After retrieving the item, we made our way to the designated location—an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. It was eerily quiet, and the most peculiar was the sheer number of cars parked around the building.

"Why do they send so many people just to retrieve an item?” Selery muttered.

She wasn’t one to get rattled easily, but the sight of this many vehicles definitely put her on edge. She scan the area with sharp eyes for a moment, then she turned to me.

“We’re going to do the handoff like we always do. Wait here until I get the money. When I give the signal, come in with the item."

"Wait, Selery, I don’t know why, but something feels wrong about this." I glanced again at the number of parked vehicles.

She smiled at me with the usual grin that always masked her real emotions. “Kiddo, this is what we always do. Just wait for my signal until it is safe.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew it wouldn’t help. Selery always took the lead. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust me; it was her instinct to shield me from harm. Over time, I had come to know the lengths she would go to keep me safe, even if it meant throwing herself into the fire. I recalled a night when she returned with a gaping wound in her stomach after a deal had gone horribly wrong. Since then, she has become even more cautious.

I watched her as she walked away, her figure growing smaller with each step. I opened the box containing the item we were about to trade, the syringe. Its contents glowed faintly like some otherworldly substance. Why would one of the most powerful men in the world need something from a Norm lab? And why would he send a small army to retrieve it? I clenched my fists, my eyes still locked on the glowing syringe.

As I waited for Selery's signal, I heard the gunfire erupted inside the building. My blood ran cold, and without thinking, my legs started moving on pure instinct. I sprinted toward the entrance. My worst nightmare flashed before my eyes—the memory of Selery bleeding and barely alive. I couldn’t let that happen again, not while I stood outside doing nothing.

The moment I stepped inside, a chill ran down my spine. There she was—on her knees, bleeding from her shoulder and stomach.

"Selery!" I shouted with cracking voice.

She turned her head toward me and whisper. "Hey, Zelo..."

"Hey." That single word meant more than danger. This was not just a deal gone wrong—it was a trap.

“You can run if you think you’re faster than my bullet.”

The voice came from a man exuding an exclusive aura. He is the CEO of Elysium ecos, the very man whose face I saw daily on television. He is sitting casually on a chair, pointing a gun at Selery's head. The sight of Selery, bleeding and helpless, sent a wave of panic through me. I wanted to move, to act, but I was frozen. It all made sense now, the vehicles. They hadn’t come just to retrieve the item, but they were here to kill us.

My mind raced desperately for a way out. The only option that came to me was the syringe. I didn’t know what it was or why it was so valuable, but it was clear this man is desperate for it—desperate enough to show himself.

Without a second thought, I grabbed the syringe from my pocket and held it up. The man’s eyes widened as he noticed the syringe.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said, holding the syringe near my neck.

“Let her go, or I will inject this into myself.”

The man stood up; his calm face turned to something else, panic. Pure, panic. He stared at the syringe like his life depended on it, and maybe it did.

“Don’t,” he warned me; his voice is no longer as composed as before.

“You have no idea what that stuff will do to you.”

I smirked while taking a step closer to Selery.

“And you have no idea how fast I can inject it. Do you really want to find out if your bullet’s faster than mine?”

He took a step forward towards me but then hesitated, knowing that one wrong move could cost him everything.

"Let her go," I said again. "Or I swear, I’ll push this inside me."

His desperation grew, and a visible sweat beaded on his forehead. His hand trembled slightly as he lowered his gun.

“You don’t understand,” he said. “You inject that, and it is all over—for you.”

“And for you,” I added, pressing the needle lightly against my neck.

“So, do you want to test your luck, or do you want to let her go?”

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For a moment, the room was silent. I could see the man calculating his next move. He knew well that I wasn't bluffing. Slowly, he moved away from Selery.

"Zelo..." Selery’s voice was barely a whisper as I crouched next to her. Her eyes were half-lidded, filled with pain and exhaustion. “You need to run. Get out of here... while you still can.”

I shook my head, and tears started welling in my eyes. “No, I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Zelo, please,” she said with her voice trembling.

“This is my fault. You have to go now; don’t waste your life... not for me.”

Tears burned in my eyes, but I couldn’t let her go, not like this. I glanced back at the man, whose gaze was still locked on the syringe. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking.

“Let us go, and or I swear I’ll end this for all of us.”

Selery’s grip tightened on my arm.

“Zelo... listen to me. You can’t save both of us. You have to live. Run.”

“No,” I choked out, my throat tightening as the emotions overwhelmed me.

“Not without you.”

Her bloodied hand touched my cheek and eyes full of both pain and tenderness. She spoke with her trembling voice.

“You’ve always been a stubborn kid... but sometimes you have to know when to let go.”

