Death Note |Hyunlix|

~At What Cost~

Felix POV-

Felix's heart raced as he pushed open the door to the corner store, a place where he often came to buy snacks and study materials. The familiar jingle of the bell overhead did little to calm the tumult in his mind. As he wandered through the aisles, he felt a mixture of unease and anticipation. The Death Note lay hidden in his bag, its dark promise lingering like a ghost.

While reaching for a pack of gum, Felix's attention was suddenly drawn to a commotion near the entrance. Voices grew loud and heated, and curiosity pulled him closer. He peered around a shelf, his heart pounding in his chest.

A man stood with a gun pointed menacingly at the cashier, his face obscured by a hoodie. The tension in the air was palpable as the cashier's hands shook, fear written all over his face. Felix's instincts kicked in, and he instinctively took a step back, wanting to escape the situation entirely.

But then, a voice cut through the tension. "Hurry up, Jinwoo! I don't have all day!"

Felix's breath caught in his throat as he recognized the name—the name of a suspected murderur, Lee Jinwoo. His heart raced again, not with fear, but with the weight of opportunity.

The gunman's accomplice—a burly man with tattoos snaking up his arms—shouted threats, urging the cashier to comply. Felix's fingers trembled as he recalled the power of the Death Note. Could he really do this again? The gravity of the moment crashed over him like a wave.

"Please, just let me go!" the cashier pleaded, his voice shaking.

Felix felt a surge of anger toward the criminal, a mix of frustration and the familiar pull of darkness he had been resisting. The situation was escalating quickly, and Felix knew that if he didn't act, someone could get hurt—or worse. He couldn't just stand by and watch.

In a moment of reckless courage, he opened his backpack and pulled out the Death Note, his heart pounding louder than ever. This was it. This could be his chance to use the power he had been so afraid of, to rid the world of another criminal who thrived on fear and violence.

With shaky hands, he flipped the notebook open to a fresh page, the rules still etched in his mind. He wrote the gunman's name with a sense of urgency and resolve, his heart racing with every stroke of the pen.

"Lee Jinwoo."

He could feel the adrenaline surging through him as he counted silently in his head, recalling the rules he had memorized: Forty seconds...

Forty seconds until he would witness the outcome of his decision.

As the tension in the store reached its peak, Felix continued to watch from the aisle, torn between the horror of what he was about to do and the twisted thrill of power. The gunman's finger twitched on the trigger, and he could hear the cashier's desperate cries for help.

Thirty... twenty-nine...

Each second felt like an eternity, and Felix fought against the rising dread. He could feel the weight of his choice pressing down on him. Was this justice? Or was he becoming something far worse?

Twenty... nineteen...

The moments dragged on, and Felix could feel the air thickening with tension. The gunman raised his voice, demanding money, and Felix's stomach churned with anxiety. He had done this—he had chosen to take a life.

Ten... nine...

His pulse raced as he watched the gunman. He could see the glint of the weapon and the look of malice in the man's eyes. With every tick of the clock, the reality of his actions sank in deeper.

Five... four...

The cashier screamed, and Felix's heart sank. He couldn't turn back now.

One.

The store filled with a sudden stillness, and Felix held his breath, fear and exhilaration clashing within him. He couldn't tear his eyes away as the gunman's expression twisted in confusion. He staggered back, a look of shock flooding his face, before collapsing to the ground.

Time felt suspended as Felix stood frozen, the Death Note still clutched in his hand. He had witnessed death before his eyes, and it had been by his own hand. A sense of disbelief washed over him.

What had he just done?

The weight of his decision crashed down like a tidal wave, pulling him under. He had used the Death Note, and it had worked. The exhilaration of power was overshadowed by the overwhelming realisation of what he had just sacrificed.

With his heart pounding in his ears, Felix stumbled backward, wanting to escape the horror of the moment. He turned and fled the store, the chaos inside fading into the distance as he burst out into the cool evening air.

What had begun as an exciting discovery had spiralled into something he could barely comprehend. He was terrified, yet something inside him whispered that he could control this power, that he could be the arbiter of justice.

But at what cost?

The realisation that he had just taken a life weighed heavily on him as he hurried down the street, the Death Note still hidden in his bag. Felix was left to wrestle with the darkness that lurked within him, uncertain of the path he had just chosen.

~Sani