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nNick’s backup plan had failed.

nHe couldn’t intimidate the Specter into conceding, and he also couldn’t pull through with his threat.

nNick’s mind became more and more chaotic as he tried to find a way out of this.

nPlans upon plans formed in his mind, but nothing would work.

nThis was a direct battle.

nThis was a human against a Specter.

nA Zephyx Synchronizer against a Specter Core.

nThere was no kind of scheme that could be pulled off in such a straightforward fight.

nThe one with the weaker will would lose.

nAnd that was Nick.

nNick would lose because he was human.

nThere was nothing he could do about it.

nHe kept pushing back, but nothing changed.

nThe Specter just kept pushing emotionlessly.

n‘What do I do?!’ Nick thought in panic.

n‘What can I do?!’

n‘There’s nothing I can do!’

n‘But there has to be a way!’

n‘There has to be a way out!’

nNick continued trying to come up with a plan, but none of his plans would change anything.

nTime passed.

nNick fell into a state of delirium more and more frequently, and he was being pushed back.

nBy now, he had been pushed back by five meters.

nFive more meters, and he would hit the wall of his mind.

nThat represented death.

nThere was nothing!

nThere was nothing he could do!

nNick’s mind just kept running in circles, creating the same plan hundreds of times before throwing it away.

nAnd then, finally…

nHe calmed down.

n‘It’s over,’ he thought. ‘It’s truly over.’

nScenes of Nick’s past materialized in the black world.

nHim waking up in the Outer City before walking to the Dregs.

nHis horrible life in the Dregs.

nHis meeting with Albert.

nMeeting Wyntor.

nCreating Dark Dream.

nHorua.

nThere was this other boy Nick had killed, but he couldn’t remember his name or why he had killed him. These memories had already been burned away permanently.

nJenny.

nThat other colleague. Nick didn’t remember what happened to him.

nWasn’t there also something about some small Manufacturer? Wasn’t that related to Wyntor’s family?

nNick had had many employees, but he could only remember a couple of them. However, he did remember that he used to remember all of their names.

nThe Crimson Sea. Nick still remembered everything about that incident.

nWyntor’s death.

nWyntor’s father. What was his name again? Cecil? Viron? Varon? He didn’t remember.

nJulian. He remembered Julian.

nWhatever happened to Albert? Did he die?

nThe outside world.

nThe ruins.

nThe Sea King.

nAnatomy.

nThe Nightmare.

nAegis.

nAria. He regretted that he had wasted five of her years.

nThe trainee program.

nHis squad.

nAnd that was it.

nNick’s life.

nAt least, everything that he still remembered.

n‘I caused a lot of suffering in my life,’ Nick thought as picture after picture of death and suffering shot through the dark world.

n‘But I was on my way to redemption,’ he thought as pictures of the happy people of Crimson City appeared in the world.

n‘I was doing my best.’ Pictures of stress and pressure appeared and disappeared in the dark world.

nNick took a deep breath.

n‘The only thing where I didn’t do my best was with Aria. Frankly, I didn’t even try.’

n‘I felt happiness in the possibility, but I never dared to try to make it real.’

n‘I would do things differently if I had another shot.’

n‘I would actually try.’

n‘Maybe not for me, but for her.’

n‘I might not deserve happiness on my path to redemption, but others do.’

n‘The regret I feel is not my own lack of happiness, but her disappointment and pain.’

nFoll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

n‘Was giving up and letting her go the right choice?’

n‘Maybe fighting for her was what she wanted to see since I have never done that before.’

n‘Fighting…’

n‘I fought for everything and everyone except for her.’

n‘Yet, isn’t the fight for the person you love the most the most important?’

n‘If anybody is fighting for anything, it would be for their loved ones.’

nNick could feel the end approaching.

nAs he became distracted more and more frequently, the Specter kept pushing him back.

nEven when Nick was about to die, the Specter still didn’t make a mistake.

nUntil the very end, it was perfect.

nNick took a deep breath, and a feeling of acceptance and resolve rose inside of himself.

nHe looked at the Specter in front of him with determination.

n‘I will die.’

n‘But I refuse to let this Specter take over my body and get reborn!’

n‘This might hurt Aegis since they will lose a Peak Elder, but for once in my life, I want to be selfish!’

n‘I’m also just human.’

n“RAAAAH!”

