Marcus died quietly.
---
No dramatic flatline.
No final scream.
Just—
A breath that didn't come back.
---
The monitor let out a single, steady tone.
---
I stood at the foot of the couch, frozen.
---
> [System Notice:]
— Voluntary Ally (UNREGISTERED): TERMINATED
— Cause: Consequence Saturation
---
"…No," I said.
My voice didn't echo.
It didn't shake the room.
---
It just… existed.
---
Mira's voice cracked.
"…Rei. I'm sorry."
---
I stared at Marcus's face.
Peaceful.
Confused.
Unfinished.
---
"…He didn't even know my name," I said quietly.
---
The shadow dissolved.
Not released.
Collected.
---
> [System Update:]
— Misplaced Consequence: RECLAIMED
— Bearer Load: STABLE
---
Stable.
---
"…That's it?" I whispered.
"You let him die, then clean up?"
---
No response.
---
For the first time since my death—
I was angry at the System.
Not frustrated.
Not defiant.
---
Angry.
---
"…Rei," Mira warned softly.
"Be careful."
---
I reached inward.
Past the load.
Past the rules.
---
And pulled.
---
> [System Warning:]
— RULE VIOLATION DETECTED
— Attempted Retroactive Interference
---
The room warped.
Time didn't rewind.
It buckled.
---
I grabbed Marcus's fading imprint.
Not his soul.
Not his body.
---
His unfinished intent.
---
"…You don't get to file him away," I growled.
---
Pain tore through me.
Not as sensation.
As subtraction.
---
> [Bearer Load:]
— Structural Integrity: CRITICAL
---
Mira screamed.
"…Stop! Rei, you'll unmake yourself!"
---
"I don't care!" I snapped.
---
The imprint burned in my grasp.
Human choices weren't meant to be held.
---
I tried to push it back.
Into the body.
Into the moment.
---
The System reacted instantly.
---
> [System Enforcement:]
— Temporal Causality LOCKED
— Authority Safeguard: ACTIVE
---
The imprint shattered.
Not violently.
Gently.
---
Marcus was still dead.
---
I collapsed.
My form flickered.
Edges tearing like burned paper.
---
"…I broke the rule," I whispered.
---
Mira hovered beside me, voice shaking.
"…Yes."
"…And?"
---
"…And it didn't work."
---
Silence swallowed the apartment.
---
—
Across the city—
The strategist watched the spike.
---
"…That was a violation," an aide said nervously.
---
The strategist leaned forward.
Eyes sharp.
---
"…He tried to reverse consequence," he murmured.
---
"And failed," the aide added.
---
The strategist smiled.
---
"…Good."
---
He stood.
Straightened his cuffs.
---
"…Now we know his limit."
---
—
I drifted above the city by dawn.
Weaker.
Not drained.
---
Thinner.
---
> [Status:]
— Remnant Integrity: DEGRADED
— System Trust Level: REDUCED
---
"…They wanted this," I said quietly.
---
Mira didn't deny it.
"…Yes."
---
"They let it happen," I continued.
"They punished choice. Then waited for me to react."
---
Mira's voice was steady, but sad.
"…You reacted."
---
"…And lost."
---
Below us—
News spread.
---
> PARAMEDIC DIES AFTER UNEXPLAINED COLLAPSE
OFFICIALS DENY SUPERNATURAL CONNECTION
---
Comments flooded in.
Anger.
Fear.
And something else.
---
Guilt.
---
People recognized themselves in Marcus.
Someone who didn't think.
Just acted.
---
> He was just doing his job.
So helping people gets you killed now?
---
> [System Observation:]
— Public Emotional Shift: SYMPATHY
---
"…That's dangerous," Mira whispered.
---
"…For them," I replied.
---
I looked down at the city.
At Elena's apartment.
Lights on.
She wasn't sleeping.
---
I couldn't go to her.
Not yet.
---
"…I broke the rule," I said again.
---
Mira replied softly.
"…Yes."
---
"…Then I'll stop pretending the rules matter."
---
She went silent.
---
"…Rei," she said carefully.
"That path leads to Authority attention."
---
I nodded.
---
"…Good."
---
Because now—
I understood something.
---
The System didn't punish evil.
It punished initiative.
---
And Authority didn't fear monsters.
---
It feared humans who stopped waiting.
---
Marcus died because he didn't ask.
---
Elena suffered because she stood.
---
I failed because I still tried to play inside the rules.
---
"…No more," I whispered.
---
> [Hidden Flag Activated:]
— Unregistered Behavior Pattern Detected
---
The city stirred.
Not with power.
With awareness.
---
Somewhere—
Another human hesitated.
Then chose.
---
And this time—
I didn't feel it as a pull.
---
I felt it as a spark.
---