Reality Quest: Questism

I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. My legs burned, my breath came fast and sharp, but I kept running.

The only thing in my head was Ahrin.

Please, please, please let me be fast enough.

As I tore through the night, I yanked open the Crew Window, my eyes darting over the endless stream of notifications.

Jihan Yoo's potential is skyrocketing!

My stomach twisted.

What the hell does that mean?!

I had never seen a notification like that before. Potential skyrocketing? What was happening back there?

No time to think. No time to hesitate.

I kneed one of the stragglers in the throat, quickly vaulting over his collapsing body as I ran.

I muttered under my breath, the words tumbling out too fast, too desperate.

"Use all Level Up Cards on Jihan Yoo."

A flash of confirmation.

Applying all Level Up Cards to Jihan Yoo…

Lesser Level Up used.

Lesser Level Up…

Lesser Level…

Lesser…

…

Please let that be enough.

My grip on the Crew Window tightened, knuckles white.

Jihan. If he was using his potential, if he was fighting back for the first time in his life… then he needed everything I could give him.

I just had to trust him.

But Ahrin… she was alone. And Kwak Paljeon was already there.

I needed more speed.

I took a sharp breath and barked out, "Summon Cloud."

A rush of blue mist swirled beside me, forming, taking shape… solidifying into the form of Kim Kangjae.

His feet barely touched the ground before he was matching my pace, running beside me without a single question.

I stripped off my jacket in one swift motion and threw it at him. "Tie this around your face."

He caught it easily, tying it over his nose and mouth in one fluid movement. I couldn't have people recognizing him.

No explanations were needed. 

I turned my head for just a second, just enough to meet his eyes.

"Go help Jihan."

He nodded once. No hesitation.

Just like that.

I forced my focus forward, pushing everything else away. Kangjae would handle it. Jihan would survive.

My job was to reach Ahrin.

Then-

A scream.

It tore through the night, shrill and filled with terror. Ahrin.

I'M NOT FAST ENOUGH.

I gritted my teeth, shoving my body past its limits, legs pumping harder, my breath burning in my lungs. This much running, this much fighting and all those attack cards… it was burning up my stamina too fast. But it didn't matter.

Hold on. Just hold on.

I was coming.

***

Ahrin ran.

She didn't think. She didn't hesitate. She ran.

Her breath came in sharp, ragged gasps, her heart slamming against her ribs like it was trying to break free. Get away. Get away. Get away.

The ancient tombs loomed around her in the dark, the grassy mounds stretching into the night like silent witnesses to her terror. The stars overhead blurred as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

She wasn't fast enough.

A low chuckle rumbled behind her. Too close.

Too damn close.

"Oh, come on," his voice was slow, almost lazy, but the amusement in it made her stomach churn. "You're making this way harder than it has to be."

Her legs burned. Faster. Move faster.

But the footsteps behind her never wavered. Steady. Unhurried. Like a predator that knew its prey had nowhere to go.

Scream.

It was the only thing she could do. She sucked in as much air as her lungs could take—

"HELP!!"

Her voice ripped through the still night, desperate and raw.

"DOWAN! JIHAN! ANYONE!"

But she already knew.

No one was close enough.

She stumbled over an uneven patch of dirt, her ankle twisting slightly, but she caught herself, forcing her legs to keep moving. She tried to cut through the trees, veering off the main path, but—

A hand latched onto her hood.

Ahrin barely had time to react before she was yanked backward, her whole body snapping toward him.

She clawed at the fabric, twisted, kicked out violently, but it was like kicking a brick wall.

The thug exhaled sharply, barely even fazed.

Then, with a sneer, he let go. Shoved her forward.

She hit the ground hard, grass and dirt scraping against her palms. The impact knocked the air from her lungs.

She barely had time to suck in a breath before his foot came down on her ankle.

Pain flared, sharp and immediate. Ahrin let out a choked scream.

"Now, now…" he crouched down, his voice dripping with mock concern. His silhouette was massive against the night sky. "Running off all on your own like this? You know, bad things happen to girls who wander around at night."

Ahrin trembled.

Her hands dug into the earth, fingers clutching the grass so hard her nails nearly ripped through the soil.

"P-please," she forced out, her voice small.

His grin widened.

"Aw. That's cute."

Then he grabbed her by the chin.

Ahrin's breath hitched.

His fingers were cold, rough, pressing into her skin as he tilted her face up to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark, empty, like he was barely even seeing her as a person.

She jerked away, but his grip was firm.

"Still got some fight in you?" he mused, tilting his head. "That's fine. I like it when they struggle."

Ahrin's stomach turned.

She thrashed, kicked out at his shin as hard as she could.

He let her go.

But only for a second.

She tried to scramble away, but his hand shot out again, grabbing her wrist this time.

His patience was thinning. She could hear it in the sharpness of his breath, see it in the way his expression twisted…

"LET ME GO!!"

Her scream rang through the night, louder than before, her entire body shaking.

And then – his grip was gone.

For a split second, she didn't understand why.

Then she saw him.

