Chapter 17: I’m the Last One Left, and I Think I’m Next1. My Last Moments Shouldn’t Be This TerrifyingI couldn’t move.
The world around me had colpsed into red light and death.
Mikasa was gone.
The hacker girl was gone.
And now—
I was next.
The cyborg took a step forward.
The sound of its footsteps echoed in the empty, blood-stained hall.
Click.
Click.
Each step felt heavier than my heartbeat.
I took a shaky breath.
My lungs burned.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to run.
But my body wouldn’t listen.
The cyborg tilted its head.
And then—
It grinned.
2. The Fear of Dying Like ThisI had imagined my death before.
Okay—not in a creepy way.
But in the "what if I got hit by a truck" kind of way.
A normal death.
Something that would at least make sense.
But this?
This wasn’t how I was supposed to go.
Not hunted.
Not alone.
Not like this.
I had survived so much.
And yet, in the end…
It didn’t matter.
Because Nexus was always one step ahead.
3. The Final BlowThe cyborg moved.
No sound.
No hesitation.
Just pure, mechanical speed.
I barely saw it.
A fsh of silver.
A blur of death.
And then—
Its hand went straight through my chest.
SHLK.
My eyes widened.
I gasped—
But no air came.
I looked down.
There was something sticking out of me.
No.
Not something.
Its arm.
Its entire arm.
It had pierced straight through me.
Like I was made of paper.
I tried to move.
But my body…
Didn’t work anymore.
I heard dripping.
Something warm spread down my stomach.
My fingers twitched.
And then—
The cyborg leaned in.
Its voice was a whisper.
"You lose."
And then it ripped its arm out.
4. Dying Hurts More Than I ExpectedI colpsed.
The floor rushed up to meet me.
My head hit the cold metal.
My vision blurred.
Everything felt wrong.
My fingers trembled.
My body felt…
Heavy.
My chest burned.
Like fire had been poured inside me.
I tried to speak.
But no words came.
Only blood.
I could taste it.
Bitter.
Warm.
Final.
…
So this was it.
This was how it ended.
I had failed.
I had died.
And Nexus…
Had won.
5. The Last Thing I SawMy vision faded.
The world turned bck.
The st thing I saw…
Was Mikasa’s body.
Motionless.
Eyes still open.
And then—
Nothing.
I was gone.
6. …Except I Wasn’t?!"WAKE UP, IDIOT!"
WHAM.
Something hit me.
Hard.
I gasped.
My eyes snapped open.
And suddenly—
I was alive.
7. This Isn’t the Afterlife, Right?I blinked.
A ceiling.
Not metal.
Not covered in blood.
Just… a regur ceiling.
Wait.
Where the hell was I?!
I sat up instantly.
I was on a couch.
In a room.
Not a death trap.
Not a battlefield.
Just… a room.
I turned my head.
And—
There she was.
Mikasa.
Very much alive.
And very much pissed off.
8. What Just Happened?!I stared.
She stared back.
Then—
She smacked me in the head.
WHAP.
I yelled.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
Mikasa crossed her arms.
"You were screaming in your sleep," she said ftly.
I blinked.
Wait.
What?
I looked around.
No cyborgs.
No blood.
No Nexus.
Just a regur room.
And then it hit me.
It was a dream.
All of it.
Mikasa dying.
Me dying.
All of it—
A NIGHTMARE.
9. I Am NEVER Sleeping AgainI grabbed my face.
My heart was still racing.
Mikasa sighed.
"Seriously," she muttered. "What were you dreaming about?"
I hesitated.
How the hell was I supposed to expin that?
"Oh, you know, just a totally normal dream where Nexus murdered all of us brutally, and I felt my soul leave my body."
Yeah.
That wasn’t gonna work.
I swallowed.
"Uh. Nothing important."
Mikasa raised an eyebrow.
Then—
She smirked.
"Oh," she said. "You had a dumb dream, didn’t you?"
I sputtered.
"I—what?! NO! It wasn’t dumb! It was horrible!"
Mikasa’s grin widened.
"You’re sweating."
"SHUT UP."
10. The Actual Reality (Which is Also Bad, But Not as Bad as the Nightmare)I took a deep breath.
Then another.
Okay.
Okay.
I was alive.
Mikasa was alive.
The hacker girl was…
Wait.
I turned my head.
There she was.
On her ptop.
Texting.
Completely fine.
…
Okay.
Crisis averted.
For now.
11. The Mission Still StandsMikasa sat on the couch.
"So," she said. "We still have to defeat Nexus, right?"
I tensed.
The memory of the dream hit me like a truck.
I swallowed.
"…Yeah," I muttered.
Mikasa stretched.
"Then stop having dumb nightmares and focus," she said casually.
I gawked.
"DUMB?! EXCUSE ME, I DIED IN THAT NIGHTMARE!"
Mikasa shrugged.
"But it didn’t happen, did it?"
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
…
Okay.
She had a point.
But STILL.
12. The Final Thought That Ruined My DayMikasa stood up.
"Come on," she said. "Let’s get ready."
She cracked her knuckles.
"This time, we actually win."
I hesitated.
Then, slowly…
I stood up too.
But in the back of my mind…
I couldn’t shake the feeling.
The dream felt too real.
Almost like—
A warning.
I clenched my fist.
I just had to make sure—
It didn’t end like the dream.
To Be Continued…Next Time:
"I Just Woke Up from a Nightmare, but Now Reality Feels Like One Too"