More than seventeen years ago…

  “Congratulations, ma’am, sir. It’s a girl.”

  The nurse gathered the newborn in a clean, green swaddle and moved to the bedside.

  "Here she is," she whispered, leaning down to settle the bundle directly into Elyzabeth’s waiting arms.

  The mother’s breath got caught in her throat as she pulled her daughter close, finally feeling the warm, solid weight of the life she had carried. The newborn let out a tiny, soft whimper, and the mother’s world shrank to the size of the infant against her bosom.

  “Time for her first meal,” the nurse said, her hands steady as she guided Elyzabeth to help the infant find a proper latch. Only when the baby began to feed with a rhythmic, quiet gulp did the nurse step back. “I’ll be at the counter if you need me, ma’am”.

  From the moment the first contraction had hit until this very second, this was the first time Elyzabeth felt at ease. So too was her husband, Ishikawa Kazuma, who had been a silent, sweating wreck beside her through the whole ordeal. Now that the ‘battle’ had passed, he reached out, his hand trembling as he caressed his wife’s blonde hair gently, his eyes reflecting a love so deep it rendered him speechless.

  “She has your nose, Kaz,” Elyzabeth said, her voice weak but full of wonder as she stroked the child’s tiny features. “And your lips, too.”

  “E-Ely…” Kazuma’s voice broke. He had been the pillar of strength during the whole ordeal, but seeing them together brought him to the verge of tears. He squeezed her hand, his fingers interlocking with hers. “Y-Yes. It’s our child. Our child…”

  “Silly. Of course she’s our child,” she teased.

  Kazuma wiped his eyes, his gaze fixed on the infant who, having finished her first meal, burped and now drifted into a deep sleep at her mother’s side. He reached out a finger to touch her, then pulled back at the last second, terrified when the infant scrunched her tiny nose.

  “What are you doing, Kaz? Touch her,” Elyzabeth encouraged, catching his hand and bringing his fingers to the baby's cheek.

  The sensation was electric – a softness so pure and pristine that it felt alien to his calloused hands. “S-she’s so delicate, Ely,” he whispered, tracing the curve of her jaw. “So very squishy too. Like you-ah?!”

  The tiny, instinctive hand hooked Jin’s forefinger – five miniature fingers wrapped around in a grip that felt, to Kazuma, like the strongest bond in the universe. He froze, stifling his breath and tears, letting her hold on for as long as she wished.

  “Our child is so fragile,” he whispered, afraid of waking her up.

  In that quiet moment, looking at the two most important people in his life, Ishikawa Kazuma made a silent, unbreakable oath. No harm would ever touch this girl. He would give her his world and every heartbeat of his life and future.

  “What will we name her, Kaz?” Elyzabeth asked with a weak voice, though her eyes beamed in anticipation. “You said if it were a girl, you’d choose the name.”

  The husband looked at his daughter, seeing the strength and the beauty already hidden in her tiny form. He let out a smile; the name sounded like a blessing from the heavens.

  “Eleana.”

  ***

  “Eleana! Eleana! You alright, baby?”

  Jin’s voice was a ragged edge of panic as he knelt on the half-molten ruin floor. He worked with frantic yet focused movements, stripping away her dented black-and-gold armour and warped equipment to check her vitals. Because he could see her Player UI via Bahamut’s < Third Eyes > skill, he knew exactly how much HP she had left.

  Zero.

  But it wasn’t the end.

  Jin’s mind raced through the lessons he’d memorised during training. In the RIFT, being unconscious wasn't just a state of sleep; it was a lethal status affliction. But unlike a ticking poison or a bleeding status that drained the life out of a Player until there was nothing left to save, having zero HP didn’t mean she would be dead.

  “That’s the only good thing about this bloody System.”

  He pressed two fingers against the pulse point on her neck, right next to the windpipe. The beat was weak – irregular and shallow – but it was there. As long as her heart hadn't stopped, she wasn't beyond saving.

  But the danger still loomed. Surrounded by hazardous terrain and a dangerous Boss Monster lurking nearby, Jin was pressed for time.

  He reached for his inventory, looking for healing potions. He couldn't wait for the party's healer as she was a frantic mess, occupied with the other fallen Achievers across the ruins.

  In the real world, pouring liquid down an unconscious person’s throat was a death sentence via choking. But the RIFT operated on a twisted logic. The System labelled potions as consumables, yet they weren't food; they were raw, distilled magical energy. A Player’s body absorbed a potion’s essence regardless of consciousness.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Instructor Lila’s voice echoed in Jin’s head, reminding him that while a healing potion could mend a gash or knit a broken bone through skin contact, pulling a Player back from the zero-HP brink required more effort. The magical energy and its essence had to reach the Player’s ‘core’ to break the ‘Unconscious’ status.

  “Sorry, Eleana,” Jin whispered, his voice thick with the weight of the promise he’d made seventeen years ago. “Dad has to do this.”

  He braced her limp body against his arm, tilting her head back to ensure not a single drop spilt. Every drop mattered.

  One vial. Three. Six.

  By the eighth healing potion, the grey tint of death began to leave her face. Her fingers twitched against her sides, and a weak, rattling cough escaped her throat. She was coming back – the ‘Unconscious’ status was disappearing.

  But the relief was short-lived. A violent tremor shook the volcano, and a System warning flashed across Jin’s screen in a blinding crimson.

