The Grudge's Choice

"WHAT?!" 

Three heads turned quickly to Wan'er. Wang Zi Chen scrambled behind John. 

Inside the armored vehicle, Wan'er narrowed her eyes. 

"Is this your revenge?" Ethan ignored the decaying Lin Yingge, holding his blade firm. "Turning a vain woman into this monster? She lives safely in reality while you drown in a digital nightmare." 

He had almost been tricked. 

Mayor Lü. His son. Even the "praying" Lin Yingge—all false. 

Only Wan'er was in charge. 

"How?" Her voice was cold and sharp. 

"Lu Wan." Ethan moved a bit closer. "Seventeen. Dreamed of being a cop. Delivering justice." 

"Then kidnappers took you. They tortured you. They broke you." 

"With your last breath, they whispered: 'Lin Yingge paid us.'" 

"You died choking on anger. You became Chengdu's top enemy." 

Wan'er's knuckles cracked loudly. 

"Reborn here, you played cop. You tormented Lin Yingge's copy. You made us hunt her as the mastermind." 

"And when you discovered what I could see…" Ethan's gaze softened, almost with pity. "…you spun this entire trap for me." 

Wan'er's mask shattered. Hatred blazed in her eyes. 

But the Terminus Shard glowed in Ethan's hand. She stopped. 

"Killing you—a grudge-specter—won't solve this." Ethan's tone became calm and strategic. "It starts Phase Three: a city-wide moss-beast rampage." 

Wan'er laughed—a sound like breaking tombstones. "So you can't kill me?" 

John, Wang, and Ray stood there, stunned. 

Wan'er? The mastermind? How— 

"You're pain given shape," Ethan whispered. "Strike a deal with me." 

"What deal?" A spark of curiosity flickered in her eyes. 

"Let me kill you here." 

He raised the blade. 

"Then I return to reality—and kill the real Lin Yingge for you." 

Silence. 

It was suffocating. 

Even the moss-beasts stopped pounding. 

"Why should I trust you?" Wan'er asked quietly. 

"I swear—if I fail, my death will seem merciful compared to yours." 

"Human promises…" She sneered. 

Then— 

CLANG! 

Ethan THREW the Terminus Shard across the stone tiles. 

"Now do you believe?" His eyes stayed on hers. "My life is pledged to this vow. I will kill her." 

Wan'er froze. 

Was this a gamble this dangerous? 

Slowly, she stepped from the vehicle. 

She passed Ethan. 

She picked up the blade. 

SHINK! 

Cold steel pressed against Ethan's throat. 

"What if you're wrong?" 

Ethan didn't flinch. Only sorrow showed in his gaze. 

Wan'er sighed. "You're the first interesting human I've met." 

She lowered the blade. She placed it in his hand. 

"Had I lived… maybe I would have loved you." 

Guiding his hand, she drove the Terminus Shard deep into her own heart. 

"Kill her with this." Her body turned into silver smoke. "Send her… to me." 

DING! DING! DING! 

<<< SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT >>> 

<<< CONGRATULATIONS! [PUPPET KINGDOM - DISASTER CLASS] CLEARED! >>> 

<<< PERFECT RANK: S ACHIEVED! >>> 

Outside, the moss-beasts froze mid-snarl. 

They whimpered. 

They VANISHED. 

Game over. 

Ethan touched the Terminus Shard—it was still solid, still cold against his neck. 

The last time it dissolved… Why was it still here? 

"Ethan…" Wang's voice shook as they exited the vehicle. 

"Two ways to clear this hell," Ethan answered the unasked question. 

"One: Kill the grudge-entity. Survive the rampage." He nodded at the fading silver motes. "We died that way." 

"Two: End her rage, then end her." 

[ ITEM: TERMINUS SHARD ] 

STATUS: ACTIVE 

BONDED TO REALITY ANCHOR: [ETHAN] 

The shard pulsed—once—like a sleeping heart.