The fighting stopped.
Not all at once. Somewhere nearby, a sword struck a shield, followed by a cry of pain. A man stumbled through the remains of a garden fence before collapsing onto the pavement. But the explosions ceased, weapons lowered, and the adventurers who had spent the last several minutes trying to kill Evelyn began looking toward the far end of the street.
She lay beside the broken fence, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Her left arm was gone. She knew that now, although some distant part of her mind insisted she could still feel her fingers. The pain had become a deep, pulsing agony that seemed to fill her entire body. Her remaining hand was pressed against the wound, but she could no longer tell whether she was applying any pressure.
She was cold.
That was strange, because the air around her was getting warmer.
Footsteps approached. Slow. Unhurried.
Evelyn turned her head.
A man was walking through the ruined street.
He wore dark trousers and a long coat, its edges moving gently in a breeze she couldn't feel. His black hair was touched with grey at the temples, and he appeared to be somewhere in his forties. There was nothing particularly remarkable about his face.
Except that he looked completely unconcerned.
He stepped past a burning vehicle without glancing at it. The flames bent away from him, curling toward the road as though making room.
An adventurer in heavy armor moved aside. Then another.
Nobody tried to stop him.
"That's Al-Nasir," someone whispered.
"What's he doing here?"
"Same thing we are, apparently."
Evelyn didn't recognize the name. She could barely remember her own.
The man stopped a few metres away and surveyed the devastation. His gaze passed over the broken cars, shattered windows, and bodies scattered along the road.
His expression tightened slightly.
"All this," he said, "for one girl?"
Nobody answered.
A broad-shouldered adventurer with a bloodied shield stepped forward. "Idris, we've already secured the—"
"You've secured nothing."
The man didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. The adventurer stopped speaking.
Idris looked toward the ruined houses. A woman was being helped through a broken doorway, her face covered in dust. Farther down the street, two police officers were trying to move an injured civilian away from a burning car.
"Put out the fires," Idris said.
A few adventurers exchanged uncertain looks.
"Now."
Several people moved immediately.
Evelyn watched them through blurred vision.
They were listening to him.
All those people who had ignored the police, attacked one another, and torn an entire neighborhood apart were suddenly obeying a single man.
Maybe he could stop this.
Maybe—
His eyes found her.
The hope vanished.
He approached, and Evelyn tried to pull herself backward. Her remaining hand scraped against the pavement, but she barely moved.
Idris stopped beside her. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he crouched.
"Evelyn Holloway."
It wasn't a question.
She tried to speak. Her throat was too dry.
He looked at the ruined sleeve of her hoodie, the blood beneath her, and the severed arm lying farther down the street.
"You're still alive."
Evelyn wanted to laugh.
Was that supposed to be impressive?
She was lying in the middle of the road with half her arm missing. She could barely see straight.
*Please help me.*
She tried to say it. Only a broken whisper came out.
Idris studied her face.
"Can you hear me?"
She managed a small nod.
"Good."
He rested one forearm on his knee.
"I don't know why the System wants you dead."
Evelyn stared at him.
"Perhaps you've done something. Perhaps you haven't. It makes little difference to the rest of us."
He sounded almost apologetic.
That somehow made it worse.
"Please," she whispered.
His expression didn't change.
"I'm sorry."
A small flame appeared above his right palm. It was no larger than a candle flame, orange at its edges and almost white at its center.
Evelyn stared at it.
For one irrational moment, she thought he was going to cauterize her wound.
Then he extended his hand.
The flame touched her chest.
Fire filled the world.
There was no explosion, no spectacular blast that tore through the street. The flame simply spread, faster than Evelyn could comprehend, until there was nothing around her but heat.
Impossible, overwhelming heat.
The pain seemed to come from everywhere at once. She couldn't tell where her body ended. She tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go.
She tried to scream.
The sound never came.
Her vision turned white.
Then black.
And Evelyn Holloway died for the second time.
She was still screaming.
Evelyn jerked upright, clawing at her chest.
"AAAAAH!"
She scrambled backward, desperately trying to escape the flames.
There were no flames. No heat. No street.
Her hands struck something solid beneath her, although she couldn't see what it was.
She stopped.
Darkness surrounded her.
