The tension in the chamber reached a breaking point, thick and suffocating like a dense fog.

No one spoke, but their eyes did, darting, calculating, wary.

The system’s command hung in the air like a death sentence, its cold finality digging into each of us.

I stood still, watching.

I had no intention of fighting, not yet.

But deep inside, I knew only one would leave this place.

Nothing is going to help us.

And for some reason...

I wasn't that much afraid.

Tobias, ever the leader, took a step forward, his broad frame casting a long shadow across the chamber’s cold stone floor.

“Listen,” he said, his voice tight with restrained urgency. “We’re not doing this. We’re a team. There’s got to be another way.”

But Marcus, standing a few feet away with his daggers twirling between his fingers, didn’t seem to share Tobias’ sentiment.

His usual playful smirk was gone, replaced with something sharper, something I had never seen before.

“I don’t think you get it, Tobias,” Marcus said, his tone light, almost casual, but there was a deadly undercurrent beneath it. “There is no other way.”

Lily shifted, her bow half-raised, uncertainty flickering across her face.

“Marcus, put the daggers down. We can figure something out.”

He let out a dry chuckle.

“Figure what out, Lily? You heard the system. If we don’t do it, we’re terminated.”

His gaze flickered toward me for a second, but I remained still, unreadable.

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He turned back to Tobias.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like dying today.”

Tobias exhaled sharply, his knuckles whitening around the hilt of his claymore.

“We’re not fighting.”

That was the moment it all snapped.

Marcus lunged.

His daggers flashed in the dim light, a blur of steel aimed at Tobias' throat.

Tobias reacted instantly, his claymore swinging in a wide arc, the sheer force of it knocking Marcus back.

The sound of clashing metal echoed through the chamber, and just like that... the battle had begun.

Lily cursed under her breath and sprang backward, loosing an arrow aimed dangerously close to Marcus' shoulder.

Evelyn let out a strangled gasp, clutching her staff like it was the only thing keeping her standing.

I watched them.

I didn’t move.

Marcus dodged Lily’s arrow with ease, rolling to the side before launching himself at her.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he grinned, his movements fluid and precise. "But survival of the fittest, right?"

Tobias roared, charging forward in an attempt to intercept, but Lily was quicker.

She fired another arrow, grazing Marcus’ arm just enough to slow him down.

“Damn it, Marcus! We don’t have to do this!” she shouted.

But he only laughed.

“Oh, but we do.”

Evelyn was frozen in place, her wide eyes darting between them, pleading.

“Please, stop! We’re friends, we’re-”

“Shut up, Evelyn!” Marcus snapped, his voice colder than I’d ever heard it. “Friends don’t matter in a place like this.”

Through it all, I remained still, my hands in my pockets, my expression blank.

I didn’t flinch when Tobias' claymore sliced through the air, or when Lily’s arrows found their marks.

I simply observed.

I was studying their movement and how their strength and abilities works, also studying ways to kill them.

I could also feel something, the hesitation buried deep within them.

None of them wanted to kill, but desperation gnawed at their resolve, twisting their instincts.

They were tearing each other apart, and all I could think about was how predictable it was.

Tobias' voice boomed through the chaos, his face twisted with frustration.

“Allen! Help us!”

I met his gaze, calm and unwavering.

"Why?”

His eyes widened, and for the first time, I saw it.

Doubt.

Fear.

Lily shot a glare at me, frustration laced with something else, something close to panic.

“You just gonna stand there?”

“Yes,” I said simply.

They didn’t understand.

I didn’t need to fight.

I didn’t need to help them.

I knew how this would end.

One would remain.

And I was in no rush.

All I needed was to wait for that one person, then I will make my move.

Tobias growled in frustration, parrying another of Marcus' attacks.

“Damn it, Allen! Snap out of it!”

I continued watching.

My heart wasn’t pounding.

My breathing was steady.

Unlike them, I didn’t feel the desperation clawing at my mind.

Because I had already accepted it.

In the end, there could only be one.

And i will be that one.