Jumping out of cover, Ark sprinted across the rocky ground, entering the narrow passage where Mino was holding off Ran. The darkness of this place swallowed him up quickly, and he felt an oppressive force settle on his shoulders.

Before him, the battle between the two huge combatants raged with a ferocity that Ark had never seen in his longtime friend. Mino was ignoring the tip of Ran’s spear as he attacked with hammer and ax; a move that inadvertently protected him from the worst damage, as Ran was forced to move or employ his shield to avoid crippling damage.

Beside Ark, his copy mirrored his moves—the same desperate expression on its face. While Ark had control over it, and could make it move independently from him, it was difficult to do without standing still.

Regardless, he charged while fruitlessly hailing Mino across their connected netlinks. His friend did not respond, instead his furious attacks grew wilder and he roared as the battle with Ran reached its tipping point.

No, no no! Ark screamed internally, seeing their plan failing before his eyes. Mino was not supposed to lose reason like this—merely stall for time so that Ark could land the killing blows. While the giant was naturally strong, his wild attacks were having little effect on Ran, who was a much better fighter.

While Ran seemed just as furious as Mino, for some reason, he effortlessly deflected Mino’s blows and kept landing his own, staggering his opponent and readying the final strike.

Into this mess, Ark passed his friend and immediately opened fire. His copy mirrored his movements and light erupted from both their muzzles, even as only a single gunshot went off.

Ark saw Ran eye them, as the flowing shield around him absorbed the bullets. Then the spear wielder ignored them, focusing his energy on finishing off Mino, who had started to slow down.

With bared teeth, Ark commanded his copy to continue circling Ran, as he stopped and focused on his netlink. Using his connection to Mino and his copy, Ark located the access points to his opponent’s netlink, and began firing off spikes to invade the integrated unit.

As quick as he could, Ark demolished Ran’s automated defenses, shattering them at a speed that the spear wielder immediately noticed. Where the gun barely made him flinch, the moment he realized what Ark was doing, he kicked Mino in the stomach, forcing him back, before turning on Ark.

Eyes wide, the spear wielder looked like a rabid animal with only the barest hint of reason left. Roaring, he switched targets and attacked Ark.

Backing up, Ark fired his gun to no avail. The shots were caught by the shield and fell uselessly on the ground. While he could not maintain the attack on Ran’s netlink himself, his copy kept up the pressure, allowing Ark to throw himself to the side when Ran attacked with a swift stab.

Landing in a roll and getting back on his feet in a crouch, Ark was just in time to see Ran tower above, burning eyes full of hatred as his shield swirled around the tip of his spear.

There was no time to shoot. Instead, Ark did what he had been trained to do—he countered. His copy had kept up the pressure enough to uncover a weakness in Ran’s defenses, and Ark pounced. Just as Ran thrust his spear forward, Ark sent his most potent programs at his opponent, short-circuiting his netlink.

A jolt went through Ran, who visibly jerked. His face twisted as the muscles down his neck jerked violently. The thrust that would have ended Ark’s part in the simulation came to a halt, as Ran shook like a leaf. Despite the pain that Ark knew was coursing through his opponent at this moment, Ran never opened his mouth to scream.

While forced into momentary paralysis, Ark saw movement behind Ran, and had to jump out of the way as Mino rammed into their opponent with his shoulder first. Ran was flung forwards, passing by Ark close enough for him to feel the wind rush against his cheeks.

Roaring, Mino looked like a rabid dog, now only with the ax in hand. He was visibly limping, and his left arm hung useless down his side. Still, it seemed like nothing would stop him from pursuing his target.

“Mino!” Ark called, but it was useless. His friend ignored him as he followed Ran, going for the kill. Biting down the urge to call on Mino again, Ark resolved to focus on the fight, forcefully pushing down the growing sense of unease he felt at the sight of his raging friend. Now was not the time.

Stepping back, Ark felt something crunch beneath his feet but was too occupied with the battle to look down. Mino threw himself at Ran, who lay prone on the ground.

The spear wielder barely managed to regain control of his motor functions in time, spinning to the side, avoiding Mino’s ax. Giving up his spear, Ran groggily got onto his feet, eyes momentarily drifting toward Ark.

Ark saw the opponent look at him, then down at his feet and smile. Eyes widening, Ark followed Ran’s gaze down at his own feet, seeing a small piece of paper on the ground, folded to look like a person. It had a hole in the chest, right where the heart would have been.

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Roaring, Mino attacked again, and Ark had no more time. He called upon his copy to reinitialize their attack on Ran’s netlink. As an afterthought, Ark looked to his map and stopped dead. There was something missing—a red dot that should have been there, already dealt with.

In front, Mino was assaulting Ran with abandon, but the spear wielder appeared to have regained his cool. His grimace had turned placid, as if all the hatred he had felt before had simply vanished, and he carefully avoided Mino’s attacks with his bare hands and the shield that was still swirling around him.