Not the ordinary darkness of a room without lights. There were no walls, no ceiling, no distant shapes waiting for her eyes to adjust.
Nothing.
Evelyn gasped for air. She pressed both hands against her chest, expecting to find burns, torn skin, something.
Her clothes were intact. Her skin was smooth.
She looked at her left arm.
It was there.
Of course it was.
She remembered this place.
The darkness. The silence.
She'd been here before.
After Daniel.
After the knife.
"Oh God."
Her voice sounded terribly small.
"Oh God, no."
She wrapped her arms around herself.
She'd died.
Again.
She could still remember the fire, the sensation of her body being consumed, the unbearable pain that had swallowed everything.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but that only made the memories clearer.
A sob escaped her. Then another.
She bent forward, trying to breathe.
*In.*
*Out.*
Her chest rose and fell too quickly. She couldn't stop shaking.
*In.*
*Out.*
The darkness didn't move. Nothing approached. Nothing spoke.
For a while, there was only Evelyn and the sound of her breathing.
Eventually, she managed to slow it.
She wiped her face with the sleeve of her hoodie.
"Okay," she whispered.
She wasn't okay. She didn't think she'd ever be okay again.
But she was here.
And last time, she'd come back.
Maybe she would again.
She stared into the darkness.
"Please."
She didn't know whether she was asking to return or begging not to.
Then something pulled.
Not at her arm. Not at her clothes.
At *her*.
Evelyn gasped.
The darkness stretched around her.
"No, wait—"
And she was gone.
Idris watched the last of the flames withdraw.
He had used more power than necessary.
Not because the girl had presented any threat, but because he had no intention of leaving room for uncertainty. The World Quest specified permanent elimination. A fatal wound might have satisfied an ordinary bounty, but he wasn't interested in discovering that the System considered some obscure survival Skill an exception.
His fire had consumed her completely.
What remained on the pavement was little more than a blackened mass, too damaged to resemble a human body. Her clothing had burned away with everything else.
There was no heartbeat. No breathing. No life.
Idris was certain.
He dismissed the flame.
A blue window appeared before him.
WORLD QUESTKILL EVELYN HOLLOWAYObjectivePermanently eliminate Evelyn Holloway.StatusVerification Pending
He raised an eyebrow.
*Verification?*
He'd completed countless quests over the years. Most rewards were granted the instant the objective was fulfilled. Occasionally, the System required confirmation of a particular condition.
Behind him, someone spoke.
"Did you get it?"
Idris ignored the question.
The window remained unchanged.
WORLD QUESTVerification Pending
Five seconds passed. Then ten.
The surrounding adventurers began to murmur.
"Where's the reward?"
"Why hasn't the quest disappeared?"
"Maybe he didn't finish her."
Idris didn't bother responding. He looked down at the remains.
He knew what his flames had done.
There was nothing left to finish.
Then the blackened mass moved.
Idris went still.
At first, it was barely noticeable, a slight shift in the charred remains, as though something beneath the surface had stirred.
Then the shape began to change.
The ruined tissue drew inward. Beneath it, pale structures formed and extended, assembling into the unmistakable framework of a human body.
Idris watched without speaking.
Bone. Muscle. Skin.
The process accelerated.
What should have taken an impossible amount of time happened in seconds. Blackened remains gave way to living flesh. A torso formed, followed by shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers.
The girl's missing left arm returned with the rest of her.
Her face reappeared. Her hair. Her skin.
Within moments, Evelyn Holloway lay on the pavement again.
Whole.
Alive.
Nothing remained of her clothing.
Idris looked from the girl to the System window.
The message changed.
WORLD QUESTVerification FailedObjective Not CompletedWORLD QUEST REMAINS ACTIVE
A sharp gasp broke the silence.
Evelyn's chest rose.
Her eyes flew open.
She screamed.
Cold air rushed into Evelyn's lungs.
She jerked upright, both hands flying to her chest.
Both hands.
She froze.
Her left arm was back.
Her fingers. Her elbow. Everything.
She stared at them.
Then she looked down at herself.
Her skin was unmarked. Her shoulder didn't hurt. The terrible wound was gone.
She was whole again.
Her clothes, however, were gone.
The realization flickered through her mind and vanished almost immediately.
She had more important problems.
