On our first day exploring the city, we came across several students fighting each other. Following my brother's advice, we avoided any unnecessary confrontation.

  "If we get involved in others’ fights, we'll just end up becoming targets for other teams," Minoru had said in a serious tone.

  And he was right.

  Every skirmish we observed from the shadows acted like a magnet, drawing ambushes from other groups. This only increased the risk of being eliminated.

  It had been the best decision.

  “So… we’re just going to keep running until we find a robot or monster, huh?” Raynard asked, watching as two groups clashed just a few meters away.

  We were hiding in the ruins of a minimart.

  Ray and Minoru were keeping watch to ensure no one approached, while Sasha and I searched for supplies. None of us had eaten since we were brought to Pegasus, so we needed to stock up.

  “We’re not running, Raynard,” Minoru assured him. “The smartest thing to do is find some food before we engage the robots. Think about it: in all this chaos, most students will focus on earning points, but eventually, their energy will run out.”

  Sasha, standing next to me, tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

  “What’s up?” I turned to see what he had in his hands.

  We had been searching through the minimart rubble for over half an hour and had only found empty containers, shattered glass, and a few discarded boxes. But now, it seemed Sasha had discovered exactly what we needed.

  “This is…”

  Every time we spoke, our communicators activated, making it feel like we were all in the same room. But in this case, I had barely started speaking when I heard footsteps behind me.

  “Did you find something?” Minoru asked, walking up to us.

  “It seems you were right,” Sasha murmured. “I never thought we’d find a survival backpack in a place like this.”

  Minoru gathered us in the center of the minimart and laid the backpack on the ground. Emptying it completely, he took a few minutes to organize everything in a row.

  “Let’s see… There’s a lighter, some gunpowder… a thermite grenade… four bottles of water… two first aid kits, three packs of biscuits… two chocolate bars, three cans of tuna, four instant soups, four blankets, a fire starter, and a small tungsten knife.”

  “How do you know it’s tungsten?” Ray asked, puzzled.

  Minoru held the knife in his hand.

  “Because I can do this,” Minoru replied, transforming his entire body into a dark silver armor. “Even a small sample like this can be added to my repertoire of transformations. For now, I only have platinum and tungsten, but it’ll come in handy when we fight.”

  Ray stared in surprise, then grabbed the fire starter to hand it to Minoru.

  “I see… so why not use this? Can’t you turn it to your advantage too?”

  “That’s what I tried to do at first,” Minoru admitted with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. “But transforming my body into flint armor would just waste energy. It’d also be less durable than platinum armor. And don’t even get me started on tungsten armor. So I decided to keep the flint as a backup to use as a fire starter.”

  “Got it, got it…” Raynard nodded repeatedly. “Besides, it’d be pointless since we already have a lighter… right, Sasha?”

  And here we go again.

  Raynard’s joke was too good. I tried my best to keep a straight face.

  Te-he.

  At moments like these, his words seemed like a welcome comic relief, but Sasha was visibly annoyed. Between us, Observer, it looked like Ray really enjoyed getting under Sasha’s skin.

  “Huh? Are you looking for a fight?” Sasha growled.

  “Just joking around, don’t take it personally,” Ray murmured with a sly smile. “Though, if you want me to apologize that badly, we could settle things right here and now.”

  Without another word, Sasha stepped up to face Ray.

  But Minoru intervened.

  “Enough, both of you,” he said, stepping between them. “If you’re so eager to use your Gifts, then save it for the real fight. Sasha, your serious demeanor could use a bit of lightening up…”

  Ray chuckled softly.

  “And you, Raynard,” Minoru added, fixing him with a stern gaze. “I don’t know what’s so funny. The four of us are stuck on this island—let’s support each other while we’re still a team. There’s no point in arguing over nothing.”

  Sasha frowned and stepped back a few paces. Raynard, realizing he had nothing else to say, mumbled some curses under his breath and sat on the rubble beside me.

  “Take it easy, Ray,” I said, trying to calm him. “I get that you’re trying to lighten the mood, but try not to mess with Sasha too much. I got the reference, but if you keep it up, it’ll just lead to more fights.”

