My heart ached as her voice left behind an echo. The kind that clung to the walls.
The kind that refused to die, even after she left the room.
I picked up my clothes, which were carefully folded beside the bed.
"I will wait for your choice, Night. But if you are too late… you might die by my hands."
She meant it. Every word.
After hearing that, I left.
---
I found my way back home.
Before I could open the door, it burst open on its own.
The little girl threw herself into my arms.
"Brother! Dad's coming back soon! Aren't you happy?"
Her voice was full of light.
I smiled.
"Yes… I am, Lia."
But the moment I said her name, my head throbbed violently.
A sharp pressure pulsed inside my skull. I stumbled slightly, eyes twitching.
I hadn't meant to say it.
And then the runes appeared—
[Synchronization has increased]
[35%]...
[40%]
I froze.
My mind shuddered.
Why did it feel like I was becoming someone else entirely?
---
Days passed. I didn't go to the gate.
I couldn't.
Every time I thought about it, my body locked up.
The wolf… was one reason.
But the other—was Alina.
I didn't want to see her.
No—I was afraid to see her.
She frightened me more than I wanted to admit.
But even as I avoided her, something else took root in me.
Unease.
The kind that grows louder in silence.
My heart whispered the same thing again and again—
Something is wrong.
Something is going to happen.
---
Then it did.
A loud bell echoed through the town.
Its sound tore through the stillness.
Moments later, I heard the heavy sound of carriages pulling over.
Lina jumped off the wooden chair she was sitting on.
Her excitement was innocent—pure. She didn't know.
I followed her on instinct.
When I looked outside... I saw them.
A roll of people. Covered in white garments.
One after another. Still. Silent.
Corpses.
My breath caught.
I pulled Lina behind me.
The unease inside me snapped into certainty.
This is what it was.
This is what I felt.
A boy stepped out of one of the carriages.
He had light green hair and lilac-coloured eyes.
Too young. Too pale.
He ran forward, screaming, "Father!"
He fell to his knees in front of a corpse—one wrapped in a white garment with golden stitches.
His voice broke into sobs.
And I... I don't know when it happened.
But I was suddenly in front of another corpse.
My hands trembled as I reached forward.
I didn't want to do it.
But I lifted the cover.
Tears slipped from my eyes.
They weren't mine.
But my chest... ached with unbearable pain.
As if I'd lost something I didn't even know I had.
The runes returned—
[Synchronization has increased dangerously]
[40%]...
[50%]
[You have reached half synchronization with the timeline]
[Traits which do not meet the requirements are being sealed]
[Night Pierce has been sealed]
[Shadow Devour has been sealed]
[Shadow Kin has been sealed]
[Shadow Attribute has been sealed]
[Black Flame has been sealed]
Everything I had… gone in an instant.
And I didn't even fight it.
I didn't mind.
Because right then, nothing else mattered.
People gathered.
Their voices rose—soft, hushed, trembling.
Some sounded like pity.
Others sounded like fear.
But in the end, none of it mattered.
Because nothing truly changes.
Not in the real world.
Not in Scape.
Not in any world.
People only care about themselves.
And I hated that.
So much.
Then I felt it.
A presence. Familiar. Wrong. Watching.
The corpses began to stir.
Flesh twitching. Limbs bending.
A strange energy spread like poison in the air.
And from the crowd… something stepped forward.
A lone presence.
It stared at me.
"Have you made your choice?"
The Hex echoed—
[Conditions have been met]
[A task has appeared]
[Make a choice]
[Reward: The right decision will awaken your Authority]