The massive body of the golem crumbled, falling in an avalanche of bones. Dust rose in dense clouds that momentarily obscured everything.
And then, there was a profound silence.
"Shin, look!" Talon turned, his face still lit by a smile. "I did it! I got the points! I passed the—!"
The word died in his throat.
Shin was on the ground. His body was bent at impossible angles. The left arm pointed in a direction no human arm could point. The legs—one of them was completely twisted backward.
Blood spread beneath his body like a dark puddle that grew and grew.
CRASH.
The bones covering the entrance finally gave way, falling like rain.
Beth was the first to enter, running at full speed. Kneeling beside Shin, her hands trembled over him without daring to touch.
"Shin... Shin, no, no, no..." Her voice broke.
Aurora arrived seconds later. She stopped dead at the sight of the body. Her face paled until it became white as paper.
"God..." Ludwig whispered behind her, trying to avoid looking.
Sarah covered her mouth with both hands. No one specifically knew what to say in that situation.
Talon, for his part, didn't move. He couldn't. His eyes were fixed on Shin, who was agonizing in the distance.
'What happened...?'
'I was sure that if I attacked the core I would get the points and save Shin... What went wrong...?'
"Well, well..." Leander walked slowly toward him. "Look who got the points."
Eryndor approached with an expression of disgust.
"It's unfair, don't you think?" he said, looking directly at Talon. "Someone as pathetic as you... getting the points for killing the boss."
Talon didn't respond. He didn't even blink. His eyes remained fixed on Shin.
"Hey, I'm talking to you." Leander snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Are you in there?"
Nothing.
Eryndor followed Talon's gaze. His eyes fell on Shin's shattered body. And then he understood.
"I see... So you still haven't processed what happened, right?" A cruel smile appeared on his face. "If you want, I can help you with that."
"Please, Eryndor, allow me the honors." Leander interrupted him, touching his shoulder. "What happened was that, instead of helping Shin, you preferred to go for the points like a selfish piece of shit." He said it directly, bringing his face close.
"No... Th-that's not what happened." Talon stammered, denying everything they said.
'I didn't cause that... Right? No... No way, I just wanted to save him, those were my intentions.'
"Huh? How can you say that? But we all could see it... We saw how you completely passed on doing what you should and headed straight for the golem's core..." Eryndor said.
"The worst part is that he sacrificed himself throughout the entire exam to protect you." Leander took the word then. "And you, what did you do instead of saving him like he did for you? Go for the points that belonged to him, of course."
The words only disturbed Talon more and more.
"Now that I think about it, Eryndor..." Leander addressed his friend, "I don't think it's right for Talon to stay there, so far away. After all, Shin ended up like this because of him... the least he could do is show him some respect, don't you think?"
"You're absolutely right, but if he can't even move, how does he expect to get there?" Eryndor responded.
"Well, we have to help him!"
"Excellent idea!"
"Please, don't do this... It's not necessary."
"But of course it is! If he could run to get your precious points, you can also walk a few steps to see what you caused, can't you?"
Leander grabbed one of his arms first, making Talon try to break free. But Eryndor grabbed his other arm.
"NO!" Talon began to struggle as they dragged him. "NO, PLEASE, NO!"
They got closer and closer to Shin's body.
"LET ME GO! PLEASE!" Talon fought with all his strength, but it wasn't enough.
When they arrived, they forced him to kneel right next to Shin. Inches from his face.
And Talon saw everything.
Where his eyes should be, there were only sockets filled with blood, because they exploded due to the pressure generated by the blow. His ears were bleeding. The mouth—open, trying to breathe. Each inhalation was a bubbling, heartbreaking sound.
Talon felt his stomach twist violently, and strong nausea appeared, having to turn his head and close his eyes to avoid seeing.
"What's wrong...?" Leander whispered in his ear, while turning his head to make him see how Shin ended up and at the same time trying to force his eyes open. "Can't you stand seeing him like this...?"
"But it was thanks to him that you got the points," Eryndor added from the other side. "It's the price he had to pay for helping you and being betrayed."
"You should thank him, don't you think?" Leander added.
"ENOUGH!" Beth shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? Show some more respect for Shin!"
"But he can't even hear us!" Eryndor responded. "Besides, we're just showing him the consequences of his actions!"
"What's the point...? Just stop," Beth said.
"Huh...? Don't tell me you're going to defend him after we all clearly saw what happened," Leander said.
"There's no point in looking for culprits..." She looked at Aurora. "Come on, Aurora, say something."
"How could you?" Aurora spoke. Her voice was a whisper loaded with hatred. "How could you sacrifice your friend's life for some simple points?"
"I-I..." Talon stammered, tears beginning to fall. "I-I just wanted to help him..."
"Liar." The word left Aurora's lips like a sentence. "You only wanted the points. If you had wanted to help him, you would have attacked the golem's arm, but you didn't! You headed toward the core because that's what you wanted. The points! You didn't care about Shin. You never cared."
"No! That's not true! I—!"
"It's your fault he's like this." Aurora continued, relentless. "Your fault he's dying. All because you're a coward who can't even face his own fear, and Shin had to pay for it."
