The void fractured one last time.
Light peeled away, storm dissolved, and the world reformed around me.
I staggered, boots grinding against broken stone. Ash scattered with every step, glowing faintly before fading into nothing. My lungs burned, my body shook, but I was still standing.
And in my arms—
A glow.
Arjun's ember-light, flickering weak but steady, stitched together in cracks of blue-white fire.
Alive.
Barely.
But alive.
✦
The system's voice flickered faintly, glitching like a broken lantern.
[ Survivor trace: Arjun. ][ Status: Partially anchored. Stabilization in progress. ][ Warning: Tether fragile. Protection required. ]
I let out a shaky breath and adjusted him carefully, as if even the wrong angle might shatter him again. His weight wasn't physical—he was light, not flesh—but somehow he felt heavier than anyone I had ever carried.
He murmured something, his voice too faint to catch.
I bent closer. "What was that?"
"…don't… let go…"
My throat tightened. "I won't."
✦
The air shimmered, the Neutral Zone rebuilding itself after the storm. The fractured terrain shifted back into something almost recognizable—broken streets, collapsed buildings, fragments of the plaza we had fought in.
And shadows stirred.
Survivors.
Not whole. Not stable. But alive enough to notice me.
Their fractured forms flickered at the edges of the ruin, staring at the light in my arms.
"Is that…?" one muttered, voice distorted.
"He brought someone back?" another whispered.
"No one does that. Not here."
Their gazes burned into me, half-fear, half-reverence. For the first time, I wasn't just another survivor struggling to keep pace.
I was something else.
And I hated it.
✦
The Inkblade twitched in my grip, shadows curling like smoke.
"…they look at you as if you are more… a savior, a monster, it matters not… let them watch…"
"Shut up," I muttered, shifting the blade behind me.
But the truth was harder to silence.
Because it wasn't wrong.
They were watching.
And they weren't the only ones.
✦
I tilted my head upward.
The storm of eyes was gone, but the weight of their gaze lingered. Silent. Waiting.
The gods had retreated, but not completely.
They knew my name now.
They had seen me hold on when I should have broken.
And they would never stop watching.
My skin prickled under the thought. Every step felt exposed, like I was performing on a stage I hadn't chosen, one that reached farther than I could see.
The ember in my arms pulsed faintly, a reminder of why I couldn't falter.
Not yet.
✦
I set Arjun gently against the remains of a wall, crouching beside him. His form flickered, light dimming then steadying again.
"Still with me?" I asked quietly.
His eyes opened, faint but focused. "…yeah."
"You're safe now."
He gave me a weak smile, cracked but real. "…you don't… look safe."
I snorted, shaking my head. "Guess neither of us do."
For a moment, silence. The kind of silence that almost felt normal, almost felt human.
Then the system broke it.
[ Warning: Tether instability rising. ][ Recommendation: Anchor environment required. ]
I cursed under my breath. "Of course you'd need more than just holding."
Arjun shifted weakly. "You don't… have to—"
"Shut up," I said, more harshly than I meant. "You carried strangers through the siege. Let me carry you now."
His faint smile returned, softer. "…stubborn."
✦
I leaned back against the ruined wall, closing my eyes for a moment. My body ached with every heartbeat, ribs screaming, muscles torn. The Inkblade pulsed faintly at my side, shadows licking hungrily as if disappointed I hadn't fed it divine fire.
"…you are weak… fragile… you will break carrying both him and yourself…"
"Maybe," I muttered. "But I'll break carrying him forward, not leaving him behind."
The blade hissed, displeased, but went quiet again.
✦
The fractured survivors had gathered closer now, still keeping distance, but their gazes never left me. I heard their whispers.
"He really pulled someone out.""No one's done that before.""Maybe the gods… chose him?"
My jaw tightened. I didn't want their awe. I didn't want their whispers.
Because I knew the truth.
The gods hadn't chosen me.
They had tested me.
And I'd told them no.
That was the only reason I was still standing.
✦
Arjun's ember-light pulsed again, steadying slightly, and I felt the weight more clearly than before.