  Ray stayed silent, but his expression softened a little.

  At that moment, Minoru stood between us and shared his hypothesis about our situation for the first trial.

  "Alright. It seems the Pegasus members aren't as heartless as we thought," Minoru"With this find, we’ll be able to survive for two days at most. But this makes one thing clear—Lottery has scattered several of these backpacks across the combat arena. If we can find more, we can hold out until we gather the points."

  I thought about Minoru’s words for a moment, but the idea of endlessly searching for backpacks seemed excessive. We needed to collect forty points, and every other student was likely fighting to earn what they needed. Our search couldn’t last much longer.

  Even as Minoru continued his speech, I couldn’t ho

  "I think we’re at a disadvantage," I"Every student needs ten points to pass the trial. But each student is worth four points, meaning everyone else must defeat three students to earn the necessary points."

  Everyone fell silent, but I couldn’t stop myself now.

  I took a deep breath.

  "Think about it, guys. If we include robots, the others would have to defeat one robot and one student to pass. If we don’t start earning points now, we might pass, but we won’t achieve the Lottery wish."

  Raynard clapped at my words. He seemed more relaxed now, though his reaction only underscored his disagreement with continuing to search for more resources.

  "Well said, Anthou. You’re right. If we keep stalling, we won’t achieve what we’re after."

  Ray paused before continuing.

  "You all want to go home, don’t you? The easiest path is to face other teams, but we’ve already learned that doing so exposes us to ambushes. If it were up to me, as the leader, I’d come up with a way to avoid ambushes. But since you insist, we should at least hunt down nearby robots."

  Sasha and Minoru fell into thought. They seemed to agree that we were at a disadvantage, but as we had anticipated, we would obviously have to face robots or monsters eventually. They posed the least risk compared to direct confrontations with other students.

  With our abilities, we might try our luck against several at once. Though I was being optimistic, the truth was none of us had the faintest idea how to properly use our Gifts.

  But one thing was clear.

  We had to fight to survive.

  That was the answer.

  As the seconds ticked by, Ray’s words left a tense atmosphere hanging around us. On one hand, I worried about what Minoru might say, but strangely, he wasn’t the one to speak next.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Even if that’s true, we should—"

  Sasha’s voice was interrupted by a tremor beneath our feet that grew stronger with each passing second.

  Something massive was heading our way.

  Suddenly, the entire minimart shook violently, as though an earthquake were tearing through the ruined city. Without hesitation, Minoru gathered all the items into the backpack.

  Minoru, Sasha, Raynard, and I bolted out of the minimart without saying a word. Minoru carried the backpack on his shoulders.

  But it wasn’t an earthquake. It was something far worse.

  "What the hell is going on?" Ray asked, bewildered.

  In less than a second, the roof of the minimart was lifted like it was nothing, held up by robotic hands.

  And then we saw it.

  "That’s… our target," Minoru muttered.

  At that moment, the two-and-a-half-meter-tall robot stood before us, blocking our path. Its dark metallic body gave off a sense of durability, and its red visors blinked as it scanned us like prey.

  "Fall back, now!" I shouted suddenly. Temporal Clock was showing me what was about to happen. "It’s going to throw it at us!"

  Everyone obeyed immediately, retreating.

  In less than a second, the robot hurled the minimart’s roof in our direction.

  Then, Temporal Clock revealed what it would do next.

  In my brief vision, the robot deployed twin cannons from its shoulders, targeting us directly. The two missiles were aimed at Sasha. After that, the robot would shift its attack pattern, charging at Ray.

  "What’s the robot going to do?!" Sasha shouted, barely retreating. "How will it attack us, Anthou?!"

  The adrenaline clouded my thoughts, and for a moment, I couldn’t think clearly. Then I saw it—the robot deploying its twin cannons, just as I had foreseen.

  "Run now, Sasha!" I shouted, gathering all my strength. "It’s going to fire two missiles, and they’re both coming for you!"

  The sound of missiles slicing through the air rang out just after my words. Sasha, reacting quickly, began running, trying to calculate the distance he needed to activate his Gift.

