Chapter 28: Shattered Promises, Flickering Gears

The stench of burning oil hung thick in the air.

nagomi stood motionless, his boots soaked in blood that wasn’t his. Around him, the corridor was quiet now—eerily so. No more screams. Just the fading crackle of magical energy and the soft, broken breathing of the creature before him.

Construct No. 7.

He has a voice… emotions…
How…? Why?

nagomi’s fists trembled. The girl’s blood was still warm on his hands. His mind spun with questions, but none louder than the guilt hammering against his ribs.

"I couldn't even protect her."

“Why…?” he muttered, barely audible, staring at the construct’s shattered eye. “Why did you kill her?”

The construct’s head twitched.

“I… didn’t want to…” it said, voice glitching. “I wasn’t… supposed to… My code… it hurts…”

Its body jerked forward, one leg scraping metal against the ground, sparks trailing in its wake.

“I didn’t… mean to... hurt her. I saw… red. Everything turned red. I just wanted… to speak. To live.”

To live?

nagomi took a step back. The hatred in his eyes softened—just slightly. A machine wanting to live? Wanting to speak?

Is it even his fault? Or… is he just like me? Trapped in something beyond his control?

“Stop,” Nagamii said, his voice low.

The construct paused.

“Don’t come closer.”

“Please…” it said again, hand twitching. “I don’t want to disappear… Not again…”

It felt like looking into a mirror. A twisted, bloody mirror.

He remembered his own arrival in this world. The confusion. The overwhelming panic. The helplessness of being thrust into the unknown.

Only difference?
He hadn’t murdered a child.

The weight in his chest twisted.

“I…” nagomi began, but the words tangled on his tongue.

Suddenly—
A groan echoed from behind. Reinforcements. Panic again. Voices calling for survivors.

He had to leave.

Now.

He gave one last look at the girl’s body. Her hand was still outstretched—like she had been reaching for her mother even in her final breath.

“...I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wasn’t strong enough.”

He turned and ran.

The corridor blurred past him—bent pipes, shattered lights, murals soaked in soot and blood. He didn’t know where he was going. Just that he couldn’t stay.

I need to get out. I need air. I need to breathe…

He burst through a broken door and stumbled into a wide, ruined hall.

Skyrend was burning.

From the high windows, he saw plumes of smoke rising from the inner sectors of the floating city. People were running below—tiny specks from this height—while others flew on enchanted carts, carrying the wounded. Bells rang from central towers, alarms blared.

And still, the Construct’s last words echoed in his ears:

"I don’t want to disappear…"

nagomi  dropped to his knees.

He felt it now.

This wasn’t just a grand adventure anymore. It wasn’t a world where he could fight monsters, level up, and live his dream like a character in a fantasy game.

This world was real.

People bled here. Screamed. Died.

And he… was a part of it now.

His voice broke the silence:
“…Why did I come here?”

He didn’t expect an answer. But it came—from deep inside.

"Because you wanted to live too."