It wasn't just him I carried now.
It was every survivor's stare.
Every divine gaze overhead.
Every thread I'd torn open just to refuse what the Script demanded.
The system had called me The One Who Breaks the Script.
And for the first time, I understood the weight of that title.
Because from now on, every choice I made wouldn't just be mine.
It would be seen. Judged. Followed.
And there was no going back.
The silence didn't last.
The ground shivered beneath me, cracks racing through the ruins. Ash spilled upward like reversed rain, caught in a wind that didn't exist.
The system's voice echoed, no longer stuttering—clear, sharp, merciless.
[ Act II Initiation. ][ Scenario: The Hunt of Realms. ][ Condition: Survive the convergence. ]
The words burned across the air, undeniable.
My stomach clenched. Another scenario. Already.
I'd barely pulled Arjun back. My ribs still screamed, my blood still burned, my skin still split from divine pressure. And yet the Real Script didn't care.
It never did.
✦
The survivors stirred at the announcement. Their fractured forms flickered, some straightening, others collapsing. Fear spread like a plague through them, the same fear I'd seen in the plaza, the same fear that never left anyone's eyes here.
"What does that mean?" one whispered."Convergence?" another muttered."Are… are more dimensions coming?"
The murmurs swelled, desperate, but no one had an answer.
Except me.
Because I remembered the storm of eyes, the words the gods had pressed into my skull.
Threads that shouldn't meet.
That was what this was.
The Neutral Zone wasn't just fractured anymore. It was about to collide with something else.
✦
I looked at Arjun, his ember-light steadying slightly, though still cracked. His faint eyes met mine.
"…more… fighting?" he whispered.
"Yeah," I admitted quietly. "More fighting."
He tried to laugh, but it came out as a cough of sparks. "…you're not good at… resting."
"Neither are you," I said, forcing a smirk I didn't feel.
For a second, he smiled too. Even broken, even flickering, he still smiled.
And that was enough.
✦
The Inkblade pulsed against my side, impatient.
"…another hunt… another chance to grow… but this time, do not hesitate… give me their fire, and I will give you certainty…"
I almost laughed. Certainty? Here?
But my hand still tightened on the hilt. Not out of trust—out of need.
Because if dimensions were converging, if new realms were about to bleed into this place, then I couldn't afford hesitation.
And yet…
I glanced at Arjun's glow.
Hesitation was the only reason he was still here.
✦
The system's voice rang again, sharper.
[ Warning: Scenario difficulty—unmeasurable. ][ Note: The gods are watching closely. ]
I tilted my head back.
The storm wasn't visible now, but I felt them. Their eyes. Their whispers. Their laughter.
Watching. Waiting.
Hungry.
✦
The ground trembled harder, stone splitting. Through the cracks, light bled upward—red, green, violet—colors that didn't belong to this place.
Different realms.
Different dimensions.
The convergence had begun.
The fractured survivors stumbled back, some screaming, others frozen in terror.
I stood still, Arjun's ember-light pressed close to my chest, the Inkblade pulsing at my side.
And I realized—
There was no one else to lead them.
Not anymore.
Not after the divine trial.
Not after the title burned across the Script.
The weight I carried wasn't just Arjun.
It was everyone here.
✦
I adjusted my grip on Arjun, meeting the survivors' fearful stares.
"You want an answer?" I said, voice raw, cracking but steady enough to carry.
"This isn't the end."
They blinked at me, some scoffing, some staring, most too afraid to believe.
But the words hung there.
And the ember in my arms pulsed as if agreeing.
✦
The cracks widened, swallowing the last of the Neutral Zone's streets. Light spilled higher, brighter, overwhelming.
The system spoke once more.
[ Scenario begins in: 10… 9… 8… ]
The countdown echoed like a war drum.
I bent close to Arjun, whispering:
"I'll carry you through this. No matter what comes."
His dim eyes flickered, and he whispered back:
"…then I'll watch your back… when I can."
I almost smiled. Almost.
But the ground split open before I could.
✦
Light consumed everything.
Ash. Stone. Survivors.
And us.