Pain yanked him back like a hook in his chest.
Jace's eyes snapped open to darkness and rain dripping off rusted beams above. His shirt was shredded, blood soaked into the floor around him. He should've been gone. He was gone.
But the HUD still burned across his vision.
[Respawn Complete]
Penalty Applied: -50 Respect
New Trait: Hatred Surge
Effect: Instincts sharpened. Pain tolerated. Trust harder to earn.
Jace coughed hard, spit black with blood. Every nerve screamed, but something inside him was different now—meaner, sharper. The ember-light in his veins flared hotter, crawling up his arms like fire waiting to burst.
He pressed a trembling hand to his chest. The wound was there, scar raw and ugly, but closed enough to keep him standing. Respawn didn't heal clean. It patched him just enough to suffer.
"Rae…" His voice was low, gravel-thick. "You dirty, backstabbing bitch."
The HUD flickered again.
[New Quest: Revenge in Blood]
Objective: Hunt the betrayer.
Reward: +200 Respect, +1 Street Rank.
Failure: Permanent Death.
He staggered up, legs weak, vision shaking. Every step felt like broken glass cutting inside his ribs. But he didn't care. Pain was just background noise now.
His hands curled into fists. He could still see Rae's storm-gray eyes, that smirk, that laugh. And he could taste the gunpowder that almost ended him.
Not again.
Jace wiped the blood from his mouth and pushed into the night. Respawn didn't make him invincible—it made him ruthless. And if Rae thought she buried him?
She was about to find out what crawls back from the grave.