I took a deep breath and walked toward the door.My heart was pounding as I opened it.I was afraid—but there was no turning back now.
I had to get stronger.I had to get used to the sight of blood.Maybe I already had... and just hadn't realized it.
The only thing that gave me strength was my family.It had always been that way.Studying, doing sports, staying on the right path…The reason for all of it was them.
They were the reason I clung to life—The ones who tied me to this world.I was strong for them.I would survive for them.
When I stepped outside…a void woven in darkness welcomed me.
It was as if the world was holding its breath.No wind, no rustling leaves.No cars.No dogs barking.Not even a cat, not a mouse.
Complete silence.Crushing.Deep enough to seep into my bones.
I had barely survived the first night—the blood, the screams, the eyes.And now this…This emptiness.This uncertainty.
I didn't know what to do.Or rather—I didn't know what I should do.
No one was explaining the rules of the night.When the system fell silent, your own voice grew louder.
But what use was that?Even my inner voice sounded confused.
I took a few steps.Each step on the old stone pavement made a brittle cracking sound,as if even my footsteps were a crime in this empty street.
"Is there no quest?" I whispered,in a foolish hope that the system might hear me.
There wasn't.
No quest screen appeared.No notification. No warning. No guidance.As if tonight…there was only me.And the darkness.
The only thought echoing in my mind was this:"Walking aimlessly through darkness is to dance with death."
At least I could check the time, I thought.I closed my eyes and asked inwardly—instinctively.A screen appeared.
(This hadn't happened on the first night.)
It might seem like a small detail,but it gave me a slight sense of relief.
At least I could track time.It was the only thing I could still control.
[System Message]Time remaining until the Seal of the Night ends: 10 hours, 52 minutes, 49 seconds.
I exhaled.
"It's only just begun…" I whispered to myself.
The pale moonlight served as the streetlights now.The buildings were covered in moss and vines.Some windows were cracked.Some doors hung loose on their hinges.
It felt like a forgotten, abandoned city.Maybe it truly was.Where were the people?
People…
I wondered.Even if I saw someone—could I trust them?
No.
Thinking the system was fair would be naive.Maybe someone else had started with better weapons.Maybe someone killed five monsters on the first nightand gained ten stat points.Maybe someone lost their squad—and now they were ready to kill anyone just to survive.
This world now said,"You die first, so I can live."
I wanted to form an alliance with someone—but this wasn't a game.
Here, the cost of misplaced trust was death.And I… still wanted to live.
Every second I stood,I was at war with the darkness inside me.
My eyes were determined,but my trembling hands betrayed me.
Part of me wanted to run—to hide.To be forgotten.
But the other part…knew I had to grow stronger.
If I hid,maybe I'd survive this night.
But what about the next?What if, three days from now, the monsters are ten times stronger?What if my weapon isn't enough anymore?
"Running isn't living.Survival means accounting not just for today,but for tomorrow as well."
So I quickened my pace.As I walked the deserted streets, my eyes scanned my surroundings.
No gunshots.No screams.
But the silence—it felt like the calm before a storm.
I was afraid.I didn't know what tonight would bring—but I knew one thing:
If the system was silent,it was playing its own game.
Maybe it did this to test us.To weed out the panicked—the aimless wanderers—the ones who trusted too easily.
If tonight was silent…then surely, from it…a scream would be born.
And I—even if afraid—was ready this time.
Maybe only half-ready.But more determined than I had been the first night.
Because the world had changed.And now… I had to change too.
I walked through the empty streets cloaked in night.Even the moonlight seemed hesitant to touch this city.
Everything felt…too quiet.Too orderly.
Like a moment of peace before the storm.
And then—a scream.
Not just an echo—a plea.
A final cry ripped from someoneclinging desperately to life.
A weight sank in my chest.My legs moved on their own.
I hadn't made a decision—but not going was no longer an option.
I started to run.My footsteps echoed.There were two voices.Getting closer.
I turned the corner—and there…I faced the truth of humanity.
A man, maybe 35.Unshaven. Messy clothes.
He was holding down a young girl.Her face pale.Eyes full of panic.
She had platinum-blonde hair—almost glowing under the moonlight.
She was about 170 cm tall,slender.She had the grace of a model—but now that grace was tainted by fear.
She struggled.She thrashed.But she made no sound.
Maybe from terror.Maybe from hopelessness.
Something inside me snapped.
I rushed toward the manand kicked him with all my strength.
He stumbled back, fell to the ground,cursing as he turned toward me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid?!There are no rules here!No system!No justice!"
His voice hissed like a snake.More monster than man.But he wasn't a creature.He was human.
And at that moment—a system message appeared before me.
🧩 System Message📜 Moral Decision Point:
⚖ Intervene – Risky. If successful, gain stats.🛑 Ignore – Stay safe, but live with the consequences.
"You choose, Riven Altarai.Is darkness found only in monsters?"
My hands trembled.Was this… a quest?Was the system watching me?Or was this a test?
But my heart held only one answer.No system,no punishment,no rewardcould make this choice for me.
I chose to intervene.
Because this girl—in that moment—felt familiar.
She was helpless.Just like I used to be.
When the man stumbled and fell,I saw his face clearly for the first time.
His eyes were bloodshot.I wasn't sure he was sane,but his words were clear:
"You… you're judging me?Ha!There's no judgment here anymore!Only power, kid.If you've got it—speak.If not—get lost!"
He stood up.His leather jacket was torn.He drew a metal rod from his belt.His gaze was a mix of fury and despair.
"You know nothing!You didn't hear those voices!You don't know what I saw in the dark!Everyone lost something.I… I lost my humanity, okay?!"
Something inside me cracked.
He wasn't just evil.He had given in to evil.
I looked into his face.Terrifying—but also…tired.
My hands shook.A voice inside me screamed:
"Strike!""Protect!""Kill!"
But… did I really have to kill?
My sword felt heavier—like ending a life weighed more than it should.
Taking a life…There's no undoing that.
Human blood—it's not like a monster's.
There's a thin line between killing…and being right to do so.And I was still standing on that line.
But the girl was trembling.Her eyes were filled with tears.
If I had been even a few seconds late…
The man stepped forward.
"This world isn't ours anymore.Everything that came with this system…it came to destroy us.
I'm just trying to stay strong.Will you?"
He swung his rod.
I barely dodged in time.A cut opened on my wrist—but I didn't feel it.
Adrenaline numbed everything.
There was nothing left to say.
I gripped my sword.The man attacked again—slower this time.
Maybe from age.Maybe guilt.Maybe…he already smelled death.
One strike—toward his chest…
But I stopped.At the last second,I pulled my blade aside.
It hit his shoulder.
He dropped to his knees.Bleeding.But not dead.At least—not yet.
Still—he tried to swing his weapon again.
And in that moment—without thinking—I struck again.
Reflex.Instinct.To protect myself.
The blade cut near his neck.
His eyes widened.A faint sound left his throat.And then…silence.
All that remained—were my trembling hands.And my breath—ragged, uneven.
I had killed.For the first time…I had killed a human.
My back was drenched in cold sweat.My stomach clenchedas if I'd been punched.
But a voice inside me whispered:
"You did it to protect.That doesn't make you evil.But you're no longer innocent."
I turned.The girl was on the ground, still shaking.
I approached—silent.
She saw me.Her eyes filled with tears.
"…Thank you,"was all she could say.
But I couldn't say this back to her:
"I should be thanking you.Because the thing that kept me human…was my desire to protect you."