I tighten my grip on the syringe. My heart was racing. The man still stood there, frozen in his desperation, but Selery's grip on my arm was fading away, and her eyes began to flutter shut.

“No, Selery, stay with me!” I pleaded. But I knew—she was slipping away. The warmth in her hand was disappearing, and her breath is slowing.

“Zelo…” She whispered, her grip on my arm loosening completely.

“Run…”

And then she was gone.

“No... no, no, no...” My voice broke, and the words choked in my throat. The world stated blurring as my tears trailed down my cheeks. The world around me blurred as everything came crashing down. Selery was gone. The one person who cared for me and who fought for me is gone.

The man took a step forward. “Let her go, boy, or you will die like her if you don’t do as I say.”

Something inside me snapped.

"This bastard. He’s taken everything."

I clenched my teeth, feeling the heat of the syringe in my hand. If Selery was gone, then there was no reason to care anymore. No reason to fear. He had snapped away the only light I had. Now, I would take something from him.

Rage burned through me like a wildfire, blinding me to everything else.

“If he wants this so badly, then he’ll never have it.”

Without hesitation, I plunged the syringe into my neck, feeling the sharp prick as the glowing substance went into my bloodstream.

“What are you doing?!” The man’s eyes bulged in disbelief as I injected the substance into myself. His gun wavered as panic spread across his face. He barked orders at the person beside him.

"Call Doctor Samuel! We need to extract the micros."

Chaos erupted around me, but I barely noticed. My body was on fire. It started with a burning sensation in my veins, searing my flesh from the inside. My muscles were twitching uncontrollably as the world began to warp and twist. Cold... so cold. Yet, my heart felt like it was trying to explode in my chest. A throbbing pain ripped through my skull, and strange, fragmented whispers echoed inside my mind, growing louder with every passing second.

But none of that mattered. Not the pain, not the chaos around me. Only one thing burned brighter than the agony is the need for revenge.

He can try to extract the item, but if I’m dead... he gets nothing... nothing.

The thought twisted into something dark and satisfying. For once, I had the power. I had control. The one thing he needed, the key to everything, was inside me, and I could take it all away in an instant. A cold smile tugged at my lips. After everything he had done, everything he had taken from me, this is my chance to take it all back.

I reached for the small knife I’d been hiding. My fingers trembled, not from fear but from the anticipation. I didn’t hesitate nor waver.

Without a second thought, I turned the blade on myself, aiming straight for my heart. As the blade pierced my skin and plunged into my chest, a searing wave of pain tore through me, but I welcomed it. The pain meant that I was still in control. My warm and thick blood spilled out, and I gasped. I could feel my life draining away.

“NO!” The man screamed with his desperate voice, but it was too late.

His panic echoed in the distance as he rushed toward me. He grabbed my hand with his firm grip and tried to stop the knife from going deeper. His hands trembled as he pressed against the wound, and his fingers slick with my blood.

“You fool! You don’t know what you’ve done! I needed that—I needed YOU!”

But I only saw the terror in his eyes. The arrogance was gone. His control had slipped through his fingers, and he was afraid. He pressed harder and desperately tried to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. He feels my life slipping away, and I feel it too. And with that, I smiled with the coppery taste of blood bubbling on my lips.

“You... took everything from me,” I laugh weakly.

“Now... I take it from you.”

The desperation in his expression was undeniable. The control, the arrogance—all of it was gone. Now, he was just a man whose life is slipping through his fingers. His hands were frantic, trying to keep me alive, trying to stop the flow of blood, but he was too late. The life was already draining from me, just like it had drained from Selery.

“No… No, no, no,” he muttered under his breath, as if repeating it would reverse what was happening. His face was pale, eyes wide with disbelief.

“You can’t die... You can’t die! I need the micros! I need them!”

I could see it in his eyes—this wasn’t just about power or money. This was his obsession. His desperation. He couldn’t let go. He couldn’t lose.

But I was already slipping away.

“You’ll... never... get it,” my last words barely escaping my lips. My vision faded, and the world around me went dark.

As the coldness settled in, a strange voice echoed in my mind, distant and robotic

Registration successful.

Synchronizing with Aster...

What... what is happening?

Warning: Body is not suitable for Aster synchronization.

The voice rang again, louder this time. I almost panicked. Was I hallucinating? I couldn't tell.

Warning: Stop the synchronization to prevent self-termination.

Self-termination? What did that mean? The words spun in my head, but I couldn’t make sense of them.

Warning: Heart is overheating.

Warning: 10 seconds remaining.

I notice the man whose desperate face was now turned into terror. Why is he retreating, as if he saw a monster? I glanced down at my body, which turned reddish brown from the severe burns.

Huh? But I don’t feel any pain. What is happening?

Forced synchronization with Aster succeeds.

"Huh, what?"

Self-termination activated.