Eri's eyes flashed, a cruel light dancing in their depths. Her voice was cold, calculated, each word a dagger aimed at Akira's heart.
"It was far too easy to take advantage of your need for revenge."
Akira's mind spun, struggling to process her words. This was impossible. He knew them—all of them. He had given his heart to them cause, believing they shared the same goal. But now, the truth unraveled before him, sharp and unrelenting.
"We used you to get access to your father's technology and to his fortune," Eri continued, her voice cutting through his incredulous mind like a blade.
Akira's voice was barely a whisper, shock flooding him. "What are you talking about? Tell me this is some kind of joke. We worked together for a whole year. What are you even saying? I thought you were helping me!"
Mia's voice was sharp and cruel, the sound booming through the chamber.
"You really are naïve until the end, Akira," she said, her head shaking in mock disappointment. "Did you really think you were ever more than a pawn in our scheme?"
Eri's smile was colder than the void itself. "We've been manipulating you from the very beginning, Akira. Your father's wealth was our true goal."
Akira recoiled, his brain unable to catch up with the reality of her words. The betrayal cut deeper than he could have imagined, a wound that would never heal.
"The document you signed to enter this dungeon?" Eri continued, her tone laced with disgust. "It was for us to claim everything you own—or rather, what your father left you. You were just a piece in our game."
Akira's world crumbled. His breaths became shallow, his chest constricted by the weight of betrayal. His trust, his belief in them—it had all been one big lie.
"But I trusted you!" His voice broke, raw with emotion. "Why did it take so long for you to reveal the truth?"
Mia crossed her arms, her expression one of irritation.
"It wasn't the right time, you idiot. We didn't have the right to enter this dungeon yet. Did you think our team would dare to enter a dungeon whose level can't even be measured? The fun fact is, this dungeon only emits immensely strong mana, but the source remains unknown. Not a single monster resides within. Interestingly, this is also the first dungeon in Korea where the exit portal doesn't close once stars enter, allowing anyone to come and go as they please. It's not one of the most dangerous dungeons, but it's by far the weirdest. It was perfect for our plan. And we had to make sure you were deep in so you could never back out."
Her eyes darkened as she stepped forward. "And now that you're out of the way, we can finally take all that you have."
Akira's blood boiled, his fists clenched into balls of stone, his knuckles white. His gaze stayed fixed on Eri, full of hostility. "You're going to pay for this," he growled, every word dripping with malice. "I'll find a way to make you all pay for what you've done."
Eri laughed, a menacing sound that echoed through the chamber. "You're powerless," she sneered.
"What can you do in this situation? You're nothing but a fragile boy."
Entoa stepped forward, his massive frame casting a shadow over Akira.
"Don't bother. There's no escape for you now."
Before Akira could fully process the extent of the betrayal, Eri and her team sprang into action. Entoa grabbed him, dragging him to the edge of the gaping hole in the center of the chamber. Mia seized his arms with an iron grip. Akira fought with all his strength, but it was no use. They were too strong. They were Stars too, after all.
He could barely breathe, let alone resist. His world began to spin, the dark abyss below beckoning him like a hungry maw.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to end," Akira thought, his voice a venomous whisper. "YOU BASTARDS!!!" he shouted, his voice barely audible but laced with venom. "You were the only ones I had left. The only ones I trusted!"
He glared at Eri, his tone sharp and unyielding. "I even asked Hiroshi-san about you. He said you were someone my father trusted—someone he kept by his side. How? Is Hiroshi part of this too?"
Eri's lips curled into a bitter smirk. "Hiroshi? That fool friend of your father? We've barely even met. But since he said I'm someone to trust, I'm really grateful. What he said is true—I was close to your father. He saved my life, and since then, I was 'dedicated' to him—or so he thought. The truth is, I only wanted to earn his trust so I could steal everything he built. But he was too sharp, too smart. I couldn't make a move. So I laid low, waiting for an opportunity to take what belonged to him. And when I got the news that he died, and you were left with everything… I was beyond happy. Because you, boy, were my perfect ticket to get it all."
Her words were ash in his mouth. "I enjoyed playing with you, Akira."
Her next words were far worse.
Her voice a venomous whisper. "This is where your story ends, Akira. A fitting grave for the son of Shiro Shoto."
Before Akira could react, her hand shot forward with inhuman speed, piercing into his stomach. The searing pain ripped through him as her fingers drove deep, tearing through flesh. Akira's eyes widened in shock, blood spilling from his mouth as a wet, crimson stain spread across his clothes.
Eri's expression twisted into one of twisted satisfaction as she twisted her hand, savoring his agony.
"Goodbye, Akira," she whispered mockingly, her tone low and venomous.
Then, with a brutal shove, she withdrew her bloodied hand and pushed him backward. Akira stumbled, the sharp, agonizing pain leaving him disoriented. His footing faltered, and the edge claimed him.
He fell.
The dark void swallowed him whole, the air cold and unforgiving, as if the world itself wanted to erase him. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe, could do nothing to halt his descent into the nothingness.
Above him, the light contracted smaller and smaller until it was a memory. The dim glow of the cavern, the faces he once trusted—everything slipped away.
And with that fall, all he could hear was their laughter. Eri's. Mia's. Entoa's. Mocking, cruel, fading echoes as they slipped further and further from him.
His body twisted in the air, but there was no escape. No way out.
That final thought flashed through Akira's mind before all else went black.
"Is this really the end?"
But then something was heard a voice , a raw, deep voice cut through the darkness.
"The end?" The end doesn't exist with me around."