Utopian System

As if it were... calling him.

Elio's heart pounded with excitemt. Could these be the mana deposits mtioned in the Gesis book?

With reluctance, he began his desct, soon losing sight of the mysterious beams of light.

As Elio descded, his mind raced, turning over all his knowledge to consider the possibilities.

'Could I fly above the monsters?' he thought. But he immediately dismissed the idea. 'No, at that distance, 0 boosts wouldn't get me ev a tth of the way… And I only have 50.'

His thoughts drifted to an alternative. 'Perhaps underneath? But how to avoid being crushed by the sea of monsters?'

As he weighed his options, Fathoran's words about leadership echoed in his mind. He remembered how the former leader spoke about God's will, about how everything in the city had a divine purpose.

About how the city needed him or everyone would die.

"Of course they need it! God designed it this way! Without a leader, without me, they will all perish!"

"You promise them a future you can't guarantee."

"I am God's chos one! The only true Von!"

'But I'm proving that my methods are better, ar't I?' Elio told himself. 'The city is thriving, people are safer than ever. I'm doing things differtly and it's working.'

Yet, a small doubt crept into his mind. 'Maybe there's something I still don't know? But no, everything is going so well. I'm better than Fathoran. I have to be, I'm the true Von now.'

With this rewed conviction, Elio spotted his frids near the training area at the base of the wall. Certainly, it was time to rest so they were ready to leave… But perhaps a night of work awaited them, because he had to tell everyone...

Elio changed direction, ready to share his discoveries.

He saw Zara, visibly upset, confronting the four girls. The tsion in the air was palpable, and Elio felt a twinge of discomfort as he remembered the situation with Lila.

'What's going on here?' he thought, approaching to land next to the group.

♢♢♢♢

Wh his supposed promise came to light and the argumt erupted, Elio found himself at the cter of an emotional whirlwind.

Without doubt, he felt an undiable interest in Zara, and the idea that she might think he wasn't interested didn't sit well with him at all... but on the other hand, the idea of romance at this momt seemed overwhelming...

He was about to risk his life and while he had accepted his father and realized he had the same complex, at least he didn't want to make the same mistakes as him...

'I'm not ready for this,' he told himself. 'I have a city to run, discoveries to make, monsters to eliminate. I can't... not right now.'

He tried to change the subject, to steer the conversation towards the mana deposits, but Zara wouldn't let him escape so easily.

Wh Zara compared him to Fathoran, Elio felt as if he'd be punched in the stomach. Anger began to bubble up inside him.

'How can she compare me to him?' he thought, furious. 'Everything I've done has be for the good of the city. I'm not like Fathoran... I'm not.'

But ev in the midst of his anger, a part of him tried to rationalize Zara's behavior.

'Maybe she's just tired,' he told himself. 'It's be a stressful period for everyone. She can't really think I'm like Fathoran, can she?'

Elio took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"What I see is that you're making a sce over nothing," Elio replied, struggling to maintain control, to explain to her that it wasn't what she thought. "Zara, this is ridiculous. We're in the middle of a crisis and you're worried about..."

"About what?" Zara interrupted, her voice trembling with emotion. "About the fact that you're appartly making dates left and right?"

Elio clched his fists, anger and frustration threating to overflow. 'She doesn't understand, she insists, she won't let me explain. She doesn't know me. How can she think I have time for... for this?'

In the back of his mind, a small voice whispered that maybe, just maybe, Zara was jealous. That she felt something romantic for him… So he teased.

"I hav't promised anything," he said, his voice tse. "I just said I'd think about it. Why do you care so much anyway?"

"You hav't promised anything?"

Elio's words echoed in Zara's mind, awaking a mixture of pain and indignation. 'So you've already forgott what you promised me?' she thought, the memory of that day at school, of Elio's promise...

But Zara wasn't thinking clearly anymore, the promise Elio was referring to had nothing to do with the one Zara remembered.

"Why do I care?" Zara snapped, her voice charged with an authority she didn't really feel. "Because you're not keeping your promise, because you're an idiot!"

"You can't make decisions like that on your own, don't you remember?" Her eyes shone with fury and pain as she continued, her tone becoming more dominant with each word.

"You can't just go out with whoever you want. You have responsibilities, you have to fulfill your..."

Elio stepped towards Zara, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You have no right to judge me, Zara... And you're nobody to tell me who I can or can't go out with."

Zara stepped back, surprised by Elio's intsity. "I... I didn't mean..."

But Elio was already too angry to list. "You know what? Yes, I'll go out with Lila. In fact, I'll go out with whoever I want. It's of your business, Zara. Or anyone else's."

A stunned silce fell over the group. Lila looked as surprised as the others, her eyes wide op, excitemt and guilt on her face.

Zara took a step back, as if Elio's words had physically struck her. Flare hissed, its tire body igniting in response to Zara's distress.

"Fine," Zara said, her voice barely a whisper. "I guess you're right. It's of my business..."

With that, she turned and began to walk away, Flare casting one last fiery glance at Elio before disappearing with its owner.