Only I Can See The End

[11:21 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2023]

"Who's there?" I whispered gently, a shiver coursing through me.

Not only because of the strange sensation of someone invading my thoughts, but also due to the incessant knocking that reverberated from my room's entrance.

It grew more desperate with each passing moment.

~Please hurry! They're coming! They're coming for me! Please hurry!~ The urgency in the voice within my mind was palpable.

Could it be another survivor? Had they somehow escaped the clutches of the monsters and made it this far? My thoughts raced to make sense of the situation unfolding before me.

I cautiously inched closer to the door, wondering if the System would provide any warning about an encounter with a Demon. I had no clear idea of the proximity required for such a warning, but judging from my dreams—or rather, my earlier experiences—it seemed I had already met the criteria.

Standing barely a hair's breadth from the door, I brought my eyes closer to the peephole, terrified of the potential danger. A part of me was scared I'd get stabbed in the eye or something, but I somehow found the courage to do it anyway.

"No way!" My eyes widened the moment I saw the woman standing on the other side, her face glistening with sweat and tears streaming down her cheeks.

'It's the nice secretary from earlier!'

Her panic-stricken expression broke my heart, and I could see her sobbing as she looked to her left and right, terrified of what may be lurking in the shadows.

~P-please, I know you're there. Please help me, Mikey!~

Her voice reached me, and the familiarity wasn't surprising; after all, she was the one who handled my deliveries and the person I often interacted with at the front desk.

Seeing as she desperately pleaded to be saved… how could I, in good conscience, refuse?

'DON'T DO IT!' A voice that sounded like mine sharply pierced my head.

However, it was too late; compassion had already won over reason. Swiftly, I unlocked the door with my card and turned the doorknob, allowing her to enter.

And just in time too.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<You Have Encountered A Demon>

"E-eh…?"

My eyes widened in surprise as I watched the receptionist lady swiftly dart past me.

"Eeeeek!" She stumbled inside just in the nick of time, and in that same moment, the grotesque hand of a monstrous entity snaked into the passageway.

My heart raced, confronted with the very thing that had impaled me numerous times before. A bead of sweat instantly formed on my forehead, and a shiver ran down my spine.

"Close it! Hurry!" The receptionist screamed, sobbing as she looked at me desperately.

"A-ah!"

I reacted quickly, slamming the door shut and securing it with my card before leaping away from it, as if trying to put as much distance as possible between me and the horrors lurking outside.

>DUM!<

>DUM!<

>DUM!<

The monster, whatever it was, pounded at my sturdy layer of defence, creating loud reverberating echoes that caused my heart to pound madly.

'What if this noise attracts others? If more monsters attack, won't the door eventually fall? What would I do then? Fuck!'

Now I understood why my thoughts had cautioned me to not open the door, even though an innocent person was behind it.

'No, what was I supposed to do? Leave her to die? I can't do that!'

But, didn't I leave everyone else to die? Billions of people in the world, and I had only cared about my survival. How was this situation any different?

'S-she was right in front of me, asking for help! I couldn't just abandon her! I….'

My inner turmoil intensified, and with each passing moment, it felt like my mental strength was slowly draining away. I could sense myself reverting into the same fearful person I was when I first stepped foot into this room.

'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!'

And then, suddenly…

"W-what?"

… The pounding stopped.

I strained my ears, listening intently to the fading echoes of footsteps that undoubtedly belonged to the monstrous entity. It was inexplicably moving away from my front door.

'But why?' I wondered, my mind racing to comprehend the unexpected turn of events.

Had it stumbled upon another unfortunate soul in the dimly lit hallway?

Or had it simply abandoned its pursuit, perhaps more easily than I could have ever imagined? I had no idea.

The only thing on my mind at that point was gratitude and relief.

'I didn't die. I didn't die. Haaa… I came this far and I didn't die.'

Words couldn't describe how relieved I felt about the whole thing. Sure, I probably wouldn't have gotten into this whole mess if I had left the lady to her fate, but if the Demon—as it was called by the System— had killed her, I probably wouldn't have been able to live with myself.

'I would have been…' I stopped myself mid-thought and took a deep breath, banishing the memories of my past.

Of the plane crash that killed my parents and little brother.

Back then, there was nothing I could have done. I hadn't even been on the flight. I couldn't blame myself for their deaths.

Just as I couldn't shoulder the blame for the current state of the world, a world teetering on the brink of chaos and despair, a world in which countless lives hung in the balance.

But to stand face to face with someone in dire need of help and turn away, it felt as though I were pulling the trigger myself.

"Fuck…" I whispered, my eyes closed.

Despite my best attempt to avoid those thoughts, they kept surfacing.

"T-thank you…" A voice suddenly echoed in my ear, chasing away the gloomy thoughts that threatened to swallow me whole.

I slowly opened my eyes, greeted by the sight of the receptionist, her tearful smile radiating warmth and gratitude in equal measure.

"I… I would have died without you." She sobbed even further as her quivering lips curled up to grant me the warmest smile I had received in the longest time. "Thank you so much!"

Tears welled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks, tugging at the strings of my heart. 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

'How could I have ever doubted my decision?'

That's right. In that moment, as I watched the survivor, her eyes brimming with the joy of being alive, I knew with certainty.

'I made the right choice.'

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[A/N]

What do you all think? Do you think he shouldn't have helped her?

Let me know your thoughts.