Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win-Chapter 80: Portal [3]

The silence in the room was dense, like a held breath that no one dared to release.

Akamir was the first to move.

"Urgh."

He staggered to his feet, steadying himself on the edge of the desk.

His breath came in short, clipped gasps as he calmed himself down.

His eyes flicked over the now-dormant core and the faint scorch marks lining the walls.

Milo was still on her knees, coughing as she tried to shake off the disorientation.

Velyrian, on the other hand, was grinning actually grinning as he stared at the still-spinning rings of the Dyson sphere.

"It worked," Velyrian whispered, his eyes wild with awe. "The core stabilized... the rift opened... it worked."

Akamir turned, a gaze that could make any man tremble. "You think that was a success?"

Velyrian didn’t look at him.

He was still fixated on the sphere like a man hypnotized.

"The energy lines responded. The stabilizers held—just barely, but they held. That means the theory is sound. That means—"

"That means you nearly got us all killed," Akamir snapped.

The sharpness in his voice made Milo flinch.

Velyrian finally turned his head, expression shifting from awe to something more defensive.

"We always knew there were risks," he said with a shrug. "You can’t expect a breakthrough without—"

"Don’t give me that arrogant bullshit," Akamir growled.

"That thing was trying to get through. That wasn’t a rift—that was an invitation."

"It was a controlled breach, and I was managing the flow!"

Akamir took a step forward, voice rising.

"You were barely holding it together! You had no failsafe beyond a plug and a prayer!"

"If I hadn’t pulled the connection when I did, we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation."

Velyrian frowned, his earlier confidence giving way to irritation.

"You’re acting like we didn’t achieve something incredible. You saw it. The rift opened. That means we’re close. This is history in the making, Asher."

Akamir stared at him in disbelief.

"You care more about ’making history’ than your own damn life. Or hers." He gestured at Milo, who looked away. "Are you fucking insane?"

"I care about progress," Velyrian said coldly. "You think your caution makes you better? It makes you a coward. You’re too scared to push the boundaries, even when they’re right in front of you."

That did it.

Akamir exhaled slowly, the last of his patience leaving him. "You know what? I’ve had enough of this."

He turned away, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair. "You want to tear the world open just to see what’s inside? Go ahead. Do it without me."

Velyrian said nothing.

Milo opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped when she saw the look on Akamir’s face.

He left the office without another word, the door clicking shut behind him with finality.

---

Outside, the hallway was quiet as Akamir leaned on the wall.

A weird fog still lingered in his mind that refused to move.

There was a lot that he saw and experienced in the span of a few minutes.

Nayomi floated in the air with her arms crossed.

She raised a brow as Akamir approached, but didn’t speak until he stopped beside her.

"So," she said softly, "Is your curiosity satisfied now?"

Akamir didn’t look at her right away. He rubbed his temple, eyes still a little dazed.

"He almost ripped a hole into another dimension. Something tried to come through. Something that is fucking my mind."

Nayomi gave him a slight nod. "I saw that and I have seen that before."

Akamir looked at her. "...What?"

"Nothing." She replied, looking away. "Good job stopping it."

"I barely stopped it." He paused. ".....Velyrian is proud of what he did."

"....."

"I get it," Akamir said, finally meeting her eyes.

"He’s smart. Smarter than most people I’ve ever met. But he’s reckless. Stubborn. And he doesn’t care what it costs as long as he gets results."

"You’re angry," she said simply.

He gave a short laugh.

"Yeah. I am. Because it could’ve gone bad." He rubbed his temples.

"And he’d still be there calling it a success even if we were turned inside out."

They stood in silence for a moment, the hum of the facility around them like a distant tide.

Nayomi finally spoke again. "So what now?"

Akamir sighed, pushing himself off the wall.

"Now? I take a break from that madness. I did break the Dyson sphere so he won’t be able to use it for the time being."

