While walking home, my mind was filled with thoughts.

  Thoughts of James — of how miserable he must have felt these past few months.

  Thoughts of ifs.

  If his wife’s condition had a cure…

  If I could have helped him somehow…

  If I were in his place, what would I have done?

  And before I realized it, I was standing in front of my door.

  When I opened it, I saw Mark sitting on the couch.

  Mark — the youngest member of my squad, but also the one closest to me after James.

  “Oh, Mark. What brings you—”

  “Kill me.”

  His eyes were full of determination, but his body was trembling.

  “What brought you to that thought?” I asked quietly.

  “Will you kill me or not?”

  It must’ve taken everything he had to come here and say that. Especially for someone like him — he always agreed with everyone about everything.

  “I won’t kill you,” I said. “If you want to die, duel me. Earn your right to die.”

  He looked at me for a moment. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to hear something else from me.

  “Fine by me,” he said, standing up.

  “We can’t fight here. People will get caught in it. Open your projection.”

  I summoned my sword.

  WORLD PROJECTION: REFLECTION

  World Projection — a special ability possessed by those with a strong view of the world. It can only be used once per day; people don’t have the strength to create and destroy a world repeatedly. Each projection is unique to the person.

  In this ability, one creates a world that mirrors how they perceive reality. It exists in a separate dimension, and anyone the caster chooses is pulled into it.

  I was standing on a rooftop, looking down at the streets.

  People were walking, working, living — but I couldn’t see their faces.

  “Mark,” I called. “You’ve accidentally teleported other people in too. Send them back or we can’t fight.”

  “They’re not people,” he said. “They’re all me.”

  “Every version of me that appeared when I said yes to things I didn’t agree with.

  Every me I created when I did things I didn’t want to.

  Every time I changed myself to suit others, another me was left behind. Before I knew it, I became a yes man.

  People took me for granted because I didn’t want conflict. They walked all over me because I couldn’t draw a line and say no.

  At some point, I realized they didn’t respect me as an equal — and those small moments kept piling up.

  Now even when I say no, it means nothing.”

  I was terrified… and guilty.

  Because I was one of them — one of those who took him for granted.

  “Don’t worry,” Mark said. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. Every time someone crossed the line, instead of pushing them back, I just made a new one.”

  “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know what you were going through,” I said, ashamed.

  “If you’re sorry,” he replied, “then do me a favor. Kill every single one of me in this world.”

  “But that won’t solve anything!” I shouted.

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  Suddenly, I was falling — he had pushed me off the building.

  I grabbed my sword and ran vertically up the wall.

  “You want a fight?” I yelled. “Then say you want a fight! Don’t provoke me like a coward!”

  A building stretched and smashed into me.

  “Fight me and kill me!” Mark screamed.

  I burst through the window, shouting, “Energy Burst!”

  Waves of energy tore through the air every time I swung my sword, cutting down hundreds of Marks.

  Leaping from one building to another, our swords finally clashed.

  “Do you have any idea how lonely I was?” Mark screamed. “Every time I was alone, I felt lonely. And when I was surrounded by others, I felt even lonelier!”

  “No, I didn’t!” I yelled back. “Because you never told me!

  But now… now I understand!”

  Our swords clashed again and again, destroying everything around us.

  “It’s my fault again, isn’t it?” Mark shouted.

  From the sky, a weeping angel fell, slamming me to the ground before vanishing.

  When I opened my eyes, a massive fist the size of a city was descending on me. It hit hard, and I lost consciousness.

  “Every time, it’s my fault!” Mark’s voice echoed.

  “Even when someone else makes a mistake, I’m the one who changes! I’m the one who improves — so next time, I can act differently, even if they don’t!”

  The giant fist struck again, shattering me into dust.

  When the dust settled, Mark was on top of me, punching my face over and over.

  “Do you know how much it hurts when people don’t reciprocate your efforts?”

  A tooth flew from my mouth.

  “Do you know how much it hurts when the only person you felt good with starts drifting away — and when you confront them, they brush it off saying, ‘Life’s changed, times have changed,’ but still hang out with others instead?”

