What do you even call this feeling?
When someone you've longed to see for so long...no, craved to see, suddenly stands before you, as if pulled straight out of your imagination and dreams.
Idolization?
Delusion?
Even within the ghostly haze swallowing the forest, Kaiser seemed to devour the light itself. The bioluminescent flowers hanging from the branches dimmed around him, their pale glow paling further with every step he took.
Yet in my eyes, he shone brighter.
He looked like an ikemen wrapped in dangerous beauty, black roses blooming beneath his feet. Like an idol standing onstage beneath a single spotlight while I remained buried among the crowd, cheering only for him.
He moved slowly.
Carefully.
His sharp eyes swept across the darkness, measuring every shadow and every living thing hiding within it. The way he walked reminded me of a cautious child approaching a long-absent father—tentative, proud, and strangely restrained for someone carrying a bloodstained sword.
The metallic scent clinging to him drifted through the cold wind.
Fresh blood.
"Ah, my dear son. Papa is here," I thought, caught somewhere between awe and absolute terror.
But before I could admire my menacing protagonist any longer, the system window exploded across my vision, swallowing everything in glaring crimson.
[WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED INTERACTION DETECTED.]
[In accordance with Contract Clause 1.1 — BREACH WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE TERMINATION.]
Ever since this transmigration started, I'd already lost count of how many times the gates of Saint Peter nearly welcomed me inside.
But honestly?
The worst death imaginable would be getting killed by my own protagonist.
No thanks.
Especially now, when the person he came to save was literally trembling in my arms. This situation practically screamed catastrophic misunderstanding.
That sword reflecting the last traces of fading light?
Yeah.
That thing might come flying toward my neck next.
The three of us remained frozen, silently studying one another while cold wind whispered through the trees.
The flamebees had vanished completely. Without their glow, darkness swallowed the forest whole.
I slowly shifted sideways, trying to move carefully. Quietly. Lightly.
Or so I thought.
My foot caught on a root hidden beneath dead leaves.
I stumbled.
A violent gust exploded past me.
At the exact same moment, the system shrieked inside my ears while steel collided with a deafening clang.
Red sparks burst across my vision. Something sharp grazed my bangs.
Cold.
Too close.
If Kaiser's blade hadn't been blocked... My head would've rolled across the dirt by now.
To my shock, the one who stopped him was the scarred man. Kaiser's reaction made sense. Guarded. Cold. Suspicious. But the scarred man protecting me?
That part felt completely insane.
"Don't misunderstand," he said lazily, his voice smooth with mockery. "I'm only protecting my piggy bank."
"I don't owe you anything," I replied flatly.
"Then I'll put it on your tab, dear customer."
I could practically hear the grin hidden beneath his words.
"We're never meeting again."
"How sure are you?"
Right. Of course. Kaiser was his opponent. Meaning he was absolutely doomed.
I didn't care what happened to the scarred man. Honestly, I hoped Kaiser folded him like laundry.
My bigger problem was the system warning flashing violently across my vision—
—and the young man's weakening heartbeat against my chest.
Time to run.
Again.
I had barely managed another step when the system beeped sharply. At the same time, Kaiser's deep voice cut through the darkness.
"Step aside."
It sounded less like a warning and more like a death sentence.
[The protagonist remains within the author's fifty-meter radius since the first warning.]
[Punishment will now commence.]
The moment the message appeared, agony exploded through my hand.
"Agh—!"
The black-feather insignia branded into my skin suddenly flared scarlet.
It twisted violently beneath my flesh. Every pulse felt like worms burrowing through my veins.
I nearly dropped the young man from the shock.
The pain only worsened.
Veins bulged around the feather-shaped mark, swelling grotesquely until the skin rose like something alive was trying to claw its way out.
Then—
It split open.
The stem of the feather peeled apart slowly, wetly, revealing something beneath.
An eye socket.
It twitched once, rolled, then stilled.
A razor-red iris snapped toward me. Cold dread crawled down my spine.
"What... is this...?"
A broken groan escaped my throat as unbearable heat surged through my veins.
It felt like hundreds of ants chewing through me from the inside.
Dark purple spread outward from the eye, crawling up my arm vein by vein until every nerve screamed in agony.
Sweat rolled down my neck, and my blood... was being dragged toward the eye.
The thing was feeding on me! Excreting my life force, crying blood.
Warm crimson quickly soaked through the young man's already ruined clothes, while my heartbeat pounded violently against my ribs.
'If those veins reach my chest...'
'My body's done for.'
I bit down hard and forced myself upright.
Move.
I needed to move.
The sharp clash of steel echoed through the forest.
Kaiser and the scarred man were already fighting, their blades crashing like thunder somewhere behind me.
"Who the hell are you?" Kaiser's voice rang sharply.
"That's what I'd like to ask, kid."
The two of them faded into the distance while I stumbled deeper into the forest.
They were trapped in their own battle.
I was trapped in mine.
Cold wind lashed against my face while branches scraped my cloak. The glowing system window became my only guide through the suffocating darkness.
The forest blurred around me, and my breathing turned ragged.
[HP Remaining: 1125 → 678]
[Target's HP Remaining: 10000 → 220]
[Half an hour has passed.]
[Temporary boost to author's skills has been lifted.]
The strength vanished instantly. Like someone ripped the bones out of my body.
My legs gave out.
I crashed hard against the ground while the young man slipped from my arms.
"Sh—"
I crawled toward him desperately, dirt grinding against my palms. My fingers shook violently as I checked his pulse.
Weak.
Barely there.
Carefully, I lifted his head onto my lap and forced my breathing to steady.
I ran for so long. But there was nothing.
No trails. No villages. No people.
