The dim light above flickered, casting jagged shadows across the cold stone floor. Gen stood frozen, mouth slightly agape, heart pounding against his ribs. The man in front of him stepped out of the shadow slowly, revealing the face that Gen had only seen in fragmented childhood memories.
"Dad...?"
His voice cracked. The word barely escaped his lips.
"I thought you left... I haven't seen you in years."
Crexa—his father—smiled faintly, eyes weary but cold. "You've grown."
A silence fell. Then rage ignited.
"WHY?! Why did you leave?! You left mom to die alone and abandoned me like I meant nothing!" Gen's voice rose with every word, trembling. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE SURVIVING AS A HIGH SCHOOL KID?! I live in a rotting apartment, eating subpar food, begging government stipends just to live!"
His fists trembled at his sides.
His father sighed and looked away, shame flickering in his eyes. "Look, kid... You know why you were ugly, why life was so cruel? You inherited it from me. Your mother—she was beautiful. But I… I was like you. Pathetic. Alone."
He stepped forward.
"That is, until I was chosen, gifted powers. I completed missions. Leveled up. I beat the others—killed them, sometimes. And when I reached the peak... I became this."
He raised his arms, gesturing to the void-like room.
"I became Crexa. The Creator. That's what happens when you win."
Gen took a step back, fists clenched.
"You're telling me… all of this… was YOUR doing?! You knew what this was—you knew I was in pain, and you gave me that power anyway?!"
His father shrugged. "You're the only one I ever gave an extra gift to. Your looks? Your transformation? I gave you that because... I guess I still cared."
"Screw you!"
Gen kicked the chair beside him into the abyss. "Status—OPEN!"
A blue screen blinked into reality. He scrolled rapidly—sweat on his brow.
[DELETE ACCOUNT]Warning: All powers will be revoked. Physical attributes will return to original state.
He pressed it.
Access Denied.
"What... no... NO! THIS ISN'T WHAT YOU SAID!"
Crexa's smile turned bitter. "Sorry, kid. That button? Just a bluff. A safety illusion. You can't quit the game once I choose you."
"THEN TELL ME—HOW DO I GET OUT?!"
"You can't. Not unless you defeat me."
The words hit like a train. Gen stumbled back.
"I had to kill the last Crexa to take this seat. Same way I earned my godhood. That's how the game works. Kill the creator, and take their place."
Gen stared at his father like he was a stranger.
"You really became this twisted? This... thing?"
His father's voice dipped low, colder now.
"I didn't mean to. But the game changes you. When you win, you see everything from above—it's not about living anymore. It's about controlling. You stop seeing people as people. Just numbers. Just pieces on a board."
Gen was shaking. "So you're telling me the only way out... is to become you?"
Crexa tilted his head.
"No. I'm telling you the only way out is to defeat me."
Another silence.
"But others won't let you. You're still just another player in this said game, Gen. Another target. And they're coming."
Crexa's body began to fade, the room cracking at the seams like shattering glass.
"Survive if you can. Grow stronger. But if you want to end this... you'll have to come find me when your ready. This is the last time we meet. I expect to see some action." He chuckled a bit before turning away.
Everything dissolved into black.
Gen shot up from his cardboard bed in the slum, gasping. The rain outside hadn't stopped. His face was soaked with coldsweat—and maybe tears.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and tilted his head up as he saw Keiko kneeling down beside him and Taehyung with his squad of goons on their bikes. For the first time in a long while, Gen felt some sort of relief.
With a jolt he latched on to Keiko as he gave her a big hug. Taehyung watched from behind her as he stood stoically with his arms folded over his chest.
Taehyung took a deep breath, "ALRIGHT GOONS. WE FOUND HIM, TIME TO HEAD HOME!" He raises his fist in the air and all of his men shout in unison. "RAHHHHHH"