No.
This wasn't a hallucination. And it sure as hell wasn't a dream.
There was no need to pinch his cheek or blink twice.
Reality didn't need convincing.
The air clung to his lungs like smoke, every breath shallow and choking, as though the world itself refused to let him inhale. His ribs ached. His mind spun. And the pain—God, the pain—still seared fresh like it had just been carved into him.
Then it came.
[YOU ARE DYING]
Not as a whisper. Not even as a warning.
It came just a sentence, merciless in its simplicity.
It didn't scream. It didn't plead.
It simply declared.
That one phrase sliced through the haze, hotter than any flame, sharper than any blade. It wasn't some dramatic cry for help.
It wasn't poetry meant to soften the blow.
It was cold, utterly stripped of comfort or emotion.
It was factual, like a diagnosis from a machine, emotionless and exact.
And it was final, no room for hope, no second chance.
The kind of truth that doesn't ask for acceptance. It simply is.
He wanted to scream but blood clotted the sound in his throat.
There was no cheat. No resurrecting. Nothing left. Just me.
His chest rose, barely. Then fell.
And for the first time in a long time—
Kael felt helpless.
'This… This is it? This is where it ends? Lying in the trash while he walks away laughing?' he thought, stunned and bruised.
Another thought passed through his mind—
Not the thrill of glory.
It wasn't even the burn of vengeance.
But of Orenji's face.
Of the kid still curled up in the corner.
Of a promise he didn't remember making, but had been living like he did.
"I can't die here! Not when he's still standing..."
His eyes fluttered open but weakly.
The puddle beside him rippled.
And then she stepped out.
Her presence didn't announce itself. It never did.
Only Kael could see her.
Whether figment, ghost, or judge, Kael no longer cared. Her form stood upright, composed, while his lay broken and bleeding.
"You're slipping," she said softly.
Her voice was calm and measured.
"Deep down somewhere in your troubled psyche, you always think you'll push through. That pain is temporary. That you'll find the strength when it matters most."
She crouched beside him, her pale hand hovering just above his chest.
"But it's not there, Kael. Look around. It's not coming."
Kael's jaw clenched. Blood welled in his mouth and slipped down his chin.
"How sad. You gamble with time you don't have. You think grit will save you. That being stubborn is the same thing as being strong. But you're out of miracles."
Her fingers brushed his forehead
The touch was ice in his bones.
"You think yourself as the hero of this story?" She said, lower now, her voice lined with something sharp and final. "You're a broken boy bleeding out in the dirt. Let me end this… before you break any further."
Kael wanted to argue. He wanted to scream.
But all he could do was feel the truth sink into his ribs like teeth.
I'm dying. And this time… there's no coming back.
****
No Bloom.
No divine rewrite.
No pity from fate.
Just cold steel reality and the system notice dimming before his very eyes:
[REAPER'S BLOOM: ON COOLDOWN — 27 Days Remaining]
His fingers twitched, but they were useless.
His lungs strained, just as useless.
But she smiled. A mockery of comfort in a world turned cruel.
"Let me carry the weight,"she murmured. "This is not your fight anymore. Let me end it… for both of our sakes."
Her voice brushed against him like silk dipped in ash.
"Let me take it from here," she whispered in his ear.
Kael stared past her to Sean still catching his breath, still dangerous and definitely, still standing.
Then to the scared boy.
And finally, something in him snapped, some fragile and furious part pushed past its limit.
****
"No..."
It wasn't a scream. It wasn't a cry.
It was a single word, torn from bloodied lips—
and it hit the air like a war drum.
His breath shuddered. His body screamed. But his eyes burned.
"...Not while I'm still breathing."
His breath stank of rust and dirt. But it was still breath. And that was enough.
He dragged one hand forward, his nails tearing against broken asphalt.
'"Just you watch…'"
The girl didn't move or try to stop him.
She just waited.
His other arm scraped forward. His torso lifted an inch, then more. Pain lit up every nerve. His spine shrieked in protest.
But his soul—
His soul refused to break.
"You don't get to finish this for me!"
****
The world reeled. His vision narrowed to a single, burning thread of will.
And then—
He stood.
Somehow.
Torn, bloody, and shaking with cracked ribs and tunneling vision. His knees barely obeyed the signal to lock. His breath sounded wrong. It was wet, ragged, too thin to matter.
But he stood.
Sean noticed too late.