Dowan.

He was panting hard, his shoulders rising and falling like he couldn't get enough air. His shirt was soaked in sweat, half of it ripped, and there were cuts across his arms and face… probably from all the fighting he'd done on the way here. His fists were still clenched tight, but his body swayed, like his legs weren't fully cooperating anymore.

He was out of stamina.

Ahrin's heart clenched.

He ran all the way here.

He fought every one of them.

Just to get to her.

The pervert stretched out his fingers, rolling his wrist like he was shaking off stiffness. Then, slowly, his head tilted.

And he smiled.

Not surprised. Not even annoyed.

Amused.

"…Man," he exhaled, stepping over Ahrin like she was nothing more than a discarded piece of trash. "You're really something, huh?"

Dowan didn't respond. He was still catching his breath, eyes locked onto him like he was physically forcing his body to stay standing.

The thug's grin widened. His lips curled back too far, like he was baring his teeth. "That's some real shonen protagonist bullshit you just pulled, man. You should've died like a good little side character, y'know?"

His voice was too casual. Like they were just talking after school. Like he hadn't just been about to—

Ahrin shuddered.

"We got all that money just for yours and that other guy's heads… I shouldn't have gotten distracted first. What is she? You friend? Your girlfriend? Your cru–"

Ahrin couldn't hear anymore after Dowan's fist had crunched straight through his jaw.

***

Pain.

It felt like my ribs were caving in.

My lungs refused to expand. My legs, numb. My arms, shaking.

I couldn't even feel my fingers.

I was spent. More than spent. I had burned through every last scrap of stamina just to get here. To Ahrin.

And now—

I couldn't move. Not on my own.

Paljeon wiped the blood from his lip with his thumb, then licked it off.

"That all you got?" He laughed. "Man, that's disappointing. You should've just died on the way here. Would've been easier for both of us."

I tried to step forward. My legs buckled.

Paljeon tilted his head, mocking. "See? What'd I just say? You're useless right now."

Ahrin was still behind me. That was the only thing keeping me standing.

I can't fight him. Not like this.

But my cards—

My hand clenched.

I don't need to move.

I just need to kill him.

Straight.

My arm jerked forward on its own.

It wasn't me throwing the punch… it was the card taking over. The force whipped my entire body into motion, my fist rocketing into Paljeon's gut.

My entire body felt like it was shutting down.

My lungs burned. My legs shook. Everything hurt.

And yet…

Paljeon was still breathing.

I could hear it. Feel it. That shallow, ragged wheeze of someone who hadn't lost enough.

I took a shaky step toward him, my body screaming in protest… 

And then I saw her.

Ahrin.

On the floor a few feet away.

Frozen.

Her fingers curled into her sleeves, gripping the fabric so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her body trembled with every breath, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something—

But nothing came out.

And her eyes, her wide, terrified eyes… 

They weren't looking at him.

They were looking at me.

Something inside me snapped.

A raw, suffocating wave of emotion surged through my chest, spilling out of my throat in a sound that I barely recognized… 

A scream.

It tore through the night, through my lungs, through the raw, shaking fury inside of me.

I lunged.

Paljeon had barely pushed himself onto his elbows when I slammed him back down.

His body buckled. He gasped, arms thrashing… but it was too late.

Maximum capacity

A crushing weight slammed onto me.

220 extra pounds.

My knees nearly buckled from the pressure, my spine groaning in protest—

But Paljeon… Paljeon gasped in horror.

His ribs caved. His fingers twitched, trying to push me off, but his arms were too weak.

I could feel his heart hammering beneath me.

He was scared.

Good.

I lifted my fist.

Straight

Crack.

His head jerked to the side, blood splattering across the grass.

I did it again.

Straight.

And again.

Straight.

And again.

Again. Again. Again.

His nose bent sideways.

Didn't stop.

His lip split open, blood pooling in his mouth.

Didn't stop.

His hands, once flailing, went completely limp.

And yet—I still didn't stop.

I wanted him to feel everything. I wanted him to know what it was like to feel powerless.

To be helpless. To be nothing.

I wanted to erase him.

To smash him so far into the dirt that he'd never touch her or anyone else again.

The air around me felt heavy, thick, suffocating. Like I was drowning in my own rage.

Nothing else existed except my fists and his face.

The sound of bone against bone. The wet splatter of blood.

And then… 

Something warm wrapped around my arms. Soft. Small.

Ahrin.

Her voice was shaking, breaking, but there.

"Dowan," she whispered.

I didn't react. Couldn't react.

She held on tighter.

"It's okay."

Her voice trembled. Her body was still shaking.

But she was here. She was still here.

And that meant… It was over.

I let out a ragged breath… And my body gave out.

I didn't pass out. I wasn't unconscious.

I just… 

Couldn't move anymore.

I lay there, feeling the blood on my skin, the dull throb of my fists, the weight of everything pressing down on me.

And for the first time in over twenty minutes…

I could breathe.

.

.

.

.

.

.

That was emotional. Strong.

I'm not sure what else to say.