They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 557: There Was Nothing Left to Say She had faltered at first, but only briefly. The concentration, the focus, the precision of her solutions... and when she credited him indirectly, a small nod, a quiet acknowledgment of his guidance, his chest had tightened. She trusts me.

That was the best feeling he had ever had in his entire life.

The arena. Stephanie's smirk. The crowd leaning forward. Nnenna on the defensive, every skillful move of hers countered by Stephanie's reach and strength. She had fallen once, countless times. But each time, she rose.

Her fists, her stance, her will, unyielding. Her resilience had been almost blinding in its clarity, and he had watched, clenched, aware of every hit she dodged, every strike she parried, every stumble she recovered from. She had not given in. Not once.

The cliff. The wind. The salt in the air. His grip tightening, not on the stone, not on the ledge, but on the memory of her, every fragment vivid and alive.

Her dance, her sleep, her words, her brilliance, her fight, they all intertwined into one truth: she would never break, not from fear, not from pressure. She was fire, and he was the shield.

The ground yawned beneath him, but the only thing real was her. Her safety. Her happiness. Every pulse of memory sharpened the resolve coiled in his chest.

I would give everything. My life, my strength, everything.

He inhaled sharply, wind biting his lungs. The memories swirled faster now, impossible to separate: her hand in his at the coronation, her head on his shoulder in the plane, her words spilling into the night, her brilliance in the strategy exam, her defiance in the arena. Each beat of memory fueled the certainty burning in him.

I would do anything. Anything. To keep her safe. To keep her happy. Even this. Even now.

And the edge of the cliff, whatever comes next, didn't matter. Not when all he could see was her.

Somto's gaze flicked to a rope suddenly dangling down the cliff, shimmering faintly in the dim light. Where did that cfrom?? He examined it carefully. Maybe there was a way out of this. The rope looked strong but instinct screamed at him: it wasn't strong enough to support all three of them. His jaw tightened, and he felt the weight of his decision pressing against his chest like a vise.

Slowly, deliberately, his hand began to loosen from Arthur's. The movement was almost imperceptible at first, but the tension between the two men was immediate.

Arthur's eyes narrowed, sharp and wary. "Somto... what are you doing?" His voice was calm, measured, but there was an edge to it, a quiet storm simmering beneath.

Somto didn't answer. His focus was on the rope, on the void below, on the reality that he couldn't risk all three lives. I'll do whatever it takes... even if it costseverything.

Arthur's patience snapped. "DON'T YOU DARE LET GO!" His voice rose, cutting across the wind, carrying authority, fear, and unshakable insistence.

The shout echoed down the cliff, catching Nnenna's attention as she bent over immediately after she held on firmly to the rope.

Her head snapped up, wide eyed, heart hammering. All three of them swayed gently in the breeze, and she saw Somto's hand slowly drift away from Arthur's. Her stomach dropped.

"No! Somto! It's fine! The rope, trust me! It can hold us three!" Her voice was trembling, quivering with a mixture of fear and determination. She gripped the rope tighter, knuckles white. "I—I can make it work! Please... don't— don't let go!" Somto's expression didn't waver. Calm, sharp, unyielding. His voice was quiet, controlled, the steel in it cutting through the fear like a blade. "No. It will not hold three people. Not safely... I won't risk it." Her eyes flashed, frustration mingling with desperation. Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back.

She pressed harder on the rope and on Arthur's arm, trembling but unrelenting. "Please... you have to trust me! If you let go... I won't climb, Arthur won't climb, none of us can make it without you!" Somto's chest tightened. He looked at Arthur, whose gaze burned with disbelief, anger, and helplessness. I can't let them risk it... not for him or her.

Nnenna's voice cracked, raw and pleading. "Somto... please... don't leave me! Not like this..." She leaned slightly forward, shaking, her whole body betraying the panic she tried to hide.

For a heartbeat, tfroze. The wind whistled around them. The rope swayed like a silver thread suspended above the void.

And then, Somto let go.

He slipped from Arthur's hand and disappeared into the thick, swirling mist below. The ocean waited far beneath, silent and endless. No sound traveled upward, not a splash, not a whisper, just the infinite quiet of the fall.

Nnenna froze, tears welling, throat tight. "Somto...!" Her voice broke, barely more than a whisper, but it was jagged with terror and grief. She pressed her face against her trembling arms, feeling the void where he had been.

Arthur's jaw clenched. His fists tightened on the rope, knuckles white. He stared down into the mist, lips pressed into a hard line. "Somto..." His voice was low, heavy with fury and disbelief, the kind that could break stone.

