Before we even broke the barrier…
Something pulled me.
Not mana.
Not the system.
Something else.
My soul was dragged away without warning.
Darkness swallowed everything.
There was no ground beneath my feet.
No sky above.
Only endless void.
And then—
A voice.
Ancient.
Cold.
Unquestionable.
> {Before the finale, I will give you a fruit. Eat it.}
I couldn't see her.
Couldn't feel her.
But the authority in that voice was absolute.
Refusal didn't exist.
In the darkness ahead of me—
Sparks appeared.
Tiny at first.
Like distant stars.
They multiplied.
Gathered.
And within each spark, corruption spread like black veins.
Light and rot intertwined.
Condensed.
Compressed.
Until finally—
An apple formed.
White.
Not red.
Completely white.
Yet it radiated power so overwhelming that even the void seemed to bend around it.
It didn't look natural.
It looked like a concept given shape.
I hesitated.
Was this power?
Or punishment?
The voice returned.
Sharper.
> {Eat it. Now.}
I stepped forward.
The moment I touched the fruit—
A violent nausea twisted through my chest.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Loud enough to hear.
My blood surged through my veins like it was trying to escape.
My soul trembled.
My body followed.
Slowly—
I raised it to my mouth.
And bit.
The taste was unbearable.
Not normal sourness.
It felt corrosive.
Like something that rejected existence itself.
I wanted to spit it out.
But I couldn't.
Tears spilled from my eyes.
Each bite made my entire being shake.
By the time I swallowed half—
The white flesh began turning red.
Blood.
The fruit was bleeding.
Or maybe I was.
My body grew heavier.
Too heavy.
Like gravity had increased only for me.
I collapsed to one knee.
Pain flooded every nerve.
My muscles felt torn apart from the inside.
My bones vibrated violently.
Still—
I forced myself to finish it.
Every last piece.
Blood dripped down my chin.
My vision blurred.
My heart slowed.
My breathing became uneven.
For one second—
Everything stopped hurting.
I stood up.
And then—
My body began to dismantle.
Not tear.
Not break.
Dismantle.
I looked at my arm—
It shrank.
Softened.
A child's arm.
Then grew again.
Scars forming.
Muscle building.
Breaking.
Reforming.
Every stage of my life replayed in seconds.
Over.
And over.
And over.
My entire body followed.
Past and present flashing endlessly.
As if the fruit was reconstructing my existence—
Only to destroy it again.
The pain was beyond comprehension.
Not physical.
Not mental.
Existential.
My mind fractured.
Darkness consumed me.
---
When I opened my eyes—
I was back.
The battlefield.
The barrier still intact.
Lysandria's team stood ahead.
One knight scoffed.
"So your commander cries before a fight?"
I touched my face.
Wet.
Tears.
Time hadn't moved.
Not even a second.
But I had suffered there…
For an hour.
Then a screen appeared.
Cold.
Simple.
> [You have obtained a new skill.]
> [Regression]
My heart beat once.
Slow.
Heavy.
And I knew—
Whatever that fruit was…
It was not mercy.