If I had to describe what I felt, at that exact moment, it was not happiness.

Or joy.

Or excitement.

Honestly, it wasn't even anger. It was way beyond that. It was gratitude toward that universe, toward that system, for giving me such a chance. It was the feeling of being able to witness a person you completely loath and despise get screwed over in the most beautiful way.

The feeling when someone that disrespects the shit out of you and believes they are the superior being gets to eat their own words because you proved them wrong.

I could count on one hand the number of occasions I felt something like that. And the fact that I was able to experience that feeling so soon, as Park Eun-Woo—

The next time I saw the person or being responsible for that system, I would kiss them.

I appeared behind Giorgio as he panicked in front of the panel. It only took me a few seconds to put things together. The genius had broken the speed lever and the train's time of arrival had increased quite a lot. We had a bit more than one minute left yet Jolly Train would only reach its final destination in two.

And oh, had I forgotten about the giant killer mole, which was less than three meters away from the train?

Silly me.

Grace was the first to see me, with a purple eye and a broken lip. As the blood rushed to my face I motioned her not to speak, fighting to keep my anger in check.

The teenage girl nodded once, carrying both Dunya and the soldier close to her, yet the man was in pretty bad shape. How many times had Giorgio kicked him?

I had to take a deep breath to center myself, to get a good grasp of my body. My muscles, my joints, my bones. And before Giorgio could turn to see what was behind him—

I grabbed him by the hair and sunk his face into the panel.

"Missed me?" At that moment I could barely contain my emotions, even as I whispered the words close to his ears the contempt and rage that burned within my soul were almost palpable.

I hit the panel with his face again and again and only stopped when blood would not stop pouring from his nose. That was a sight that made me jolly.

"T-thaht ish not possib-le. I ran overth you!" Giorgio must have bitten his tongue when I rubbed his face on the panel; his messed-up speech was making the moment so much better.

"Guess you were right them—I must be pretty smart."

I didn't consider myself someone violent. In my previous life, I had always been a very poor fighter. If I had to guess, I had only exchanged actual blows with someone twice, and in none of those cases had I been considered the winner.

Yet I was not the 'old me' anymore; I was Park Eun-Woo in that life. A life a man like Giorgio had tried to take away from me. So if I had never found enough reasons to beat the shit out of someone in my previous life, Giorgio had given me plenty to compensate.

[A Benefactor has shown interest in your journey!]

Huh?

[Justice wants to share some of Their power with you for a short amount of time]

[Will you accept?]

A Benefactor? So was that what had happened back then, huh? It did make sense that within the entire system, there would be some kind of power mechanics involved. Things did feel more and more like some fantasy story.

"Yes, I accept."

Giorgio first eyed me with pure confusion, however it didn't take that long for him to do the math.

Actually, I didn't give him the time.

Golden light poured from above, a light and warm sensation spreading within my body. All tiredness left my body, and any injury I may have had was completely gone. I felt invincible.

Knowledge about the new power rushed into my brain as if the system had uploaded a manual into my mind. It was an actual pretty straightforward power; hit and smash.

I clenched my fists, feeling a warmth spread within me as the golden light concentrated on my hands, making them glow like two blinding stars. Indeed, the Death I was going to show to that man had no right to be that beautiful.

[You can use 'Hands of Justness' for one minute]

And one minute was plenty.

I could see my veins through my entire body, glowing and pulsing with pure light—if that was some of Justice's power, I was extremely curious to know the rest. Every time I hit him, a light would explode from my hands.

I punched the man in the stomach twice, using my knee to hit his nose. If it hadn't broken before, I fixed that. Giorgio's eye got black again, the familiar darkness filled with despair that time. Yet nothing happened.

"Wait, hey, let'sh talk! We can be commr—"

My punch sent two of his teeth flying. I was really tired of hearing men like him speak. Should I just remove his tongue?

"The screen! Look at the screens!"