She'd just burned to death.
Again.
She looked up.
The man was still standing there.
Watching her.
His expression had changed. Not much, but enough.
One corner of his mouth lifted.
"Interesting."
For several seconds, nobody moved. The silence was so complete that Evelyn could hear the distant crackle of burning wood.
Then someone shouted.
"She's alive!"
Another voice answered.
"That's impossible!"
"I watched him kill her!"
"She's right there, you idiot!"
The street erupted into noise.
Idris remained where he was, studying Evelyn with an expression she couldn't interpret.
He wasn't angry. He didn't look frightened.
If anything, he seemed curious.
That terrified her.
A new System window appeared before Evelyn.
Undying ActivatedDeath RecordedCause of DeathExtreme Thermal DamageAdaptive Progression TriggeredAttribute Increased:END +1Resistance Acquired:Thermal Resistance Lv. 1New Skill Acquired:Ember Lv. 1
Evelyn stared at the words.
*Ember? Thermal Resistance?*
She'd gained a Skill. And an attribute increase. And some kind of resistance.
From dying.
The realization barely registered before someone shouted from behind Idris.
"THE QUEST IS STILL ACTIVE!"
A young adventurer in dark leather armor sprinted forward, a short blade in his hand. His eyes were fixed on Evelyn.
He made it three steps.
Then he burst into flames.
There was no visible projectile. No warning.
One moment he was running. The next, fire engulfed him.
He screamed and collapsed.
The flames vanished almost immediately, leaving him motionless on the pavement.
Idris lowered his hand.
A nearby adventurer stared at the body.
"Oh, shit."
Idris turned back toward Evelyn, his mouth already opening to speak.
An arrow hissed past his face.
It struck the pavement inches from Evelyn's head.
She flinched and scrambled backward.
Idris didn't.
He glanced at the arrow, then toward the far end of the street.
His expression shifted from curiosity to mild irritation.
"Oh. It's you."
A man stood among the wrecked vehicles, a longbow resting in his hand.
He was tall, with short blond hair and a weathered face. His dark green coat bore no visible guild insignia. A quiver hung at his hip, although Evelyn couldn't understand how he'd managed to fire an arrow from that distance without her seeing him draw.
The man looked entirely unimpressed by the destruction around him.
"Step aside, Idris."
Idris sighed.
"Konrad."
The newcomer reached for another arrow.
"You're standing between me and my reward."
"I just found something interesting."
"Congratulations."
"I'm not handing her over."
Konrad Falkenberg tilted his head.
"That wasn't a request."
Idris smiled faintly.
"Of course it wasn't."
Konrad drew his bow.
The movement was almost too fast to follow.
Three arrows appeared in the air.
Evelyn hadn't even seen him release them.
Idris raised one hand.
A wall of fire erupted between them.
The arrows struck it and vanished in flashes of white light.
The flames disappeared just as quickly.
Neither man had moved from his position.
Around them, the other adventurers hesitated.
Nobody wanted to get caught between two people who could do that.
But the World Quest was still active. And Evelyn was still alive.
A man in silver armor took a cautious step toward her. Then another.
Konrad didn't look at him. He simply released an arrow.
The projectile struck the man's leg, knocking him to the ground.
The adventurer screamed.
"Stay out of this," Konrad said.
Idris glanced at him.
"That was unnecessary."
"Then stop wasting my time."
A second group of adventurers began moving along the opposite side of the street, trying to circle around Idris.
He noticed.
A line of fire erupted across the road.
The flames rose higher than the surrounding vehicles, forming a barrier between Evelyn and the approaching adventurers.
The group stopped immediately.
One man tried to leap over it.
A sudden burst of heat threw him backward.
He landed hard on the pavement.
Idris didn't even turn his head.
Konrad drew another arrow.
"You can't keep her to yourself forever."
"Perhaps not." This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
"Then move."
"No."
The arrow flew.
Idris shifted slightly.
It passed his shoulder and struck the wall behind him.
The impact was small. Almost disappointing.
Then the brickwork cracked.
A second later, the entire section of wall collapsed.
Evelyn stared.
Konrad was already drawing again.
Idris raised his hand.
A narrow stream of white flame shot toward the archer.
Konrad stepped aside.