Nayomi looked at him for a moment longer, then nodded. "Good. You’re the only one who makes him pause. Maybe walking out will make him think."

Akamir shook his head, unsure if Velyrian was capable of thinking about anything beyond his next discovery.

He glanced back toward the office.

And then walked away.

’I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.’

Akamir thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

’And I need to destroy the Ven core.’

Akamir had seen what that thing is capable of with his own eyes.

’...The world will be screwed if it gets into the wrong hands.’

Akamir hasn’t lived enough of his new life to just throw it away like that.

’Anyway, I should destroy it as soon as possible.’

He let out a sigh as he walked out of the teacher’s building.

But something caught his attention.

There was no response from the things that happened just before.

He couldn’t see any type of chaos even though there was a legit explosion.

People walked around busy with their lives.

’Weird...wait, did it only happen to us?’

Akamir began to doubt the legitimacy of what he saw.

’Hmm?’

His steps slowed down as he noticed someone.

Inara blinked quietly before she walked towards him.

"Why are you here?" She asked, looking at him. "Don’t you have a class?"

"It’s nothing special." He replied. "I bunk all the time."

She didn’t say anything about it after that, instead she walked closer.

Her hands began to fix the coat he wore hastily.

Akamir looked around and found a few eyes on them.

He looked back at the girl. ’What a show off.’

Inara nodded and kissed his cheek. "Better."

Akamir just looked at her as she walked past him.

"Oh."

As if she remembered, Inara turned around.

"We are going on a date tomorrow, be ready."

She walked away leaving him alone.

Akamir could hear people buzzing around him.

Akamir rubbed his temples.

’....This girl.’

Akamir began to wonder if she actually liked him.

And the chances seem too high to ignore.

---

In an overly decorative room with luxurious oversized bed a boy sat quietly.

His vacant gaze remained fixed on his broken hand that was plastered...

’How did this happen!?’

Arthur thought, barely suppressing his anger.

His fingers twitched.

Pain shot through his arm, sharp and cold like a blade dragging along bone.

"Urgh."

He winced.

The white cast wrapped tightly around his hand, sealing in the damage like a cruel joke.

His breathing was shallow, but the fury behind his eyes was anything but hatred.

’That bastard...’

His memories were blurry.

The battle hadn’t lasted long.

Just a few minutes.

But it was enough to leave him humiliated, defeated, and broken.

’How did he counter me so easily? How did I not see it coming?’

He clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing at the cast like he could crush it through sheer hatred alone.

Knock! Knock!

There was a knock on the door, taking his attention.

"Young maste—?"

The voice abruptly stopped and the door swung open.

Arthur was ready to shout but his words were caught in his throat as he looked at the boy standing behind his maid.

Prince Lucien smiled softly. "How have you been, Arthur?"

"P-prince, ugh."

He tried to get off the bed but his body screamed in pain.

Lucien walked inside while gesturing the maid to go away.

"I came to check on you." Lucien said, looking back at him. "Asher really did screw you, huh?"

Arthur bowed his head in shame but his mind was thinking something else.

’Why is this bastard here?’

Arthur hadn’t forgotten how Lucien tried to propose to Zaina in front of everyone.

But—.

Unlike Akamir, he can’t do anything about him.

Arthur only challenged Asher because he was sure he could handle the situation.

But a prince?

No, Arthur could never go against him.

"I know you have a lot of doubts." Lucien said, picking up a chair.

"But rest assured, I only proposed to Zaina to screw with Asher."

Arthur looked at him with surprise all over his face. "W-what?"

"You heard me." He replied, sitting on the chair. "But when I saw you fight for her, it was clear you love her more than anyone."

Arthur didn’t know how to react, all he could do was stare blankly at him.

Lucien leaned forward, staring back at him.

"So, I decided to help you out."

There was one thing that Lucien was confident in and that was to manipulate anyone to do his work.

"All you need to do is tell me everything about yourself and Zaina."

And now his new target was Arthur.