"Help, you say?" she murmured.
Her voice was a silken vibration that seeped past sound and into the marrow of his bones, resonating through the void itself. It carried weight without volume, pressure without force, as though the darkness leaned closer just to hear her speak. She moved then, not walking so much as gliding, her form drifting closer to the radiant bars in a slow, deliberate approach. The black smoke that clung to her followed lazily, curling around her ankles before dissolving into the nothingness beneath her feet.
Jagger swallowed, the motion sharp and painful. His chest burned with every shallow breath, his lungs refusing to expand fully.
"Regeneration… you can do that, right?" he asked. The words came out fractured, broken apart by ragged breaths and clenched teeth.
She stopped.
Her head tilted, the movement fluid and unnaturally precise, like something mimicking curiosity rather than feeling it. Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him, gaze traveling over his hunched posture, the blood-soaked side of his torso, the tremor in his limbs. He felt examined, weighed, measured, as if he were nothing more than an object laid bare for inspection.
"It depends," she mused at last, her tone thoughtful. "What are you willing to lose for it?"
"What?" he stammered, confusion crashing into the raw agony pulsing through his body.
She laughed.
The sound was soft, almost intimate, yet it carried through the void with chilling clarity. It echoed without echoing, lingering in the air like the first crack of ice over a deep, unseen abyss. She took another step closer, her bare feet silent against the unseen floor, her presence pressing in on him from all sides.
"You are weak," she said calmly. "You do not have the resolve to survive in this world, Jagger. If you truly desire survival, you must be prepared to sacrifice."
Silence stretched between them.
It thickened, pressing down until even his thoughts felt heavier.
"I'm weak…" he repeated quietly, tasting the words as they left his lips.
They were not just hers. They were his.
A truth he had been running from since the very beginning.
The first memory struck without warning. Fleeing through the narrow passageway with Hannah, breath burning in his lungs, fear screaming in his ears. Leaving his parents behind. Turning his back. The image shifted violently, twisting into the sight of them being torn apart, devoured by the massive minotaur. Blood. Bone. Helpless screams that ended too quickly.
"No… I'm…" he thought, clenching his jaw so hard it ached.
Another memory surfaced. The goblins. Three of them. Crude weapons. Cruel laughter. The helplessness of being pinned down, the sensation of steel biting into flesh. Being left at death's door, broken and bleeding, only to be saved by Hannah and powers he did not understand. Standing afterward, useless. Watching. Alive only because someone else had stepped in.
"I… am…" his thoughts stuttered.
Then the kobold leader. The snap of jaws sinking into his arm. The bone-crushing force. The humiliation. The certainty, in that moment, that he had never stood a chance.
"You're much more than weak," she said, her voice cutting cleanly through the flood of memories. "You're a liability. And you know what happens to liabilities in this world, don't you?"
The void seemed to constrict around them. Not physically, but perceptually, as if the darkness itself leaned closer, eager to listen.
They die.
The thought drifted through his mind without resistance, settling there like something that had always belonged.
"Exactly," she said, her presence drawing nearer, cold pressure coiling around his consciousness like invisible chains. "They die alone. In the dirt. Forgotten. Just like you're about to."
Her smile remained placid, detached, utterly devoid of empathy. "But this can all be avoided, Jagger. I'll make it all go away. The pain. The fear. The weakness. You won't have to feel anything ever again."
Her crimson eyes burned brighter, twin points of absolute promise in the endless dark. The offer hung heavy in the air as he sat on his knees, staring down at his trembling hands. Her words wove around him, seductive and suffocating, a tapestry of release from suffering.
He was so tired.
"All I require," she whispered, her voice lowering, "is for you to rest. Surrender your body to me, and I promise to protect you."
The fighting. The running. The constant, gnawing terror. The exhaustion that seeped into his bones and refused to leave. It would be so easy to let go. To sink into the silence. To be free of the endless struggle.
He closed his eyes.
He saw his parents standing by the Christmas tree, lights glowing softly, their faces warm and smiling. They called him over, laughter in their voices. For a moment, it felt real enough to hurt.
Then the scene fell apart.
Darkness rushed back in.
