I dropped to my knees the moment I saw him.
My very own killer—
greeting me with a smile.
"Oh… very well," he said calmly, turning away as I staggered back.
"What the fuck is he doing here?!" I shouted.
Layla's lips curved slightly. "He's… one of us now."
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"He tried to kill me!"
"Well, we saved ya, kiddo," Dan sighed.
Carlos raised a hand.
"I can explain."
The group went quiet.
"When I was dying.. my fragment awakened," Carlos said.
"It reshaped itself… into a mace."
His eyes settled on me.
"I assumed forcing you to the brink would awaken yours as well."
"What would've happened if I died?!"
The anger boiled inside me.
But something stopped me from attacking.
Fear…
or maybe exhaustion.
"You would've been our meal for the next two weeks," Layla said with a shrug.
"Oh please."
I turned away.
Silence.
Only the cold wind rushed past my ears.
And in the quiet…
I could hear them again.
Their cries.
Much clearer when everything else was silent.
Am I…
going insane?
I slapped myself hard.
Stop thinking.
Stop it.
"What now?" I asked.
Layla didn't answer. She was busy sharpening her blade.
Dan was seasoning the boiled flesh.
Carlos stared silently at the stars.
But something else…
was staring at us...
---
"C'mon, just try it," Dan said, shoving the roasted meat toward my face.
"I'd rather die than eat that. All of you disgust me."
"Sounds like someone's a picky eater," Dan laughed.
Even the sight of it turned my blood cold.
"OH—
BLEGH—"
I turned away and vomited into the dirt.
"Oh dear," Dan sighed.
He handed me a bucket of water.
"Here, wash your face, lad."
"Thanks…"
The cold water helped a little. I splashed it over my face and wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve.
When I looked up, Layla was standing in front of me.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I—I don't know. This… all of this is…"
I paused, struggling to find the words.
"Too much."
Layla slowly lowered herself beside me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The fire crackled behind us, sending small sparks into the night air.
"After you left our carriage," she said quietly, "my husband and I were robbed."
My chest tightened.
"He—"
Her fist clenched.
She stopped, swallowing the rest of the sentence.
"I gained the power of the system just then."
Her voice didn't shake.
It was calm...
"I didn't judge them."
A pause.
"I slit their throats."
Another breath.
"And crushed their skulls until there was nothing left."
I couldn't say anything.
"I had no purpose after that," she continued. "It felt like I was nothing without him."
Her fingers tightened around her knees.
"I tried to—"
She stopped again.
The words never came out.
"But then I was brought here."
She turned her head and looked at me.
"No one is innocent here."
She held my gaze.
"But we can still choose what we become."
Her voice softened.
"We need you."
"And you need us."
Her hands gently wrapped around mine.
"Help us."
I stared down at our hands.
Why… do I feel so sympathetic towards her?
She's a killer.
Still—
"I…"
The words stuck in my throat.
But eventually—
"I'll help you."
Layla smiled.
"Thank you."
I turned toward the others—
And then—
"Well, well, well… look what we've got here."
A man's voice echoed from the darkness.
Carlos was on his feet instantly, summoning his mace.
"Everyone, on your guard."
Several figures stepped out from the shadows.
"There's no reason to fight," one of them said. "We'll take the meat. The water too."
A smirk.
"Hand it over, and maybe you walk away."
A pause.
"Refuse… and we take it off your corpses."
Carlos took a slow breath.
He sighed and lifted his mace.
"You people always make the same mistake."
"You assume we're the prey."
"Very well."
His voice was calm—too calm—like the stillness before a storm.
A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.
It spread slow, like something inside me was tearing itself apart.
"Not… now," I whispered.
My breath came out uneven, scraping against my throat.
The side effects of healing magic were catching up to me.
A bitter metallic taste filled my mouth.
My fingers twitched around the dagger, numb for a moment—then trembling.
Above us—
A faint creak.
Wood bending.
Strings tightening.
Archers hidden in the trees raised their bows and fired.
A split-second later—
TWANG
Arrows sliced through the air.
A sharp, whistling storm.
They came fast.
Too fast.
"Layla and I will take out the archers!" Carlos shouted.
His voice cut through the chaos—firm, commanding.
Then he pointed at me.
"You—attack the leader!"
I nodded without hesitation.
Even as my vision flickered slightly at the edges.
"And what the hell do I do?!" Dan shouted while stumbling back, barely avoiding an arrow that thudded into the ground beside him.
The impact sent dirt spraying across his legs.
"Don't get killed! You're our healer!" Layla yelled as she charged forward.
Her footsteps were light—but fast.
Almost silent against the ground.
The moment I stepped forward—
The world seemed to tighten.
Like something invisible wrapped around my mind.
I heard a whisper in my head.
"Listen."
It didn't echo—it was inside. Clear and controlled.
"Layla, how are you—"
I recognized her voice instantly, but she cut me off.
"I'm casting a spell. It's telepathy."
Her voice felt… strange.
Like it was brushing against my thoughts instead of reaching my ears.
Distant—
But sharp enough to cut through everything else.
"Listen carefully. Do not try to judge that man."
My
Not from pain this time.
From something colder.
"The memories," she continued quietly. "They don't fade away. Right?"
For a moment—
The battlefield noise dulled.
Arrows. Shouting. Footsteps.
All of it faded behind her voice.
"…How do you know?"
"There were other candidates," she said.
A faint pause.
Like she was choosing her words carefully.
"Some of them were left deranged."
A chill ran down my spine. It lingered longer than it should have.
"Too much of that," Layla continued,
"and you will lose your identity as well."
The words didn't just reach me.
They settled.
Heavy.
I swallowed. Even that felt difficult.
"So you're telling me to kill him?"
"What is the other option?"
Silence filled my mind for a moment.
Not empty—
But suffocating.
If I stop now.
Then what was any of this worth?
The sounds rushed back all at once—
TWANG
A shout.
Steel clashing somewhere behind me.
My heartbeat—loud, uneven, pounding in my ears.
"I'm sorry, Layla," I said quietly.
My voice felt smaller than I expected.
"But I promised one thing to myself."
I tightened my grip on the dagger.
The hilt dug into my palm.
Grounded me.
"I will judge him."
"…."
She paused. I could hear her breathing.
"I understand," she said, calmly.