Tang-Ji felt her stomach churning and her head reeling, like she was plummeting into bottomless darkness. Bumping against an oddly shaped object, she struggled to right herself.
"Ugh, my head," she whispered, attempting to reach for her sore head but finding herself immobilised.
'Huh? Where am I? Why can't I move?'
The place she was at felt unnaturally still and cramped; it was as if her whole body was submerged underwater. Everything was heavy, suffocating, and strangely rough. She slowly wiggled her legs around to find an open space.
"Ouch!", she winced as she skinned her finger.
The exposed wound burst into little crystal shards, glowing a bright red in the dark. With gradual effort, she continued to move, as if attempting to dig through concrete. She could feel the tightness on her upper body slowly loosening while the uneven floor pressed against her feet.
Suddenly, she felt something tightly grab her hand and pull her upwards, out of the distorted ordeal. Now well out of the rock pile, Tang-Ji felt a growing sense of nausea, like her stomach was tying itself into knots.
A familiar face looked down on her. "You alright?" Ji-Soon asked, stretching out his hand from above the pile of junk. He was filthy, and there were black spots on him, making him almost unrecognisable to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She murmured, holding her hand over her mouth, trying not to puke from the sudden movement.
"Stay close to me, alright? I'm going to get an earful from Kaz if something were to happen to you."
"Kaz? Do you mean Kazami?"
Ji-Soon brushed off black dots from his red bair before taking in the rocky surroundings.
"Well, the guy always goes on and on about you to me." He grinned, shifting on his feet. "I mean, it's no surprise he comes to me with this stuff. We're like brothers."
He chuckled lightly, eyes flicking up.
"Although, it's kind of a hassle hearing the same thing over and over. This is the first time he's talked about someone this much. I've known him since we were kids, and Kaz's not the type to casually mention crushes."
A mischievous grin spread across his face. "Makes me wonder... maybe he's into something else. Hehe!"
'What could Kazami be saying about me.' She wondered.
"He would get so pissed off whenever I told him that. If he heard this, he'd probably beat me up." As if reminding himself of the punishment he'd receive if this conversation ever got out, Ji-Soon turned awkwardly away from Tang-Ji.
She could sense the change in his tone.
'Did I really do that much? It must have been me—the me in the past—that he is referring to," she thought. "So Kazami was talking about me a lot…' She suddenly felt her face getting slightly hotter.
Shaking her head violently, she began to gather her thoughts again.
Dust trickled down from the craggy ceiling, settling on their shoulders as the air felt heavier, thick with the scent of earth and rock.
Ji-Soon shrugged, his voice quieter now. "However, ever since he met you, it's like the way he views people has changed." He paused, looking off into the distance.
"I mean, he had a pretty rough childhood, so I can understand why he acts the way he does."
His gaze flickered to Tang-Ji, a softness in his eyes. "I don't know what your relationship is with him, but I still want to thank you for bringing out the old Kaz, even if it was momentarily."
Her hand moved in a soft gesture, shaking her head. "No, no, I... I don't deserve thanks." Her voice wavered as she spoke, the words catching in her throat. "There's so much more I wish I could do. I just—" She trailed off, her words swallowed by the heavy air.
Ji-Soon gave a small smile, his eyes gentle as he glanced at her one last time.
"You know, it seems to me that you've got all you want already, " he said quietly.
"I wouldn't be thanking people who don't deserve it; I know you have the power to change lives." He said gratefully, and without elaborating further, he turned away from her before sliding down the pile of rocks, leaving Tang-Ji lost in her thoughts.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A tremor of loose rock underfoot sent fine dust drifting through the torchlit gloom. Tang-Ji's boot pressed into slick mud halfway to her ankle, while the shorter figure in the black hoodie leaned forward, chest heaving.
The red-haired boy braced himself against a ragged outcrop, eyes darted toward the man in a trench coat, whose braided hair caught the flicker of light as he surveyed their uneasy circle.
Each inhalation dragged grit into their lungs; every heartbeat sounded like a drumroll in the enclosed darkness. Tempers, as frayed as the lichen-scarred walls around them, crackled in the silence.
"Yo, asshole…" The broad-shouldered blonde flicked clay from his shoulder, tapping the older gentleman next to him with a scowl.
"Couldn't you have waited a moment longer? Thanks to your timing, every monster in this hole knows we're here—and now we're stranded. Or maybe that was always the plan: use us up, then toss us aside."
The echoes of his accusations bounced off the cave walls, drawing attention from the shadows.
Kompto's patience finally snapped. "Could you please shut the fuck up?"
The blonde's lip curled as he stepped in front of Kompto, tilting his chin upward and looming over him with a hard stare that dared the older man to flinch. "Oh, yeah? And why would I do that," he shot back, voice sharp as flint.
