I tried to take a few steps, but my legs felt like lead. Every movement was searing pain, a constant reminder of my weakness. The WoWolf didn’t stop; its silhouette, black as the night, kept advancing with a slow, chilling pace, relishing my despair. My body was screaming, but I had nothing left to give. Even my breath felt shorter, as if the air itself was abandoning me. I was frozen, powerless.

“It’s just a game,” I repeated to myself, trying to convince myself. The words echoed hollowly in my mind, offering no comfort. “It’ll kill me here, and then it’s all over.” Yet, I couldn’t stop trembling.

Suddenly, a barely perceptible rustle broke the silence. I heard Roy’s voice in my head, faint, almost a whisper.

“Ekla... I haven’t found anything.” His voice was heavy with despair. “I only know that dark types are weak to light, maybe that’s why the WoWolf wouldn’t leave the forest. It hates sunlight. But I couldn’t find anything else. It’s over!”

Those whispers of resignation hit me like a jolt of electricity. The weakness was becoming more oppressive, and I could feel life slipping away. The wolf, now incredibly close, seemed ready to deliver the final blow. Its face came within inches of mine. I could feel its breath on my forehead. Then I saw a black scythe materialize beneath my feet. The blast hit me full force. I flew several meters back, rolling multiple times before the impact stopped. I lay still, staring into the void.

“You’ve got less than 5% life left,” Roy said in a weak voice.

That’s when I noticed something.

Around me, I looked at the plants—or rather, what was left of them. The trees that had appeared in the clearing seemed... dead? The leaves were dry, the branches gnarled, as if they had been drained of all life. As if the energy that had fueled their growth had vanished. Even the grass beneath me was crumbling into dust. The entire forest seemed to be dying slowly, as if the WoWolf’s presence was sucking the vitality out of everything.

“The plants...” I whispered, almost without realizing it. My brain, exhausted from the battle and fear, managed to form a thought that seemed like pure madness.

Fire.

The idea shot through my mind like lightning. Light. The WoWolf was vulnerable to light. Maybe, if I couldn’t hit it directly, I could use it to my advantage.

I tried to stand but couldn’t hold myself up. I got on my knees. With the last bit of mana I had left, I raised a trembling hand and began to summon magic. “Roy... I have to try one last thing...”

“What are you doing?” His voice was a mix of surprise and panic.

Ignoring him, I focused all my power in one direction. My fingers, weak and stiff, began to heat up, and a small spark of fire appeared on my palm. I knew I could never defeat the WoWolf in direct combat, but I could create some kind of barrier.

In a desperate gesture, I threw a fireball at the dead vegetation. Then another. And one last one, which was little more than a spark. I had run out of mana.

In an instant, though, the flames rose, enveloping the dry branches with impressive ferocity. The heat increased, and the tongues of fire spread quickly, consuming everything in their path.

The WoWolf stopped, uncertain, its eyes blazing with a fury I had never seen before. But the fire was spreading quickly, creating an ever-thickening wall around me. The air was becoming more and more laden with smoke, and the crackling of the flames was starting to drown out every other sound.

Roy, in my mind, was shouting. "Ekla! Are you crazy? Everything’s burning!"

I didn’t respond. The WoWolf was retreating, its ears flattened, showing hesitation for the first time. The flames seemed to disturb it, frighten it. Its movements were slower, less aggressive. The fire grew, fed by the dry vegetation. It was already out of control. In a flash, the entire forest, which had sprouted out of nowhere, was engulfed in flames. The acrid smell of burning wood filled the air. Even the darkness seemed to withdraw in the face of that violent, blood-red light.

The WoWolf let out a heart-wrenching howl, a sound that sent chills down my spine. But I just stood there, staring at it, unmoved. Then, as if burned by a nearby spark, it tucked its tail between its legs and fled into the forest. Its dark silhouette disappeared among the trees.

"It... it worked," I whispered in disbelief, but my body collapsed to the ground. The relief lasted only a moment.

The fire, my own fire, had become uncontrollable. The flames roared higher and higher, surrounding me on all sides. Instead of protecting me, they now threatened to destroy everything, including me. I felt trapped again.

