The blade didn't scream. It groaned.
A long, jagged crack spiraled up the rusted steel of Leo's sword. The lifespan indicator in my peripheral vision flickered a dying crimson.
[Durability: 0.01%].
I stood at the edge of the Weeping Canyon. This was the only path to the Level 1 Gate. The wind here tasted like salt and old copper.
"Just a little further, Leo,"
I whispered. My voice vibrated through my chest like a struck tuning fork. The "Virtual Mass" of his soul was heavier today. Every step I took left deep imprints in the hard-packed dirt. I wasn't just carrying my own weight anymore. I was carrying the weight of a man who refused to be forgotten.
A shadow shifted among the jagged rocks above. Then another. The moonlight caught the edge of a curved blade.
"Look at that,"
A voice rasped from the cliffs.
"A walking piece of glass carrying a dead man's trash."
Three players dropped down, blocking the narrow path. They wore the grey rags of the Scavenger Guild. They weren't here to play the game. They were here to harvest players for scrap metal and spare parts.
"That sword is worth a few credits,"
The leader said. He pointed a notched axe at my heart.
"And your skin... that's pure A-grade mirror glass."
I gripped the hilt tighter. My glass fingers groaned under the pressure.
"I'm not for sale,"
I said. The leader laughed, a dry, hacking sound.
"Everything in Euryale has a price, kid. Especially the things that are already broken."
He lunged. The axe whistled through the air, aimed at my shoulder. I tried to parry, but my arm felt like it was made of solid lead.
[Warning: Virtual Mass Synchronization - 45%].
[Movement Speed reduced by 30%.]
The axe caught the flat of my blade.
Clang!
The vibration shot up my arm, rattling my very core. I stumbled back, my heels digging into the dirt. Another scavenger circled behind me, spinning a weighted chain.
"Finish him,"
The leader grunted.
"Don't scratch the torso."
I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second. The Canyon vanished. The sound of the wind turned into the sound of crashing waves. Blue. So much blue. I saw the sea again through Leo's eyes. The smell of salt wasn't copper anymore; it was life.
"Leo... I want to see the horizon,"
Sakura's voice echoed. The memory surged through my neural net like high-voltage current. It wasn't a vision. It was a command.
"I promised her!"
I roared. I swung the sword with everything I had. The blade met the leader's axe in a shower of sparks.
Snap.
The sound was final. Leo's sword shattered into a hundred jagged teeth. The metal shards flew past my face, reflecting my own wide eyes. I was left holding nothing but a broken hilt. The scavengers froze, then began to grin.
"Now you're just a statue,"
The leader sneered. He raised his axe for the final blow.
"Time to go to the furnace, glass boy."
I dropped the hilt. I didn't need the steel. I reached into the burning golden fire at the center of my being.
"Leo,"
I whispered.
"Don't let it end here."
The red crack on my chest began to pulse with a violent light.
[Warning: Integrity 93%.]
I didn't care about the damage. I didn't care about the brain-death waiting for me in the real world. I stepped into the leader's guard, my bare hand glowing like a star.
[Skill Inheritance: Lion's Roar Slash (Override)].
[Condition: Weapon Missing. Redirecting Aura to Limb...]
"What is he doing?"
The chain-user yelled, his voice cracking. They saw it then. The air around me began to warp and shimmer. A massive, golden shape began to form behind my back. It wasn't just light. It had weight. It had teeth. A spectral lion, ten feet tall, stood over me, its eyes burning with Leo's blue fire.
[Resonance Active: 120%].
I punched the air in front of me. I didn't hit the leader. I hit the space where he existed.
"LION'S... ROAR!"
A pillar of golden energy erupted from my fist. The sound wasn't a roar—it was the collective scream of everyone who had died alone. The shockwave tore the axe from the leader's hands and shattered it. The golden lion lunged forward, passing through my body. It slammed into the scavengers with the force of a falling mountain.
The ground turned into a crater of dust and light. When the light faded, the three scavengers were gone. Only three small piles of grey ash remained on the ground.
[Enemies Deleted. EXP Gained: 0 (Manual Override).]
I stood in the center of the crater, my hand still smoking. My glass skin was peeling back in long, thin strips. The "Virtual Mass" was so heavy I couldn't even lift my head.
"Did you see that?"
A whisper came from the cliffs. I looked up. A dozen players had gathered on the ridges above, watching. They weren't scavengers. They were explorers.
"It's him,"
A girl whispered, her eyes wide with terror.
"The Walking Memorial. The one who carries the dead."
"He used Leo's skill... without a sword,"
Another man added. He made a sign of the cross over his chest.
"He's not a player. He's a ghost."
I felt their gaze like a physical weight. It wasn't admiration. It was a mixture of awe and revulsion. I was a reminder of what happened when you failed in this world. I turned away, my steps heavy and rhythmic.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Every step felt like a drumbeat for a funeral procession. I walked toward the Great Gate of Level 1. The massive stone doors were carved with the faces of the first thousand to die. I found Leo's face among them, hidden in a corner. I touched the cold stone of his carved cheek.
"We're going up, Leo,"
I said.
"I'll show her the sea. I swear it."
The gate began to groan open, revealing a staircase made of white light. But as I stepped toward the first stair, a sound stopped me. It was a slow, deliberate sound.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
I froze. My mirror-skin turned cold as ice. I knew that rhythm. It was the sound of a predator admiring its prey. I turned around slowly. Standing at the edge of my crater was a man in a black cloak. His rapier was sheathed, but his hand was resting on the hilt.
Judge.
He wasn't looking at the gate. He was looking at my chest. He was looking at the jagged red crack that had grown another inch. A manic, terrifying smile spread across his face.
"Exquisite,"
Judge whispered. His voice carried over the wind like a serpent's hiss.
"The way the light bleeds from your soul... it's better than any sunset."
I raised my fists, though my arms were shaking.
"Go away, Judge. I'm not in the mood for your games."
He laughed, a high-pitched sound that made my glass core vibrate.
"Oh, but the game is just beginning, little mirror. You've filled yourself with such beautiful sorrow today."
He stepped into the crater, his boots crunching on the ash of the scavengers.
"But tell me... how many more ghosts can you fit inside that hollow body? How many more screams can you hold before you finally... snap?"
He leaned in, his eyes burning with a dark, hungry fire.
"I think I'll let you reach the second floor. I want to see what happens when you try to carry a thousand more."
He vanished into the shadows before I could move. I stood alone on the white stairs, the red crack on my chest pulsing like a heartbeat.
[Integrity: 92%].
The stairs ahead were long and steep. But the screaming inside my head was louder than ever. And for the first time, I couldn't tell if the scream belonged to Leo... or to me.