Silence.
For a heartbeat, the room only held the sound of blood.
"Oi, motherfucker!" One of them snapped.
"Why'd you kill her?! We could've had our fun with her!"
"She jumped in front of me! I didn't—"
Their words blurred to me.
All I could see was her body, blood spreading across the cracked floor like ink.
Panic pressed against my ribs.
'No. No—no, no, no…'
I couldn't think.
I couldn't breathe.
'Move.'
I screamed in my head.
'MOVE, DAMN IT! YOU.PATHETIC.BASTARD, MOVE!!!!!'
But my body stayed still.
Useless. Powerless.
Tears burned my eyes as the men argued.
"—let's kill him too. He's useless anyway."
Then one of them stepped closer, grinning.
I saw the glint of his dagger—then looked down to see it buried in my chest.
He twisted it... slowly.
Trying to get a reaction out of me.
But it didn't.
I didn't feel any pain, since my body was paralysed and numb.
I couldn't feel the blade, but I could feel the will to live flare hotter than pain.
I would not die without dragging them with me.
'I... will... kill them... I will kill them. I will kill them. I will kill them! I will kill them!!'
Rage burned within me.
My eyes turned bloodshot.
'I WILL FUCKING KILL THEM!!'
Looking at the man whose face was near me, just an inch away... I pushed my body to its limits.
I knew I couldn't move my entire body, but I didn't have to.
I did what was possible.
I could move my neck.
So–
I bit.
My teeth sank into his neck, ripping until hot blood spurted like a fountain from the carotid artery.
"Ghh—aaaaaaagghk!!"
He screamed—a raw, animal howl—and staggered back, blood pouring from his neck.
"What the fuck!!"
The other's eyes widened in horror.
They had never thought that the cripple would do something like that.
They ran towards their friend, trying to help, but it was useless.
His neck was gushing with blood.
He was losing his life.
"Pthu….He... hehe…ha...haha ... hahaha… HaHAHAHA!!!!!"
I spat the warm, metallic taste from my mouth and laughed, hysterical and hollow.
Meanwhile... looking at the cripple before them who was looking at them with a maniacal expression while laughing like a madman, they were afraid shitless.
They knew he was crippled, but they didn't take a risk and left without even glancing a second at their partner, who was already dead.
"H-Ha-Ha-ah...gakkkh-ha…"
A gurgling sound echoed in the deadly silence.
"I... I k-killed them.. I killed them L-Lia… Lia."
Lucien was already on the verge of his death. He could feel his vision slipping.
Still, before dying, he wanted to see her. He wanted to see his beloved sister.
A few feet away, her hand lay open, fingers curled like she had tried to reach for him.
That made him feel even worse.
Even in her moment of death, she was thinking about him.
He wanted to call her name, but his throat only gurgled blood.
"L—L..ia… s-sorry-I-I am... s..or...ry."
The word barely escaped his lips—a whisper that died faster than he was.
His eyes dimmed, and his vision blurred. He had lost a lot of blood, and even the adrenaline rush had ended.
Then—
Just as he was about to lose his consciousness, he heard a voice.
A soft, feminine voice—not human, not machine exactly—cutting the dying hush.
[Fatal state has been detected.]
[You have a chance to go to the past. To regress before the apocalypse started.]
[Do you want to proceed?]
[YES/NO]
Lucien thought he was dreaming... which he might be.
He couldn't hear the words properly.
All he could hear was 'Regress' and 'Go to the past'.
Even if it was a dream, it was still something.
"Y-Ggaakh!–" He gasped.
Even opening his mouth was painful.
"Y-Ye—y.. e... s." He murmured finally.
His lungs were burning.
He could hear the thudding of his heartbeat slowing down.
[Confirming selection...]
[…]
[…]
[Final Directive Initiated. Regression Commencing in 3... 2... 1...]
The world around him distorted.
Everything before him twisted.
His vision blurred as something vast and ancient stirred behind the screen of reality.
And then—silence.
Until he opened his eyes again…
To the day before it all began.