Only endless trees.
"Was this quest impossible from the start?"
"Was the system mocking me?"
"Did it enjoy watching me struggle before killing me off?!"
"Damn it..." I shouted hoarsely into the empty forest. "Fuck the system! Fuck whatever entity's behind it! Damn those bastards—eat poop!"
[Several profanity words detected.]
[Author muted for 30 minutes.]
"..."
'You know what?'
'Fair enough.'
Heat coiled violently through my chest like burning chains tightening around my ribs.
The eye on my hand continued weeping blood. Pain swallowed everything. I couldn't even scream properly anymore.
Only broken sounds escaped my throat.
'Ahh... ngh... ah...'
It felt like my body would burst apart at any second. Like a balloon stretched far beyond its limit.
Suddenly—
A touch.
Cold. Gentle. Merciful.
A cool hand brushed against my face. Instantly, the pain softened. Not completely.
But enough to breathe again.
Like finding water in the middle of a dying desert.
My heartbeat slowed, the agony dulled. Slowly, I lifted my head. Ocean-blue eyes stared down at me.
Worried.
Soft.
For a terrifying second, it felt like my soul might drown inside them.
Even now... Even while dying—
He was comforting me.
I didn't deserve that. Not after everything.
Not when I was the reason he suffered in the first place.
Quietly, I held his hand tighter. 'Let's survive, young man.'
And somehow, that thought hurt even more. Because I realized something, I never gave him a proper name.
In the story, he was just—
A friend.
A sacrifice.
A reason for the protagonist's pain.
Nothing more.
Almost as if he heard my thoughts, the young man gave me a faint bittersweet smile.
Then suddenly, his expression changed.
Fear flashed across his face. His grip tightened sharply against my shoulder while his body trembled, looking behind me.
Panic filled his eyes.
"Stop... stop..." he whispered repeatedly while trying to hide beneath my cloak.
Only then did I feel it.
Another presence. Behind me.
Hearing the person stepping closer, the kid's body tensed up more as if he wanted to run... or vanish, rather he didn't want this person to see him like this.
'Sorry, young man,' I thought bitterly.
Too late. He already saw you.
"Eane... why?" Kaiser's voice broke through the silence. Confused, concerned, and beneath it—something raw enough to make my chest tighten.
He came here to save his friend.
But his friend didn't want to be saved.
Kaiser's eyes shifted toward me. The warmth vanished instantly. Coldness sharpened his gaze like a blade pressed against my throat.
The scarred man was nowhere in sight.
'Dead already? That was fast.' My thoughts abruptly stopped.
"Give him back..." Kaiser's voice thundered through the forest.
"...or die."
I couldn't answer.
I couldn't hand Eane over.
In the original story, Eane wasn't supposed to survive. The protagonist's fate must not be disturbed.
But...
Did I even have the right to decide that?
He wasn't just some disposable side character anymore.
Not anymore.
Yet that's exactly how I wrote him.
Weak.
Nameless.
Naïve.
Innocent.
The kind of person Kaiser would bury deep within his memories and never speak of again.
And yet—
Here he was.
Alive.
Breathing.
Terrified.
I knew Kaiser could save him.
Meanwhile, I couldn't even feel my legs anymore.
No strength.
No options.
No future.
'Was it wrong for Kaiser to save his friend?'
No.
I was simply selfish.
Slowly, I looked toward the trembling young man hiding beneath my cloak.
'So your name is Eane.'
The name struck something deep inside me.
'Eane.'
The same name I once gave my life journal.
The notebook that held every frustration, every regret, every dream I never achieved. The thing that knew me better than anyone else.
Like an imaginary friend carrying the ugliest corners of my heart.
And now—
That same name belonged to a living person.
A breathing person whose life I ruined with my own hands.
The guilt became unbearable.
'I'm sorry, Eane.'
Kaiser deserved the chance to change his fate. Even if it meant my death.
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
'Looks like I finally lost to the system...'
How unlike me.
Eane's eyes quivered slightly, almost as if he sensed my thoughts.
Then slowly, he turned toward Kaiser, who had started walking closer.
"Let's go home, Eane," Kaiser said softly. Pleading, almost desperate.
But Eane shook his head violently.
"No!"
He forced himself upright despite the blood pouring from his wound.
Then—
He shielded me with his own body.
Kaiser froze mid-step. Confusion flickered across his face.
The coldness in his eyes cracked instantly the moment he looked at Eane.
Pain ripped through me again, unbearable enough to make my vision darken... Yet somehow, when Eane glanced back at me, I endured it.
Kaiser's voice shook slightly.
"Does family really need blood ties?" he asked quietly. "Forget them, Eane. I'm here... Madam Grandma too."
His jaw tightened. "So please. Let me save you."
'Grandma...?'
Right, that old woman, I almost forgot about her.
'Where was she supposed to be right now?'
Eane trembled weakly. "Kaiser... just go..." Blood stained his lips as he coughed.
Seeing that only darkened Kaiser's expression further. "Then forgive me."
Both of us shut our eyes as violent wind burst around us. For a second, I thought Kaiser planned to forcefully drag Eane away.
But before he could reach us... The earth trembled. Thunder exploded overhead.
A blinding flash of lightning split the darkness between us.
All of a sudden, the ground collapsed.
And we had been standing too close to the cliff's edge.
Soil crumbled beneath our feet, I grabbed Eane tightly as both of us plunged into darkness.
"EANE!"
Kaiser's horrified voice echoed across the storm.
In stark contrast, Eane looked calm, his arms spread slightly beside him like wings.
No fear. No panic.
Only peace.
As if he had already accepted this fate long ago.
As if falling felt freer than living.