Path of the Extra

”Lu-”

?

...?

”—W-wait...”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

?

...!?

”H-hold on please..!”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

...?

”—ah.”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

...!

”N-no! P-please dont!”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

”.....!”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

”.....please...”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

”Lu-”

”...”

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

”A waste of garbage like you is not even worth the effort of playing with.”

*****

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*****

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*****

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*****

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*****

’How long has it been?’

’How long have I been dying?’

’Is this... hell?’

’His voice.’

’His eye.’

’It has all become so sickening.’

’I am tired of seeing him.’

’Why is this happening again?’

’What did I do to deserve this torture?’

’I simply did not want Yelena to get hurt.’

’So why am I the one who has to die, again and again?’

*****

’I do not know how many times I have died now.’

’I stopped counting after the forty-sixth time.’

’This is so unfair. I do not even get a chance to fight back.’

’What the hell am I supposed to do?’

’Is this... forever?’

*****

’I still feel the pain, even after so many times.’

’This is not fair.’

’It is so unfair.’

’Why can I not get used to this?’

’My senses, my body, my mind, they keep resetting as well with each death.’

’I... just want this to be over.’

’I do not want to go through this anymore.’

’...I want to give up!’

*****

’There... is a way...’

’The system... gave me an out.’

’Right... I have one chance...’

’That ball. If I am somehow fast enough to destroy it before he kills me again, I can leave this scenario and be free. But in doing so, I will be abandoning Yelena, and everyone else here. It only works on me. Only me.’

’But... what choice do I have?’

’The system... warned me.’

’It said my chances of survival were basically impossible, and I did not take it seriously. I did not understand it. Now I do. This is a scale I cannot possibly compete on at my current level.’

’How was I supposed to know?’

’But it is ironic that I keep dying over and over, yet I cannot seem to die permanently...’

’Why?’

’Who is doing this?’

’Wait... is it the system?’

’Is it trying to keep me alive?’

’Alive...’

’Life...’

’Is... the God of Life behind this?’

’If...’

’...if it is a god...’

’My god...’

’Then... I should perhaps listen...’

’And...’

’What was I saying?’

’Right...’

’I should...’

’...leave.’

*****

’Okay... From this point, I will keep trying to summon the ball and break it as fast as I can, and then... and then...’

*****

’No...’

’I cannot...’

’I cannot do it!’

’I feel sicker still just thinking about attempting this!’

’I cannot be a coward.’

’I do not want to be a coward!’

’...I cannot leave Yelena...’

’I cannot leave anyone...’

’...if I leave...’

’They all die...’

’They all would have died.’

’I... must save them.’

’Ah... where was I?’

’Right.’

’I must save everyone.’

*****

’Think...’

’What is happening? Take it all in. Gather as much information as I can.’

’Okay...’

’Yelena is bound beside me.’

’The Immortal Eyepatch is in front of me.’

’Behind him is the Plague.’

’And behind him, someone else is sleeping. I do not know much about him, but I get a terrible feeling from that last one.’

’So even if I manage to stop this man from killing me, there are still two Masters including this guy to deal with and one Expert. Shit.’

’No!’

’Do not think like that!’

’How do I die?’

’Right.’

’He stabs me in the neck.’

’I choke on my own blood.’

’But I do not die from that.’

’Oh.’

’Again.’

’Where was I?’

’Right.’

’He stabs me, and then...’

’...he rips my heart out.’

*****

’Okay... not ideal.’

’What else...’

’Hmm?’

’I might have already lost my mind, but...’

’Did I hear something?’

*****

’Yes. Right at this very moment!’

*****

’At the very start of this loop, just now, it was as though I heard someone speaking from somewhere far away.’

*****

’Where... where is it coming from?’

*****

’What is it that I am hearing?’

*****

’Lu...?’

’Lu... Lumine? My name... my name is being spoken!’

*****

’Where... where is that coming from...’

*****

’Celestina!?’

’And Azriel!?’

*****

’They are here! What are they doing here!?’

’No, I am so glad that they are!’

*****

’Azriel seems to be holding Celestina back, as though she had nearly given them away.’

’Smart, though if he had not stopped her, I might have been saved.’

*****

’But they are too far away to attempt anything that could help.’

*****

’Think.’

’Come on, think!’

*****

’Wait...’

’Hmm?’

’Uh...’

’I skipped past this moment before without noticing, but...’

’Azriel...’

’You...’

’Why are you smiling?’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

*****

”Lu-”

Lumine’s eyes did not hesitate, did not pause even for a heartbeat. The moment he returned, they shot straight toward Azriel and Celestina and held there, searching.

’What the hell...’

Yes.

They looked terrified.

Celestina’s mouth was covered, but her eyes were wide with shock and tension. Azriel’s eyes carried that very same fear, that very same wideness.

And yet.

Unlike Celestina, his mouth was not covered.

’Hey... why are you smiling, Azriel?’

It was such a stark contrast, even here, so close to the very edge of death.

Lumine felt a horrible chill pass through him as he looked at Azriel in that final moment, and then came the blade, plunging into his throat, and after it, his heart torn free from his chest.

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

*****

”Lu-”

Lumine’s eyes, pulled as though by magnets, found Azriel once more.

His eyes went wide with realization.

Yes. In that instant, he understood something. From the scattered fragments of information he had gathered, from everything he had managed to piece together, this was the conclusion his mind arrived at.

’Azriel...’

The Apostle of Death.

’It was you.’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

*****

The system had not been responsible for this. Neither had the God of Life.

It was Azriel.

It had been Azriel all along.

He had said as much himself, hours ago. That he died over and over and over again. Azriel had already lived through this. Azriel, who knew far more than he did. Azriel, who was as mysterious as anyone could possibly be. Azriel, who unlike him, was actively fighting on some far higher scale entirely.

’I do not understand.’

’Why are you smiling?’

’You are smiling as if this is funny.’

What had he said, all those hours ago? That he would leave a trail of blood and bodies behind him and never once look back. Lumine had known even then that he would pay for failing to stop him.

Is this that payment? To suffer the way Azriel once suffered? Is Azriel the one doing this to him?

’But... but he is also the one who saved Yelena from her coma.’

’He hurt himself for us.’

’He saved us.’

’But...’

’What do I really know?’

’Nothing. I know nothing, but...’

’You do.’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

’Nol, the one closest to you, is evil.’

That smile. It was evil.

’He also said you killed that child.’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

’He also said you murdered all those people at the arena...’

’That child. Those people. You killed them, and worse, you put their heads on stakes like some kind of trophy?’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

’You snapped the spine of a prince of the Dusk Clan.’

’Why is it that I have been pushing all of this to the back of my mind?’

’When you have so blatantly committed such horrific deeds?’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

’Was being a good person, a friend, nothing more than a scheme all along, and now you no longer care to keep it hidden?’

’Why is it that I chose to ignore the bad and focus only on the good, when it came only to you?’

’Azriel...’

’Are you...’

’...evil?’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]

’Have you been manipulating all of us this entire time?’

Lumine’s thoughts strangely kept unraveling further with each death, and no matter how many times he died, his eyes always found their way back to Azriel. Until, at this moment, that smile remained fixed in place. Until his own thoughts turned darker still. And then, just now, Lumine watched that same smile grow wider.

’It was not you who needed saving.’

’It was us. We were the ones who needed saving. From you.’

Lumine had indeed realized something important.

’Azriel... you... you are evil.’

[The ??? Skill, [Redo], has successfully been activated.]