'Don't forget your roots.'

They said.

Varian didn't think much of that saying until today.

"Huff! Huff!"

As he kept running and running, his body was being slowly pushed to the limit.

[Sprint for ten miles and enter the third right hallway with the red-stoned floor.]

Varian panted heavily as he passed through the soulless corridor.

He tried his best to regulate his breathing. The more intense your run, the more important your breathing.

So, he didn't even try something stupid like responding to System's comments through his mouth.

But.

'You idiot! No one sprints ten miles!' He cursed inside his mind.

It was the only way to ignore the numbing pain in his legs. Now, he felt like he didn't have legs, but had two logs attached to his torso.

Every time his legs moved, a scorching feeling spread from his soles to his thighs.

Before he knew it, he had already run fifteen, twenty, and thirty miles. The distances themselves weren't the problem. It was the speed.

He sprinted in a long marathon.

That was the most accurate way to describe his actions.

He didn't slow down even once.

Varian thanked his past self for training like a madman. Thanks to it, he had a ridiculously fit body that made this absurd feat possible.

But even then

"Haa! Haa!" Varian felt strength leaving his body. His own weight was growing multifold. His lungs weren't working properly. His heartit'd break out of his chest any time.

A rancid taste filled his throat before Varian forcibly pushed it down.

Puking could really help, but it'd slow him down.

"Arghhh!" Varian gritted his teeth and ran.

The negative thoughts in his said it's fine. It's alright to give up. That Sia didn't need his help.

But these thoughts only hardened his resolve.

Varian was afraid.

He was afraid of something bad happening and losing her again.

'I never expected the accident to happen and lose mom.'

It was sudden. But so was every accident in life.

He couldn't predict what could happen. The best he could do was prepare himself to face any situation.

If he gave up halfway if he even gave 99%, instead of a 100, and failed when the danger came knocking, then who could he blame?

It'd remain a regret.

'If only I gave it my all' Varian's eyes reddened as he recalled his mother's death.

If he was a level 2 that day

No one blamed him. No one deemed him responsible.

But it was always him. He could've done something. Anything.

'If only I was stronger...' Varian's vision blurred but like a mindless machine, he kept running.

His body was already pushed to the limit, his willpower was also completely used.

When every bit of his energy and willpower dried up, regret became his fuel.

It burned him from the inside. Like a small fire growing to devour a giant forest, the regret devoured his pain and weakness.

Drip! Drop! Drip!

Varian's soles began to bleed. It started with a few scratches here and there. But soon, a deep pain spread from his soles. The skin was completely torn apart!

'Graaah!' Varian's body shuddered from the pain.

He was long used to pain, but he was also used to near-instant healing.

But now

Drip! Drop! Drip!

With each step he took, Varian's body flinched from the pain.

It was as if he was running on knives and with each step, the knives were stabbing deep inside his foot.

Before he knew it, tears started to stream down his face. Varian's lips began to bleed as he bit onto them tightly.

Each step pushed him to hell.

But Varian willingly took another step.

"Arghhh!" His vision started to blur as his brain tried to shut itself as a safety mechanism.

'Please'

Varian pleaded to his own body to keep moving.

He already pushed himself beyond his limits. Now, it was pure destruction.

[H-Hostyou can go a bit slow. M-Maybe Sia will be fine] In the end, even the System said in a panicking tone.

'N-N'

Varian couldn't even think properly to answer completely. But his response was clear.

He moved into the soulless grey corridor, painting it red.

'Just a bit more'

[T-This is the shortest path. Just one last mile and we'll be under the Emperor's palace. There will be a staircase. There]

Varian wasn't able to hear more.

His vision was since a long time. His ears weren't picking up sound either.

But now, even the direct voice in his head turned dull.

'Just a bit more'

Varian was on the verge of fainting.

But that tiny spark kept him going.

'Just a bit more'

As he sprinted through the last mile, his blurry vision twisted and he saw someone at the end of his destination.

With beautiful brown hair and shining golden eyes, she stood there silently, with her hands behind her back.

Varian's heart pounded as he felt all his emotions bursting like a volcano. He opened his throat to call her name but only blood came out.

For the last mile, Varian did the impossible.

As if he was injected with drugs, utterly disregarding his horrific state, he ran faster!

Three hundred meters

Two hundred meters

One hundred meters

[H-Host!]

[W-Wake up!]

The System's words didn't get through his mind.

All he could see was the girl looking at him deeply.

At that place, at that moment, Varian felt like his heart stopped.

His speed started to drop drastically.

His pain seemed to disappear.

His fatigue was nowhere to be found.

Varian raised his hand and reached toward her.

"S-Seeeaa." His throat burned as a sound leaked out of his mouth along with a pool of blood.

Sia smiled deeply as she looked at him with a loving smile.

Varian's hand shivered as he touched her chee

"Huh?"

His hand passed through empty air.

A sense of emptiness filled Varian's heart and the euphoria vanished.

Reality set in and it was the time to face the consequences of his actions.

A huge pain engulfed him as fatigue hit his consciousness.

Varian wobbled on his feet as he swayed in the place Sia used to be. In front him was a staircase.

Then, he fell forward and rolled down the staircase.

Pain

Varian's closed eyes shut even further as he felt his bones creak.

A few of them surely broke by the time he rolled from the staircase and crashed onto the floor.

But he had no energy to stand up. So he kept rolling due to the momentum.

Slaaaa!

Before he knew it, Varian hit something solid that nearly broke his arm.

[S-Scion?]

That panicking voice was all he heard before he lost consciousness.