The cold was suffocating. It was the kind of cold that gnawed at your bones, that sank into your flesh and never let go. My breath came in short, labored bursts, fogging up in front of me before being swallowed by the blizzard. Every muscle in my body screamed as I forced myself to keep running through the deep snow, my boots sinking with every step.

Behind me, the Ice Serpent roared, shaking the ground beneath my feet. I could feel its massive form slithering closer, its frosted scales scraping against the ice, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. We were running, but we weren’t outrunning that. It was faster than anything its size should be, and it knew this land better than we did.

"Adam, you’ve gotta blink again!" Zara shouted from ahead, her voice sharp with fear.

I nodded, teeth chattering. My mana was dangerously low. I’d been blinking—teleporting—in short bursts for miles, pulling the others along as much as I could. But it was wearing me down. Each jump drained me further, each step felt like dragging my limbs through tar. I couldn’t do this much longer.

"We need more time!" Leo barked, his breath clouding in the freezing air as he pushed through the storm. "Get in front, keep the Serpent off us. We’ll make a break for the extraction point once you buy us some distance."

I hesitated, glancing over at him. Leo, the leader. The one who always had the plan. The one who promised to get us all through this. But there was something in his eyes—something cold, something calculating.

“Adam, do it!" he snapped. "Or we’re all dead!"

I swallowed the knot of dread tightening in my chest and nodded. There wasn’t time to argue, not with the Serpent bearing down on us. My body screamed in protest as I forced the last bit of mana into my teleportation spell.

Blink.

The world warped around me, and I appeared several meters ahead, just in time to dodge the Serpent’s massive tail as it slammed into the ground where I’d been moments ago. The impact sent a shockwave through the snow, throwing ice shards everywhere. I stumbled, nearly collapsing as the cold bit deep into my skin.

I looked back at the others, expecting them to catch up, to move forward.

They weren’t. They had stopped.

Confusion churned in my gut. “What are you—?”

Another roar echoed through the storm, louder this time. Closer. The Serpent was gaining. It would be on us any second.

"Go!" I shouted. "Get moving! I can’t hold it back for long!"

But they didn’t. Leo’s face twisted into a cold smirk, his breath steady despite the chaos around us. Zara’s eyes flicked away from mine, her hands trembling at her sides, but she didn’t say a word. Marcus… he didn’t even look at me. He just stared straight ahead, his jaw set, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

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The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.

They weren’t moving. Because they weren’t going to move.

“Wait... no.” My heart raced. I took a step forward, but my legs felt like lead. “No, no, no—you can’t be serious.”

Leo’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We don’t have a choice, Adam.”

Bastard. I muttered.

My stomach dropped. "What are you talking about? We’re a team. You promised—"

"We are a team," Leo cut in, his voice calm, cold. "But we’re down a healer. There’s no getting out of this with all of us alive."

The words hit me like a slap. Zara wouldn’t even look at me, her arms crossed tightly, guilt written all over her face. Marcus stayed stone-faced, distant, detached. They were in on this. All of them.

"You’re... leaving me?" My voice cracked. I didn’t even recognize the weak, broken sound that came out of my throat. "You’re going to use me as bait?"

"Think of it this way," Leo said, stepping forward, his tone almost patronizing. "You’re buying us time. Time to regroup. Time to escape."

I felt my blood turn to ice. The betrayal burned deep, mixing with the cold, cutting me in places I didn’t even know could hurt. “I trusted you.” My voice was barely a whisper.

Leo shrugged. “You should’ve been more careful with that.”

A roar tore through the storm, closer now. The Ice Serpent was bearing down, its eyes glowing like frozen stars. My instincts screamed at me to move, to blink away, to run. But I couldn’t tear my gaze from them. From the people I thought had my back.

They betrayed me.

“You’re monsters,” I growled, my hands clenching into fists. “You’re worse than that thing.”

Zara flinched. For a second, I saw regret flash in her eyes, but she quickly hardened, looking away. “It’s not personal.”

Not personal. I said sarcastically.

My vision blurred with rage, my heart pounding in my chest as I realized this was it. They were going to leave me to die, all to save their own skins. After everything we’d been through, after all the battles, after all the times I’d saved them with my teleportation, pulled them out of danger at the last second...

They were going to use me like cannon fodder.

Another roar. The Serpent was almost on me. I could feel the ground tremble as it charged, ice spraying in every direction. I had seconds to act.

"You’ll regret this!" I shouted, backing away, my mana surging for one last desperate jump. "I swear, I’ll make you all—"

A blur of white, a sudden shadow overhead—the Ice Serpent’s massive head, jaws wide, coming down fast. There wasn’t enough time. I tried to blink, but my mana flickered and sputtered. I was too drained. Too broken.

This was it.

The world seemed to slow, the cold air burning in my lungs as everything began to fade.

But then, in that final moment, something changed. Something deep inside me—something otherworldly.

"System recalibration initiated."

The words flickered across my vision like a glitch in reality. System? No—this was different. Something new.

"Regression in progress..."

I blinked, and suddenly the pain was gone. The cold was gone. The world around me was gone.

And I was standing somewhere else.

The sounds of the city washed over me—cars, people, the hum of life itself. The sunset painted the sky in hues of orange and purple, the skyline glowing like it had before the world went to hell.

Before the rift opened.

I was home. I was back.

My chest heaved as I looked around in disbelief. I was alive. Before it all. Before the betrayal. Before the apocalypse. Before the Ice Serpent.

I clenched my fists, the memory of their cold eyes still burning in my mind. Leo. Zara. Marcus. They left me to die. They used me as bait. And they would do it again.

But now? Now I had a second chance.

And this time, I wouldn’t just survive.

This time, I’ll make them pay.