"Ekla, the fire... it’s out of control!" Roy shouted, his voice now filled with panic. “Try to log out now! Now!” he screamed.

I tried to stand, to do something, but my body wouldn’t respond. I was too weak, too exhausted. The heat was suffocating me, and my vision began to blur. Breathing became a struggle, each breath was torture. I was trapped in my own disaster.

“Is this how it ends?” I thought, with a mix of bitterness and irony. I had driven the WoWolf away only to be killed by my own power. A fitting, tragic end.

"Ekla, can you hear me?" Roy’s voice trembled.

His voice sounded distant, like an echo fading in the roar of the flames. The fire had consumed everything, growing unchecked. There was nothing I could do, and I knew it. But I couldn’t even find the strength to accept my fate.

"Roy... I’m sorry… I can’t…" I whispered, just before losing consciousness.

Zero HP.

"Ekla…" Roy called out, but he said nothing more. I could feel it, I understood. He knew too that there was nothing left to do.

Slowly, the world around me began to fade. The sound of the flames grew distant, muffled, and everything went dark.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I don’t know how much time passed. It could’ve been a minute, an hour, or maybe just a fraction of a second. But suddenly, I felt something strange: a warmth different from the one suffocating me, a warmth that enveloped me from within. It wasn’t stifling, it was... comforting.

I opened my eyes, but everything around me was still fire. The flames licked at me, but I didn’t feel pain. In fact, I felt... better. Stronger. My body didn’t feel heavy anymore, the exhaustion had disappeared, as if it had never existed.

"Ekla?" Roy asked, surprised.

Roy’s voice was incredulous, almost frightened. Slowly, I stood up, my legs steady beneath me, and looked at the fire burning all around. But I didn’t understand. Why was I still alive? Why did I feel so... good?

"Honestly, I don’t understand anything anymore..." I said, staring at the flames. I was standing, in the middle of that inferno, and yet the fire didn’t harm me. It was as if it was a part of me.

Roy was silent for a moment, then spoke again, this time calmer but no less surprised. "Ekla... it’s your passive ability. Fire Eater. You’re healing from the flames you created."

It took me a moment to process his words. Fire Eater. The ability I had chosen randomly during BuBull’s evolution... was now healing me? It was saving me?

I looked at the flames, watching as they danced around me, brushing against me without causing harm. It was true. The fire I had summoned, the fire that had gotten out of control, was now healing me. With each passing second, I could feel my body regenerating, life returning to me.

I glanced at my Omnigron for confirmation and saw my HP bar just above 30%. I could see it rising rapidly.

"Roy... I’m healing…" I said in disbelief, feeling the power of the fire flow through me.

Roy didn’t respond right away. I could imagine the stunned look on his face as he tried to piece together the surreal situation. "Yes, I see it... I see it too, Ekla. But now, try to log out! We need to get out of here."

He was right. I suddenly remembered our rush. "Roy... what time is it?" I asked, trying to keep my anxiety at bay. A deep sense of unease washed over me, more intense than the heat I felt on my skin. Had I just caused Roy to lose his job?

"00:14," Roy replied, his voice shaken but still controlled. "Don't worry, though. I can explain to my bosses that I was running specific tests. The delay won't be a problem. We've got a ton of interesting material. Now let's just focus on getting you out of here."

Hearing those words, I decided to try again. With my heart racing and my breath heavy, I moved my trembling finger toward the logout button on the Omnigron. The unease inside me grew with every passing second. With a determined click, I held down the button. The beep it made was the same as before, but the sound that followed... was completely different.

A metallic, almost screeching sound filled my ears, and the logout button lit up in a bright, flashing red. My stomach clenched with panic. Roy seemed to sense the problem even before I could say anything.

"Ekla, what's happening?" His voice was filled with disbelief.

"It still doesn't work," I said, trying to stay calm, though my tone betrayed my growing frustration. "It's not letting me log out! I'm pressing it, but nothing’s happening!"

There was a moment of silence, then Roy burst out angrily. "I don't understand what the hell is going on. This shouldn't be happening!"

