Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent! - Chapter 456

Chapter 456: Questions
The satisfaction he used to feel from those victories had been replaced by something darker.

Something more… empty.

‘What the hell’s happening to me?’

He wondered and wondered, his brow furrowing in frustration.

A brief flicker of doubt crossed his mind—just a moment of clarity, a memory of the man he used to be, the man who had fought for something more than just revenge.

He remembered the first time he and Mira had taken up arms against the Red Demons, not out of hatred, but out of necessity.

Out of duty.

They had fought to protect the innocent.

They had fought for a cause.

But now…

That flicker of doubt was snuffed out almost as soon as it appeared, smothered by the cold, unfeeling numbness that had crept into his soul.

He shook his head, angry at himself for even questioning it.

This was the only way.

He was doing what had to be done.

What they both had to do.

A soft knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.

“Alex?”

Mira’s voice came from the other side, sounding quieter than usual.

He sat up, rubbing his hands over his face before calling out.

“Yeah?”

The door slid open, and she stepped inside, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

She didn’t look at him, instead staring at the floor as if she was struggling to find the right words.

There was a long pause, the air between them thick with unspoken tension.

Finally, she spoke.

“Do you… do you ever wonder if we’re doing the right thing?”

Her question hit him like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, he couldn’t respond.

His mind whirled, searching for an answer that didn’t feel hollow.

He had been asking himself the same question for days, but hearing it from her made it harder to ignore.

“No.”

He lied, his voice colder than he intended.

“We’re doing what we have to do.”

Mira looked up at him, her eyes searching his face for something—some sign of the man she had fallen in love with, the man who had always fought for what was right.

But all she saw was the coldness in his eyes, the same coldness that had taken root in her own heart.

She nodded slowly, though she didn’t believe him.

“Right.”

They stood there in silence for a long moment, neither of them willing—or able—to say what needed to be said.

The distance between them had grown too wide, too deep, and neither of them knew how to cross it.

Finally, Mira turned to leave, her hand resting on the door frame as she glanced back at him one last time.

“We’re in this together.”

She said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Just… don’t forget that.”

Alex didn’t respond.

He watched her leave, the door sliding shut behind her with a soft hiss.

And as he sat there in the quiet, staring at the empty space she had left behind, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slipping away from them.

Something important.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, it was gone, swallowed by the same cold emptiness that had been creeping through his soul.

The next morning, they resumed their journey, neither of them acknowledging the growing rift between them.

The silence had become a part of them now, an unspoken agreement that neither was willing to break.

Something was changing inside them both, something neither of them could name.

And in the deep, quiet reaches of space, the poison that had taken root in their minds continued its slow, insidious work.

Unseen. Unknown.

But felt in every silence.

***

The ship hummed softly as it glided through the endless void of space, the stars outside nothing more than pinpricks of light, distant and cold.

Alex sat in the pilot’s seat, his hands resting on the controls, but his mind was far away.

It had been days since their meeting with Donald, days since he had agreed to work with the man despite his instincts screaming against it.

And yet, the decision hadn’t felt wrong at the time.

But now, as he sat in the stillness of the cockpit, the consequences of that choice began to settle in his mind, like a stone sinking slowly into deep water.

‘Why did I do it?’

He couldn’t shake the thought.

He had always been cautious, always second-guessed offers from people he didn’t trust, especially ones like Donald, whose motives were as transparent as they were dangerous.

And yet, without hesitation, he’d accepted Donald’s proposition, like it had been the most natural thing in the world.

A frown creased his brow as he stared out at the stars, their cold light reflecting in his eyes.

His mind felt heavy, sluggish, like trying to move through thick fog.

Every time he tried to focus on the decision, on what had led him to make it, his thoughts seemed to slip away, lost in the haze that had settled over his mind in recent days.

When had it started? When had he begun to feel this way? To act this way?

He closed his eyes, trying to remember.

It wasn’t just the decision to trust Donald.

It was everything.

The way he had snapped at Mira, the way his temper flared uncontrollably over the smallest things.

The distance between them had grown without him even realising it until it was too late.

And Mira… She had changed too.

She was colder now, more distant, her warmth fading with each passing day.

They had always been partners, more than that—lovers, inseparable in their fight against the Red Demons.

But now, they barely spoke. When they did, it was curt, cold, like two strangers forced to share the same space.

‘When did we become this way?’

The question echoed in his mind, but no answer came.

It felt like they had always been this way, like the distance between them had always existed.

But that wasn’t true, was it? There had been a time when they laughed together, fought together, loved together.

A time when the fire of their bond had burned brighter than the stars themselves.

But now, it was nothing more than smouldering ash.