His head snaps to Alex in surprise. "It was you…" He says as Alex's face from calm and kind turns more serious and stern, almost mad as veins slowly form on his neck.
"All you had to do was not remember and maybe I would have kept you alive until this little war was done, I just wanted to return home and save my family." He grumbles, his hands leisurely making their way to his pistol at the side of him. "I was sent here on a mission with my family as collateral." he explains.
Max notices, and notes that he doesn't have his on him which means Alex took it. "I'm sorry to hear that. But you could not have become my friend if you were going to do something like this." He says with a forced smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "But our friendship was fun while it lasted."
I should have noticed the little details, the switches in the way he speaks, the way he moves, but I was blinded by his friendship, how dumb of me. But then again he was my friend since the day I arrived on sign-up day, help me through a lot so I don't regret being his friend.
"No wonder you were always that good in hand-to-hand combat," Max says with a slight chuckle as his fingers curl up into a tight fist.
I don't know why but I don't want to kill him or fight him. Does this make me weak? He is my friend. That also made that man weak against his own allies which got him killed, I guess we are alike.
Alex seems to hesitate, but as if remembering what he need to do he rips the pistol out of his pockets and aims it at him. "I don't want to kill you! Just go back and I'll let you live!" He shouts, his short brown hair rustling in the wind.
"Go back," Max repeated his words. "How can I go back after I sacrificed everything for my country!" He shouts back, his voice and tone carrying weight as he drops his hands to his side, trying to scoop up dust into his hands without being noticed.
"Then." He fidgets, his fingers wandering back and forth between the trigger and the side of the gun, Alex standing and Max kneeling before. There in the silence of the war raging around them, Alex with the gun in his hand and Max with only his fist.
Two best friends with one wavering motivate to kill one another.
That's why he missed it. Alex never misses a shot, the only reason it could be is because he still doesn't want to kill me. But now he doesn't have a choice he has to or else I'll kill him.
Max steels himself, gripping the handful of dust in his fist as he lunges forward. With a swift motion, he throws the dust straight into Alex's face, momentarily blinding him. Seizing the opportunity, Max delivers a powerful kick to Alex's stomach, sending him stumbling backward.
But in Alex's wild struggle, his finger squeezes the trigger. The gunshot rings out, and Max feels a searing pain in his lower right abdomen. Instinct takes over, and he hurls himself to the side, narrowly dodging the other bullets that fly haphazardly from Alex's weapon.
The world tilted as the bullet tore through Max's side, a brutal explosion of pain that felt like fire coursing through his veins. Time seemed to slow, the chaos around him fading into a muffled backdrop as he doubled over, instinctively clutching his wound.
Shit, this is even worse than the last time.
Agony radiating through him, blood seeped from the wound, warm and sticky against his skin and uniform, mixing with the dirt beneath him. He grits his teeth, trying to fight off the darkness that spreads along the edges of his vision.
I can't let this end here.
Despite the pain, the familiar anger surged within him—anger at Alex, at the war, at himself for allowing this to happen, and even because of the dream which felt like he had lived a whole entire life in another world.
I'm not going down now! Not like this!
Alex stumbles, bracing himself against the ground, determination flickering in his eyes. "Max!!" He turns to him, with fury in his eyes. "I could have done it in one shot!" He pointed his gun at him, with his elbow planted into the floor.
Max tries to move but with every moment it feels like knives are being stabbed into his wound over and over again. "Come on…I can't go like this." He coughs and blood gushes out of his mouth.
At that moment, the weight of everything settled upon him—friendship, betrayal, and the sacrifices made for a cause greater than himself. He had fought for something worth dying for, but it was not how he envisioned his end. The thought of leaving unfinished business with Alex, of their shared dreams to becoming something great dying in the dust.
Why am I always the one being betrayed? In that dream world and now, why won't fate leave me alone?
Then it sounds…
The last shot.
Passing right through his heart Alex lays there with the smoking gun in his hands as he looks at him astonished and stunned as if he didn't fully comprehend what he had just done.
The only words Max can mutter are. "It was fun while it lasted. Our friendship will-" before closing his eyes for good.
Everything comes to an end, no matter how many promises are made or how much we cling to unfinished dreams. Every beginning has its end, and as I face mine, I finally understand—this isn't the first time I've reached the end.
That dream I had... it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory from a past life, where I died the same way, betrayed by the very people I trusted. And yet, if I were given another chance, would I stop trusting? No. I would continue to trust, to believe, until I finally find those who are truly loyal.
In this life, I accomplished things, yet they slipped away too soon, leaving me with little to show for it. But next time, I want to leave a lasting mark—a legacy that time cannot erase. If I get another chance, I will stop at nothing to achieve that single, unwavering goal.
"Poor, Shoji." The same cunning voice comes to him again. "Betrayed again in this life."
Cassin.
"Not quite." He says.
No name.
"Correct." it sounded amused.
What are you doing here, why did you come back here? To torture me with your presence? Or if to kill me I'm afraid it has already happened again.
"No. To offer you a deal." His voice deepens.
What can you offer me? I'm dead, the dead can't take offers, or have you forgotten what death means?
"I came to offer something new, a system forged as one of the key treasures of existence." He pauses to draw in a breath. "And a second chance in your first life."
A second chance, in my first world. But why?
"Because I need a challenge, someone who can put up a strong fight, and I choose you."
Then...
"There are conditions, you'll have the monster evolution system and no longer be considered human." his tone dripping with amusement.
No longer human...So I'll have to become the very things I fight?
"Correct."
It's ....Its not like any of them consider me as one, so I accept if it means I can redo everything and make a better name for myself and not for my people, even if it is something to fear.