CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: THE END... OR NOT[GTG]

"No... No..." Leo stammered, his voice broken, the words spilling out like a chant. He could only repeat himself, a mantra of disbelief.

[Do you finally understand? You are my toy.]

"Stop it! Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do?!" he shouted, his voice laced with rage and desperation.

The doppelgänger’s laughter filled the air, cold and mocking. "Oh, is my toy getting feisty? How adorable. But you haven’t earned the right to know more." It let the words hang, unfinished, thick with threat.

It was painfully clear: the system wasn’t going to give him any answers.

Leo realized he couldn’t wait for an explanation. He had to act. Now.

With a sudden surge of adrenaline, he swiped up a handful of sand from the ground, flinging it into the doppelgänger’s face in a desperate attempt to blind it. He couldn’t let the system stop him. The tree—his only hope—was within reach, but he’d have to move fast.

*Whoosh*

He sprinted through the forest, weaving through dense branches and leaping over roots, the sound of the doppelgänger’s furious roar echoing behind him. Trees around him were slashed apart as the doppelgänger gave chase, its relentless blade cleaving through the forest and leaving trails of destruction. Leo was running on instinct, desperation fueling his every step.

But the doppelgänger was faster.

A shadow closed in, and before Leo could react, it struck. A brutal roundhouse kick caught him in the side, sending him flying through the undergrowth.

*Twack*

Pain exploded through his body as he was hurled backward, crashing through bushes and brambles until he smashed into a gnarled tree trunk. He saw it coming, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it. His body refused to respond, limp and battered.

*Bam!*

A sickening crack rang out as his body collided with the tree. The jagged bark tore through his abdomen, and his scream split the air, raw and unfiltered.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Blood sprayed from his mouth, his breaths ragged and shallow. The metallic taste filled his senses, and as his vision blurred, he felt an eerie déjà vu wash over him. He didn’t know why, but somehow... this felt familiar.

"Look at what you’ve done," a voice mocked, its tone a sick parody of concern. "Just stay still. It’ll all be over soon."

Was this how it always ended? Had his other iterations also felt this same rebellious fire, only to see it snuffed out just as quickly? He couldn’t know for sure, but in this moment, the sense of familiarity chilled him.

His vision swam with tears, and he blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Then, something changed.

A hand, cool and surprisingly gentle, tilted his chin upward. Blinking through the haze, he caught a glimpse of a face—a face so breathtakingly beautiful it felt foreign, surreal, almost like a dream intruding into his nightmare.

"How could you do this to him, Emilia?!" A powerful voice thundered. Leo recognized it, though he couldn’t quite place it.

"What... How did you find this realm?" stammered another voice, tremulous and hesitant. That one he knew—it was the system.

"Emilia!" The voice seethed.

"...,"

"Tell me, where is that bastard Owen hiding?"

"... I have no idea."

"Then how... how did you find Ryan? How?" The voice was demanding, insistent.

"It was by chance... I merely stumbled upon his soul within a cosmic distortion."

"Is that so? And you chose to torture him." Bitterness laced the accusation.

Another pause hung heavy in the air.

"Why?" the voice pressed, filled with barely-contained rage. "What are you so *desperate* for?"

Emilia’s laugh cut through the silence, cold and mocking. "Why am I desperate? Really? Have you forgotten? You granted this mortal a gift meant only for gods! You thought I’d stand by and let him live freely with that power? He holds a fragment of our master’s essence!" Her voice grew sharp, laced with venom. "Do you think I could just ignore that?"

"It was for that reason, I let Owen do as he pleased with his soul."

"Owen?" Emilia’s voice was full of scorn. " I know fully well he wouldn’t give this mortal the punishment he truly disserved. So I couldn’t resist when the chance came to claim what’s mine."

"Enough with the lies! I know your true motive. You... just like Owen, are after the essence within him, aren’t you?"

"Oh... But it’s far too late to stop me now. The extraction will be completed soon." Her voice shifted, the faintest trace of triumph creeping into it.

"You fool." The voice sneered. "This is only a fragment of his soul containing his consciousness. Do you really think you can extract the essence from something so incomplete?"

"Tsk."

"Deep down, you must have known. And this whole charade—it’s nothing more than you venting your frustration, isn’t it?"

"IT’S NOT OVER!" Emilia shrieked, her voice cracking with desperation. "It’s not—!"

"But it is." The voice was final, brimming with quiet power. "Your time ends here."

"NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!" Her voice was a desperate, hollow echo of fury.

As her words trailed off, Emilia turned her gaze back to Leo, who was now slipping further into unconsciousness, the world fading around him.

"I’ll find you soon, Ryan." Her voice was softer now, but tinged with a dark promise.

And then... darkness took him.

...

Meanwhile...

The sterile air in the white room hummed with the soft whir of unseen machinery. Gadgets of unknown purpose blinked and buzzed along the stark walls, their LED lights casting an otherworldly glow on the lone figure occupying the center: a young man, still and pale upon a hospital bed.

Two young women sat vigilantly beside him, their forms casting long shadows in the sterile light. One, with fiery red hair that seemed to defy gravity and eyes the color of twilight, sniffled furiously, wiping tears with the back of her hand.

"It’s been a month, Lyra," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"When do you think he’ll wake up?"

Lyra, the other woman, possessed hair the color of freshly fallen snow and eyes like a summer sky after a downpour. Her shoulders slumped with a heavy weight that seemed to go beyond his current state.

"I don’t know, Scarlet," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Every time I look at him... there’s this ache in my chest. Why did he do it? He was the weakest; why did he have to be the one?"

A choked sob escaped Scarlet’s lips.

"Ha... I always thought he was annoying, a burden even. Like the others. But..." Her voice hitched, tears spilling freely down her flushed cheeks. "He was the only one who truly cared."

Lyra squeezed Scarlet’s hand, her gaze hardening.

"We were wrong, terribly wrong," she said, a steely glint flashing in her sapphire eyes. "From now on, he won’t be alone. We’ll protect him. From everyone."

A chilling silence descended upon the room, punctuated only by the rhythmic beeping of a nearby monitor. Then, a faint sound cut through the tension - a soft, almost imperceptible "pim."

A single finger, pale and slender, twitched on the edge of the white sheet.