Chapter 3: Sacrifice

  The next day dragged on with its usual, soul-crushing monotony. Josh endured the blank stares in class, the whispers that followed him like a shadow, and the gnawing emptiness that had become his constant companion. Lunchtime arrived, and he found himself in the crowded cafeteria, picking at his food with a complete lack of appetite. Sasha sat across from him, her brow furrowed with concern.

  "You seem even more out of it than usual today, Josh," she said, her voice soft but laced with worry. "Are you okay?"

  Josh forced a shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. "Just another day in paradise, right?" He managed a weak smirk, but it didn't reach his eyes.

  Sasha’s look of worry deepened. “Josh… you need to stop tormenting yourself like this,” she reasoned. “I get you didn't get into the Hero League because you don't have any powers... but let's be realistic. They were doing you a favor; otherwise, you would have gotten killed.”

  “You think I'm such a kid that I didn't know that!?" he snapped. Sasha took a step back and looked away. “All that proves to me is that my dreams don't matter... that I don't matter... just because I wasn't born lucky.”

  Sasha had a hurt look. “...what?”

  Josh snorted at her. “Don’t act so surprised. Everyone knows that if you don't have a metagene or aren't a rich enough to get one, you are just dead weight in the hero business... and I was an idiot for even trying.”

  Sasha shook her head and lowered it. “If that is what you think being a hero is only about...” she said while walking away. “Then maybe it would have been best that the Hero League rejected you.”

  Josh held a stunned look on hearing Sasha’s words, and immediately looked away in guilt.

  Later in class, Josh tried to get Sasha’s attention, but she ignored him.

  “Figured she is still mad at me,” he thought, then smacked himself in the head. “Dumbass… why did you have to take your own self-pity out on her!?” He then let out a sigh and looked out the class window. “But honestly… if being a hero is more than having powers… then what makes one a hero to begin with?”

  Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the school, and shook the ground shook violently. Followed by the cacophony of screams and shattering glass filling the air. Panic erupted, and students scrambled for cover, their faces contorted with terror. Even Josh's heart leaped into his throat, by sudden attack.

  A booming voice echoed through the shattered remnants of the intercom system, distorted and malevolent. "Listen up, you pathetic worms! This is Lizard Commando! For years, I've been planning my revenge, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash my fury upon this miserable institution! So prepare as I tear this place apart, and anyone one in it!”

  “Lizard Commando…” Josh thought. “A renowned, if recent, C-Rank villain on the news who had been known to commit acts of first-degree arson across the country, and had never been caught by the heroes or the police”

  Miller’s jaw then tighted. “Now, of course, for most people who are into comic books or manhwa or whatever, a C-Rank villain may not seem like that much of a threat... but that is only if one thinks that a C-Rank villain is in the same league as a mugger or a typical bank robber. Those would be the E and D-Rank villains, respectively. For actual C-Rank villains like this lizardman here... he is basically a one-man terrorist unit, who can tear this whole school apart far more easily than just blowing it up... and I, along with everyone else in his school, Just became his target”

  His classmates were frozen in terror, their faces pale and tear-streaked. But then he saw Sasha, her eyes wide with a fear that mirrored his own, yet also filled with a desperate kind of courage. That's when something inside him snapped. He couldn't just stand there.

  Even if it was the last chance he'll ever get.

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  "Sasha, stay here," he said, his voice surprisingly calm amidst the chaos. It was like a switch had flipped inside him. The self-pity, the cynicism, all faded away, replaced by a cold determination.

  "What? Where are you going?" she cried, her fingers clutching his arm with a strength born of desperation.

  "I have to do something," he said, pulling away gently but firmly. "I can't let him hurt anyone else. I have to try."

  He turned and ran towards the source of the chaos, his fear replaced by a surge of adrenaline and a newfound sense of purpose. He didn't have a plan, not really. He just knew he had to buy them some time, get those kids to safety.

