The silence after the battle was not peaceful.
It was heavy. It pressed on Lucien's shoulders like a weight he couldn't shrug off. He stood in the bloodstained grass, the crude rock still clenched in his shaking hand.
A dead goblin lay at his feet, skull shattered in. Its body was small — barely the size of a child.
Lucien's pulse thundered in his ears. His breathing came in shallow gasps.
He looked down at his bloodied hands. The rock slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a dull thud.
His stomach churned. He had killed something. For the first time. Not in a game, not in training — but really killed.
And yet…
Was this what surviving meant? Is this what the system wanted from us?
Tyson stood nearby, fists still red, his shirt torn, face grim. He didn't look winded.
He looked alive.
Not just surviving — thriving.
Lucien caught himself staring at him.
That had been brutal. Unflinching. Tyson had killed without hesitation — not even blinking when his fists broke bone. And yet… he wasn't panicked. He wasn't afraid.
He just stood there, watching the field with a calm predator's gaze.
Lucien forced himself to look away.
"Are you okay?" Rachel's voice cut in gently, touching his arm. Her hand was trembling.
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think so."
Seria, huddled beside Tyson, hadn't said a word since the wave ended. She just stared blankly at the ground, her lips moving silently.
Lucien knelt beside her. "Seria?"
No response.
He glanced up at Tyson.
"She's in shock," Tyson said flatly. "Give her time."
Lucien frowned. "She's not used to this."
"None of us are," Tyson replied. "But we either adapt… or die."
The way he said it — calm, certain — unsettled Lucien more than he wanted to admit.
A system message pinged across their vision, clear and urgent.
[Wave 1 Complete][Wave 2 temporary on hold][Nightfall Approaching][Objective: Locate Shelter Before Nightfall][Warning: Night Creatures are Lethal to Unprotected Individuals]
"Shit," Rachel whispered. "We need to move."
"There was a ridge," Tyson said, pointing. "I saw it while we fought. Might be some cover there. Trees, maybe stone."
Lucien nodded. "Let's go. Help me with Seria."
He reached for her gently. She flinched — then, after a pause, clutched his hand tightly.
They moved together, weaving through bodies and blood. Some students cried. Others stared blankly at nothing. A few looted goblin corpses, desperate for weapons.
Tyson didn't speak again.
Lucien did his best to keep everyone moving — his sister, his girlfriend, his best friend.
Somehow, it felt like they were all unraveling… and Tyson was the only one pulling tighter.
They found it just before sundown.
A broken stone tower, half-collapsed but still standing. Walls high enough to block the wind, a narrow doorway, and no goblins in sight.
But it wasn't empty.
Five students were already inside. Wounded, ragged, clutching sticks like weapons.
One of them — a tall boy with a bloodied temple — stepped forward. "Back off. We found this first."
Lucien raised his hands. "Look, we don't want to fight. We just need a place to—"
"Then keep walking," the boy snapped. "We're full."
Tyson stepped forward.
"No," Lucien said quickly. "Let me talk to them."
But one of the students hurled a stone.
It hit Lucien square in the chest. The breath left his lungs in a gasp.
And then Tyson moved. He didn't shout. He didn't hesitate. He was on them. He slammed the first attacker into the wall — bone cracked. Another lunged with a stick — Tyson kicked his leg sideways, shattering the knee.
Lucien stumbled back as the scene exploded into chaos.
Someone charged him. He ducked, swept their legs. "We don't have to do this!" he shouted — but no one was listening.
By the time it ended, three students had fled. One groaned on the floor. Another didn't get up.
Lucien backed away, chest heaving. He turned to Tyson.
"You didn't have to kill them," he said, breathless.
"They threw first," Tyson said flatly. "They chose violence."
Lucien looked down at the dead boy — then at his own hands.
[Soul Fragment Acquired: +1][Total: 3]
What the hell was this world turning us into?
Night came quickly.
The tower creaked in the cold wind. The remaining group — just six of them now — gathered around a small fire.
Rachel sat beside Lucien, leaning against his shoulder. Seria was curled up beside Tyson, half-asleep.
For a long time, no one spoke.
Finally, Lucien looked up.
"Tyson," he said quietly.
His best friend met his eyes.
Lucien hesitated. "Back there… you were brutal."
"I did what I had to," Tyson said. "To protect us. To protect them."
Lucien looked at the girls. Then nodded. "I know. I just… I didn't expect this. Not from you."
Tyson's voice softened. "Lucien. We don't have time for softness. Not here."
"But we're not monsters either."
"Do you think I like it?" Tyson asked, suddenly intense. "That I enjoy breaking bones, seeing blood? No. But I'm not going to watch Seria die because I hesitated."
Lucien swallowed hard. "I get it. I do."
A pause. Tyson looked away.
"I need you with me, Lucien," he said quietly. "You, more than anyone."
Lucien stared at the fire.
This was his best friend. The one who'd stood up for him since they were kids. The one who carried him through every fight, every game, every fall.
If he couldn't trust Tyson… who could he trust?
Lucien nodded.
"I'm with you," he said.
Tyson gave a faint smile. "Good."
They didn't say anything else.
The fire crackled.
Behind Tyson's calm expression, a notification pulsed unseen.
[Fragment Count: 7][New Trait: Bloodlust – Level 1][Hidden Objective: "Eliminate Competition" – 0% Complete]
Lucien didn't see it.
He only saw the boy he'd grown up with — bloodied, bruised, but still standing.
Still his best friend.