Utopian System

Suddenly, a thunderous roar shook the air. Lucien forced his eyes open, fighting against the ice that threatened to seal them forever.

What he saw left him breathless.

Elio.

Alive.

Descending from the sky like an avenging angel.

Disbelief gave way to joy. Elio had survived! The phenomenon in the sea of monsters, that enormous vortex they had witnessed, must have been his doing.

A surge of renewed energy coursed through Lucien's body, awakening him from his frozen lethargy.

But the joy was ephemeral.

With horror, Lucien watched as Elio, with a coldness he didn't recognize, ended Estin's life. Something was terribly wrong. The look in Elio's eyes, that uncontrolled fury, that palpable pain... Lucien knew he had to do something, and fast.

His frog hadn't managed to free him, but perhaps... 'The salamander,' Lucien thought. Without wasting another second, he summoned his fire creature.

The salamander appeared, quickly growing to the size of a large dog. Its scales shimmered with intense heat, contrasting sharply with the cold surrounding them. With a roar, the creature charged against the ice prison.

The impact was immediate. The ice cracked, fracturing under the salamander's intense heat. In a matter of seconds, the prison crumbled, freeing Lucien.

Gasping, Lucien fell to his knees, the sudden temperature change making his body shiver uncontrollably. But there was no time to lose. A few meters away, Raelar and Selene lay motionless in their own ice prisons, their faces pale and their lips blue.

"Free them!" Lucien ordered his salamander, pointing at his companions.

As the creature hurried to obey, Lucien turned his attention back to Elio. What he saw filled him with terror.

Elio had created an enormous ball of ignited carbon, hurling it at Kairos with devastating force. The attack was brutal, disproportionate, charged with a rage Lucien had never seen in the young man he considered his friend.

"Elio, no!" Lucien shouted, his voice joining Varick's desperate cry.

But Elio didn't stop. As if possessed by a supernatural force, he lunged at Varick.

Without thinking of his own wellbeing, Lucien began to run. His legs, still numb from the cold, protested with each step, but he ignored them.

Varick: 130 - 2 = 28 / 100

Elio towered over Varick, his figure casting a menacing shadow over the fallen young man. Every fiber of his being vibrated with contained fury, years of humiliation and resentment converging in this moment.

Memories assaulted him like a relentless storm.

Varick mocking him as he left school, his cruel laughter echoing in Elio's memories. The times he had pushed him, hit him, belittled him.

Later, when he left the house.

When Varick found him playing with Micah and Zara.

All those occasions when Elio had to bite his tongue, lower his head, and endure in silence because Varick's family controlled the city.

The day Varick snatched his belongings before the System's challenge burned with special intensity in his memory. The powerlessness, the rage, the injustice of that moment mixed with the fresh pain of the loss he believed he had suffered.

Elio crouched down, his closed fist trembling with anticipation.

The first blow fell like a hammer on Varick's face. It was a dry, powerful, calculated impact. Elio savored the sensation, letting each instant engrave itself in his mind.

Varick: 26

Another blow followed the first, then another. Each impact was a release, a long-postponed vengeance. Varick's blood stained the ground, splattering Elio's boots.

Varick: 20

"Had he ever forgiven him?" Elio wondered as his knuckles found Varick's face again.

Varick: 18

"Was he a saint? A fool?

Varick: 16

Was it fair that he had to bow his head to 'authority' all that time?"

Varick: 14

'NO!' he roared in his mind, and another devastating blow sent Varick's blood flying.

Varick: 12

Varick, in a desperate attempt, tried to speak. "Elio, you..."

But Elio didn't want to hear excuses. He didn't want to hear anything any of these monsters might say. "SILENCE!" he shouted, his fist finding its target again.

Varick: 10

Varick didn't try to speak again. Instead, a weak, sad smile formed on his bloodied face. Tears sprang from his eyes as he nodded slightly.

Elio didn't understand this gesture. Was Varick mocking his pain even now? Was this another cruel game? Elio's fury reached new heights. He tensed his muscles, preparing for a blow that would end this mockery once and for all.

But then, a firm hand stopped him. Lucien had arrived, his grip strong on Elio's arm.

"Elio, please!" Lucien called, his voice laden with desperation. "This isn't you!"

Varick, still on the ground and with fewer teeth than normal, found his voice.

"Forgive me, please," he begged.

"I was wrong, you didn't deserve that. Hit me if you want, but please, forgive me."

The words fell on Elio like a bucket of cold water. A sudden disgust seized his stomach. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Was what he was doing not just? Wasn't this what they deserved for what they had done?

'No,' Elio told himself.

'What I'm feeling must be the sadness of losing my family. They're to blame, that whole damn family, even Lucien is here, in front of my family's house!'

Anger flared up inside him again. An apology would change nothing. It wouldn't bring his family back, it wouldn't erase years of abuse and humiliation.

With a sharp movement, Elio yanked his fist downward, dragging Lucien to the ground.

Without hesitation, he struck his mentor's face, his authority figure, his friend, feeling a perverse satisfaction at seeing the surprise and pain in his eyes.

Lucien: 14

Elio turned back to Varick, ready to continue his punishment. He raised his fist, all his fury concentrated in that moment.

But before he could deliver the blow, something impacted him hard in the back.