Kai lost his balance for a second, stumbling against the front desk.
"Are you okay, sir?" the receptionist asked, her voice tight with concern.
Kai gripped his head, his fingers digging into his scalp. "No. I have to see it myself."
He didn't care what the receptionist said or how the other people in the lobby stared at him.
He bolted toward the stairwell, desperate to see Room 369 with his own eyes. He bounded up the steps, completely ignoring a patient in a wheelchair coming down.
When he reached the third floor, his heart hammered furiously against his ribs. He stood in front of Room 369. Adrenaline flooded his brain as he shoved the door open.
Empty.
Kai's eyes widened. A hollow, broken laugh escaped his lips. "Ha... haa."
His knees gave out. He collapsed to the floor as if gravity had suddenly doubled. Nobody came to console him;
the few nurses and patients in the hallway were entirely absorbed by the glowing screens of their phones.
Why does this always happen to me? Kai thought, despair threatening to swallow him whole.
Then, a terrifying realization struck him like a physical blow.
The second prophecy.
"No," Kai gasped, forcing himself to stand. He frantically pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Nyra's number.
He paced into the empty hospital room. "Please pick up. Please, please..."
Ringing...
Ringing...
"Hello?" The connection was filled with static and city noise.
"Are you okay, Kai?"
A wave of pure relief washed over him, bringing a desperate smile to his face, but it hardened a second later. "I'm okay. Where are you?"
"I'm in Horn—" Static cut her off. "Why did you call?"
Kai stiffened. "Where did you say?"
"I was near the Seralite Factory. I'm on my way to your home right now."
"Wait right there!" Kai ordered. "I will come pick you up!"
"Why? What's going—"
Kai hung up. He spun around to rush out the door, but his eyes caught something in the corner of the empty room.
Resting on the linoleum tiles was a faint dusting of glowing blue crystal powder.
The exact same powder the stranger had left behind in hospital.
Kai gritted his teeth, forcing himself to ignore it. Lilia was already gone, but Nyra was in immediate danger.
The stairs would take too long. He ran straight toward the third-story window and threw it open.
[ Skill Activated: Zero Kelvin ]
Cold mist exploded from his palms. Kai formed a steep, frictionless ice slide extending from the window ledge directly down to the alleyway below.
He leaped out, sliding rapidly to the ground before the ice vaporized behind him into harmless mist.
He flagged down a passing taxi. "Seralite Factory. Now."
As the car wove through the city, Kai couldn't stop his mind from spiraling. What are they doing to Lilia? How is she? The guilt chewed at him, but he forced it down. One crisis at a time.
"Sir, we have arrived at the Seralite Factory," the driver announced.
Kai scanned his card, depositing 250 credits, and threw the door open. He rushed toward the massive crossway intersecting the factory district.
His eyes scanned the crowds until they locked onto a familiar figure.
Blonde hair. Round glasses. She was standing near the curb, casually writing in a notebook with an unusual pen. It was Nyra.
A bright smile broke across Kai's face. She was safe. He waved both hands in the air.
Nyra looked up, her gaze locking onto the boy in the red hoodie across the street.
She smiled and waved back. Kai signed for her to stay put. Nyra gave him a thumbs-up.
For a fleeting moment, they looked like two children playing a spy game across the busy intersection.
Kai stepped off the curb to cross the road.
HOOOOOONK!
Kai's blood ran cold. He snapped his head to the left. A massive cargo truck was barreling down the avenue, completely out of control.
And it was heading straight for Nyra.
Nyra stood perfectly still as the metal behemoth roared toward her. But she didn't look scared. Her gaze sharpened, her stance lowering slightly as if she was preparing for combat.
Kai didn't hesitate.
[ Skill Activated: Zero Kelvin ]
He slammed his hands toward the asphalt. A perfectly smooth, angled sheet of dense ice materialized directly in the truck's path.
As the massive tires hit the frictionless surface, the truck violently hydroplaned, sliding completely off the road and away from Nyra.
Kai exhaled a massive breath. He had done it. He had cheated the System's prophecy.
Kai then looked at Nyra. her eyes—not afraid, not surprised—just… resolved. her eyes locked on something.
But Kai didn't realize that Fate was a universal destination. If one route was blocked, the code simply found another method to execute the command.
He had forgotten to stop the truck's momentum.
BOOM!
The truck slammed brutally into a row of thick street trees. The devastating impact snapped the front axle.
A massive, heavy steel wheel detached from the chassis, rocketing back toward the street with unbelievable, lethal velocity.
Kai hadn't braced for it. He was entirely exposed in the middle of the road.
As Kai turned, the flying wheel was already inches away from his chest. There was no time to dodge. No time to cast ice.
Suddenly, The newspaper headline started echoing in his mind. the shadow beneath Kai's boots violently expanded.
Nyra erupted from his shadow.
She materialized right in front of him, taking the devastating kinetic impact of the wheel directly to her body.
Kai watched in absolute horror. For a split second, the air left his lungs.
Time seemed to freeze as he watched Nyra collapse onto the asphalt, her body trembling in the middle of the road.