Grace's shouts stole my attention for a few seconds. From the second cabin, I could hear people screaming with despair and fright tearing their throats, the train shaking more than it should. The mole was close.

Too close.

Which gave me an idea. I grabbed Giorgio by his collar, dragging him to the side of the cabin as he pitifully fought my grasp.

"C'MON! Whaht do you even thin-k you are doin? Ishn't all of thish bou' bein mor-al? Wher ish your humani'y?!"

Another message popped up in front of me, the purple glow of its words shining within my eyes. Once again, the content of the message made me smile. Perhaps, in the end, I was just too lucky for my own good.

Or perhaps my morals were the problem.

[The Giant Mole is within one meter from Jolly Train! You can send a Self to distract the Mole]

[Will you send Operator Giorgio Ratti to distract the Mole?]

"Park Eun-Woo."

"Huh?"

"This is the name of the man you tried to kill."

I pushed his body outside, the wind messing and blowing his hair. Giorgio Ratti opened his eyes and it was almost as if I could smell his fear.

"Wai', you don't real-ly nee to—"

"Be a good rat and distract the bad mole for us." I opened up a big smile, showing all my teeth with warmth. My hands were still glowing, the golden glow reflecting in the man's eyes. Then I opened my hand—

And Giorgio fell. If he screamed or said anything else, I did not hear. The system had transported him in a matter of seconds, the white light embracing him like wings.

I tried to find within me something more… a feeling. Something that would make me more humane. Pity. Sorrow. Sadness. Remorse. Anything that would prove to me I could have forgiven Giorgio in the future, something that would show me I felt bad for killing a man with my own two hands, however, there was nothing.

In my heart there was only this cold shadow, leaving nothing behind to mourn or lament. I wondered if I would dream with him that night, if I would keep seeing his desperate eyes reflecting the glow of my hands every time I tried to sleep. If his death would haunt my dreams and weight on my soul.

And how heavy would his death become.

[Time left to use 'Hands of Justness': 24 seconds]

Shit.

I ran toward the panel, toward the levers—I didn't have time to question my humanity, I could do so once I was out of that damned train. I glanced at the screens.

[ETA: 01:28]

[Time Limit: 00:42]

Even if the speed lever hadn't been busted, we wouldn't be able to gain enough speed fast enough.

[Time left to use 'Hands of Justness': 17 seconds]

I saw the second lever—no one had ever pulled it. I didn't even know what it did. Yet at that point, I was willing to try anything.

The moment I touched it, a current passed through my entire arm, all the way to my neck. I tried to pull it, but it was completely stuck.

[In order to use this lever, an operator must meet the requirements]

[Operator Park Eun-Woo has not killed more than seventeen passengers with Jolly Train]

[You cannot pull this lever]

[Innate Skill 'Hands of Justness' allows you to use this lever]

[Do you wish to operate this lever through—]

"YES! I want to use this lever, now!"

My hands shone again, the golden glow transferring to the lever as the light within my veins intensified.

[Time left to use 'Hands of Justness': 8 seconds]

I pulled the lever with sweat running down my face, and the moment I did—

Jolly Train went off with a blast.

I literally heard the boom right before the train was pushed forward by an insane speed as if I was inside a race movie with trains instead of crazy cars and bikes. I held the lever with both hands, feeling my body levitating from the ground.

From the other cabin, I heard screams and shouts as people fell and hit the walls. I could only hope no one would be seriously wounded or fall off the cabin; it's not like any one of us had a choice at that point.

I had three more seconds with 'Hands of Justness'.

I couldn't see Grace and the others, but I could hear her and deep down I was praying to whatever beings existed in that world that she and the other two were fine.

From the window, I saw something on the horizon. It almost looked like a station.

[Your time to use 'Hands of Justness' has run out]

[You cannot use this skill any longer]

[Operator Park Eun-Woo does not meet the requirements to operate this lever]

[Turning off 'Hyper Speed']

The lever immediately went down, the Jolly train taking a few seconds to go back to its normal speed. The moment my feet could safely touch the ground again, I turned back hoping no one had fallen off the train, and was more than relieved to see everyone was still inside.