I felt panic rising inside me, like a storm that was drawing closer and closer. Everything I'd been through up until now, all the battles, the fear, the suffering... had been part of the game. But now, something darker was manifesting. It wasn’t just the system failing. I could feel something more, something I couldn’t quite understand.

I took a deep breath, trying to push that feeling away. "Roy, do something! A hard reset or something!"

Roy seemed to be grasping for a solution, his voice now more uncertain. "I'm checking, give me a second... maybe it's a bug, a system glitch. It could resolve on its own..."

"And if it doesn't?" I asked, my voice trembling as my mind explored darker and darker scenarios.

Another wave of silence fell between us. I looked at the Omnigron on my wrist, its screen still flashing that irritating red. No matter how many times I pressed the button, the result was the same. No way out.

"Roy..." I whispered, feeling the anxiety wrap around me like a vise. "Something's wrong. This isn’t just a bug. I can feel something... off."

The tension in the silence that followed was palpable. I knew it, and so did he. This wasn’t just a software glitch. Perhaps it was a result of the modifications he'd made to the headset. But neither of us wanted to say it out loud.

Despite my body being nearly fully healed, the fear wouldn’t leave me. I looked around, desperately trying to understand what was happening. But all I saw were the dancing shadows of the flames and the distorted shapes of the charred trees.

"Roy, I don’t want to stay here any longer." My voice was barely a whisper, almost a choked cry. My eyes welled up and my breath caught.

Roy was silent for a moment, then he replied with a determination I hadn’t expected. "Ekla, stay calm. I'm checking something, and I'll get you out of here. But you need to keep calm."

I nodded seriously as I felt him slip into the back office. I tried to calm myself, but my mind couldn’t shake the thought that something far worse was happening.

"Okay, Ekla," he said, returning just a few seconds later, his tone surprisingly calm, almost reassuring. "I’ve got a plan."

"A plan?" I repeated, uncertain but clinging to those words like a shipwrecked man holding onto a piece of driftwood. I needed to believe there was a way out.

"Yes," Roy answered with more confidence. "The direct logout isn't working, okay? I don’t know why, but it's like you're stuck in this combat mode or something. But... I can do something. I'll go into the back office area. From there, I can disable the monitoring mode, exit manually from the system, and come back to reality. Then I’ll take off your headset, and you'll be back in the real world."

His words hit me like a beam of light in the middle of an overwhelming darkness. It was the solution. Finally, I could leave that suffocating world and return to reality.

"Really? It'll work?" I asked, still incredulous, but already feeling hope bloom inside me.

Roy let out a brief sigh. "Of course it will work. Listen closely. I’m going to exit monitoring mode and wake up in my studio. Once I'm there, I’ll shut everything down and take off your headset, and you’ll be out of the game. I guarantee that in just a few minutes, you'll be sitting in front of the best pizza in town, out of this mess. I just need to log out, and you stay calm, okay?"

I felt my heart slow down, as if those words were driving away the anxiety that had been devouring me. It was a simple, rational plan. I trusted Roy, and even though the terror of being trapped hadn’t completely left me, I felt like I could breathe a little easier.

"Okay, Roy," I replied, my voice barely a whisper but with newfound determination. "Log out and fix everything."

Roy nodded, though I couldn’t see him, I could feel it. "Good, Ekla. Don’t worry, I’m going to fix everything now. You just need to wait and stay calm."

There was something in his tone that reassured me, a certainty that radiated from his voice. I heard the sound of his mental presence fading as he prepared to log out. He would fix everything. I just had to trust him. I just had to... wait.

The anxiety inside me calmed slightly. The Omnigron still signaled that I had no MonMonster with me, and it kept flashing red on my wrist, but now it seemed less threatening. Roy’s plan would work. There was no reason to panic.

"Okay, Ekla," Roy said, his usual ironic tone now tinged with a certain seriousness. "I’m going. Wait a moment, and everything will be fixed. Relax. It's all under control."

With those final words, the mental connection cut off. Roy had gone into the back office, and I was left alone, hoping that soon, it would all be over.

A drop of water hit my face. It started to rain.