Everything froze.

Literally.

Lucas's threads vanished mid-air.

Noah's figure, mid-step, became static.

Vayu's wind halted.

Even my heartbeat felt like it paused.

A soft, glowing light engulfed all of us.

Warm and weightless.

We weren't in the forest anymore.

Just like that—

The blood.

The fire.

The bodies.

Gone.

[Teleporting remaining participants.]

A bright light engulfed us.

And just like that, the chaos vanished.

Silence.

I stood alone in the void, my legs trembling as all the injuries on my body were healing magically.

I felt my chest still heaving up and down like I'd run a marathon.

The threads made by Lucas had been too close. I could still feel the pressure against my ribs.

I hadn't done anything.

Again.

They all fought and bled and risked everything.

I just…survived.

But not because of me.

Because they protected me.

Because Noah stepped in subconsciously. Because Vayu screamed for me to run.

Because Eren shielded me.

Seraphina used a skill that backfired just to stop a threat.

And I?

I was useless.

Tears pricked down my eyes, and this time, I didn't stop them.

I hated this.

Hated feeling powerless.

Hated standing still while the people I cared about bled for me—

Something in my heart broke as I realised all this all over again.

The fact that I was nothing.

The most up-to-date version is on M(VLEMPY)R.

My hands started trembling as I stood up, and my eyes couldn't help but moisten.

But that was all fine.

I would get over this.

"I swear," I muttered to the empty void, voice shaking with something sharp and painful as my surroundings started to change, "I won't stay this way."

I was going to change.

No matter what it took.

No matter how long it took.

For no one knew this yet except me but…

I knew I was special.

I knew it since the day my 'dad' told me that I was not his child.

That when he found me, my eyes weren't black but glowing pink.

That the place he found me wasn't Earth.

It was—

***

——————————-

The light faded from my eyes.

'We were no longer in the forest.' I realised.

No blood.

No wind.

No bodies.

Nothing?

Just the same circular platform made of those holographic blue bricks that we had done our phase one in.

I found myself back to where the throne made for me was placed, and noticed soon enough that others had started to teleport here as well.

Everything and everyone seemed to be too quiet and controlled as a soft breeze grazed my cheek, even though there was no sky or sun to make it happen.

Fifteen of us stood there.

Fifteen...plus me.

I scanned the faces out of habit.

Team A: Me, Seraphina, Aurelia, Dario, Erza.

Team B: Lucas, Isla, Kael, Ciel, Maxin.

Team C: Pixie, Vayu, Eren, Lina, Kane.

Yeah, most of us fighting alongside the corpse of the boss monster had already arrived here.

But then, where was Team D?

I knew that they had been found and killed by lucas's team.

Already eliminated.

All five members of them were supposed to be here first, then where had they gone?

I realised that their absence was louder than their presence; even we had only a glimpse of their team and the powers they used.

Pixie stood a few feet aside of me, her head down, shoulders stiff.

The faintest tremble clung to her posture like a memory she couldn't shake off.

I didn't blame her, honestly.

Those threads got way too close to the girl.

Lucas, of course, looked calm.

And dumb.

His hands were in his pockets like nothing had happened, his eyes cold and aloof. Seraphina, our hidden trump card, had already taken her seat on the throne, looking extremely pale and exhausted.

Her breathing was uneven. Blood had crusted near her nostrils, probably because of the backlash from her skill.

I'd watched her crumble, and I couldn't do anything.

It was then that I realised that no matter the deal I had made with my team members to not harm Pixie, I shouldn't betray them by not trying to steal her kill points at all.

And thus, I ran.

Not for Pixie, but for my team.

'Isn't it funny how you finally accepted these half-cousins of yours as a team?' Damien purred all of a sudden, continuing.

'I thought it would take you way longer than this to realise that you need people by your side to actually win this game, Noah.'

'Only by having people you can trust your back with do you have a chance at defeating the author and escaping your written fate, boy.' I closed my eyes for a second.

Regret tasted like ash on my tongue. I was the team leader. I was supposed to protect them all, not choose favourites.

'And yet… you chose.' The voice curled through my skull like smoke.

It was Damien again.

'Isn't it funny,' he snickered, 'how you finally accepted these half-cousins of yours as a team? I thought it'd take longer for the Fated Villain to start caring.'

I gritted my teeth, not liking my nickname at all.

'You're starting to learn, boy. About responsibility. About the difference between survival and leadership.'

"Shut up," I muttered. But I didn't mean it.

Because he wasn't wrong.

'You ran not to save the girl. Not to protect the the girl you care about. But to preserve your 'team'.

The one that accepted you, despite knowing you'd stab them in the back if needed.'

I clenched my fists.

"Was that wrong?" I asked.

Damien chuckled. 'You're asking the wrong question.'

I didn't speak.

'The question you should ask is—what will you do when the people you care about get in the way of your goal? When loving them costs you your victory?'

My throat went dry.

'This is the author's trap, Noah. Love someone, and you tie your own hands. Care too deeply, and you'll hesitate at the crucial moment. Want to escape your fate?'

I nodded slightly, my eyes darting towards Pixie.

'Then be ready to watch them bleed. Be ready to let them fall. Because saving everyone? It's a fantasy only heroes chase.' The sentient system scoffed.

'You're not a hero.'

"I know."

I said it aloud.

The truth stuck to my chest like a dropped sword.

I wasn't a hero.

I was supposed to be something else.

Something colder.

Sharper.

But not heartless.

And that was the problem, wasn't it?

'You can't carry both swords,' Damien whispered, quieter now.

'You can't carry the one made of steel…and the one made of sentiment together, Noah.'

'No matter what you say or do, there will come a day where you will have no choice but to choose.'

'And that day?'

'That day will decide if you really become a villain or not.'

***