"Are you okay? How are the soldier and Dunya doing?"

Grace let a faint smile appear on her lips. "They are both breathing—but that, that was insane. How are you even alive?"

I also wanted to know that.

"I got lucky. We will arrive at the final destination soon, do you think you can help me carry them?"

"Luck is for idiots… and I can carry myself, thank you very much."

Dunya opened her eyes with a painful expression, letting out a shaken breath. I could not help but smile. Grace gave her a hug, burying her face in the older woman's neck. Dunya brushed Grace's hair, whispering something to her I could not hear. I wondered how close the two had gotten in such a brief period.

"You were out for quite some time, think you can stand on your own?" I asked as I walked closer to them.

To answer my question, the woman raised herself and took a few steps away from Grace and the soldier. She stumbled and almost fell after a step, however I rushed to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders, supporting her.

"Are you really feeling okay?"

"Yes…just dizzy. You said we are almost arriving, right?"

I nodded, glancing at the middle screen. ETA, less than twenty seconds.

"What about him?" Dunya glanced at the soldier.

"Let me carry him. Grace can help you, in case you feel dizzy again."

The woman agreed, letting Grace pass her arm over her shoulder. Suddenly all three screens started to blink, the same phrase being shown on all of them with bold red letters.

[PRESS THE 'EMERGENCY STOP' BUTTON.]'

It took one look at the window to know what Jolly Train was so desperate to tell us.

There were no more tracks after the last station; only the ocean stretching for miles and miles.

I jumped, taking a couple of seconds to identify the right button. I pressed it, hearing as the brakes activated.

There was a powerful impact, almost as if the train had hit something, some passengers gasping and shrieking as the emergency breaks forced all motion from the huge vehicle. It took a few seconds until the train went completely still.

And just like that, Jolly Train successfully stopped right in front of the station, only a few centimeters away from the ocean.

Even from inside the cabin, I could smell the sea, the scent bringing more memories I was not entirely sure I wished to recall. At least not yet.

"Can you help him? He…he really did his best." Grace's voice weakened as her eyes got darker, her gaze shifting to her feet. I wondered what she thought of me for killing Giorgio; if my doing so alleviated some of her pain and helped erase some unpleasant memories.

"Was planning on doing just that."

As I approached the soldier, he opened his eyes. Something told me he had been awake for quite some time already. I extended him my arm and was glad when he took it. He grunted as I helped him stand.

"I'm sorry…" the soldier spoke in one weak breath and I could see he was still quite unsteady.

"What for?"

"I…couldn't stop him. From throwing you out of the train."

"Well, I couldn't stop you from getting beaten up either, so we can call it quits."

The soldier chuckled, a grimace spreading through his face as he touched his ribs. Giorgio had really messed him up. The soldier turned his head to face me, his voice a bit stronger. "Arman. My name."

I smiled in return, shaking his hand. "Eun-Woo."

"I will make sure to remember your name, Eun-Woo. And I hope I will see you again."

I was surprised to realize I kinda hoped for the same.

As we and the remaining passengers left the Jolly Train, stepping into the station, huge letters appeared in the sky. Throughout that day, those letters had brought me both my salvation and my demise, multiple times.

[Congratulations on surviving the last stage! You have all qualified to enter the island!]

[All surviving Selves can now begin their journey through the Trials.]

Never once did I believe Jolly Train would be the end. Even with the promise of a mysterious place awaiting us beyond the ocean, I knew the following Trials would be bolder. Crueler. Harder.

Because that system could be quite predictable, and there was a lot I could tell from all the games and stories I had seen in my previous life.

Above all else, I knew I had to win.

[Once you arrive at Île de Bâton, you will be able to choose your Benefactor.]

[The next boat will arrive shortly.]

My new life as Park Eun-Woo was finally just starting.

And I would protect it.

No matter what.