We formed a protective circle around the truck and the winch’s metal cable, as shields appeared around us. Everyone with a shield spell, item, or enchantment rushed forward and activated their protections.

  Those of us without, including Shawn, Siva, and I, positioned ourselves around the truck, forming the first layer of defense.

  Eric: Two minutes.

  Eric had been giving us updates on the time. Just two more minutes. It felt like an eternity, but more Temple fighters were charging toward us from the stadium, and with them came the Rebels, then the Northmen.

  The battle had shifted. The stadium was no longer the epicenter of the fighting. Now, it was at the base of the clocktower. Rajan fought his way through the chaos, wielding glowing hammers. Each strike sent enemies flying, the sheer force of it breathtaking... if it wasn’t so brutal.

  “What the hell are you playing at?” he shouted, finally reaching me.

  “Twenty seconds!” I responded, firing a quick volley of arrows into another wave of enemies.

  He stared at me, not understanding, confusion painting his face.

  That’s when I saw him—an enormous figure appeared at the top of the steps; his shoulders mounted with massive cannons. I lined up my shot, but just before I released the arrow, something happened.

  The cannons fell from his shoulders, his eyes bulging in shock. He dropped to his knees, screaming in pain as the metal parts of his body came off, leaving him bloodied and disfigured on the ground.

  Around us, the scene played out again and again. Eric had severed the system’s connection to the Temple fighters. Their augmentations were falling off.

  Arms, legs, eyes—pieces of people littered the ground as fighters collapsed, their bodies left broken.

  The battlefield fell eerily silent. A few muffled sounds of vomiting drifted through the air. I could hardly blame them.

  This was... grotesque.

  This was wrong.

  The healers from our team and the Rebels immediately rushed to help, but there was little they could do. Some were beyond saving, particularly those who had lost vital body parts when their enhancements were severed. For them, it was too late.

  I stood there beside Rajan, his face ashen as he surveyed the carnage. He turned to me, eyes wide with disbelief.

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  “You... you did this?” His voice cracked, trembling, as he slowly raised a hand to his forehead.

  I didn’t answer. I quickly sent a message to Prema, and a moment later, everyone on our team stopped and kneeled.

  I locked eyes with Rajan as I dropped to one knee in front of him. He stepped back, stunned.

  “I, as leader of the free folks of the West, concede defeat. We will join your cause and accept your leadership of the West,” I said, my voice heavy with the weight of the moment.

  A message appeared in my HUD.

  [System Update]

  [Objective: Choose a side and win the West.]

  [Exit Condition: Total control of the West.]

  [Update: With the surrender of the free folks, there is only one faction left in the West. The Exit Conditions have been met. The barriers will open in twenty-four hours.]

  Relief washed over me. It worked. The system wanted more bloodshed. I knew that. It wanted us to fight the Rebels, but for now, at least for the West, it was bound by its own rules. The objective wasn’t to kill everyone. It was simply to have one faction standing. And with our surrender, that condition was met.

  Rajan seemed distant, his gaze lost as he absorbed the system update. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone around us — those who weren’t Temple fighters — was processing the same realization.

  Tears of relief fell from some of their faces. I saw Jess collapse onto her hands and knees, overcome with emotion. Shawn moved quickly to help her, guiding her away from the chaos.

  Rajan focused again, his voice tight.

  “You… you planned all this...” His voice was filled with something I couldn’t place. Anger, disbelief, or maybe a bit of both. I didn’t answer. I simply stood and extended my hand to him. He hesitated for a long moment before he took it.

  “It’s over. Tend to your injured and the dead,” I said quietly, releasing his hand and turning to walk away.

  I joined Siva, helping to tend to the wounded.

  We worked through the grounds, using our remaining healing potions and scrolls. We helped as many as we could, bringing them to the largest cafeteria, which had been hastily converted into a makeshift hospital.

  The healers were doing all they could, but there were only so many they could save.

  For those we couldn’t save, especially the Temple fighters who had lost limbs when their augmentations had fallen off, we gave them a merciful end.

  A section of the hospital was dedicated to those who were without limbs, while Eric’s Technomancer team worked feverishly to craft artificial limbs using scavenged electrical parts. The results were imperfect, but they were all they had.

  I tried to find Eric but received a ping from Eva. He was alone in the stadium. I decided to give him some time. The weight of the situation was heavy on me, but I knew it was weighing even more on him.

  I did this. I did this to him, to all of us. Each time another armless person came in, I felt my heart become heavier, a jagged pain settling deep within me.

  This is who you really are, Chris. This is who you really are.

  Her voice echoed in my head, relentless. I fought to shut it out, but the weight of it made everything feel unbearable. I had to keep moving. I had to keep helping.

  Shawn pinged me to give him time with Jess, and I told him to take as long as he needed.

  We were all guilty in this. Me, most of all.

  I was helping a man to his feet when a new message appeared in my HUD. I didn’t recognize the folder.

  I clicked on it and froze.

  [Well played, my friend. This will never happen again. I’ll see you soon.]

  It was in the cold, blue font of the system, the same font used when I’d forced that meeting with the system’s avatar. The message and folder vanished as soon as I read it.

  I clenched my fists, my body trembling with anger. I looked up at the sky and whispered quietly, “Not if I see you first.”