Death System: I awakened SSS rank System

Chapter 80 80: Pipes Up

The door creaked open softly as Zakar stepped into the room, his face was sour. Dust clung faintly to his clothes, and there was a dull stiffness in the way he moved, as though every step reminded him of battles his body had not fully recovered from.

Myia was already on her feet before she even realized it, relief flashing across her face so quickly it almost went unnoticed before it hardened into something sharper.

"You've been gone for a whole day," she said, her voice rising despite her attempt to control it, her emotions spilling out unevenly. She stepped closer, her eyes scanning him quickly, searching for injuries, for explanations, for anything that would make sense of his absence. "Do you even realize how long that is? Anything could have happened. We thought—" She cut herself off, frustration overtaking whatever softer words had tried to form. "Where were you?"

Zakar didn't answer.

He stood there, still as stone, his gaze steady but distant, as if her words were reaching him from somewhere far away rather than standing right in front of him. That silence stretched, thin at first, then heavier, until it began to press against the room itself.

"Say something," Myia pressed again, her voice quieter now but more intense, her brows knitting together as her patience thinned. "You can't just disappear and come back like nothing happened."

Still nothing.

Zakar's eyes shifted slightly, not avoiding her completely, but not meeting her either. It was the kind of silence that spoke more than words ever could, and it frustrated her even more.

Before she could push again, Sera exhaled slowly, the sound cutting through the tension with deliberate ease. "That's enough," she said, her tone calm but firm as she stood, brushing invisible dust from her clothes. Her sharp gaze flicked from Myia to Zakar, studying him for a moment longer than necessary. "If he's not talking, then there's a reason. Standing here and forcing it out won't help anyone."

Myia clicked her tongue, clearly dissatisfied, but she didn't argue further.

Sera's eyes narrowed slightly as she continued, "Get yourselves ready. Whatever comes next won't wait for us to sort out personal issues."

Almost as if her words had summoned it—

A sharp, piercing sound echoed through the room.

The system.

It didn't chime gently this time. It blared.

A heavy, resonant pulse vibrated through their minds, followed by the immediate appearance of glowing interfaces before each of them, cold and unfeeling in their clarity.

[Attention All Players.]

[Preparation Phase Complete.]

[Main Levels Initiating.]

[All Participants Standby.]

The message pulsed again, brighter, louder, impossible to ignore.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Whatever tension had lingered between them dissolved into something more focused, more dangerous. This wasn't just another task. This was escalation.

Zakar moved then, stepping forward slightly, his presence grounding in a way that demanded attention without raising his voice. "Don't worry about me," he said, his tone low but firm, his eyes briefly meeting Myia's before shifting away again. "Focus on yourselves. That's what matters now."

There was something different in the way he said it.

Not dismissive.

Not cold.

But distant.

Like someone already preparing to walk into something alone.

Myia felt it immediately. Her lips parted as if to argue, to tell him he was wrong, but the words didn't come. Instead, a quiet unease settled in her chest, one she couldn't shake off.

Before anything else could be said, Zakar turned and walked out. The door closed softly behind him. The silence that followed was heavier than before.

"…He's changing," Myia said quietly, her voice softer now, stripped of its earlier frustration. There was no anger left only a quiet realization that something about Zakar was shifting beyond her reach.

Sera didn't respond immediately. She watched the door for a moment, her expression unreadable, before turning away.

"Of course he is," she said calmly. "People don't stay the same after everything he's gone through. If anything, it would be strange if he didn't."

Myia lowered her gaze, her fingers curling slightly. "I just… don't like it."

Sera's voice softened just a fraction. "Then don't fall behind."

Outside, the air felt sharper. Zakar stepped into the open, exhaling slowly as the system's echo faded into the background.

The tension from the room didn't disappear it shifted, settling deeper, becoming something colder and more focused. He walked a few steps before stopping, raising his hand slightly as his interface responded instantly.

[Status Window Opened.]

Lines of data filled his vision, clean and precise, but his attention locked onto one thing.

[ Notification: Rank advancement possible]

His eyes narrowed slightly. Without hesitation, he selected it, pushing toward S rank. There was silence for a brief moment

Then...

[Request Denied.]

Zakar's expression tightened slightly as the system expanded its response.

[Current Physical State Insufficient.]

[Host must strengthen body before higher integration.]

[Available Advancement: B Rank → A Rank.]

He stared at the message for a long moment, unmoving.

"…So I'm still not there," he muttered quietly.

He could feel it now, the strain in his body, the lingering damage, the limits he had pushed against but not broken through.

Forcing it would destroy him but staying like this either wasn't enough. Not with what was coming.

The thought of the Negative Entity crept back into his mind, cold and persistent. Everything it had done so far the manipulation, the traps, the calculated pressure,it wasn't random.

It was building something.

"…You're planning something," Zakar murmured under his breath, his gaze lifting slightly as if searching for an unseen presence. "And I'm running out of time."

Just then, the air behind him shifted.

Subtle but wrong.

Zakar's body reacted instantly, his hand tightening slightly as he turned. A red rift tore open behind him.

Before he could fully react, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He froze for a split second. Then recognized the presence.

Carene.

She stood there, her expression unusually serious, her usual composure replaced with something sharper, more urgent. Her grip on him was firm, not aggressive, but unyielding.

"Don't resist," she said quickly, her voice low but tense.

Zakar's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned her head slightly, her gaze locking onto someone just beyond Zakar.

"Jim," she called out, her tone carrying a weight that immediately drew attention.

A figure in the distance looked up, startled.

"There's trouble," Carene said simply.

The words landed heavily. Zakar felt it instantly. That tension again. That creeping sense that something was moving behind the scenes.

"What kind of trouble?" he asked, his voice tightening slightly.

Carene's eyes flickered back to him, and for a brief moment, there was something in them something serious enough to make his chest tighten.

"We don't have time to explain," she said. "But if you stay here… you'll be too late."

That was all it took. Zakar's pulse spiked. Too late? For what? The Negative Entity? Justin? Sera? Myia?

His thoughts moved fast, too fast, connecting possibilities he didn't like.

"…Damn it," he muttered under his breath. Carene didn't wait any longer.

The red rift behind her widened, its pull intensifying.

"Come on," she said, tightening her grip.

Zakar didn't resist.

In the next instant they vanished. The space they stood in folded inward, the air snapping back into place as if they had never been there at all.

And whatever was coming next, was already in motion...