He turned and saw Hannah, alone, walking away from him across a narrow bridge suspended over an endless chasm. She never looked back. Each step carried her farther from him, the distance growing no matter how fast he tried to follow.
His eyes snapped open.
His breathing was ragged, uneven, his chest burning as tears welled and blurred his vision.
"I have lost everything… my parents, my sister, my friends, my home… everything," he said, his voice breaking. "I was already dead before you ever crawled into my head."
Something shifted.
Ophilia's smile vanished.
The predatory amusement drained from her eyes, replaced by something cold and empty. She stared at him now not as prey, not even as entertainment, but as something ancient and unimpressed.
"You were the one who told me to fight," he said. He pushed himself up with one arm, muscles screaming as he forced himself back onto his feet. His body shook violently, but he did not fall. "So fight I shall."
The void held its breath.
For a long, silent moment, Ophilia simply watched him. Her stillness was more terrifying than any outburst.
"So this is your answer," she said at last. "You will continue to cling to that pathetic life of yours, even when death stares you in the face?"
"Who isn't afraid of death?" he replied. His voice was steadier now. "Death is inevitable for me as a human. Be it now or later, I have to go." His eyes lifted to meet hers. "But what about you? What happens to you when this body of mine dies?"
The question struck deep.
Her crimson eyes flared, burning with sudden, ferocious intensity. The bars of light between them hummed, vibrating faintly as the air thickened with her fury.
"You're trapped within me," he continued, pieces falling into place as he watched her reaction. "That's why you haven't taken over yet."
She slammed her hand against the bars. Light erupted violently outward as the void trembled.
"You ungrateful little toy!" she screamed.
Jagger stumbled back at the force of it, heart hammering.
The invisible collar around her neck flared into existence, erupting with blinding light. She recoiled as slack chains snapped taut, glowing violently as they pulled her back. The light from the restraints burned into the darkness as she struggled, her face twisting with fury and pain. The serene, predatory facade shattered, replaced by raw, unfiltered hatred.
"This system has you caged inside me," he said, voice low but resolute. "Is that why you help me survive? If I die, you die too." He paused, watching her struggle. "No. You have it worse. You'll be alone again. Trapped here. Until some other poor soul stumbles upon you."
He knew he was pushing his luck.
But seeing her chained, seeing her unhinged, gave him a sliver of power he had never known.
-
[WARNING: Blood loss critical!!]
[Death is imminent!!]
-
The alert slammed into his vision, shattering the moment. The world swayed violently. The bars of light blurred into streaks of white as the pain in his side surged back with brutal force. It felt like a white-hot spike twisting through his ribs. His legs buckled.
"You… have a choice to make," he said, forcing himself to look up.
She watched him gasp for air. Her own breathing was uneven now, chest rising and falling as the chains rattled faintly. The crimson glow in her eyes flickered, rage clashing with calculation. The cage, the void, even the pain began to fade from his awareness.
There was only her.
Seconds stretched into eternity.
Finally, she moved.
Not with violence, but with chilling resignation. She straightened, the struggle against the chains ceasing. The light dimmed, though the restraints remained.
"You're clever," she said quietly. "Clever enough to realize you have value to me."
Her gaze locked onto his, cold and assessing. For the first time, he saw calculation, not hunger.
"You're right. Your death is my imprisonment. An eternity of solitude in this suffocating silence." Her lips curved faintly. "So I will heal you."
She leaned forward, white hair spilling over her shoulders like pale silk.
"But know this," she whispered. "Each time you falter, I will be there. Every weakness. Every moment of doubt. I will exploit them." Her eyes glowed brighter. "Every. Single. Time."
A cold shiver ran down Jagger's spine.
"Fine," he breathed.
"Good," she purred. "Now leave."
The world tore itself apart.
He was moving at the speed of light. The cage dissolved. The void twisted into a roaring vortex, no longer empty but filled with screaming, formless energies that clawed at his consciousness.
"Don't you dare fade out, cunt!" Porpo's voice cut through the chaos.
Jagger's eyes flew open as a violent gasp tore from his lungs.
-
[Regeneration initiating]