  << Earth’s time left for the next eruption: 0 hours 0 mins and 10 seconds >>

  “9… 8… 7… 6…”

  Jin looked at the ruins around him. He had been so focused on saving his daughter that he had committed the ultimate mistake: he had let the System timer run down to zero without a means of escape.

  ***

  The shockwave slammed into the ruins, magma and scathing ash scouring the stone as the world buckled. Jin hunched his body over Eleana, his teeth gritted while hot debris pelted his back like shrapnel. The volcano’s walls groaned, and heavy slabs crashed down nearby, shaking the very foundation, yet somehow, the ancient structure held.

  As the roar faded into a low, menacing rumble, Jin didn't wait for the dust to settle. Another System announcement blared.

  << Earth’s time left for the next eruption: 0 hours 29 mins and 59 seconds >>

  << Final Eruption before Cataclysm! >>

  Thirty minutes. The volcano wasn't done any time soon. It was ‘reloading’ its final shot, and the next one would spill into the real world.

  Jin surveyed the terrain. Despite surviving the blast, the second eruption had turned the ruin into rows of molten sludge and unstable debris. There were fewer spots to stand, what more to run. Even on Fenrir, the trek back to the portal would be a gamble they couldn't afford.

  Beyond that, something else gnawed at his consciousness. He looked at his daughter. Na?ve. Unblemished. Too stubborn for her own good. And he also knew the weight of survivor’s guilt – a poison that rotted the soul faster than any status effect. If he dragged her away while she was unconscious and left her friends turned to slag, she’d never forgive herself. And if she found out it was her father who had abandoned them?

  That was a bridge he refused to burn.

  That left only one path: The Boss had to die. Now. For his daughter. For the world outside of the RIFT.

  Jin scooped Eleana up and blurred towards the others, hoping that they were still alive. He found one – the healer. She was trembling so hard her staff was rattling against the stone.

  “W-Who are you?!” she shrieked, stumbling back before tripping over a body.

  “If I were your enemy, you’d be a corpse,” Jin growled, his voice vibrating with a cold, unyielding pressure. “Lower the stick. I’m with a SeComm search party. I found your Valkyrie.”

  He settled Eleana against a jagged wall. “She’s stable, but she’s out. Keep her that way. If she wakes up and tries to move, pin her down.”

  “Se-SeComm? But where are the others?” the healer stammered, looking behind him for a squad that wasn't there.

  “I’m the only one who made it through the heat zone,” Jin lied without a second thought. “I’m going back in to finish this. You stay here and do your job. If I come back and her HP bar has dropped by even a single point...”

  Jin didn’t finish the threat, letting the silence convey his meaning. It worked. The healer immediately settled Eleana beside the other fallen party members and began casting recovery magic on her with frantic focus. From the look of it, this girl was the only reason any of them were still alive; she was efficient, unlike that fool of a tanker.

  At least this girl knows her business, Jin thought as he raced towards the Boss Monster.

  Ahead, the battle raged on in the heart of the caldera. Despite the second eruption turning the ruins into a death trap, the Achievers' leader hadn't called for a retreat. Instead of regrouping, he was soldiering on with whatever broken remains of his party who could still wield a weapon. They were at a major disadvantage, worsened by the hazardous terrain and the suffocating heat of the volcano.

  “Master, how do we defeat this monster? My threads and skills are useless against an enemy of this type,” Cattleya said, her voice small and tight with shame. “I’m so sorry, Master.”

  “We might fare a little better, my lord,” Fenrir added, his low growl vibrating against the sound of the bubbling magma lake, “but I’m not sure our fangs and claws can pierce that stone-fire body.”

  “Pretty obvious, ain’t it?” Jin replied.

  He stood atop a jagged, half-broken pillar that teetered over the magma lake, his silhouette etched against the hellish orange glow. Through the thick, choking sulphur smoke, his eyes remained locked on the towering shadow of the Boss Monster.

  He wiped a streak of soot from his forehead, his expression calm while the rest of the world screamed in fire.

  “Well, Bee... mind if I be a little selfish one more time?”

  “What is it now?” Bahamut’s voice rumbled within Jin’s mind, sounding like he was the one closest to eruption instead. “Is it not enough that I showed you the way here? Do you truly have the gall to ask for more?”

  “Well, if you don’t help, we’re pretty much fucked,” Jin countered, his internal voice flat and unimpressed by the God-Emperor’s theatrics. “So, unless you want to see me, your dearest family member, burnt to a crisp, I suggest a little help is our best chance. Besides, it won’t hurt you one bit, right?”

  “Hurt?” Bahamut’s voice rose a few pitches higher, as if he was provoked at the idea of him being ‘hurt’. “Atheron would be beyond pissed if I interfered with your world. And your Overseer will mark you. But losing you to a pile of slag like this? That is an even greater insult. The other System Arbiters would mock me for eternity.”

  “So?” Jin prompted, his eyes glinting. He knew exactly which button to press to get what he wanted from Bahamut.

  “Very well. I will grant you a spark. It will kill your enemy outright, but the System will detect the breach in an instant. At most, you will have half a second. Any longer and the Overseer will come for you.”

  Jin felt a sudden, violent surge of power in his veins. The air around him began to distort, crackles of lightning vaporising the falling ash before it could touch his skin. A cruel, cold smile spread across his face.

  “Half a second?” Jin cracked his knuckles, the sound lost in the roar of the volcano. “Bee, in my line of work, a quarter of a second is an eternity. Let’s go.”