[Mission successfully completed.]
[Rewards: Chains of Light.]
My dagger melted into my grip, flowing like molten glass. Despite its shifting form, it felt unnaturally cold—like I was clutching ice.
A blade formed again, but this time it wasn't steel.
It was light.
A blinding golden glow poured from its surface, forcing my eyes to narrow. Chains spilled from the hilt, forged from the same radiant energy, coiling around my arms as if they had a will of their own.
They had no weight. No true shape I could grasp.
And yet… I could feel them.
[You can now experience the life of others without judging them.]
[In return, they will experience yours.]
"…Let me guess," I muttered, my voice dry. "This rule already existed."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
[Yes.]
For the first time, the system responded directly. The words hovered in front of me, cold and detached, as if they carried no meaning beyond their function.
The wind howled as I opened my eyes.
I was back on the tower—the same one where I had fought her.
The girl who knew my wife.
Luna, she... had seen everything.
Every memory. Every fragment of my life.
The realization sent a chill down my spine.
"I can't trust this system…"
The words slipped out before I could stop them. But even as I said it, I knew the truth—trust had never been an option.
I needed to understand it.
Break it apart. Learn its rules on my own.
When I judge someone… they live my life.
That meant—
they see everything.
Not just me, but everyone I've judged. Every soul. Every memory I've ever carried.
My grip tightened unconsciously.
"…That's not good."
Then something surfaced in my mind—faint, but persistent.
A line from the holy book.
Souls sent to heaven cannot feel discomfort.
At first, it didn't seem important.
But it wasn't the whole truth.
There was something else.
Something I couldn't remember.
No—
something I didn't want to remember.
My breath faltered as the realization forced its way through.
"…a wish."
My fingers trembled slightly.
"They get one wish… don't they?"
"That's why…"
My voice dropped, quieter now.
"That's why she was smiling."
She knew.
From the very beginning, she knew what was happening to me—what I was becoming.
She knew that one day, I would lose myself completely.
And still, she made that wish.
She used her last wish to bring me to heaven.
Not to save me.
But to remind me.
Why I was fighting.
Who I was fighting for.
My hand trembled as I clenched it into a fist.
"…Rose."
The name slipped out softly, unfamiliar on my tongue, like it no longer belonged to me.
"Rose… how could I forget?"
I shut my eyes tightly, half-expecting the name to disappear again like everything else.
But it didn't.
It stayed—fragile, barely holding on, yet still there.
"…Thank you, Luna."
A slow breath escaped me.
"I won't forget again."
Even if this system takes everything from me—
even if I lose myself—
"I'll remember."
"…and I'll make them pay."
The moment shattered as several candidates landed on the tower.
"I see one. She's dead—he probably killed her," one of them said casually.
I couldn't see his face. A hood covered it completely.
I had never met him before.
And yet…
something about him felt familiar.
From her memories…?
Maybe.
I wasn't sure.
"Listen," I said, my voice steady as I wrapped the chains around my arms. "I'll let you and your group go. I need to be somewhere."
One of them scoffed. "No. We need to kill a candidate for a mission."
---
I hesitated.
There were too many of them to judge.
Should I just… kill them?
No.
I couldn't become like them.
I wouldn't let myself become a monster.
I turned slightly, preparing to leave—
"Where do you think…"
A pause.
"…you're going?"
Something in his voice made my chest tighten.
Familiar.
Unsettling.
My eyes widened.
Fear crept in before I could stop it.
THUMP
My knees hit the ground as the wind tore through the tower, ripping his hood back. The moment I saw his face, everything came rushing back.
Memories I had tried so hard to bury. Memories that refused to stay forgotten.
He was the one who captured Luna.
"I'll kill… you…"
The words barely left my lips.
Something inside me shifted.
The chains burned brighter, the golden light intensifying until it blurred my vision. My thoughts dulled, emotions flattening into something cold and distant.
By the time I moved—
it wasn't a decision.
My hand shot forward, gripping his throat.
He choked instantly, struggling for air. "My boys… they'll kill you…" he rasped.
The others charged without hesitation. Weapons raised, footsteps pounding against stone as they surrounded me.
I swung the chains once.
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then the first man faltered.
His expression twisted in confusion before his body slid apart. Another turned to run, panic overtaking whatever confidence he had seconds earlier.
It didn't matter.
One by one, they fell.
The formation broke. Fear spread faster than any attack.
"Please—stop—" one of them begged, collapsing at my feet and grabbing onto my leg.
SPLASH
His head burst. Blood splashed across my face, dripping slowly down my cheeks.
I didn't look at him.
My focus never left the leader.
He stood frozen, eyes wide, unable to process what was happening.
My grip tightened slowly, fingers digging deeper as his resistance weakened.
The struggle faded.
Then—
SNAP
his neck snapped.
His body went limp.
But I didn't stop.
My fist drove forward.
THUD
THUD
CRACK
His nose broke.
Each strike landing harder than the last, the impact echoing through the empty tower.
I wasn't just... killing for a girl.
I was killing for someone who knew me—someone who truly understood me. Her pain... and suffering wasn't just only hers...
It had become mine, too.
"We were two faces of the same coin." I whispered, my voice was rasp and bitter because of exhaustion.
I didn't stop I punched him again and again.
Until—
a voice cut through everything.
"Lad…?"