  At that moment, the robot, with mechanical precision, shifted its target and charged toward Raynard, who also started running, desperately trying to put distance between himself and the machine.

  Fear froze me in place. I watched the others as if time had slowed down. Why were they its targets?

  "Soul Burn, Skill One!" Sasha exclaimed after putting some distance between himself and the missiles. "Come to me, Eternal Flame!"

  In that instant, intense, flickering flames enveloped his arms.

  Sasha seized every second to plan his counterattack. Pivoting on his heels, he aimed at the incoming missiles.

  In a blink, flames erupted from his palms as if they were extensions of his own body.

  This was his power—First Skill: Eternal Flame in action. But while the missiles were engulfed in flames, they continued to advance, albeit their trajectory seemed slightly slowed by the heat.

  "Tch… Damn it! Won’t you just burn out already?" he muttered through gritted teeth, leaping onto a rock to gain more distance.

  While this unfolded, I heard Minoru shout from the side.

  "Raynard, watch out!" he yelled, though the distance made it impossible for him to help.

  "No need to state the obvious, Captain Obvious!" Raynard shot back, extending his hand forward as he continued fleeing from the robot.

  At that moment, a faint, dark spark coursed through his palms before he activated his Gift.

  "Air Bomb, Skill One!" he shouted with all his might, coming to an abrupt stop just as the robot was about to reach him. Placing both hands on the ground, he roared, "Blow it all up, Explosive Burst!"

  The impact was immediate.

  As Raynard’s hands made contact with the ground, a deafening explosion erupted from the earth in front of him. Activating his ability, he caused Explosive Burst to detonate directly beneath the robot.

  Although the shockwave made the robot stagger, it didn’t topple it.

  Instead, the robot regained its balance and raised its right arm, delivering a crushing blow toward Raynard.

  Ray narrowly dodged the attack.

  Seizing the opportunity, he touched the robot’s arm, placing an invisible mine without triggering it yet.

  "Hey, Sasha! Are you going to play with those missiles all day?" Raynard shouted, stepping back to create some distance. "A little fire would help against this thing. You might even melt it if you tried hard enough."

  "I’m busy here!" Sasha snapped, coming to a halt.

  The missiles were dangerously close, but even so, his gaze hardened as he activated his next ability.

  "Second Skill…!" he yelled, facing the incoming missile head-on. "Now! Consume it all, Infernal Blast!"

  In that instant, Sasha’s entire body was engulfed in pure fire, the flames devouring everything around him, including the two missiles, which finally exploded midair.

  The flames surrounding him absorbed much of the impact, leaving him unharmed.

  "In ashes! Who’s next?" Sasha taunted with a confident grin, turning toward the robot.

  Meanwhile, Raynard had placed several invisible mines around the robot using his legs. With a quick leap back, he clapped his hands together with all his might.

  "Time for the show, Explosive Burst!" he exclaimed.

  The invisible mines detonated in a devastating sequence, hurling the robot several meters away. But it didn’t stop. Its defense system activated, enveloping its body in a glowing blue energy barrier.

  "Seriously? A barrier?" Raynard grumbled in frustration.

  But this seemed to fit the plan he had formed in mere seconds during their encounter with the robot.

  Raynard raised his arms.

  "Alright then, let’s go big," he said with a confident smirk. "Activate now… Second Skill, Self Bomb!"

  At that moment, Raynard’s body became enveloped in radiant energy as he launched himself at their target. Upon reaching it, the impact was immense. The explosion lit up the area, creating a dense cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the robot was left staggering.

  "Raynard, step aside—it’s my turn!" Sasha shouted, running forward with his hands ablaze. "I’ll be the one to take it down!"

  The two exchanged glances.

  "Stay back!" Raynard yelled, charging at the robot again. "I’m the one who hurt it—it’s only fair I get the credit!"

  Minoru yawned, seemingly in disbelief.

  "Even in a situation like this, they’re still fighting."

  Huh?

  It was an awkward scene.

  The two weren’t coordinating; instead, they were competing to see who could land the final blow.

