Leon had killed a man with a single flying ice spear of his—the sound of piercing flesh followed by a wet shlunk lingered in the air. It was the first time he had taken a human life—across both his lives. And he didn't even blink.
The man's body crumpled silently, steam rising from where the spear had entered, ice crystals spreading over his chest like frost on a grave.
Did Leon feel anything?
No.
Not guilt, not hesitation—just the dull echo of necessity. What he had done felt right, even natural. In his world, anyone who faltered at the edge of violence would never reach the summit. There was no room for empathy in a life carved from survival.
He turned his gaze to the remaining three. He was ready to erase them from existence, too—only one needed to stay alive to carry the message, and even that was a mercy.
And right after killing the first man, a message in the form of a transparent golden shimmering screen appeared in front of him.
[Causality earned +1239]