Had enough

I've had enough.

Enough of running. Enough of getting beaten down like I'm nothing.

Everyone sided with them. Always.

How the hell was Dante Ashbourne a hero when he bullied people like me? How did he justify his friends' actions? And yet—I was the villain?

For what?

For being the one getting beaten and humiliated over and over again?

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. My breathing was ragged, anger bubbling under my skin like wildfire.

Maybe… maybe it was my fault.

I had written them. These characters. This world. I had shaped it without thinking.

Those people in the comments were right.

I was lazy. I didn't deserve the popularity. I failed to understand my own damn characters—just because I wanted my so-called hero to shine.

But not anymore.

Dante Ashbourne. I have had enough.

And I will make sure I'm not the villain of this story anymore.

I have nothing left to lose.

My powers? The system took them—as if I ever had any real power to begin with.

How the hell did she expect me to fight them? When I was so damn weak?

I stared at my trembling hands, my knuckles still scraped and raw from the fight. My ribs ached with every shallow breath I took, but none of it compared to the burning frustration searing through me.

Weak. Powerless. A joke.

That's what they saw me as. That's what I had allowed myself to become.

But if there was one thing I knew—it was that a cornered animal was the most dangerous.

I refused to stay the weak, pitiful Elias Astiars that everyone loved to humiliate. If the system had stripped me of my so-called power, then fine. I would find another way. A better way.

If I wanted to fight back, I had to be smart. Charging at them recklessly would only get me broken bones and another trip to the infirmary. No, I needed to learn. Adapt. Strengthen myself in ways they wouldn't expect.

I took a deep breath, the pain in my ribs sharpening. A reminder. A lesson.

I would not go down like this again.

Pushing myself off the bed, I staggered toward the small mirror on the wall. My reflection stared back at me—bruised, battered, eyes dark with exhaustion and anger.

I had always written characters like Dante and Zaden as untouchable. The kind of people who would always win.

But they weren't untouchable.

Not anymore.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, feeling the sting where Zaden's punch had split my lip. The metallic taste of blood spread across my tongue, but I ignored it.

Pain was nothing new.

Humiliation was nothing new.

But something inside me had shifted.

For the first time since I entered this academy, I wasn't thinking about escape. I wasn't thinking about survival.

I was thinking about payback.

My lips curled into a slow, determined grin. The same people who stood above me, laughing, looking down on me like I was worthless—they weren't invincible.

And they were about to learn that the hard way.

Then, I heard it.

Not the cold, robotic voice of the system. Not Liaine, with her indifferent tone and merciless punishments.

This voice was different. Deep. Human. A man's voice.

"You're finally looking in the right direction." the voice said. Calm. Amused. Like he had been watching, waiting for this moment.

My entire body tensed. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs. I snapped my head up, scanning my darkened room, but there was no one.

"Who's there?" I demanded, my voice rough, still hoarse from the sparring session.

Silence.

For a second, I thought I had imagined it. Maybe the exhaustion, the pain, the rage—it was all messing with my head. Maybe i really did imagine.

Then—footsteps.

Slow. Measured. Approaching.

And a shadow moved from the corner of my room.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Creak.

The door to my room suddenly swung open, light spilling inside.

Kael stood in the doorway.

His sharp eyes locked onto mine, unreadable. But unlike the others, he wasn't smirking. He wasn't laughing at my failure.

He held something in his hand—a small bottle.

"Drink this." he said, stepping forward. "It'll help with the pain."

I stared at him, wary. No one had ever offered me help before.

Why would he?

Kael placed the medicine on the table beside me. "I know what it's like." he said quietly. "To have the whole academy against you."

I didn't move. My throat felt dry.

He turned to leave, pausing at the door. "You don't have to trust me. But if you want to stop being a punching bag, then get stronger."

And with that, he was gone.

The room fell silent again.

I exhaled slowly, my fingers curling into fists.

Get stronger.

I would.

No matter what it took.