The Extra is a Genius!?-Chapter 506: Back Where We Belong

Garron woke with a sharp breath, his body tensing before his thoughts caught up. For a moment, his vision refused to cooperate, the world reduced to blurred shapes and light that made no sense, his head pounding with a dull, heavy ache that settled behind his eyes. His muscles felt wrong, too stiff, too heavy, like he’d been dragged out of something deep rather than simply knocked unconscious.

He blinked once. Then again.

The shapes didn’t go away.

He pushed himself upright too fast, heart hammering as instinct kicked in before reason could, his gaze snapping from one figure to the next as if he had to check them manually to make sure they were real. Elyra. Elena. Selene. Clara. Laziel. All of them standing there, tired, battered, but unmistakably present.

"No," he muttered, shaking his head hard. "No, no... this isn’t—"

His eyes landed on Noel.

Garron froze mid-breath, his chest hitching as if his body had forgotten how to continue without permission.

"Noel...?" His voice came out rough, almost fragile. "No, no, no. I’m dreaming. There’s no way you’re actually here."

Noel took a step forward, already opening his mouth, but Garron didn’t give him time to finish whatever he was about to say.

"¡NOEL!"

He lunged.

Noel reacted on instinct. Shadows folded inward and swallowed him, and Garron’s arms closed around empty air as Noel vanished and reappeared a heartbeat later behind Elyra, stepping straight out of her shadow as naturally as breathing.

Elyra jolted, spinning halfway with a sharp inhale. "—Could you not do that?" she snapped, already glaring over her shoulder. "One of these days I’m going to hit you without thinking."

Garron stared at them, the movement finally breaking whatever fragile denial he’d been clinging to. His legs gave out slightly, his shoulders shaking as the realization hit all at once, too fast and too heavy to process cleanly.

"I thought..." His voice cracked, words tumbling over each other. "I thought we were alone. I thought it was just us left."

No one rushed him. No one told him to stop.

Laziel, of course, chose that moment to grin. "What, Garron?" he said lightly. "Did us disappearing scare you that much?"

Garron lifted his head slowly, eyes red, jaw tight, and for half a second Laziel seemed to realize he might’ve misjudged the timing.

Then Garron moved.

He charged straight into him, all muscle and momentum, wrapping Laziel up and slamming him to the ground in a single, uncontrolled tackle. Stone cracked under the impact as Laziel wheezed, completely pinned.

"—Help," Laziel said flatly, struggling once before giving up. "I appear to be dying."

He glanced toward Noel.

Noel just shrugged. "I’m not getting between that."

For a moment, exhaustion, relief, and laughter all tangled together in the same space. Garron clung to Laziel like he was afraid letting go would make everyone vanish again, and no one had the heart to tell him otherwise.

Garron still hadn’t let go. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Laziel was completely pinned beneath him, one arm trapped awkwardly against the stone, the other flattened under Garron’s weight. He tried to shift once, felt absolutely nothing move, and decided his chances were better conserving oxygen.

"—Help, I’m dying here," he said, his voice coming out strained but oddly calm.

No one reacted.

Laziel turned his head as much as he could and squinted toward Noel. "Do something."

Noel looked down at the situation, assessed it for half a second, then shrugged. "This time I can’t help you."

"That’s not helping," Laziel said. "That’s betrayal."

Charlotte crossed her arms, watching without a shred of sympathy. "That’s what you get for provoking him."

"I made a joke," Laziel protested weakly. "A harmless joke."

"You scared him," Garron muttered, still clinging on, his voice thick and unsteady. "Everyone scared me."

Clara, standing a little behind the others, smiled for the first time in what felt like days. It wasn’t wide, and it didn’t last long, but it was real. Elena noticed it too, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she watched Garron slowly settle, the initial surge of emotion finally burning itself out.

Elyra sighed, rubbing at her temple. "Garron. You’re crushing him."

Garron stiffened. "I am?"

"Yes," Laziel said flatly. "Very much so."

"Oh—!" Garron scrambled back immediately, nearly losing his balance as he pushed himself off. "Sorry, sorry—!"

Laziel rolled onto his side with a groan, then onto his back, staring up at the sky. "I have survived," he announced. "Barely."

"I’m sorry," Garron said again, wiping at his face with the back of his arm, suddenly embarrassed now that his head had cleared. He took a breath, then another, grounding himself before looking around more carefully this time.

That was when he noticed it.

His smile faded.

"...Wait," Garron said, his voice suddenly serious. "Where are Marcus and Roberto?"

The laughter didn’t vanish instantly, but it drained out of the moment all the same, leaving behind something heavier and much more real.

Garron’s question hung in the air longer than anyone liked.

Noel didn’t answer right away. He looked at Garron for a moment, taking in the way his posture had changed, the way the relief had drained out and left something tighter behind. When he finally spoke, his tone was even, steady, like he was laying pieces out on a table rather than dropping bad news.

"They’re farther out than us," Noel said. "Different island."

Garron’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.

"And yeah," Noel continued, lifting one hand slightly as if to soften the words without hiding them, "it looks like they’re in trouble."

Garron’s hands curled into fists at his sides, his shoulders tensing as he pulled in a sharp breath through his nose. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear how hard he was holding himself in place.

Clara stepped in before the silence could turn into something worse. Her voice was calm, firm in a way that didn’t try to overpower the moment.

"But we’re not splitting up," she said. "We’re not doing this one by one."

She looked at Garron directly. "We’re going together."

Noel nodded once. "That’s the plan," he said. "You’ll have to trust them. And trust us."

Garron swallowed and gave a short nod. It wasn’t confidence, but it was enough.

Noel reached to his side and activated the device. The faint hum drew everyone’s attention as the channel opened.

"Theo," Noel said. "You there?"

"Yeah," Theo replied almost immediately. "I hear you."

Garron blinked, eyes flicking to the device. "Who’s that?"

"I’ll explain later," Noel said, then focused again. "Theo, can you see anything from Marcus’s island now?"

There was a pause. Not long, but long enough.

"No," Theo said. "I’m sorry. Still nothing clear."

The air tightened again.

Theo didn’t stop there. "But there’s something else."

Everyone spoke at once.

"What?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something else how?"

Theo exhaled audibly. "Something big is moving toward your position."

Noel’s jaw set. "How big?"

"Big enough that I can’t miss it," Theo replied. "It looks like a guardian. Massive frame. And there’s a Shard at its core."

He hesitated, then added, "Chains everywhere. Like it’s being held together. Or held back."

No one laughed now. No one moved.

Noel closed his eyes for half a second, then opened them again. "Alright," he said quietly. "Everyone ready yourselves."

The looks they exchanged said everything.

There was no more time to rest.

Another fight was already on its way.