  But their confident attitudes didn’t last long.

  In less than a second, a metallic slicing sound cut through the air. It was too fast for Temporal Clock to activate. In that fleeting moment, the robot moved like a shadowy blur, positioning itself between Sasha and Raynard before either could react.

  The robot’s armored arm swung in a deadly arc, striking them with overwhelming force.

  "Ahhhggh!"

  "Uggh… Ahhh… Ahhhhhhgggh!"

  Unable to shield themselves, both were sent flying, their bodies rolling across the ground as a cloud of dust rose around them.

  "Sasha! Raynard!" Minoru yelled, rushing toward them and placing himself face-to-face with the robot.

  The robot’s red visor now glowed a darker hue, resembling an endless abyss. It radiated a murderous aura—an unsettling anomaly for what should have been a soulless creation. Yet, it stood still, as if analyzing us.

  At that moment, Sasha tried to get up, kneeling on the ground as he gasped for air. Although his hair was covered in dirt, the fire in his eyes remained unyielding.

  "Tch... Calm down, Minoru. I'm not that weak. This... this was nothing," he said, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stand.

  His voice carried a defiant tone. Even as he plotted his next move against the robot, he couldn't help but glance at Raynard, who was still lying on the ground.

  A faint smirk crossed Sasha’s face.

  "Looks like you’re done for. Maybe I expected too much from a rookie? Well, at least I won’t have to worry about—"

  Before Sasha could finish, Raynard staggered to his feet, brushing the dust from his face with one hand.

  "What... are you saying...?" he muttered in a raspy voice, struggling to steady himself as his legs trembled. "Were you really that sad thinking I couldn’t handle a little hit? Focus on your own fight. This is nothing."

  With those words, Raynard took a step forward, clutching his side.

  "It’s just scratches... I... I can keep going."

  But he was stopped almost immediately.

  "Don’t try to act tough in that condition, idiot," Minoru snapped, still standing between the robot and them. "Don’t push yourself to fight when you’re barely holding your wound shut. Stay still! There’s no point in pressing forward if it costs you your life!"

  Minoru’s words seemed to hit Raynard hard.

  But rather than discouraging him, they appeared to fuel his determination. Despite the injuries, Raynard and Sasha exchanged glances for a second time and turned toward the robot simultaneously, ready to face it again.

  Then, my Gift activated for a second time.

  Another scenario unfolded in my mind—a vision through Temporal Clock. But for some reason, this one felt incomplete.

  "Watch out!" I shouted, clutching my head.

  The vision grew clearer, but fear gripped me.

  "The robot’s going to open a hatch in its abdomen. There are... fifteen missiles! Ten are aimed at Sasha. And Raynard... it’ll charge straight at you again!"

  Sasha and Raynard glanced at me briefly before springing into action.

  "Understood," Raynard said, pivoting on his heels to dodge in the opposite direction from Sasha while leaving a trail of explosives behind with the soles of his feet. "You heard your brother, boss. Don’t get in our way!"

  Sasha said nothing. He simply nodded and ran in the opposite direction from Raynard, preparing to evade the incoming missiles. Both knew that splitting up was their best strategy against the robot.

  Just as I had predicted, the robot opened its hatch, and the cannons in its abdomen glowed before unleashing a barrage of missiles. Ten missiles streaked toward Sasha, while the robot lunged directly at Raynard.

  I could see Sasha and Raynard each fighting to survive with their Gifts.

  Both had abilities that could protect them.

  But me... All I could do was watch the future unfold, powerless, as chaos erupted around me.

  "Anth!" Minoru’s desperate shout reached my ears.

  Hearing my brother’s voice, I turned to see five of the missiles hurtling directly toward me. I tried to move, but my body refused to obey.

  Was this it for me? Was I about to die?

  My short life flashed before my eyes.

  Memories raced through my mind, most of them tormenting me with the realization that I’d never return home. My regrets surged forward, each one a reminder of things left undone. In those moments, time seemed to freeze completely, and the greatest of my regrets crystallized into a single vivid image.

  I... should have done better...

  I... I’m sorry for everything, Dad...