Kael moved slowly. Raw, but deliberate. With a single step forward, the pavement cracked beneath his boot.
Sean staggered back, for once uncertain. Blood ran down his temple. His power stuttered, the gravity field flickering like it was losing strength.
The world swam before the latter's eyes, shapes twisting, vanishing into shadow. His body refused to obey. Strength had long since left him. All he had now was the echo of a fight slipping through his fingers.
It was then the sound went off in his head.
Tti-ring.
The system chimed almost on cue, cruel and uncaring:
::
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
[DAILY QUEST: "INCAPACITATE THE EGOIST"]
[Time Remaining:⏳ 00:00:06...]
[Penalty: ???]
[STATUS: INCOMPLETE]
::
The countdown continued.
Kael froze.
'Six seconds...?'
'Wait. Why's it still ticking...?'
His gaze snapped to Sean who was coughing, stunned, and swaying on his feet, far too rattled to land another clean hit.
'Are you kidding me….?'
'Back at the game,' he thought bitterly. 'Isn't that what you meant? Isn't that what you wanted? I beat him. I got back up, did I not? Isn't that enough?'
But even before the thought finished, Kael felt it.
That cold pressure in his gut. The kind of knowing that didn't need words.
It wasn't enough.
The objective hadn't changed. And the system didn't care how close he came.
It didn't care about effort. Or survival. Or personal growth.
It wanted something clean. It wanted an ending.
'I didn't finish it. I didn't finish him…'
His breath hitched.
'All this time, this wasn't about proving I could take a punch. It was about proving I could end one.'
He hadn't taken Sean out.
And now, deep down, the real question clawed its way to the surface, unforgiving and absolute:
Do you have it in you to end this?
Not to fight back.
To finish it.
His eyes slid to the boy cowering behind him, clutching the chimp, wide-eyed and trembling.
::⏳[00:00:05...] ::
The countdown dropped again. Kael's chest burned.
'You wanted me to make a choice,' he realized silently.
This wasn't a test of strength.
It was a test of will.
The system didn't want to see if he could survive.
It wanted to see if he would choose to kill.
His hands curled into fists. Blood trickled down his knuckles.
'She's watching again,' he thought, solemnly. He could feel her presence like smoke behind his eyes.
"He's not finished. You know that."
Her voice echoed like prophecy. And damn her, she sounded proud.
Kael's heart pounded like a war drum. He remembered Sean's words:
"He hurt one of mine. I'm just making it right."
Bullshit.
He wasn't protecting anyone.
He was dominating. Nothing more. Hiding it behind a noble excuse and using it as a leash for his violence.
Kael's vision narrowed.
The system wasn't asking for justice.
It wanted results.
Incapacitation wasn't survival.
It was finality.
::
⏳[00:00:04...]
::
Sean moved again, groaning as he rose. Still a threat. Still seething with hate.
And Kael knew deep down, without a shred of doubt:
'If I walk away now, he comes back smarter. Angrier. Worse. Or... or next time, someone else pays the price.'
But if I fail The System this time...
His gaze flicked to the terrified boy.
'What happens to him?'
'What happens to me...?'
His mouth tasted like blood and regret.
Sean spat, smirking through the pain. Grinning through the blood. "You... you don't have the guts."
Kael stood still for a moment, his chest heaving, blood running down his temple. His fists were shaking, not from fear, but from everything he'd held back for far too long.
He wished Sean was right.
Because if he was... maybe Kael could walk away. Maybe someone else wouldn't have to live with what came next.
But he knew better now.
'This was never about guts,' he thought bitterly, staring at Sean with hollow eyes. 'It's about who I let suffer because I hesitated.'
He stepped forward. One foot, then the other, like the start of something final.
Sean's smirk twitched.
He looked up, and for the first time, fear reached his eyes. True fear, written plainly across his face.
::
⏳[00:00:03]
::
'I don't want to do this.'
'God, I really don't.'
'But what choice do I have? What other choice is there?!'
'If I let him up… someone else bleeds. And It won't be his fault next time. It'll be mine. Right?'
Kael whispered, more to himself than to Sean, "This time… you stay down."
And with all the weight of his choices bearing down on his shoulders—
He raised his fist.
***
He thought of Orenji. Of the Drifter child. Of all the times he stood on the edge and let someone else make the hard call.
That silence always came back to haunt him.
But not again.
1 HP. No second chances. No miracles.
Just him.
And three seconds left to win.
< Chapter 13 > Fin.