Min-joon spent the next three days training with Seo-rin. They met in abandoned buildings where no one would see them practicing their curses.Seo-rin's curse was brutal. Everything she touched withered or broke. Plants died instantly in her hands. Metal rusted. Even the air around her fingers seemed to shimmer with destructive energy."I cannot touch anyone I love," Seo-rin said on the first day. "My mother tried to hug me after I came back from my first task. I pulled away so fast I fell down. She thinks I hate her now.""Have you told her about the System?""No. How do I explain this? She would think I am insane."Min-joon understood. He had only told Tae-hyun because there was no other choice.They practiced controlling their curses. Min-joon worked on making his lies more efficient, using less energy for the same effect. Seo-rin tried to reduce the destructive radius of her touch."What if you lied about my curse?" Seo-rin suggested. "Could you say my touch heals instead of hurts

Min-joon and Seo-rin materialized in darkness. Complete, absolute darkness. No light anywhere."Seo-rin?" Min-joon called out."I am here. I am holding your hand still."Min-joon felt her fingers gripping his. That was the only point of contact, the only proof she was real.His phone screen lit up, providing the only light.TASK: SURVIVE THE ENDLESS NIGHT.YOU ARE TRAPPED IN A LOOP OF YOUR WORST MEMORIES.FIND THE EXIT BEFORE THE LOOP CONSUMES YOU.TIME LIMIT: UNTIL YOU ESCAPE OR GO INSANE.SPECIAL CONDITION: YOU MUST FACE YOUR MEMORIES TOGETHER.IF YOU TRY TO SEPARATE, YOU BOTH DIE.The phone light flickered and went out.Darkness returned.Then, slowly, light began to seep in from somewhere. Not white light. Gray light. The color of overcast skies and concrete.Min-joon found himself standing in a familiar place. A small apartment. Not his current apartment. His childhood home, from before his father died."Where are we?" Seo-rin whispered."My past," Min-joon said. His voice sounde

After meeting with Lee, Min-joon walked through the city. He needed time to think without Tae-hyun watching him with worried eyes.He found himself at the old tree again. The memorial tree where he had carved his parents' names.Looking at those carved lines, Min-joon remembered something the Woman in White had said during his first task. The System was not just testing him. It was changing him. Molding him into something specific.What was he becoming?He used to be powerless. A victim of circumstances. Now he could reshape reality with words. He had survived five cooperative tasks. He had power.But power came with a cost. Every lie drained something from him. Every truth caused pain. He was being hollowed out and refilled with something else.His phone buzzed. An unknown number."Hello, Min-joon. This is Jung Ara. Ha-joon appeared again yesterday. He said he has been watching you. Said you might be the one who can free him and the others. Can you come to our house tonight? He wants

Min-joon spent the final two days in preparation. Not physical training. Mental preparation.He made a list of lines he would not cross. Things he would not do, no matter what the System offered or threatened.Line one: He would not kill innocent people.Line two: He would not betray Tae-hyun or his allies.Line three: He would not accept the role of Keeper.Everything else was negotiable.On the morning of the task, Tae-hyun made a large breakfast. Rice, eggs, soup, everything warm and comforting."This might be the hardest task yet," Tae-hyun said as they ate. "Lee said it will test your morality.""I know.""What if the System asks you to do something terrible?""Then I find another way. There is always another way.""Is there? You said the System pushes players to their limits. What if the only way to survive is to compromise everything you believe in?"Min-joon had thought about this constantly. "Then I will have to decide if surviving is worth becoming someone I hate.""It is wo

The consequences came the next morning.Min-joon woke to his phone buzzing frantically. Dozens of notifications. Messages from numbers he did not recognize.He opened the first one. "Are you the player who changed rule four? Please help me. I have been trapped for eight months. One more year and I am free. Thank you."Another message. "My brother is in suspension. You gave him a release date. Our family can plan for his return now. Thank you so much."Message after message. All from families of suspended players. All grateful. All hopeful.But mixed in with the grateful messages were angry ones."You ruined everything. The System is our only way forward and you are trying to destroy it.""Players who refuse task ten are cowards. They deserve to stay trapped forever.""You think you are a hero but you are just making things worse. The System will punish all of us for what you did."Min-joon turned off his phone. Too many messages. Too much noise.Tae-hyun was already awake, making brea