The flame struck the pavement behind him, leaving a glowing line across the road.
Neither looked particularly concerned.
Evelyn was.
Very concerned.
She had no idea who either of these men was, but it was becoming painfully clear that they were operating on an entirely different level from the adventurers she'd encountered earlier.
And they were fighting over her.
Not because they wanted to help.
Because they wanted to kill her.
Or, in Idris's case, because he'd apparently found something fascinating.
She didn't know which was worse.
Another explosion sounded farther down the street.
Two smaller groups of adventurers had started fighting again.
A man in heavy armor charged toward Evelyn, only to be intercepted by another adventurer wielding a glowing axe.
Their weapons collided.
A shockwave rolled across the pavement.
Evelyn stumbled backward.
She needed to get away.
Now.
She turned toward a narrow alley between two damaged buildings.
Nobody seemed to be watching her.
Idris was focused on Konrad. Konrad was focused on Idris.
The other adventurers were either fighting one another or trying to find a way around the fire.
Evelyn ran.
She made it into the alley.
Barely.
Her bare feet struck the cold pavement, and she nearly slipped on broken glass.
She didn't stop.
Behind her, another arrow struck something with a tremendous crack.
Idris shouted something she couldn't make out.
A wall of heat rolled through the alley.
Evelyn flinched and kept moving.
She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care.
Anywhere was better than back there.
She rounded a corner.
A narrow service road stretched ahead, lined with bins and the rear entrances of small businesses.
For the first time in what felt like hours, nobody was trying to kill her.
Evelyn slowed.
Her lungs burned.
She leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath.
She was alive.
Again.
Her arm was back. Her body was whole.
But she could still remember the pain.
The fire.
The darkness.
She pressed a hand against her chest.
Her heart was racing.
*Please.*
She didn't know what she was asking for anymore.
Just a moment.
One moment without someone trying to murder her.
A quiet voice spoke behind her.
"Okay. Found you."
Evelyn froze.
She turned.
A woman stood a few steps away.
She wore dark, unremarkable armor and had short brown hair pulled back from her face. There was nothing particularly threatening about her appearance.
That somehow made it worse.
Evelyn tried to step away.
The woman moved.
Too fast.
Two fingers touched Evelyn's forehead.
"Sleep."
The word seemed to echo inside her skull.
Her knees buckled.
She tried to fight it.
She couldn't.
Her vision darkened.
The last thing she saw was the woman's face.
Then everything disappeared.
"Got her."
The woman caught Evelyn before she struck the pavement.
A second figure emerged from behind a parked vehicle.
"Alive?"
"Very."
"Good. Move."
The woman lifted Evelyn into her arms.
A third figure waited beside a dark vehicle with its engine running.
"Status?"
"Target secured."
"Any injuries?"
"Not anymore."
The driver frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"Long story."
They placed Evelyn on the back seat.
The woman who'd used the Sleep Skill climbed in beside her.
The driver checked the mirrors.
"Destination?"
"Safehouse."
"And the guildmaster?"
"Contact her once we're clear."
The driver nodded.
The vehicle pulled away.
Behind them, Manchester continued to burn.
Several streets away, Idris Al-Nasir stood in the middle of a ruined intersection.
Konrad Falkenberg faced him from the opposite side of the road.
Between them, the pavement was cracked and scorched.
Neither man appeared injured.
Konrad lowered his bow.
"Where is she?"
Idris looked toward the alley.
The girl was gone.
He frowned.
Konrad followed his gaze.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Konrad laughed.
"You lost her."
Idris gave him a flat look.
"So did you."
"Not my fault you were standing in the way."
"Naturally."
Konrad rested his bow against his shoulder.
"Well. That was a waste of time."
Idris didn't answer.
He opened the World Quest window again.
WORLD QUESTKILL EVELYN HOLLOWAYObjectivePermanently eliminate Evelyn Holloway.StatusActive
He studied the words.
The girl had died. He was certain of that.
Her body had been destroyed beyond any possibility of survival.
Yet she'd returned.
And the System had refused to acknowledge his kill.
He dismissed the window.
For the first time in years, Idris had encountered something he couldn't immediately explain.
A faint smile touched his face.
"Evelyn Holloway."
He looked toward the distant streets.
"Now you've got my attention."