The system fell silent.
Mia's lips curled, her shoulders trembling with laughter. "You don't act like a system at all."
"Right now, you should be threatening to obliterate me, not getting scared by me."
"If I die, you can just find another person to save this world. You could even find lots of them."
"When you have time, go get an upgrade. Check your code."
The way she said it, she might as well have been telling the system to go get its head checked.
The system let out a crackle of static, as if it wanted to respond, but seeing her listless expression, it quietly shut up.
Silas was back.
Hearing the man's returning footsteps, Mia didn't feel the usual warmth welling up in her eyes. Instead, her chest heaved as if she were letting out a deep sigh.
She opened her eyes, and before the light and shadows could come into focus, a hand slid behind her back and lifted her up.
She let him pull her upright and tilted her head back to look at the tall figure before her.