It can’t be, Ark thought, looking around their surroundings. He stood there, beside his copy, while Ran and Mino fought their way back to where Ark had initially come from. Where is she?

A crack in the air alerted Ark to a new variable. Mino, who had raised his ax for a downwards attack, was caught by a snaking tendril circling his wrist. Using his own force against him, Mino was pulled forwards, overbalancing and falling onto his face.

Rex had arrived. Her brown eyes were focused, as she controlled her whip. Before Ran could turn to face the new foe, she cracked the whip again. Shattering his shield and lashing his face, Ran stumbled backward.

Ark raised his gun, and his copy mirrored him. They both breathed, focusing, as he took aim and fired.

Rex leaped to the side, bullets shattering the rock behind her. Fast as lightning, she recoupled her whip with her baton, forming her staff. With one quick blow, she hammered down Mino, who was trying to get back up on his feet. The sound of the staff colliding with Mino’s head echoed through the chasm, and Ark knew his friend was out.

It was just him, Rex and Ran left, although… He kept firing, ignoring the pit in his stomach telling him that something was wrong.

Rex darted from side to side, avoiding the bullets with the grace that only someone fueled on psionics could manage. Ran was getting up on his feet, turning to get to his spear. The moment Ark ran out of bullets and had to reload, Rex pursued Ran.

The unarmed spear wielder tried to turn at the last moment, focusing his shield to repel Rex, but that was what Ark had been waiting for. With his gun reloaded, he pulled off three shots in Ran’s unprotected back.

Ran staggered forward, and Rex followed up the weakness with another skull-shattering blow to his head.

Just the two of them left now. Ark licked his lips as he breathed through his nose, taking aim. Beside him, his copy followed his movements. He would lay down fire, then split apart when she approached and launch an attack on her netlink. Figuring his chances were good, Ark was just about to put his plan into motion when an arrow cut through the head of his copy.

Whirling around, Ark just managed to avoid a second arrow aimed at him. While his copy shattered into pieces, Ark saw Naomi kneeling behind him, her arms visibly shaking as she drew back her bow, aiming for him with a third arrow.

No, he thought, stomach lurching at the sight, I took her out!

He had noticed she was gone before Rex had arrived, but he had no idea how. He had seen her fall, seen the hole in her chest—just like the shape of paper on the ground.

It did not matter how. Ark was out of tricks; he had left his rifle behind, his copy was gone, and his friend was out. It was just Rex, Naomi and him now.

Like it had been in the forest, in their previous battle, Ark was flanked on both sides, but the difference now was that they were all enemies. Backing up to the side of the chasm, Ark saw how Naomi’s aim switched between himself and Rex, weighing her options.

Although she had somehow avoided fatal damage, Naomi was clearly weakened, evidenced by her shaking arms, but her gaze was steel. She had both opponents in front of her, while Ark would have to turn his back to one in order to attack the other. Rex was the only one without a ranged weapon, but her whip and speed could make up for the disadvantage. The quick assessment made Ark’s options clear; he needed to take the initiative.

Turning, Ark rushed toward Naomi while firing two shots behind in Rex’ direction. Naomi swung her bow in his direction, and Ark focused all of his attention on the hands holding the bowstring. There would be little room for error here. Behind, he heard footsteps swiftly approaching.

The moment he saw Naomi’s finger’s twitch, Ark threw himself to the side. The arrow cut through the air just above his head, its speed enhanced by a field of psionic energy whirling around it.

Behind, Ark heard a curse, but had no time to look. Landing in a crouch, he fired another three times, hitting the weakened Naomi in the chest before she could draw another arrow. She collapsed on the ground, this time for good.

Only then did he turn to find Rex fighting to maintain her balance; her left leg clearly not able to hold much weight. Ark had hoped to slow down Rex by dodging Naomi’s arrow, but seeing her being hit raised his spirits. He still had a chance.

She knew it as well. Separating her staff into two once more, her whip unfurled its deadly barbs. Eyes alight with fighting spirit, she attacked from a distance—too far away for her whip to hit him, unless… she also has another card to play!

Ark felt the shift in the air as his hair began to stand on end, and the smell of burning ozone assaulted his nose. Knowing he had no more time, he took aim. Raising his gun, two bullets left, he fired. Before him, electricity crackled through the air, as visible currents of charged particles emanated from Rex’ hand, flowing down the length of her whip just as it cracked. He only managed to shoot once.

Two thunderclaps ran through the air. Ark never saw the bolt of lightning that arced toward him, even as it left streaks in his vision. The force of the blow hit like a hammer to his chest, cratering into tendrils of electric jolts coursing through his body. Every muscle clenched, following the simulated pain, every sensation swallowed up by the intense current.

Then there was nothing. The illusory pain faded into the empty pit in his stomach. Death meant he had lost… again. While the simulated death gave him peace, it also locked him into a state of failure that was all too familiar. The utter, inescapable fate that was his life, made manifest for a moment of eternity.

Was I born a failure?