Seraphina’s smile widened. “What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve? I guess someone like you has probably never gotten a gift before, have they?”
I clenched my fists. “Move.”
She didn’t move. She took a step closer, her voice a victorious whisper next to my ear. “I just texted Peter. Let’s see who he chooses.” As the words left her mouth, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed down the alley. Peter appeared at the entrance.
At the same instant, Seraphina screamed and lunged forward.
And the two guys behind her raised their pipes.
One swung at my back. The other swung at Seraphina’s head.
Time seemed to freeze.
Peter’s pupils contracted. He dove towards Seraphina.
A searing, tearing pain exploded across my back. Cold sweat soaked through my uniform.
Peter was checking on Seraphina, his voice filled with a frantic urgency I had never heard before. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
In his arms, Seraphina shook her head, looking utterly fragile. But over his shoulder, her eyes met mine, and her lips curled into a triumphant
smile.
I stared at Peter’s back. I remembered what he’d said in the hospital after I took a pipe for him: Don’t you ever jump in front of me again. I’m supposed to protect you.
Apparently, that protection came with a priority list.
And the person he wanted to protect had always been Seraphina.
My vision started to blur, Darkness surged in like a tide, and I let it swallow me whole.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Peter’s face, twisted in shock and panic, as if he was about to run toward me
I called up the system. “Get me out of this world.”
7
I forced my eyes open. A white ceiling slowly came into focus.
“You’re awake!” A nurse came in with a tray. “Your boyfriend can finally relax. He’s been here all night. We just convinced him to go get you some porridge.”
Why was I still here?
The system’s mechanical voice echoed in my head: [THE DEATH NODE, ONCE ESTABLISHED, CANNOT BE ALTERED. PLEASE WAIT PATIENT- LY, HOST.]
09:37
Chapter 2
00 571
“But Seraphina was reborn,” I argued. “What if she prevents the fire from ever happening?”
In the original story, the class holds a graduation party at a restaurant that catches fire. Seraphina, upset after a fight with Adrian, is crying in a stairwell and doesn’t get evacuated. Peter escapes, realizes she’s still inside, and runs back in to save her. He succeeds, but a burning beam collapses on him, disfiguring his face.
If the reborn Seraphina prevents the fire, my exit point disappears.
[THEN YOU WILL REMAIN IN THIS WORLD. PERMANENTLY.]
The door opened. Peter walked in, carrying a thermos. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his sclera were webbed with red. He rushed to my bedside, his knee bumping against the frame. He ignored the pain, reaching out as if to touch my back, but his hand fell away, his face etched with guilt.
“I’m sorry…”
He opened the thermos. “The nurse said you can only eat light foods.” It was a simple rice porridge, topped with shredded pork and greens. He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it carefully, and held it to my lips. “I cooked it a little longer…”
I turned my head away. “Those guys were hired by Seraphina,” I said, my voice cold. “It was all a setup. She wanted to force you to choose her, and she wanted to destroy me.”
Peter’s hand froze. He looked down, his long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. He didn’t deny it.
My heart sank. “You already knew, didn’t you?”
“I’m calling the police.”
The spoon clattered into the bowl. “No!” he said, his voice laced with panic. “You can’t call the police! She… she still has her final exams. A police report would ruin everything for her.”
A chill, deep and absolute, spread through my veins.
“Ruin her exams?” I let out a laugh, but the pain in my back made it tremble. “What about me? My back is injured again. I’m definitely not taking my finals this year. You’re so worried about her… what about me?”
If I were just a normal girl, an orphan who had poured her entire life into studying to escape her past, how hopeless would I feel right now? Peter’s lips moved, but no words came out. His eyes were so red they looked like they were bleeding.