  Mark’s fist landed again. I coughed blood.

  “Every time I try to change and improve, I find myself right back where I started. People call me worthless because I avoid conflict. Because I’m nice.

  Do you know how much being nice hurts?”

  He swung again — but this time, I caught his fist.

  “Then don’t be nice,” I said quietly. “Start saying no. Change your habits.”

  “It’s not that simple!” Mark shouted. “I’ve tried!”

  “I know,” I said. “Being too kind hurts. It makes you feel lonely because you’re not being yourself. Try being yourself — but you can’t do that because you have no self-respect.”

  “No! I put myself in high regard!”

  “Like hell you do.”

  I spat blood and shoved him off me.

  “If you really valued yourself, people wouldn’t have walked all over you. You’d have stopped them because you’d know your worth.”

  Mark froze, speechless.

  “I know you can’t just decide to value yourself. It takes time. It comes from within,” I continued.

  “So… what do I do?”

  “Learn something new. Pick up a skill. If you don’t like it, try another. Keep going until you find something you love.”

  “What will that do?”

  “When you see yourself improving, that sense of worthlessness gets replaced by the urge to grow.

  Others won’t acknowledge you until you acknowledge yourself.

  Or so someone once said.”

  “Who said that?”

  “I don’t know. You rarely remember who said something — only what they said.”

  “Then who said that?”

  “Someone must have.”

  “Are you an idiot?”

  “Maybe. But at least I didn’t show up at my friend’s house asking him to kill me instead of just talking.”

  “Shut up, asshole.”

  “The number of times you punched me… you know I have to pay those back.”

  “I’m sorry! Please spare me!”

  Who would punch someone in that situation?

  Of course — me.

  And I punched him.

  “Now, shall we go home? And remember, I’ll get the buff for clearing the projection.”

  “What? You didn’t even beat me! I can’t give it to you!”

  Suddenly, I was back in my house — bleeding.

  Before I could react, my girlfriend punched me.

  “I just cleaned the house, you idiot! Now it’s covered in red!”

  “I’m sorry, babe!” I said, running away.

  “Get back here!” she screamed, chasing me.

  When she noticed Mark standing there, she froze.

  “Oh, come on, honey. Why are you running?” she said sweetly.

  The audacity of this woman. The moment she saw someone else, she switched tones completely.

  “Mark, would you like to stay for dinner?”

  “N-No, ma’am. My grandma’s waiting at home.”

  “Alright, if you say so. And what would you like, H.O.N.E.Y.?”

  “Anything’s fine,” I said, laughing.

  Mark slipped on his shoes and got ready to leave.

  “Take care, man. And stop overthinking everything. Try to live a little.”

  “Yeah…”

  “See? You did it again. You wanted to say, ‘Shut up, man. Stop yapping and let me go.’”

  Mark laughed — really laughed. For once, it felt genuine.

  “Okay, fine. Stop yapping. And… thanks for today.”

  “Don’t worry. Just another Tuesday for me.”

  “Really?”

  “Nah. I was terrified. Thought you’d actually kill me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Can I tell you something?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “I was jealous of you. You have a loving girlfriend. I want that too. Is that feeling bad?”

  “Nah,” I smiled. “Jealousy’s normal. Just don’t let it consume you.”

  “Okay. Bye, and thanks again.”

  “Bye.”

  I closed the gate behind him and sighed.

  What a day.

  First James… now Mark.

  It’d be insane if Olivia opened up too—

  “Clive, listen… I have to tell you something.”

  I jinxed it.

  “Yeah, what is it?”

  “Who’s going to clean the floor now?”

  I sighed in relief — and collapsed on the spot.

  When I woke up, I was in bed with my girlfriend and our sweet daughter beside me.

  “Now the bed’s a mess too.”

  “Huh?”

  I turned to look at her, her head resting on my chest.

  “Wouldn’t the blood get on you too since you’re hugging me?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Okay, ma’am.”

  “So what happened today?”

  “A lot.”

  “Then start from the beginning.”

  So I did.

  And from her expression, it was clear — she hadn’t expected any of it.