Kuina stared at James, the shock tightening her chest.
For a moment she forgot to breathe.
"James… just keep going. Get to the point already."
He gave her a tired smile, the kind that carried both pain and resignation.
"Patience, Tyorkin. We are almost there."
His voice faded into the dim room and the world slid backward.
Flashback.
James stood in a small wooden house that felt too quiet, too still. The stranger before him looked impossibly calm, sipping coffee as if nothing in the world was wrong.
The man was beautiful in a way that felt wrong in this nightmare. Silver gray hair draped perfectly around his face. Smooth skin. Gentle green eyes that held a softness James had never seen in this world of blood and cruelty. His robe hid a lean, toned body, and something about him radiated a strange warmth.
James turned sharply.
"Shut up. I do not know you, and I do not care. I am leaving."
His fingers closed around the door handle.
The system spoke with icy clarity inside his skull.
"Leaving the house will trigger severe torture. Return to the table."
James let out a dry, humorless laugh.
"Perfect. Let us see if you are bluffing."
He pulled the handle.
Before the sound of the latch even finished, the stranger moved. A blur. A hand. A violent pull. The next moment, James crashed through the table. Wood exploded beneath him. Pain shot down his spine.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted, staggering up and clutching his ribs.
"You heard the warning! Do you want to die too?!"
The stranger answered in a calm, almost gentle tone.
"And who told you that you could touch the door? I am trying to keep you alive, hothead."
James clenched his teeth, fists trembling.
"Alive? My best friend just had his throat torn out in front of me. I had to kill two innocent girls because of this sick system. And you sit here smiling like a creep. Tell me the truth. Are you working for that pink skinned monster? Is she using you to manipulate me?!"
The stranger shook his head with a small, harmless smile.
"No messenger. I am just a man drinking coffee in his house, who suddenly has a very angry and very handsome guest. But I can see your system warnings. Strange. Maybe whoever runs this wants me to travel with you."
James' breath hitched.
Travel? With him?
"I am not fucking traveling anywhere. I am getting out. Tell me how to leave. Now."
The stranger slowly placed the broken table upright, voice steady.
"I do not know how. And even if I did… I would not tell you. You would die."
Before James could shout again, the system spoke.
"Five bloodthirsty female warriors outside.
Cooperate with Dylan and eliminate them.
Reward: one thousand levels and lightning power."
The stranger stood, eyes shifting from gentle to sharp in a heartbeat.
"No hesitation. Let us fight, my friend."
"Fuck…" James whispered.
They stepped outside.
Cold wind brushed James' skin.
Five women stood before them, identical copies, eyes red, faces twisted with hunger for violence.
Dylan inhaled slowly, his voice a whisper.
"Stay back. I have this."
They lunged at him like beasts, claws scraping, teeth sinking into his flesh.
James raised his nunchaku, but something made him freeze.
Dylan was rising into the air.
Light pulsed around him, forming a swirling sphere of gray energy above his hand. It radiated beauty and terror in the same breath.
The air vibrated.
"Goodbye," Dylan murmured.
The explosion was deafening.
White light swallowed everything.
When it faded, nothing remained of the five women.
James dropped his weapon, knees weak.
"Who… what are you?"
Dylan landed gracefully and brushed hair from his face.
"Dylan Cumuli. Former God of Hope."
James barked a bitter laugh.
"God of Hope? That title is pathetic."
"It is a lie," Dylan said.
"There is no hope while Ortus controls the gods and this world. That is why I left. Someone else took the role."
James lunged forward and slammed a fist into Dylan's face.
The crack echoed.
Dylan staggered, wiped the blood from his lip, and smiled like he enjoyed it.
"Feel better, sweetheart?"
"Stop smiling!" James roared, punching him again.
The system chimed.
"Mission complete. Lightning power and one thousand levels granted.
Next mission: reach the Farmers Capital with Dylan.
Failure: death."
James looked up at the sky, voice shaking.
"SYSTEM. I REFUSE."
Dylan's smile vanished.
"James, no."
Silence swallowed the world.
Then pain.
A pink hand pierced James' chest.
His vision went white, then red, then black.
His head rolled across the grass.
Ortus stood above him, bored and amused.
"How dull.
Fine. One more chance."
Pink light surged.
Bones knit together.
Flesh sealed.
Lungs filled.
James gasped awake, clutching his throat.
"What… what happened…?"
Dylan knelt beside him.
"Ortus happened. You are her toy now. If you refuse again, the pain will never end. We obey. For now."
He grabbed James' hand, dragged him upward, and they flew in silence.
Far below, Ortus licked her lips, pupils dilated with pleasure.
"Oh, this will be delicious…"
They landed in the Farmers Capital.
Warm sunlight.
Golden wheat fields.
Wooden houses.
Children laughing.
A peaceful world that did not deserve this.
The system spoke sweetly.
"Destroy everything with your lightning.
Execute all criminals with Dylan.
Failure: eternal death."
James fell to his knees.
"No… please… this cannot be real…"
Dylan whispered, voice trembling.
"Ortus… why…"
A pitchfork slammed into the dirt beside James.
A massive man stepped forward.
Blue hair.
Blue eyes blazing.
Russian accent sharp as steel.
"You will not touch my city.
I am Kirill Rokumov.
And I will destroy anyone who tries."
Dylan hovered above, a small spark of hope in his eyes.
James wiped his tears and straightened his back.
"Alright, Russian.
Let us dance."
To be continued.