AGENT SOLARIS // VALORANT x Male Reader

Chapter 5 // Humility

Hi, 👋 I'm back.

(I)
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Nothingness.

Not black. Not dark. Just... absence. The kind that stretches forever in every direction, swallowing thought, memory, self. No pain. No breath. No light. Only that weightless drift between being and nothing.

And then —

Fire.

Not metaphorical. Not Rhetorical, not even poetic. Just a sudden Agony. As if you were experiencing death in reverse.

A wildfire of your radiance ignites in your chest, surging through your nerves like molten copper. Radiance floods every limb. Every cell screaming with new life.

You gasped —

A soundless gasp at first, lungs expanding like they'd been shut for years. Then —

Impact.

The ground hit you before you even opened your eyes. Sharp. Real. Alive.

"Aagh — ! What the fuck — ?"

You bucked on instinct, every muscle pulling tight. A hand grabbed your shoulder. Another gripped your arm. You fought them without thinking—until your elbow connected with something solid.

And someone grunted.

"Agh, Y/N, stop!"

You froze.

That voice.

You turned — sharp, breath ragged — and there he was: Phoenix. Real. Alive. Wincing and rubbing his jaw.

Your elbow had caught him square in the chin.

"I — " you blinked, letting your vision clear. "You're alive?"

He shrugged like it was just another day. "Takes more than a shot to the back to put me down, bruv. I'm built different."

You didn't mean to laugh, but it clawed its way up your throat anyway. Disbelief turning to something like relief. Your hands were already on his shoulders, pulling him closer just to make sure he was actually here.

"Thought I lost you, brother." you said.

He smirked, tapping your shoulder with that same easy familiarity. "Nah, mate. You can't kill swagger..."

He stepped back, giving you the once-over.

"You on the other hand," he gave a one of those playful mocking chuckles. "You look like someone threw you through a damn building."

You did, actually. Armor scorched, limbs aching, your bones still humming with the aftershock of resurrection.

His tone was casual, but the way his eyes lingered told another story. There was a tremble there —subtle, buried beneath the bravado. He'd been scared.

"Yeah, dude," Jett chimed in, appearing beside you. "You got wrecked. Like, obliterated. Someone could've painted the walls with you."

You rolled your eyes. "Thanks for the image," you muttered, shaking your head.

She smiled proudly, "You got it!" She eyed you as she backed away, then her gaze flicked to phoenix briefly, her expression shifting into something more sincere.

You leaned toward Phoenix, lowering your voice. "Get your girl, bro."

He snorted in an effort to hold back a smile. "She ain't my problem."

You gave him a sly look. "Not yet."

Phoenix rolled his eyes and shook his head, but the corner of his mouth twitched. You caught the way he didn't deny it. That gallows humor only people who'd seen too much too young could ever really understand.