Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 162: Episode : Don’t Die.

This was not the first time she was in despair. But this was probably her worst experience.

Hitting the surface from a hundred feet up wasn’t like diving into a pool; it was like slamming into a slab of concrete.

The impact knocked the air from Roxy’s lungs in a violent, explosive cough. Pain radiated through her ribs, a jagged bolt of lightning that shattered her focus. For a second, everything was white, blinding, agonizing white.

Then, she felt cold.

It stole the heat from her skin instantly, piercing through her clothes and paralyzing her muscles. Before she could even try to orient herself, the current grabbed her.

The river at the base of the cliffs was a churning, chaotic beast. It tossed her like a ragdoll, spinning her around, slamming her shoulder against a submerged rock, and dragging her down.

Roxy opened her eyes.

Darkness. swirling, murky, terrifying darkness.

She kicked. She clawed at the water, trying to find which way was up. Her survival instinct kicked in, the primal human urge to fight for air.

Swim! her mind screamed. Swim, damn it!

But her clothes were now soaked and heavy as lead, acting like an anchor. Her boots were weights dragging her feet down. The current was relentless, a giant hand pushing her deeper into the abyss.

[SYSTEM ALERT: PHYSICAL TRAUMA DETECTED.]

[WARNING: RIB FRACTURE (MINOR). CONCUSSION (MODERATE).]

[OXYGEN LEVELS: 60%... DROPPING.]

That fucking doesn’t matter right now!

Find a way to get me out of here!

The red boxes flashed in her vision, illuminating the bubbles escaping her lips. They were the only light in this cold hell.

Roxy didn’t even care what happened to her once she was out, she just wanted to be out.

Roxy thrashed, her fingers brushing against slick stones and tangled weeds. She tried to activate her inventory, to pull out a knife to cut her clothes, but her mind was too scattered, the pain in her head too sharp.

The riverbed dropped suddenly.

The turbulence of the rapids vanished, replaced by a terrifying, powerful suction. She was being pulled into a sinkhole, a subterranean tunnel beneath the cliffs where the water flowed into the earth’s veins.

She was going under. Deep under.

As the pressure built in her ears and her lungs began to burn, the panic started to fade. It was replaced by a strange, heavy calm.

Her thrashing slowed. Her limbs felt like they belonged to someone else. The cold wasn’t painful anymore; it just felt numbing.

Is this it?

Roxy thought, her mind detaching from the physical struggle.

Is this how the story ends?

Am I really destined to die alone?

Can’t I just enjoy one final peace before I grow old and die?

Why bring me here if this was my fate?

Roxy laughed. I just overlooked it.

In the silence of the deep, her life began to play out behind her eyelids.

First, it was Earth.

She saw her old apartment. The grey walls. The stack of unpaid bills. The instant noodles cooking in the microwave. She saw herself sitting alone on a Friday night, scrolling through her phone, reading stories about other people’s adventures because she didn’t have one of her own. It was a life of silence. A lonely, hollow existence.

Then, the colors exploded.

She saw Zarek. Not the terrifying Dragon King, but the man who slept curled around her back, his golden eyes softening when she scolded him.

She saw Torian. The big, dumb, beautiful Tiger. She remembered him trying to hide a massive gold necklace in her food because he didn’t know how to give gifts. She felt the vibration of his purr against her chest.

She saw Syris. He had tears in his eyes when Tanith was born, the way he held the baby like she was made of glass.

She saw Ren. She saw him dancing in the courtyard yesterday, his nine tails weaving through the air, his laugh ringing out like a bell. She saw the way he looked at her this morning, full of life and mischief.

And then, the babies.

Axel, Onyx, Iris. Drax. Tanith.

Their faces flashed before her, clear as day. Iris’s violet eyes. Tanith’s glitter.

My babies, Roxy’s heart clenched, a pain sharper than the lack of air. They’re waiting for me. I promised them I’d come back.

Guilt crashed over her. She had walked away to check a bush. She had let her guard down, and now this happened.

[SYSTEM ALERT: OXYGEN CRITICAL.]

[LEVELS: 15%.]

[USER VITALITY DROPPING RAPIDLY.]

Just fuck off, can’t you see I am dying?

Roxy tried. She really did. She tried to kick her legs, but they wouldn’t move. The pressure of the deep tunnel was crushing her chest. The darkness was total now. There was no up, no down, only the water filling the world.

She opened her mouth to scream, to cry, but only water rushed in. She choked. The reflex to inhale was overwhelming. She breathed in water.

It burned. It seared her throat and lungs like acid.

Her vision began to tunnel. The red System boxes started to glitch and fade, their light dimming like a dying star.

I’m sorry, Zarek, Roxy thought, her consciousness slipping away like sand through fingers. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep our promise.

She stopped fighting. She let the current take her. She drifted, a piece of debris in the underground river, sinking toward the bottom.

Total blackness. Total silence. Total peace.

Until she saw a movement in the water from the corner of her eye. It was subtle at first. A displacement of water. A ripple that went against the current.

Something was down here with her.

Roxy’s fading mind registered it vaguely. A fish? A monster? It didn’t matter. Let it eat her. At least she wouldn’t be a ghost.

Something grabbed her waist. A strong, solid, and muscular arm. It wrapped around her with bruising force, halting her descent instantly.

Roxy’s head lolled back, her hair floating like a halo around her face in the dark water.

Another hand touched her face. It was cold, colder than the river, but gentle. Long fingers traced her jawline, tilting her chin up.

She couldn’t see anything, thanks to the darkness. But she could feel the presence. It hovered over her.

Who...?

What...?

She felt the water shift as the figure pulled her close, pressing her chest against something hard and smooth.

"Don’t Die."

Those were the last words she heard when she felt a pair of lips against hers.