Chapter 99 - Ephraim

    I can’t get a wink of sleep. My mind’s in a storm, caught in the aftermath of Fei’s revelation. The weight of it presses against my chest, refusing to let me breathe easy. Terrorist recruitment? That’s already a hell no.

    But the way Fei threatened me—calm, and friendly, like she wasn’t just capable of destruction, but comfortable with it—has left me shaken. It makes me wonder what other horrors she’s hiding behind that soft voice and reserved smile.

    Fei has killed before—KAWAII agents, wiped out during the Blackout Incident. Myrrh died because of her. And that night, she turned her weapon on me. It still twists my gut to remember. She wore the mask of a timid, fragile girl, but underneath that disguise is a WAIFU so lethal, so calculated, it chills me. How did I ever fall for the act?

    I tossed and turned all night, tormented by an endless reel of what-ifs. What if I hadn’t joined? Would they unleash the Cosmic Beasts again on Xyraxis? How many innocents would be slaughtered this time? Would Fei make good on her promise and kill Myrrh again—this time permanently?

    But if I do join them… what kind of person would I become? A traitor to the KAWAII, hunted by the very people I once fought beside. Arrested? Executed? Either way, I’m signing my death warrant. And worst of all… Myrrh. She’d see me as her enemy. She’d hate me.

    No matter the path I choose, I’m screwed. Every choice leads to betrayal, death, or both. And it’s not like I asked for this. Just because I carry the so-called blessing of the Machine God and wield Weapons from the Mass Destruction Series, I’m suddenly a key player in this spiraling nightmare.

    And just when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse—three in the goddamn morning—my phone buzzed. One sharp beep, slicing through the chaos in my head like a scalpel. I jolted upright, heart pounding, thoughts scrambled.

    Honestly, I was expecting it to be Fei again—maybe with another half-hearted threat to drag me into the clutches of the NTR. Typical. But no, this time was different. The message wasn''t from her.

    It was Ephraim.

    The same Ephraim who hadn''t spoken to me since high school graduation. The same ex-boyfriend that Myrrh hates. His name lit up on my comms like a ghost poking through the static of old memories.

    Ephraim:

    I blinked at the screen, a little caught off guard.

    Me:

    Ephraim:

    Typical Ephraim—using humor like a screen door in a typhoon. Then, after a short pause, he followed up:

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    I leaned back in my chair, squinting slightly at the glow of the screen. sea??h thё n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Me:

    Me:

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    I glanced out the window. The skyline of Xyraxis shimmered like a neural web, circuitry traced across the dark. Neon veins, distant shuttle trails. I exhaled softly.

    Me:

    Ephraim:

    Me:

    I hit send, but my fingers lingered over the screen. My smile faded just a little.

    Something about the way he was tiptoeing through this conversation made my stomach tighten. Ephraim was being polite—almost  polite. And I could smell the reason from lightyears away. He wasn’t just catching up. He was circling. Maneuvering. Asking questions like breadcrumbs scattered on the path to one thing. One person.

    Myrrh.

    I didn’t bother dancing around it.

    Me:

    The reply didn’t come immediately. There was silence. Twenty seconds, maybe more. Just enough time for the air around me to feel heavier.

    Then it came.

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    I stared at the message for a second, then smirked faintly to myself.

    Me:

    Another pause. Longer this time. I could almost see him typing and deleting, over and over.

    And then—

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    For a moment, my mind went blank. I just stared at Ephraim’s message like it had glitched the entire thread.

    I didn’t know what to say.

    Myrrh had told me before—Ephraim had been pestering her ever since his messy breakup. And not just any breakup—he  on her. Had the nerve to crawl back after wrecking everything. The audacity of it still made something boil quietly inside me. I kind of hated him for it, if I’m being honest. The kind of quiet hate that simmers behind a polite smile.

    And now here he was, trying to talk to me like we were old pals. Like the whole thing didn’t happen. Asking questions, prying into Myrrh’s life through .

    But maybe I should also think about the rumors. About people whispering that Myrrh and I were a thing. We  gone on three dates, technically. But they felt more like... assignments. Scheduled outings born out of convenience or mutual need, or more appropriately, debt. At least that’s how it started.

    Still, I couldn’t lie to myself. I’d started developing feelings for her—real ones. Feelings that curled up in my chest whenever she smiled for real or leaned just a little closer when she talked. But I didn’t know if she felt the same. Myrrh was hard to read, and I wasn’t brave enough to ask her outright.

    Maybe it was better to tell Ephraim the truth. Or at least, a version of it.

    Me:

    Me:

    Me:

    The silence on his end was short this time.

    Ephraim:

    Ephraim:

    Twelve. My eyes narrowed. The hell is this guy smoking?

    Ephraim:

    There it was again—that twisting feeling in my gut. Disgust? Jealousy? Guilt?

    I wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, it didn’t sit right.

    Then, without warning, Ephraim forwarded me a picture.

    It was from the Xyraxis New Year cruise—just me and Myrrh, standing against the backdrop of starlight and revelry, wrapped in the glow of floating lanterns and synthetic fireworks. It was a good photo. We looked... close. Happy, even.

    But my face had been covered by a bright yellow smiley-face sticker. Cleanly placed. Like it didn’t belong. Like  didn’t belong.

    It was kind of thoughtful, I guess—Myrrh trying to protect my identity. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of resentment. Even now, she was keeping me boxed and labeled. Not Zaft, the guy she went on three dates with. Just Zaft, the human pest repellent. The reliable shield she held up to the Kians and Ephraims of the world.

    Ephraim:

    Me:

    I answered flatly, my fingers moving on autopilot.

    And then—like a leak springing in my skull—those thoughts started seeping back in. The ones that kept me staring at the ceiling long after midnight.

    The Neo Terrestrial Reich.

    Ismail Arondight.

    Fei Xian and her golden eyes in the middle of the Blackout Incident.

    The mechanical planetary skeleton of the Machine God.

    The endless strings of binary.

    The Cosmic Tree.

    The Cosmic Goddess.

    The grim future clawing at my neck.

    It was all too much. Too wide. Too incomprehensible. Like standing on the edge of a black hole, knowing that sooner or later, you’d be pulled in.

    And then there was Myrrh.

    That image of her smiling. Not the practiced one. The real one. The one that showed up when she forgot I was watching.

    That smile hurt more than any terrorist cell or digital god.

    I already had too many things swimming in my mind—like files I couldn’t delete, open tabs I couldn’t close. There was no room left for trivial things like romance or heartache. Myrrh had loved Ephraim for . Even before she had the vocabulary to name it.

    Maybe that kind of love never goes away.

    Maybe I should just lock mine in a file and throw away the key. Focus on the real threats—like terrorism and the unraveling of reality.

    I drew in a breath and let it out slowly.

    Then I typed words I knew I’d regret someday. Maybe even tonight.

    Me:

    The reply came instantly.

    Ephraim:

    I stared at that sentence for a while. “A good guy.” Whatever that meant.