Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne

What did Jon mean by "Nothing"?

It was literal nothingness.

Over time, he had developed the ability to attach meaning to his dreams, often describing them in a single word.

Even the darkest, most abstract dreams had a sensation or concept he could grasp onto.

But this? This was different. It was an emptiness so profound that he couldn't define it, and his body reacted violently, aching from the absence of meaning.

It wasn't that he didn't dream, it was more like he didn't understand it. And, the worst part is, he couldn't even describe it.

…

The usual scene greeted him as he stepped out of his area. People staring at him with a mixture of awe and fear.

However, he ignored the looks, making his way to where the leaders were gathered. It felt so soon, but he was getting used to the looks he got from others.

As Jon scanned the room, he noticed some new faces, new student fighters he hadn't seen the first time. Entering and taking his seat, the girls also followed and took their seats beside him.

Silence...

Nobody wanted to talk, so a random student among them stepped up to speak,

"I-"

However, he was immediately interrupted by Tunde Edun.

"Please, let me handle this," Tunde said, clasping his hands together in a pleading posture.

"W-What...oh, O-Okay." His face flushed with embarrassment, and though he was annoyed for being ignored. He knew better than to hit someone because he was stronger.

Besides, who would start a scene with Jon present. The survivors here hadn't forgotten about the "Krad" incident, or rather they wouldn't forget it in their lives.

From what they knew, Jon didn't have any qualms in killing.

"Is there something we need to know about?" Tunde asked carefully looking at Jon.

Though shocked at the question he got, he thought of what to say and almost laughed at the reason; I mean what could he say? That his bad mood stemmed from the fact that he didn't get a good dream last night?

He thought of it again because it wasn't the only reason, but then again, he couldn't say it.

His noticed something, his emotional detachment had been useful in battle and terrible in moments requiring genuine feeling. To the point that, when his closest friend had died, he couldn't express his grief properly. He still didn't know if it was a good thing or not, and only time would tell.

But he still responded to Tunde's question and asked, "No, it's nothing. So who is coming and when do we leave?"

"The people are already gathered and we can leave now." Tunde answered pointing at all of them.

"Oh, you're coming too?" Jon asked showing a slight surprise.

"Yes," he sighed and continued, "I have too."

"Or we could wait for the security team?" Jon chuckled, imitating Tunde's on the first day, earning a round of laughter from Jenny.

Tunde's face immediately turned red in embarrassment; he clearly didn't expect for it to be used against him like this.

Jon then stood up and draped his arm around Tunde's shoulders as they began to move.

With his mood unexpectedly lifted, he already forgot about his bad mood,

"I'm really curious to see what kind of skill you'll get."

Everyone around could tell that Jon was feeling better than when he arrived. Even the random leader, who had been embarrassed earlier, sighed in relief. He had really dodged a bullet by not picking a fight with Tunde.

As the group moved, Jenny seemed relieved that Jon's bad mood was not related to his friend's death, because he was really detaching himself away from them too much.

However, Cynthia and the dark-skinned girl exchanged glances, curious about Jon's sudden shift in attitude. Then, they both turned to Jenny,

"Why are you staring at me like that," Jenny asked, confused by their stares.

Cynthia, never one to mince words, blurted out with a sly grin, "Why didn't you tell us Jon's gay?"

BOOM.

It was as if an explosion went off in everyone's mind. Then they all subconsciously turned to Jon, who too had frozen mid-step.

He had heard her, and even if Cynthia had whispered it instead, he still would have heard it.

"Kuhm..." His arm then slowly slipped off Tunde's shoulders as he turned to glare at Cynthia.

The entire group stood motionless, caught between disbelief and awkward tension. Jon could feel their eyes on him, scrutinizing, questioning. His stomach almost churned at the sudden shift in atmosphere.

The university had been a place of relative freedom, where people could live as they pleased as long as they didn't break the rules.

But this? This was different. People had already started to see Jon as a different being, and now they hear this. How were they supposed to act in this situation.

"No... No, it's not like that," Jon stammered, his voice directed at Jenny and Cynthia, though everyone felt as if he was speaking to them personally. "It's not what you think."

But Cynthia wasn't done.

"So that's why!" she exclaimed, adding more fuel to the fire. 'Why is she doing this?' Jon bit his lip slightly as she kept talking.

However, before Cynthia could push any further, Jon's face darkened.

His smiling face changed, and the air around him suddenly became oppressive.

"Haa..."

"W-What happened..."

"Khmm..."

Everyone tensed and started gasping for air, wondering what triggered the change in the air.

Cynthia could see that his gaze wasn't on her, so she looked towards the direction he was looking at. And everybody turned to that direction too.

Jon's attitude had immediately turned 360 at the the approach of a person. A person, he didn't expect to see at all.

And they all saw her, Alexa.

She was approaching them, looking much better than the last time they had seen her.

Her hair was neat, and her clothes were clean. Her face was composed, showing no signs of the tears she had shed.

However, Jon didn't trust it and immediately activated 'Moon Gaze', trying to see through her.

And, surprisingly, she seemed stable, at least, as stable as someone who had lost a family member could be.

However, she didn't waste time with pleasantries or poetic words like, I need help or any other thing like that.

Her voice was steady as she looked Jon straight in the eye with all confidence and said,

"I want to kill too."