A Love I Shouldn't Feel - Chapter 26: Treading on Tenderness ( )

The most dependable (sarcastic) assassin -- Gao Xuan.Developing himself with an inventory of powerful gear. A master of biding his time, backstabbing, and brutalizing weaklings.Don’t love me. Nothing would come out of this.I am an assassin without feelings.

Samuel, a high schooler, got summoned with his classmates to another world as prophesied heroes. He expected glory, adventure, and a chance to save a kingdom. But those hopes were shattered when he discovered the truth, they were sacrifices, the gods who summoned them are no saviors, but monsters that feed on human souls. Among the victims is his little sister, dragged into the summoning by accident while she was delivering his lunch. Betrayed and marked for sacrifice, Samuel survives andmade a deal with (Arithmos) the God of war, with its power, he now vows to destroy every god and declares to take everything from them.

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

Mathew survived the entire two weeks of the apocalypse. A great score for someone blessed with brains over the brawn. Yet, even he fell after just fourteen days, giving his all to save the one person he cared for.

But why does a death looks like watching himself from the third person perspective? Is this the purgatory to watch over his own shoulders at the mistakes he made? A punishment for Mathew's sins to repeat those mistakes over and over again?

But wait, what are the three clocks in the corner of his vision, one of which only five minutes away from ticking out?