"Before vengeance, there was only silence—and one witness who never looked away."
---
Some people break you with violence.
Others break you with silence.
Jin remembered her.
Not for her kindness. Not for cruelty.
But because she saw everything—and chose to look away.
---
Tower Floor 8 – The Mirror Trial
Jin entered the eighth floor alone.
He always did.
The trial here was psychological, rooted in memory. The Tower summoned a figure from your past—not a loved one, not an enemy. Just someone who watched.
The system flickered.
> [Generating Reflection Construct…]
> [Subject Selected: Name: Kyra Vale]
She appeared before him in a white academy uniform, hands clasped behind her back. Raven hair. Pale lips. Eyes dull with guilt.
Jin didn't react.
He recognized her.
She was the class monitor.
Top of their year.
Beloved by teachers, praised by the gods.
She never bullied Jin.
She never helped either.
She just watched as he was dragged down hallways, beaten, left to bleed.
And walked away every time.
---
"Jin…" she whispered.
The Tower had made her too real.
Perfect voice. Perfect guilt.
"I didn't know. I didn't understand what they were—"
Jin raised his hand.
A black spike shot from the floor and pierced her stomach. It didn't kill her—it held her upright, suspended, like a butchered pig.
She screamed. The sound echoed endlessly in the mirrored chamber.
Jin stepped forward, voice hollow.
> "You knew. You just didn't care."
> "You looked away because it wasn't your problem."
> "And now you're mine."
Another spike tore through her thigh, then another through her shoulder. Crimson dripped like melted wax across the pristine white tiles.
Her cries turned to choking gasps.
> "P-Please… I never hurt you—"
> "You didn't help. That's worse."
> "You let them think I deserved it. You let them shape me into this."
> "You're part of the price."
Jin stepped behind her, reached around, and placed his hand over her heart.
> "Let's see if it beats with regret."
He plunged his hand into her chest.
Not physically—spiritually.
> [Soul Flay – Activated]
Her soul screamed as tendrils of light were pulled through her sternum like threads. They twisted into grotesque patterns in Jin's grip—memories, shame, moments of cowardice ripped from her very essence.
Her body convulsed. Her eyes rolled back. Blood gushed from her mouth, her ears, her eyes.
Jin gripped tighter.
She thrashed once, twice—then cracked.
Her body folded inward like paper soaked in acid. Her bones snapped audibly, her limbs contorted. And then—
Nothing.
Just shards of her—glassy, wet slivers of pain and memory—scattered across the floor.
Jin stood in the center of it, unblinking.
Unmoved.
---
Hidden System Response
> [Floor 8 Trial: Cleared]
> [Emotion Threshold: Nullified]
> [Corruption: +12]
> [Title Progress – "Godslayer"]: 23%
> [New Trait Gained – Empathic Resistance]
---
Memory Flash – Academy Hall (Before Regression)
He had once lain on the tile floor, ribs cracked, blood dripping from his lip.
He remembered looking up…
And seeing Kyra standing there.
Eyes full of something like sadness.
But she walked away anyway.
And he remembered thinking, even then—
> "You didn't hurt me. You just didn't stop them."
---
Tower Floor 8 – Exit Chamber
Jin passed through the crystal gate into the lift.
He didn't look back.
He didn't feel better.
He didn't want to.
> "It's not about justice."
> "It's about balance."
> "I suffered alone. Now, the world bleeds together."
He glanced at the system panel.
He didn't smile.
But deep down, he felt a flicker of satisfaction.
Not because she was gone.
Because it meant nothing could stop him anymore.
---