Leo's scream didn't come from the air. It vibrated inside my bones, a jagged frequency of grief and lead. The dead man was howling within my glass chest, demanding to live.
"Shut up..."
I rasped. My voice sounded like two shards of glass rubbing together. I clutched my head, but my fingers were just cold, transparent prisms. The forest was silent, yet the noise was deafening. Every time I breathed, I felt Leo's last moment. The cold steel of the rapier. The silver dust in the wind.
A low growl pulled me back to the dark woods. Three pairs of violet eyes ignited in the obsidian mist.
[Shade Hounds: Level 3].
They were shadows given shape, smoke with teeth. Their saliva sizzled as it hit the dead leaves. They smelled of ozone and rotting data. I tried to stand. My knees buckled immediately. My body didn't feel like glass anymore. It felt like I was carrying a skyscraper on my back.
[Warning: Virtual Mass exceeding limits.]
[Integrity under pressure: 97%.]
"Leo... what did you do to me?"
I whispered. The golden glow inside my chest pulsed in response. It wasn't a gift. It was a weight. The lead hound lunged. It was a blur of violet fire and black fur. I rolled to the side, my mirror-skin scraping against a jagged root.
Cling!
A shard of my shoulder flew off, spinning into the darkness. I didn't feel pain. I felt a "Distortion." My vision flickered. Static filled the corners of my eyes.
[Luminous decreasing. Current: 88%.]
If the light hit zero, I would die. Not in the game. In reality.
"I can't die here,"
I growled, forcing myself up. I reached for the hilt of Leo's broken sword. The metal was cold, but it felt familiar. Too familiar. Suddenly, the forest vanished. The black trees were replaced by sterile white walls. The smell of ozone turned into the sharp scent of antiseptic. I was sitting in a plastic chair. In front of me, a hospital bed held a girl no older than ten. She was bald, her skin the color of old paper.
"Leo? Are you going back to the Tower?"
She asked. Her voice was thin, like a thread about to snap. I felt a surge of love so intense it made my throat ache.
"Just one more month, Sakura,"
I heard myself say. But it wasn't my voice. It was Leo's.
"One more month, and we'll have enough for the surgery."
"Then we can go to the sea?"
She smiled.
"The bluest sea you've ever seen. I promise."
A shadow fell over the hospital room. The white walls cracked. The girl began to turn into silver dust.
"LEO! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!"
She screamed.
"NO!"
I yelled, swinging the broken sword at the air. The vision shattered. I was back in the woods. The Shade Hound was inches from my throat. My arm moved on its own. It wasn't my muscle. It was Leo's memory of combat. The broken blade caught the hound's jaw, forcing it back.
[Skill Inheritance: Lion's Roar Slash (Locked)]
[Condition: Synapse Synchronization 15%...]
"If I don't use it, I'm dead,"
I realized. The other two hounds were circling me now. They were smart. They knew I was struggling with my own body. I closed my eyes and reached into the golden fire in my chest. I didn't look for the skill. I looked for the man. I looked for the brother who wanted to see the sea.
"Leo... give me your strength,"
I prayed. The internal screaming stopped. For a second, there was peace. Then, a roar erupted from my very core.
[Skill Inheritance: Lion's Roar Slash (Activated)]
Golden light flooded my mirror-skin. The forest lit up as if a miniature sun had descended. The hounds yelped, their shadow-forms beginning to evaporate. I stepped forward. The ground cracked under the "Virtual Mass." I swung the sword in a wide, horizontal arc. A golden lion made of pure energy tore through the mist.
[Resonance Active].
The sound was a mixture of my voice and Leo's battle cry. The golden shockwave obliterated the lead hound instantly. It didn't just die; it was erased from the server. The remaining two hounds turned and fled into the darkness. They knew a predator when they saw one. But the cost of the strike was immediate.
CRACK.
A sound like a gunshot echoed through the clearing. I looked down at my chest. A jagged red line had appeared, glowing with a sinister light.
[Warning: Irreparable Crack Detected.]
[Integrity: 94%.]
"Damn it..."
I fell to my knees, gasping for air I didn't need. The red line pulsed. It felt like a hot iron was being pressed into my soul. Every movement made the crack grow a fraction of a millimeter. I forced myself to look at the system log.
[Information Reward: Memories are the Fuel of Euryale.]
[Status: You have consumed 2.4% of Player 'Leo's' data.]
"Consumed?"
I whispered, my voice trembling. I wasn't just using his skill. I was eating his life. Every time I fought, Leo's memory of Sakura became a little dimmer. If I kept this up, eventually, I would forget her face. And then I would forget his promise. I would be a mirror filled with nothing but empty power.
I dragged my heavy limbs toward the faint orange glow in the distance. The player-made Camp was my only hope. I needed a safe zone. I needed to think. The walk felt like an eternity. The "Virtual Mass" made every step an exercise in agony. My mirror-joints groaned, shedding tiny flakes of glass with every movement. I reached the perimeter of the Camp ten minutes later. It was a collection of ragged tents surrounded by a wooden palisade. The guards stood at the gate, their armor rusted and chipped.
"Halt!"
One of them shouted, leveling a spear at my chest.
"We don't allow monsters in here."
"I'm... a player,"
I wheezed. I pointed to my floating name tag: [Mirror]. The guard squinted, his eyes widening as he saw my transparent skin.
"A Mirror? I thought your kind all died in the first week. They're too fragile. One hit and they're dust."
"I'm still here,"
I said, leaning against the gate post. The golden light in my chest was dim now, a flickering ember. His gaze shifted to the red crack on my chest. His expression changed from suspicion to pure horror.
"That crack... it's red. That's a System Error."
"Let me in,"
I pleaded.
"I have... I have information."
It was a lie, but I needed the walls. The guard stepped back, his hand shaking.
"Get him to the back. Away from the others. I don't want whatever 'glitch' he has catching on us."
They led me to a secluded corner of the camp. I sat on a cold stone, watching the other players. They were all broken in their own ways. Some sat staring at the fire. Others were weeping quietly, clutching items that didn't belong to them. In the sky, another red star pulsed. Another player had just been "Deleted." I looked at my hand. It was starting to cloud over. The transparency was being replaced by a dull, opaque grey. I was losing my "Luminous" faster than I could regenerate it.
"I need to find a Tuner,"
I whispered. Leo's memory of the "sea" flickered in my mind. It was blurry now. I couldn't remember the color of the sand.
"I'm sorry, Leo,"
I sobbed, though no tears came.
"I'm already losing her."
Suddenly, the camp's emergency siren wailed. A crimson notification box filled everyone's vision.
[World Event: The Judge is arriving.]
[Target Designated: Player 'Mirror'.]
Every head in the camp turned toward me. The grief in their eyes was replaced by a new, sharper emotion. Betrayal.
"He's the reason,"
Someone shouted.
"He brought the Grind Guild here!"
I looked at the gate. The shadows were stretching, turning into a familiar black mist. Judge was coming. And he wasn't here to talk. I stood up, my glass skin screaming in protest. The red crack on my chest began to glow with a violent, rhythmic light.
[Integrity: 93%.]
"Come on then,"
I whispered to the man inside my head.
"Let's see if we have enough of you left to survive."