nSuddenly, Nick shouted aggressively and pushed against the Specter.

nThe Aductress saw Nick’s entire body cramping with strain.

nShe knew what this meant.

nThis was always what happened when a trainee was about to fail their Consumption.

nInside the dark world, Nick was pushing the Specter back.

nHowever, the Specter was still calm.

nAt this moment, Nick was using 120% of his power.

nHowever, using 120% of his power used up a ridiculous amount of focus.

n08:51

nNick was essentially committing suicide.

nHe pushed the Specter back to the original starting position.

nYet, Nick had shortened his maximum time of survival during the Consumption by an entire week.

nMeanwhile, the Specter could still survive the full 16 weeks.

nIt just needed to hold out.

nNick kept pushing.

nThe Specter was pushed back.

nOne meter.

nTwo meters.

nThree meters.

nYet, when they reached five meters, they stopped.

nIt was like the Specter had suddenly turned into an impenetrable and immovable wall.

nNaturally, the Specter could match Nick’s power output.

nIt just hadn’t done so until now since it wanted Nick to use up his focus.

nNick screamed and shouted.

nHe tried to destroy the Specter.

nHe tried to destroy it with absolutely everything he had.

nAnd yet, the Specter wouldn’t move.

nIt was just as powerful as him.

nHe couldn’t win.

n‘But I know that!’

n‘I don’t want to win!’

n‘I want to die with it!’

nThe Aductress looked with a tragic expression at Nick’s body, which was already seizing.

nNick pushed.

nHis Zephyx Synchronizer was pressing against the Specter Crystal.

nThe Specter Crystal didn’t move.

nCRK!

nSuddenly, Nick felt like something inside of him broke.

nThe Aductress sighed.

nHuman Zephyx was coming out of Nick’s body.

nNick’s Shell had broken apart.

nThe area between his Zephyx Synchronizer and the Specter Core was under so much pressure that his Shell couldn’t withstand it anymore.

nIt broke and dispersed.

nIt was over.

nNick’s Zephyx regeneration wouldn’t be able to keep up with his usage anymore.

nEven if he managed to win against the Specter, he would die within the hour.

nYet, this didn’t change anything for Nick.

nHe was already dead!

nSo, he kept on pushing.

nHe would keep pushing until his mind and body were damaged beyond repair!

nHe would destroy everything he had to such an absolute degree that the Specter would have nothing left to use to rebuild itself!

n“We are going to die!” Nick shouted at his copy.

n“I will die first!”

n“And you will die next!”

nCRK!

nA crack appeared inside Nick’s Zephyx Synchronizer.

nYet, it just kept pushing.

n“I will not allow you to come back!”

n“I don’t care if it was me that forced you into this duel!”

n“In the end, you are the one that will kill me, and I hate you for that!”

n“I don’t give a ** if you are in the right or in the wrong!”

n“I hate you, and I will leave nothing for you!”

n“We are going to die here and now!”

nCRK!

nMore cracks appeared all over Nick’s Zephyx Synchronizer.

n“The end is here,” Nick spoke coldly.

n“I will die a villain.”

n“I did not live long enough to see myself become a hero.”

nNick looked upward.

n“Aria, I’m sorry.”

nThen, his eyes steeled, and he glared at the Specter.

nHe pushed with everything he had.

n“I don’t intend to die with you,” the copy spoke.

n“You win.”

nBANG!

nSuddenly, the copy stopped resisting, and the two of them broke past the border of the dark world.

nCRACK!

nSuddenly, the middle of the Specter Core became brittle, and Nick’s Zephyx Synchronizer broke through the walls.

nAnd then, it entered the Specter Core!

nNick could not believe what was happening, and he looked around in complete confusion.

nWhat was happening?

nHe wasn’t dead?

nThe Specter had… given up?

n“In a way…”

nNick looked to the side and saw a black cloud floating in the emptiness.

n“I will continue to live on,” it spoke.

n“Part of me will forever continue to live inside of you.”

n“And maybe…”

n“I can cause more suffering like this.”

nWHOOM!

nThe black cloud shot forward and engulfed Nick.

nThe Aductress couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

nHuman and Specter Zephyx was coming out of Nick!

nShe had never heard of something like this happening!

nMeanwhile, inside Nick’s neck, the crystal representing Nick’s Zephyx Synchronizer started to spin again.

nAnd the Specter Core surrounding it followed.

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