A man in a demon mask.

Ning ignored the person and focused on his own troubles. He had told Nova that he would help her, and yet he came here. It hadn’t been out of his own volition, but he still felt a little guilty about it.

With the 5 others attacking her, Ning could only hope that her soul was strong enough to protect her.

She had after all won the crown for herself beforehand somehow. He hoped she was powerful enough to do so again.

As he waited, more and more people started appearing. Within the next 3 hours, there were 10 people in the white room.

As 3 more hours passed, there were now 25.

After more hours passed, another light flashed, and Ning saw Nova appear from the light. He looked at her in shock as not a single strand of her hair was missing and not a speck of dirt landed on her.

’Did she not fight?’ Ning wondered as he walked toward her.

”Nova?” he called. “Are you alright?”

Nova jerked a little when she heard her name being called out. However, when she saw it was Ning, she felt a little relieved.

”I’m sorry. I didn’t know my time would have been up so quick. Are you alright?” Ning asked.

”I… I’m fine,” the girl said in a somber voice.

’Is she?’ Ning thought.

”What happened to the other 5? Especially the bird,” Ning asked.

Nova’s eyes moved around as her mind moved to remind her of the scene she had witnessed 8 hours ago.

’No, I don’t want to see it,’ she told herself, but her mind refused.

She saw the vision of the girl with the bow and arrow shooting herself through her face.𝗈𝔳𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t

The man in the suit pierced his own heart with the power he had been gathering in his hands.

The man with the dagger slit his own throat, while the girl in the shining armor hit herself with the sword so many times that her armor cracked through and the sword carved her body in half.

Then, the phoenix who witnessed this all feared for its life… and simply died.

It couldn’t even come back from its death as all other phoenixes did.

Nova had already crouched on the ground in the white room as she mumbled ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ softy beneath her voice.

Ning watched with a stunned face and didn’t know what to say or do. “Come on, you need to get a hold of yourself,” he said.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her up before taking her outside the group of people that were starting to gather.

Nova was still a mess as she shivered from what she had done.

Ning thought he understood… to a certain extent. This was probably the feeling he had felt after the system punished him for killing the innocent the first time.

All the fear and pain had been especially terrifying. If the girl was feeling anything like he did afterward, she needed some help.

”It’s okay. You didn’t kill because you wanted. You did because you had to,” Ning said. “It was the better alternative than they killing you, right? It’s not like you want to die.”

”No, I want to die,” Nova said. “I want to die! But… but…”

She broke down into tears, leaving a stunned Ning to become speechless.

What do you say to someone who had seen so much death, caused so much death, and then wanted themselves to die?

Do you say that those deaths weren’t their fault? No, it obviously was. Do you say that those deaths didn’t matter? That was even worse.

There wasn’t much Ning could think of to say. Was there even an answer to this problem?

As he thought that, more and more light flashed around him. Soon, the entire area was filled with 50 people.

At that exact moment, a bright white light appeared high in the white nothingness as Genesis returned back to the room.

He looked down below him and made a surprised gasp as he said, “Wow, you are all here? And I can’t believe you guys didn’t even need my help.”

”Honestly, I expected the fights to go on for another day or two. I wonder if a certain someone decided to randomly drop some crowns for some of you,” Genesis said with a hidden glee in his voice.

Everyone down below could tell that he was implying that he had helped them a little.

A few of them glared up in the air as they remembered the ‘co-incidence’ with how they found their crowns.

”Okay, okay, I won’t joke any longer,” Genesis said. “For now, Congratulations, you have passed the first test. Look at you all, that crown looks so good on you.”

Ning looked around at the 50 different people. He noticed the man with the water sword not far away from him, but he didn’t notice the goblin or the man that had actually earned the crown he had taken.

Ning knew what had likely happened to them, but he didn’t want to believe it.

”Sir, what happened to the ones that didn’t make it?” one of the girls asked.

”Huh? Did I not tell you all already? Those that don’t make it to the 2nd round all die,” Genesis said.

Sounds of shock and fear went through the crowd. Some remembered the friends they had made, others remembered the people they had let live.

Some remembered the people that had forced the crown on them.

If they weren’t here, then they all had to have died already, and that didn’t feel right to them.

’Playing around with lives. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a being that creates systems,’ Ning thought.

”Before the next competition, you all get a week-long break,” Genesis said. “Go heal, train, and have fun.”

With that, everyone in the white room once again vanished.