Each word hurt more than any wound.
"S-sorry..." A weak voice, barely audible.
Everyone fell silent. It was Shin. His mouth was moving. Blood bubbled between his lips.
"Sorry... grandma..." It was very difficult for him to speak. "I couldn't... keep the promise..."
Beth couldn't hold back her tears.
"I... couldn't become... a sentinel..."
And then he stopped speaking. Only that sound remained—that bubbling and horrible breathing that wouldn't stop.
"THE BACKPACK!" Talon suddenly screamed, his eyes opening with desperation. "THE POTIONS!"
Standing up as if propelled by a spring, he ran to where he had dropped the backpack at the beginning of combat. His hands trembled as he grabbed it, almost tripping over the scattered bones.
Then he returned to where Shin was and opened it.
And his world stopped.
Broken glass. Mixed liquids. The potions—all the potions were destroyed and the liquid had soaked into the backpack itself, making it useless.
"No..." he whispered. "No, no, no, NO, NO, NO!"
His hands desperately rummaged through the backpack, searching, begging to find even one intact among all the broken glass, but he only generated cuts on his fingers.
Petrified, the backpack hung uselessly from his shaking hands.
"What did you expect?" Aurora spoke to him. "You yourself threw them on the ground when you ran toward the core. Did you forget?"
Talon turned toward her, horrified.
"W-we have to help him..." he stammered. "We have to help him somehow... We need to get him out of here... Take him to a hospital..."
Dropping the backpack, he knelt and extended his hands beneath Shin's body.
"Come on! Help me carry him!" he exclaimed while trying to lift him.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
But he got nothing more than a scream of agony from Shin.
"What do you think you're doing, you idiot?!" Aurora pushed him away brusquely. "Don't you realize all his bones are broken?! Are you that stupid?!"
"Then... then..." Talon looked around desperately. "There has to be something! Something we can do!"
A heavy silence fell over the group. No one responded. Everyone knew the truth—there was nothing to do.
Leander approached slowly. Taking the dagger from Talon's sheath, he placed it in his shaking hand.
"Of course there is... there's something you can do," Leander said, his voice cold but not cruel this time. "It's the least you can do, actually. Or do you want your friend to keep suffering? Just look at him."
Talon looked at the dagger in his hand.
"What do you mean...? I-I... I don't understand."
"Come on, don't play dumb, of course you know. Just one cut across his throat and it will all be over."
"There has to be some alternative..." Talon said, his voice barely a whisper. "Something else that can be done..."
"There isn't." Leander knelt beside him. "This is the only way to help him now."
"And why..." Talon's voice broke. "Why does it have to be me...?"
"It's simple... It's because of you that he's like this, you started this... Now finish it. End his suffering."
Talon looked around hoping someone would say something. But they didn't.
"N-no..." Talon whispered. "I can't do it..."
His hand began to tremble violently, without even bringing the dagger close to Shin's neck yet. Completely frozen in shock, he listened as Shin's bubbling breathing continued—that torturous sound.
Leander observed Talon's hand. Static. Not moving.
"I see you need help," he murmured.
Placing his hand over Talon's, he began to guide it.
"NO, WAIT! STOP!" Talon began to resist.
But Leander was stronger. The dagger approached Shin's neck slowly.
"I CAN'T DO IT! I SIMPLY CAN'T DO IT!" Talon screamed.
Leander didn't respond; instead, he kept moving the dagger. The blade touched the skin. A red line appeared. The dagger began to penetrate the skin deeper and deeper. The blood dripped.
"LET ME GO, PLEASE!" Talon had begun to cry.
His mind was fragmenting. The horror was too much. Too much.
Leander pressed harder. The dagger sank deeper.
"Oh, please." Aurora approached.
She snatched the dagger from both their hands with a brusque movement. And without hesitating for a second, without wavering, she plunged it into Shin's neck.
The sound was horrible. Wet. Final.
Shin's body tensed for a second. And then... nothing. Silence. That bubbling and terrible breathing finally stopped.
Aurora withdrew the dagger. Blood dripped from the blade, falling into the puddle that already existed. She looked at Talon with eyes full of absolute hatred.
"Useless," she spat the word. "You couldn't even do this. How can you call yourself his friend?"
Talon didn't respond. He couldn't. His gaze was fixed on Shin's motionless body.
"Not even something as simple as this," Aurora continued, her voice trembling with fury. "Freeing him from his suffering. Something you caused."
She leaned toward him and grabbed him by the shirt. Her voice was pure venom.
"You should have been in his place. Shin at least had a purpose. He was loved. He worked hard. He was everything you'll never be."
Hearing all those words, his guilt only increased.
"ENOUGH."
Professor Edward's voice resonated. He had remained silent all this time, watching from the entrance. Now he approached with firm steps.
"This is no one's fault," he said with an authoritative voice. "This always happens in exams. Deaths are part of the process. All of you knew this before entering."
Looking at each one, he continued, "It was a risk you all accepted."
He then revealed an amulet hanging from his neck.
"Now... It's time to know the exam results."