The faint light of dusk filtered weakly through broken glass, painting the cracked floor in pale orange.
Dust floated through the air like drifting ash, catching the glow before disappearing into the dimness of the half-collapsed convenience store.
The group had found shelter here, among broken shelves and crushed snack bags.
It wasn't much — but it was quiet.
After hours of running, screaming, and surviving, quiet was a luxury.
Mei slept propped against the wall, her breathing steady but faint.
Kiana and Bronya sat nearby, keeping watch. The air between them carried that strange kind of silence — heavy, but not empty.
Kuhaku sat alone at the back of the store, knees drawn up, eyes fixed on the dim flicker of a cracked ceiling light.
He hadn't spoken much since Mei's collapse. Even now, his hands trembled slightly as if remembering what they had done on their own.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Every time he blinked, he saw the same thing — the face of that student he'd killed, twisted and unrecognizable.
He felt the impact in his arms again, the sound of bone and metal colliding echoing somewhere deep inside his mind.
He pressed a hand to his forehead. "You did what you had to…" he muttered to himself.
But the words didn't make it easier.
⸻
He opened his eyes again — and there it was.
That faint, pale-blue shimmer in front of him.
A screen, floating silently in the air.
Name: Kuhaku
Level: 1
HP: 87%
MP: 100%
Fatigue: 56%
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Vitality: 1
Intelligence: 1
Sense: 1
It hadn't changed since before.
He stared at it, the letters soft but perfectly clear, like they didn't belong to the world's broken light.
He reached out, slowly, fingertips brushing through the screen. It offered no resistance. No sensation.
Just light.
"…How do you even work?" he whispered.
The screen remained motionless — a blank stare in blue.
Then, without thinking, he wondered: Can you show me the skill information?
The interface shimmered, reacting to his thought.
New text unfolded beneath the list.
[Skill: System Share]
Type: Passive / Active
Description:
Allows the user to share the System with another individual.
The granted System functions similarly to the original.
No MP cost. No activation limit.
He blinked. "You've got to be kidding me…"
No MP cost. No limits.
His brows furrowed.
It was less like a gift — more like a trap waiting for someone to abuse it.
Still, he couldn't deny the truth: Mei was alive because of it.
And that made it harder to ignore.
⸻
A faint noise pulled him out of his thoughts.
"…ugh…"
He turned sharply.
Kiana was hunched over, her left hand gripping her arm. Bronya beside her was breathing heavily, her usually calm face tightening.
"Wait—what's wrong?" Kuhaku asked, moving closer.
Kiana's face twisted. "My arm… it burns—!"
The veins beneath her skin darkened, black lines crawling upward like ink veins.
Bronya's wrist followed the same pattern — slow but spreading.
Kuhaku's stomach dropped. He'd seen this before.
No. Not again.
He didn't even think — instinct took over.
The blue screen blinked before his eyes, as if it sensed his intent.
[Skill Activated: System Share]
Light flared from his hands — thin, circuit-like lines glowing beneath his skin.
The energy flowed out, wrapping around Kiana and Bronya like threads of glass.
The lines beneath their skin slowed… then stopped.
Their breathing steadied.
The blue light dimmed, then vanished like smoke in the air.
Kiana blinked, gasping for breath. "What the hell was that…?"
"You okay?" Kuhaku asked, still catching his breath.
She stared at her arm — unmarked again. "I… think so. That was… awesome?" Her voice wavered between shock and amazement.
Bronya, on the other hand, raised her hand toward the air. "Interface… visual projection confirmed."
Her tone was calm, but her eyes reflected faint blue light — the same glow that once surrounded Kuhaku.
Kiana blinked at her. "Wait—you can see it too?"
Bronya nodded. "Affirmative. Display identical to his."
Kuhaku exhaled, half in disbelief, half in relief. "Then… it really worked."
⸻
Silence lingered for a while after that.
No one knew what to say.
They were alive — again — but that didn't feel like victory.
Fatigue crept in fast, settling heavy in their bodies.
"Let's rest," Kiana finally said, rubbing her eyes. "Just… for a while."
Bronya nodded, adjusting her coat. "Energy preservation required."
Kuhaku leaned back against the wall, staring at the faint blue shimmer fading from his hands.
For the first time since the sky broke, he didn't feel immediate danger.
Just exhaustion.
He glanced at the others — Mei still asleep, Kiana snoring softly, Bronya quietly scanning her new "system" before finally closing her eyes.
Kuhaku whispered to himself, "We'll leave tomorrow… before this place decides to fall apart too."
Outside, the storm had quieted.
The city slept uneasily beneath the cracked sky.
And in that fragile calm, four faint blue glows pulsed softly in the dark — threads of light tying them to something none of them yet understood.
⸻
End of Chapter 1 – Part 8