Tears change nothing in this world. Holding a cold heart, sowing death, all that remains in the end is an endless chain of resentment. Danan’s fear-filled heart, forged by the undercity’s survival tactics, was shattered by the echoes of his past. Now, he was ruled by the promise made to the girl before him.

  If necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate to take a life. To survive in the undercity, he had to discard useless sentiment, never letting emotions skew the measure of a life’s worth. His own survival was the priority; others were mere tools to use and discard. To live, he killed; to avoid death, he kept killing. Without that, no one could remain human in the undercity. Yet… Danan couldn’t bring himself to swing the high-frequency blade at the girl. Her familiar smile, hiding sorrow and resignation, had pierced him.

  “Danan… you don’t need to grieve. I’m happy, you know?” she said.

  “Shut up…! Please… just stop!” he begged.

  Her slender fingers traced his cheek, his neck, brushing his gray hair matted with blood. Clotted blood flaked off, crumbling to the ground.

  Don’t show me that smile…! Don’t dig up the past I’ve lost! If you’re not dead—if you don’t die—my revenge becomes meaningless, just lashing out! So… don’t speak so kindly…

  “Danan… I—”

  “You want me to kill you!? Is that it? Just do it like you asked! If I kill you—”

  “I’ll be free. That’s right… Danan,” she said.

  Her words struck his murderous rage, shaking his chaotic mind. Leaping to his feet, Danan grabbed her collar, aiming the blade at her abdomen.

  “Danan,” she whispered.

  “…”

  “Even if you kill me, another me will probably appear before you. The memories stored in the Hakara Deck… you’d have to kill all of us for it to mean anything. I’m tired… of being brought back over and over, used however they want.”

  “…”

  His ragged breaths distorted his vision with passion and murderous intent. A warm, cold droplet slid down his cheek—tears, he realized.

  She wasn’t an enemy. She didn’t seek his life. Feeling no trace of killing intent, the girl, facing death, closed her eyes, focusing only on the blade poised to pierce her. Believing the pain of her final moment would be salvation, she entrusted her life to Danan.

  Thrusting the blade would fulfill her wish, but Danan would bear the sin of taking her life. For someone who’d killed countless others, killing one girl should be easy. Just move the mechanical arm forward, pierce her soft skin.

  But Danan couldn’t make that simple motion. He couldn’t kill the girl who looked and sounded the same as in his past—the symbol of his lost normalcy. No, the old Danan would’ve deemed it necessary and killed her without hesitation. But who could kill a girl who believed in him until her final moment, tears pooling in her eyes?

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “…What should I—”

  “…”

  “How can I save you…? I don’t want to kill you. I can’t kill you! In this shitty world, in this cesspool of a city, there’s no one like you! So—”

  “…You still have to kill me,” she said.

  “!”

  “Danan… I’m trapped in the same pain and suffering, over and over. The memories stored in Hakara—the original me—keeps feeling the agony of every clone, even now. Even if one clone, just me, is saved, the original me won’t be unless you kill me. Won’t you… save me, Danan? Is it okay if I suffer forever? Answer me, Danan.”

  “I—!” he roared.

  What did he want? What could he do? What could he offer the girl, the symbol of peace and normalcy? Lowering his eyes, staring at the dripping blood, Danan let out a muffled voice.

  “…Hey,” he said.

  “…”

  “How… was it for you?”

  “What?”

  “Born in the undercity, living a life full of pain, and now wishing for me to kill you… That kind of life… it’s too much.”

  “…The undercity,” she began.

  “…”

  “It’s a place where dreaming is a luxury, where you can’t see any future. No tomorrow, no thread of hope—just a corner of hell. But…”

  “But…?”

  “Meeting you, Danan, was the one thing I truly cherished. Think about it—in the undercity, not pointing guns at each other, just talking, saying ‘see you again’—isn’t that incredibly lucky? I didn’t realize it then, but looking back after losing it, that memory was beautiful, something I can’t reach anymore.”

  That’s just hindsight. All that remains after loss is despair and regret. Staring into her tear-soaked eyes, Danan hung his head, unable to hold back his tears.

  “After I was sold to the pleasure district, I went through a lot of awful things. No, I’m still going through them. My memories get jumbled—being cloned, sold to strangers as someone else. I can’t tell which are my real memories anymore. But I never forgot my request to you. I believed you’d free me from this pain, and I waited. Then you came. Danan… you’re my savior, you know?”

  “Don’t say that… Someone like me can’t be a savior. I haven’t saved anyone… not a single soul,” he choked out.

  He’d pulled the trigger countless times, watching blood spray. Swung his mechanical blade, severing limbs to kill. He’d used others as stepping stones to survive.

  He’d never saved anyone. His hands, devoid of intent to help, were tools of death. A man burdened by sin, trampling punishment without a care, couldn’t be a savior. Sobbing at her words, Danan felt a small hand rest on his head as he prepared to destroy his own normalcy.

  “Even if no one forgives you, even if the whole city throws stones at you, I’ll forgive you. Because we’re friends,” she said.

  “…Friends?”

  “Yeah, forever… even after I die, don’t forget we were friends, okay?”

  “…One last thing,” he said.

  “Hm?”

  “Your name… tell me. I never asked back then.”

  “…Seira. Don’t forget it, Danan.”

  “…Yeah.”

  Danan thrust the high-frequency blade into Seira’s abdomen, tearing through her carotid artery, drenched in her blood.

  “…”

  His tears, stained red with blood, mingled with the streaks on his cheeks.

  “…Lils,” he called.

  “…Danan, the girl you were talking to—”

  “Destroy the Fruit of Knowledge with the Hakara Deck embedded in it. Connect the hack cable from my mechanical arm to the console. Can you manage it remotely?”

  “…Yeah,” Lils replied.

  “Please. Nephthys.”

  “Yes, Danan.”

  “Can we use the fabrication function to make gear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then use my blood to create a ritual. Connect the tube.”

  “Understood. I have a proposal.”

  “What?”

  “This Fruit of Knowledge is a replica, but its effects are real. I suggest transferring some functions to Black Steel Zero, extracting EDEN-related data. Shall I proceed?”

  “Do it.”

  “Understood. Initiating data and function transfer.”

  Staring at Seira’s crumbling flesh, Danan nodded slightly. He plugged the hack cable into the mechanical tree, working with Lils to destroy its internal systems.