The hero stared at the King of Sloth, his mind racing. If he accepted the deal, his days of napping on clouds and drifting with the wind were over. He would become the 'Guardian of the Void,' a warrior who must fight every nightmare that tries to enter the human world, every second of every day. General Draco, seeing an opening, tried to crawl away, but the King of Sloth simply waved a hand, turning the general into a stone statue—a permanent monument of cowardice.
"I accept," the hero whispered. The moment the words left his lips, his magical pillow disintegrated into white ash, and his Gravity Blade fused with his right arm, becoming a part of his bone and sinew. A searing pain erupted in his brain as the concept of 'rest' was erased from his DNA. He felt every muscle in his body tighten, vibrating with a forced energy that would never fade. He knelt beside Laila and touched the broken shards to her heart. The blue light flared, and for a moment, the entire forest was blinded. When the light faded, Laila's chest heaved with a sudden breath. She was alive. But as her eyes opened and met the hero's, she screamed. She didn't recognize him. The price wasn't just his laziness—it was his identity. To her, he was now a terrifying, glowing entity of pure stress and power.