Liam's eyes fluttered open, heavy and sluggish. His throat felt dry, his head pounded like a drum, and the faint metallic taste of blood clung stubbornly to his tongue.
The ceiling above him looked familiar; cracked plaster, a faint water stain near the corner… the same he had stared at countless nights when sleep refused him.
It was his room.
And he was in his bed, his sheets were tangled around him.
For a moment, he almost convinced himself it had all been a nightmare: the alley, the crowbar, the hooded figure… her.
The memory of the girl's sapphire eyes burned behind his eyelids. The last thing he remembered was her face hovering above him before darkness swallowed him whole.
He groaned, lifting himself with trembling arms. His ribs ached from where he'd slammed into the dumpster. "How the hell am I back here?" he wondered. "Did someone drag him home? Was it… her?"
But then something caught him… a presence. The kind of primal chill that skitters down your spine when you're not alone.
His head snapped to the side. And there, leaning against the wall by the bed, with arms crossed... was her.
The girl.
Her expression wasn't soft or grateful. It was a frown, sharp and cutting, like a knife.
Liam jolted, nearly falling back into his sheets. "What the fuck…" his breath hitched, fear tangling his words.
The girl pushed off the wall casually, her boots scuffing against the floor as she stepped closer.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked, her voice calm but threaded with steel.
Liam's eyes widened. He blinked, trying to shake the fog from his mind. "Wh…what am I doing? I should be the one asking you that. Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? And…" his voice cracked. "…how the fuck are you real?"
The girl's brow arched, as if she found the question amusing. "What do you mean, 'how am I real?'"
Liam scoffed nervously, his throat tightening. "Y…you're the girl from my dreams. The one that I tried to save. The one with this blue light." he tried to explain.
For a moment the girl looked confused. Then her eyes widened as realization struck her.
"Wait," she muttered. "You thought that was a dream?" Her voice cracked on disbelief.
Then she groaned, shaking her head and muttering under her breath, "Of course you did. Why am I even surprised? This is exactly why I don't like humans. You're all fucking dumb."
Liam froze. The word 'humans' cut deeper than any blade. His chest tightened. Slowly, memories from that night bled back into his mind…her forehead was embedded with a blue glowing crystal, radiating with ethereal light.
That crystal was the unique characteristics of the alien race that came to earth years ago.
His head snapped toward her. His lips trembled before the words stumbled out. "Wait… y-you're a Vonite."
The girl's eyes flickered, she gave the smallest nod. "Yes. And I'm very real." Her voice softened. "So was the incident of last night. It wasn't a dream, Liam. It all happened."
Liam swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
She stepped closer, the weight of her presence pressing down on him. "I was being molested by some men. You stepped in to save me. You got stabbed and… you almost died." Her sapphire eyes dimmed slightly. "But I saved you. By integrating the 'blue light' into you."
Liam's chest heaved. His thoughts spiraled, not about the stabbing, not about death.. no, his mind zeroed in on one thing.
"Integrated?" he murmured. "Wait… you're talking about the system! You're the one who put that fucking thing inside my head!"
The girl's lips pressed into a thin line. She didn't deny it. "Yes. I am."
Liam clenched his fists. "You…"
"I put the system in you," the girl cut in, her tone sharp. "But apparently you don't seem to be taking the quest seriously. Because you thought it was a fucking game."
Liam blinked, his anger faltering into confusion. "Wait… how the hell did you know about the quest? I was given three choices. Even if you gave me the system, you shouldn't know which one I picked, let alone the quest it gave me," he muttered, his brows raised in suspicion. "So how'd you know?"
The girl exhaled sharply, pacing once before snapping her eyes back to him. "Look. That's not the important thing right now." Her voice carried a rare urgency. "What matters is you're running out of time."
Liam froze. His heartbeat skipped. "What… what do you mean by that?" he asked.
The girl stepped closer. "Like I've been trying to tell you so far. The system. The quest. Everything. It's not a game. It's all real."
Those words sliced Liam open.
His chest locked. His throat bobbed as his eyes bulged. "Wait. So that means… if I don't complete the quest in a few hours…" His voice cracked, thin as glass. "…I'm really gonna die?"
The girl didn't answer immediately. She only exhaled, slow and heavy. And then, softly: "I'm afraid so."
Liam's body trembled as if the air had been ripped from the room. His mind crashed into chaos. His lungs tightened, his breaths shallow and rapid.
He clawed his hands into his hair, muttering brokenly, "Oh, shit. Oh, shit, oh shit.. this can't be happening. This can't be fucking happening!"
The girl stepped forward, her tone sharper now, trying to cut through his panic. "Hey! Calm down. I know this looks bad, but there's still a way out. There's still time. You just need to complete the quest," she stated.
Liam snapped his head at her, his eyes bloodshot with desperation. "Complete the quest? Are you insane? The only way I see out of this is you getting that fucking system out of my head," he bellowed.
The girl sighed. "I can't."
Liam rasped. His voice cracked into a growl. "Why not? You put it there… so take it out!"
The girl raised her tone, frustration breaking through. "It's not that simple. The system isn't something I can just yank out," she explained.
Liam frowned. His knuckles went white as his fists shook. "Why the fuck not?!" he yelled.
"Because it's not in your head!" she shot back, her voice echoing in the small room.
Liam froze. "What?" he said softly now.
The girl's expression softened, like she regretted what she had to say. "The system… wasn't integrated with your mind." Her sapphire eyes locked with his. "…It was integrated with your soul."
The room fell silent.
Liam's breath hitched. His heart dropped into his stomach. His mouth opened but no words came out… only a strangled gasp. His eyes searched hers for any hint of a lie. But all he found was truth.
His voice finally broke free, trembling with fear and disbelief. "Wh…what?!"