99 Salvation or Damnation (1/2)
Please, Godsystemanyonegive me something thatll save me Ben prayed harder than he ever had in his entire life.
Soon, as the light from the mystery box disappeared, the result of all his praying laid before him.
The fear of possible disappointment and resulting damnation weighed on Bens eyelids, making it difficult to lift them, but he had no choice.
Ben opened his eyes and gazed upon it…his last chance.
There, on his lap, was a piece of blank white paper in a clear plastic folder
His face turned white when he saw its useless appearancebut with a trace of hope still in his heart, he opened its system description.
When he read it, he gaspedstaring a long time at the item without breathing
What arrived was what he needed, the item of his dreamsand also his nightmares
[Blackmailers Magic Evidence(Item, Rare) – Choose a target and the doc.u.ment will morph into one showing proof of their most vile deed. Can only transform once, taking permanent form once used. A handy item for extortion.]
Ben swallowed. His first instinctual thought was, How is this any different from r*pe? Would this even work to clear the challenge?
As if the system was waiting for this, she answered him. She clarified that as long as he gave the target a choice whether to comply with his request or not, that would satisfy the condition of seduction. Ben would live
He stared at the magic doc.u.ment
A short while later, he laughed
A wide grin spread on his face. ”Thank you!” he said, with a hint of sarcasm.
Bens laughter echoed in the room, as if he couldnt control it…
Yet, as the seconds passed, his laughter became more and more bitter
”You give this to me nowright at this momentwhen Im at my weakest?” He held his face as an even louder bout of laughter reverberated through the room
Shes really going to force me to do this… Ben thought it was so funny…the timing…the circ.u.mstances…everything
Then, he caught sight of his mothers photo again, and became quietgazing at it…
After a while, he gritted his teeth…
He turned and gazed at the item he held in his hands. Ben opened his mouth, wanting to say somethingbut the words wouldnt come out
His lips quivered, but his tongue wouldnt move…
Ben wanted to scream, ”No f.u.c.k.i.n.g way!”
He wanted to rip this paper into pieces!
He wanted to throw it in the systems face!
But then, he thought about his mothers face…
How it would look when she received the call–the call that they found his body…
He thought about his fathers…
He thought about…how his death would destroy them…
And he looked at the clock counting down…
00:34:11
00:34:10
00:34:09
00:33:58
He heard a buzzing in his ears…
00:33:49
His vision went white
00:33:37
It was a panic attack.
…
00:33:12
Gasping, Ben clung to the bed so he wouldnt lose consciousness, but the time kept ticking down
00:32:39
He could breathe now. But still felt trapped…
00:32:08
As if the rooms air was dwindling…
00:31:52
As if he was dying…
00:31:34
As if already dead…
00:31:19
Ben stared at the ground…
00:31:07
”I cant do it…”
00:30:38
”I have to do it…”
00:30:13
”PLEASE DONT DO IT!!!”
00:29:59
When the clock dropped below half an hour, his knees crashed to the ground
*Drop*
*Drop*
*Drop*
Tears began to slide down his cheeks…pooling on the floor…flooding the room…drowning him…
He dropped the item, and held his face, weeping
A system notification arrived.
[Manliness: 4(-1)(3+1) – Real men dont cry]
”F*CK YOU!!!”
Ben launched himself at the blue system screen!
But he only flew through it, tumbling and smashing his back against the wall on the other side of the room
”AAAHHHH!” His eyes turned red as he shot up, throwing his chair at the wall, then lurching at his desk! Swiping anything he saw! Clawing! Smashing! Destroying everything! Ending everything!
***
A while later, Ben was on the floor, his back leaning against his destroyed deskthe remnants of his previous life in tatters
His eyeslifelessthe eyes of a corpse
00:24:50
Then, a glimmer of light emerged in his eyesbecause he saw something on the floor next to his hand.
It was the smashed photo frame of his family, the glass shattered. the picture hanging out.
Still, he saw his mothers face there
Im sorry He wanted to tell her that he fought hard, that he did everything he could, that he was a good man…