"You left her."
My hand moves before I think.
I grab his shirt.
Pull him forward.
"What did you say?"
The kid flinches hard.
Eyes wide now.
Fear finally catching up.
"I—I didn't—"
"You said something," I snap. "Say it again."
Karan steps in fast.
"Arjun, stop."
I don't let go.
My grip tightens.
"You were there?" I demand. "How do you know that?"
"I wasn't!" the kid says, voice breaking. "I swear—I wasn't—"
"Then how do you know?" I shout.
My head pulses.
That same static.
That same gap.
The kid starts shaking.
Actually shaking now.
"I heard them!" he blurts. "They said it!"
I pause.
"…who?"
"The ones who took her," he says quickly. "They said you left her."
Silence.
My grip loosens slightly.
"Why would they say that?"
"I don't know!" he cries. "They were talking while dragging people—"
People.
Not just her.
"What people?" Karan asks.
The kid swallows.
"Others… like me… some older… some younger…"
My stomach drops.
"They didn't just take her," Karan mutters.
"No," the kid says. "They take anyone they can use."
I let go completely.
Step back.
"Use?" I repeat.
"They call it… farming," he says quietly.
That word again.
"For XP?" Karan asks.
The kid nods.
"They bring monsters… let them attack… then finish them."
I look at Karan.
He doesn't look surprised.
"They're optimizing," he says.
"That's not optimizing," I snap. "That's—"
I stop.
Because I don't have a word for it.
The kid wipes his face.
"They have a name," he adds.
I look back at him.
"What name?"
"…Null Wing."
The words settle heavy.
Karan exhales slowly.
"Great. Organized."
I turn.
Look at the street.
"This isn't random," I say.
"No," Karan agrees. "It's not."
I scan the area.
Something feels off.
Not just the silence.
Patterns.
I walk forward slowly.
Eyes moving across walls.
Ground.
Broken surfaces.
Then I see it.
A mark.
Scratched into concrete.
Rough.
But deliberate.
A wing shape.
Broken.
Incomplete.
"Here," I say.
Karan steps beside me.
"…that's not natural," he says.
"No," I reply.
I move again.
Another mark.
Further down.
Then another.
"They're tagging," Karan says.
"Territory," I finish.
The kid stays behind us.
Close.
Too close.
"They go that way," he says, pointing.
I follow his direction.
More marks.
Leading.
Like a trail.
"They want people to know where they are," Karan says.
"Or where not to go," I reply.
Either way—
We're following it.
We move carefully.
Slower now.
Listening.
Watching.
Every step feels heavier again.
Not just pain.
Something else.
A pull.
Ahead.
We stop at a corner.
Voices.
Low.
Calm.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Talking.
Karan leans slightly.
Peeks.
Then pulls back.
"…they're here," he whispers.
"How many?"
"Five… maybe six."
I step closer.
Careful.
Look.
And see them.
Null Wing.
Rohan's there.
So is Vikram.
Sameer too.
And three others.
They're standing around something.
Not rushing.
Not tense.
Working.
I focus.
There's a monster.
Different from before.
Bigger.
Slower.
Trapped.
Pinned between broken metal frames.
It thrashes.
Weak.
They're not killing it.
They're controlling it.
One of them steps forward.
[SKILL: Focus Strike]
Hits the monster.
Pulls back.
Another steps in.
[SKILL: Quick Step]
Strikes.
Backs off.
They rotate.
Clean.
Efficient.
Practiced.
"XP farm," Karan whispers.
My jaw tightens.
Then I hear something else.
A voice.
Not theirs.
Weak.
"…help…"
I freeze.
"Did you hear that?" I whisper.
Karan nods.
We both scan.
Then I see him.
To the side.
A man.
Pinned under debris.
Half his body trapped.
Reaching out.
"Please…"
The players ignore him.
Completely.
They don't even look.
My chest tightens.
"He's alive," I say.
Karan nods.
"But not for long."
I look between them.
The man.
The monster.
Null Wing.
Meera.
Everything collides.
"We can take them," I say.
Karan looks at me like I've lost it.
"No, we can't."
"They're distracted."
"They're coordinated," he shoots back. "We're not."
I don't respond.
Because I'm thinking.
Fast.
Messy.
Options.
None good.
"We hit fast," I say. "Grab her—"
"She's not here," Karan cuts in.
That stops me.
I look again.
He's right.
No Meera.
Just them.
Just the farm.
Just the man.
"Then we take one," I say.
"What?"
"Force them to trade."
Karan shakes his head.
"Too many variables."
"He dies if we don't move," I snap, nodding at the man.
"And we die if we rush," Karan fires back.
Silence.
The man groans again.
We both hear it.
We both feel it.
Karan looks at me.
"…we can't save everyone," he says.
The words land hard.
I hate them.
But I don't argue.
Because I know.
He's right.
That doesn't make it easier.
I look at the monster again.
Still alive.
Still being farmed.
Still giving them XP.
My system flickers faintly.
No message.
But I feel it.
Opportunity.
Disgusting.
Clear.
"If we interrupt that," I say slowly, "we can weaken them."
Karan frowns.
"…or draw all of them at once."
"Or level up enough to fight back," I counter.
He hesitates.
That's all I need.
I step forward.
Careful.
Positioning.
Angle.
The monster thrashes again.
Weak.
Close to breaking.
They're rotating slower now.
Almost done.
I can take it.
If I move right.
If I'm fast enough.
If I don't mess up.
The man groans again.
Louder this time.
"Please…"
I hear it.
I do.
But I don't move toward him.
I move toward the monster.
Timing.
Wait.
Wait—
Now.
I dash.
Not Panic Dash.
Just movement.
Raw.
I slip past the edge.
One of them notices.
Too late.
I strike.
Hard.
Messy.
But it lands.
The monster jerks.
Falls.
Stops moving.
Silence.
For a split second.
Then—
My system flickers.
A response.
Finally.
Behind me—
shouting.
Movement.
Null Wing reacting.
But I don't hear it clearly.
Because something else cuts through everything.
A sound.
Fading.
Weak.
Gone.
I turn.
The man.
Still.
Not moving.
Not reaching.
Not breathing.
My chest tightens.
Karan's voice hits me.
"…Arjun."
I don't respond.
I just stare.
Because only now—
only now—
it hits me.
I didn't choose to save him.
I chose XP.
And I didn't even realize it until after the man stopped screaming.