The ground began to shake.
I dropped onto the pulsing floor just as I grabbed the sharp, floating fragment.
I looked in front of me.
Ding~
This is the physical manifestation of the target's mental state, ideology, and memories.
A dragon.
Its mouth spewed fire — he probably had a bad mouth.
Its eyes were sharp and furious, staring directly at me.
He didn't show any mercy to his victims.
"I hope he did..."
I muttered, gulping the last drop of water in my bottle.
The dragon was about to charge at me any second.
I blinked.
There was… nothing.
I looked behind me.
Nothing.
The fragment slipped from my hand and fell.
I looked at my left arm—
The world narrowed, my hand.
It—it wasn't there.
My left hand was completely severed, like it never even existed.
The dragon cleaved it off the moment I took my eyes off it, for less than a second.
I grabbed the fragment again and tore my leather jacket to stop the bleeding.
I only had one shot.
"It's too fast…"
I looked to my right.
"There it is!" I shouted.
But I didn't know what to do.
I raised my right hand — the fragment — and aimed it at its face.
The fragment touched its skull.
And the dragon disintegrated into dust.
"This… is more than just a fragment,"
I muttered.
The bandit, the man who tried to kill me, was lying in front of me.
Ding~
Touch the forehead of the soul to proceed with judgment.
As always, I did what the system said.
The moment my hand touched my killer's head, my mind fractured.
It was filled with his memories — past, present, future — all at once.
It was too much.
Too much for someone who barely knew anything about his life.
But I felt it all.
His pain, suffering, greed, love, happiness.
I understood all of it.
For a second—
I believed—
I truly believed—
I was him.
I don't know why… but my eyes were filled with tears.
Not because of my severed hand.
Maybe.
I grieved for him.
Ding~
The system showed me two options.
Heaven
Or
Hell.
There will be no consequences for whichever option you choose.
Take your time.
I knew without a doubt what I would pick.
I went through his life, his childhood, every stage of his existence up until now.
"I know… what he did was wrong."
"But he didn't have another choice…"
I chose to send him to heaven with the little strength I had
His soul turned into a white orb and floated upward.
Into a place I didn't fully know.