  He found Lizard Commando in the main hall. He was a grotesque figure, a hulking mass of orange muscle clad in green commando armor. His eyes, glowing red with malevolent glee, surveyed the terrified students huddled before him. The villain grinned, a wide, twisted expression that revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  "Well, well, well," he hissed, his voice a guttural growl. "Looks like someone wants to be a hero. How... quaint." He gestured around at the terrified students. "You really think you can stop me? After all these years of waiting, of planning, of being laughed at by this pathetic school, I'm finally going to have my revenge! And you, you powerless little bug, are going to be the first to feel my wrath!"

  Josh's mind raced. He needed a distraction, something to buy time. He remembered the stink bomb he'd "borrowed" from the chemistry lab—the one that had gotten him into so much trouble.

  It was still in his pocket. Perfect.

  He lunged forward, throwing the vial at Lizard Commando's feet. It shattered, releasing its noxious contents in a cloud of putrid fumes, making the giant humanoid-lizard recoil. It was a stupid move, reckless even, but it worked. The students scattered, their fear momentarily forgotten in their desperate need to escape the stench.

  He used the opportunity to try and draw Lizard Commando's attention. He fought with a desperation he didn't know he possessed, dodging his clumsy blows and snapping jaws, relying on speed and agility.

  But he was outmatched. Lizard Commando wasn’t just strong, but his own reptilain hide, was far harder then even a tank, and when Josh desperately tried to puch the villain in the face, not only was villain unfazed, but Josh winch as he flet the bones in his own hand nearly break.

  Which gave Lizard Commando the opening he needed to swat Josh aside like a fly, sending him crashing into a wall. Josh gasped for breath, pain searing through his ribs. Lizard Commando advanced, his eyes burning with hatred. "You, little punk!" he snarled, raising a massive, clawed hand.

  He struck, his claws ripping through Josh's abdomen. Causing the highscooler to screamed, a high-pitched, agonized sound that was quickly swallowed by the surrounding chaos. The burning, unbearable pain from his torn stomach faded, replaced by a clenching cold that spread throughout his body. When he looked down, he saw his own blood bleeding into a dim, growing red pool on the school floor. His vision faded, his breath hitched, and his heartbeat slowed to a crawl, and just like that... he died.

  But then, in his final moments, a strange sense of peace washed over him. He had saved them. He had saved Sasha. He had done something, something meaningful, even without powers, and for just that it was enough.

  Josh then let out final faint yet content smile as he allowed himself to pass on.

  Then there was Darkness. Nothingness. He floated in an endless void, the pain gone, replaced by a strange sense of calm. Was this what death was like? He wondered.

  Suddenly, a faint light appeared in the distance, growing brighter and brighter until it enveloped him. He felt a strange pulling sensation, like being drawn through a tunnel, and then...

  He gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was lying on a soft bed of moss, surrounded by the most vibrant green forest he had ever seen. Towering trees with leaves of shimmering crystal, and marble reached towards a sky painted in hues of amethyst and emerald. In the distance, he could see a range of dark, jagged mountains that seemed to pierce the heavens.

  He sat up, disoriented and confused. Where was he? This wasn't the school hallway. This wasn't... anything he recognized.

  Three figures stood before him. The first was an elf, tall and graceful, with skin as blue as the summer sky and long, flowing white hair that seemed to glow with an inner light. The second was an Oni, a massive, muscular being with red skin, sharp horns, and a fierce expression, though his eyes held a surprising gentleness. The third was a small, wiry goblin, his skin a mottled green, his black hair wild and unkempt, and his body covered in an assortment of strange potions and bizarre gadgets.

  The blue-skinned elf stepped forward, his voice like the chime of a crystal bell. "Welcome, hero," he said, his eyes filled with a profound sadness and hope.

  "Hero?" Josh croaked, his throat raw and scratchy. "Where am I? What happened?"

  The red-skinned Oni rumbled, his voice like the grinding of stones, yet not unkind. "You are in Alleran, human. A world far from your own."

  The goblin, his voice a high-pitched squeak, bounced excitedly. "We brought you here to help us against The Dark Lord, who has ruled over us for so long... too long."

  Josh stared at them, his mind reeling. "The Dark Lord? What are you talking about? I was... I was dying."

  The elf placed a slender hand on Josh's arm, his touch surprisingly warm. "You were dying, yes. But your sacrifice, your selfless act of courage... it resonated across worlds. We saw your heart, human, and we knew you were the one prophesied to help us."