too.  

On the giant screens, Kaeren’s face appeared—  

Wearing the smile he had shown the world for the very first time.

And among the crowd, someone said, “Tomorrow, life will go back to normal.”  

“Yes,” another replied. “But we’ll never forget tonight.”

Noen and Xiara ran outside, hoping Kaeren hadn’t gone far.

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