Nnenna's hands shook violently on the rope and on Arthur's arm. Her entire body trembled, not from cold, but from fear and helplessness. "I... I should've—" she whispered, voice breaking, choking back sobs she couldn't hold back. She had failed him, failed them all.

Arthur held her steady, grounding her trembling body with a firm hand, but even his calm, unwavering presence couldn't fill the emptiness left by Somto's absence.

Above them, the rope swayed gently, a fragile lifeline dangling between life and death. The cliff seemed impossibly high, the void below infinite, and the silence thick with grief, fear, and the weight of sacrifice.

For a long while, silence pressed in, broken only by the faint whistle of the wind rushing through the cliffside. Arthur's chest heaved, but his eyes never left the spot where Somto had disappeared into the mist.

His fingers were white around the rope, and it wasn't until minutes passed that he finally tore his gaze away to look at Nnenna.

Her face was pale, frozen in shock. She didn't even blink.

"Nnenna," his voice was hoarse, low but firm. "Climb up. Use the rope." She didn't move. Didn't hear him. She just stood there, lips trembling, eyes locked on the mist below as if her will alone could pull Somto back.

Arthur clenched his jaw. He couldn't wait. Not now. Without another word, he reached for the rope, hauling himself upward with quick, practiced movements. Then he caught her wrist.

"Arthur, no!" She struggled, pulling back with surprising strength. "I want to go down. Somto might still be alive, I have to see!" Her voice cracked, sharp and desperate.

Arthur ignored it, muscles straining as he dragged her upward. Her resistance was frantic, every motion wild with grief, but he didn't let go.

Inch by inch, he pulled her until both of them reached the edge. He didn't force her to move farther, didn't push her away from the cliff. Instead, he sat down right beside her, silent, still, shoulders rigid.

He stayed there, watching her from the corner of his eye, prepared to grab her if she tried anything reckless. His grief was heavy, pressing against his chest like stone, but he held it in. For now, his only task was to keep her alive.

The sound of boots and armor clashing against stone echoed through the cliffs before Carl finally appeared, leading several key commanders with him. Relief should have filled the air, but instead, what he saw stopped him cold.

Arthur sat stiffly near the cliff's edge, silent as a statue, his gaze unreadable. Beside him, Nnenna was crumpled on the ground, whether dazed or trembling with tears, Carl couldn't even tell at first. But one thing was clear.

Somto wasn't there.

Carl's chest tightened. No. No, it couldn't be.

He strode forward, his voice louder than he intended. "Where's Somto?" Arthur didn't answer. His jaw was locked, his eyes fixed somewhere far away.

The silence made Carl's heart pound harder. He turned sharply to Nnenna, crouching to her level, his hands Ther gripping her shoulders a little too tightly. "Nnenna, tell me. Where is he?" His voice broke at the last word.

Her lips parted, trembling. For a second, nothing cout. Then, with a strangled sob, or maybe just a hollow whisper, she finally said the words Carl had already feared.

"Somto... Somto's gone." The words ripped through him like a blade. His knees gave way, and he almost collapsed beside her. His throat burned, but no words came. He didn't argue, didn't demand details. There was nothing left to say.

Slowly, clumsily, he pulled her into his arms. She shook against him, her grief spilling into his silence, and Carl could only hold her tighter, as if somehow shielding her from a reality he himself couldn't accept. Around them, the commanders shifted uneasily, the weight of what had just been said sinking like lead. But Carl didn't let go.

For once, the man who always had an answer, who always had a way of making others feel better, had nothing, only the hollow ache of loss.

The words hung in the air like a death knell. Somto's dead.

Behind Carl, the commanders felt at loss, their faces draining of all color. For a heartbeat, no one moved, as if the entire cliffside held its breath. Then, one by one, the soldiers dropped to their knees.

The first fell with his fist pressed over his chest, head bowed low. Another followed, then another until the entire line of commanders was kneeling, the sound of armor striking stone echoing like muted thunder. They said nothing. No wails, no shouts. Just silence, solemn, heavy, and full of reverence.

Somto had been more than their general. He had been their shield, their guide, the man who led from the front when others hid behind walls. To kneel now was the only way they could honor him.

Carl felt Nnenna shudder in his arms at the sight, her sobs breaking anew. His own throat ached, but still he held her tighter, staring at the kneeling men with hollow eyes.

Even Arthur, who hadn't moved an inch, felt the weight settle over him. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, his silence saying more than words ever could.

Somto's name, though unspoken, lingered in all their hearts like a banner raised in mourning.

Hey guys, just one Chapter for today! I combined the first and second, so it's a longer read. And yes... I'm hurting too. Writing this was... tough Share to your friends