He met the Decker's glare without a flicker in his own. "You're the one who's been itching to get rid of me since the beginning. The one that started with 'I never liked any of you.' Now you want to lift accusations? Fine—sorry I can't change my skin to suit your tastes. My bad."
"But if this was a trap set by a traitor, then you would be most likely to be behind it. So, if you have nothing else better than poor speculation, I'd suggest you stop screaming and use your brain for once."
A smaller figure shuffled forward—Junyo's hood down, shoulders tense. He held up both hands in a pale plea. "Wait—no one's wants to get rid of anyone," he gasped, voice trembling over the cavern's dripping hush.
He glanced at each pair of eyes in turn. "We… we only wanted an alliance. Fewer people, closer trust—better odds against whatever comes next."
However, despite his effort, he already knew without looking back that his 'dumbass' partner would disagree.
"Please believe us when I say that we mean no harm—" Junyo was abruptly stopped by Decker.
"Alright, time to shut up," Decker groaned, grabbing his shorter friend by the shoulders and flinging him to the ground.
He began to walk towards Kompto, but just as he was about to raise his voice again, the ground beneath them started to tremble.
"Huh!!" Everyone gasped.
"What was that?" Tang-Ji asked, her eyes still adjusting to the darkness.
"Let's try not to make too much noise," Kompto suggested, flicking a switch on his wristwatch.
"Pfft! Whatever, I don't care anymore." Decker began to walk in the opposite direction of everyone. "I'm finding my own way out. If everyone still thinks this monkey is trustworthy, then go ahead and stay with him. I ain't gonna waste my breath."
"Where are you going jackass?" Junyo sprinted after him.
"Tsk! Racist bastard." Ji-Soon clicked his tongue. "Maybe I should drill it into his thick skull by giving him another beating."
"Welp, it looks like we have to follow the idiot then. Maybe we'll run into the others." he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
As Decker's boots echoed away, the cave fell into an uneasy hush. At the rear, the trench-coated figure exhaled softly, the tension draining from his shoulders in a single sigh. Tang-Ji, still reeling from the cave's disorientation, found herself inexplicably drawn to that quiet composure, a still point in the swirl of their chaos.
"Um, excuse me," She began tentatively, her voice barely above a whisper as she struggled to find her words.
The man turned to her, his gaze still somewhat stern. "Yes, what is it?" he replied softly, encouraging her to speak.
"I-I just wanted to say… thank you," Tang-Ji stammered, her cheeks flushing from embarrassment. "For helping me back there and… um… for talking to me now. I-I'm not very good with… new people, but for some reason, I feel okay talking to you." She murmured incoherently.
Kompto's stern expression became a warm smile. "It's no problem at all. I'm glad I could help. And don't worry about being shy; it's completely normal. We're all just trying to navigate this strange situation together."
The group ahead was getting further away. "We should get going, lest we be left behind."
As they began walking, Kompto became silent, his brow furrowing in concern. "Hmm, it seems the map function isn't working here. This definitely feels like a trap," he mused, tracing his finger in front of his vision and activating a pop-up menu.
She nodded in agreement, her anxiety rising at the realisation. "Y-yeah, it does seem suspicious..."
He then turned to her. "You can call me Creed, by the way," he confessed, his tone slightly sheepish. "I know how Japanese honorifics work, but you can just call me Creed, no need for the 'san'."
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly nodded. "Okay, Creed-san… I mean, Creed," she corrected herself with a shy smile.
"Um, Creed…" she asked meekly. Back when I read that letter, you seemed...really upset. Did you know the person who wrote it?"
His expression darkened momentarily before he sighed heavily. "The person mentioned in that letter... was a close companion of mine. Their initials were on it," he explained sombrely.
He noticed her solemn expression.
"But it's okay. It's not your fault, and thank you for keeping it. Otherwise, I would have never gotten to hear his dying wish."
Tang-Ji felt a pang of guilt wash over her, but Creed's reassurance comforted her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible in the cavernous space.
'Perhaps death was unavoidable,' she thought.
Ever since this game started, a reality she had tried to ignore has continued to find its way back to her. She was afraid, and she knew she would die if she was killed here, but seeing another person who died before her only reinforced her fear.
However, 'this feeling of knowing you could die at any moment isn't so different from real life; in fact, it was still way better than feeling nothing at all,' she thought.
Tang-Ji felt as if she were standing on the precipice between dream and reality. 'To not feel anything would be no different than being dead.' She struggled to gather her logical thoughts.
Despite the swelling sensation of dread that continued to burn inside her, she was drawn to a profound yearning to know her actual identity—to break free from the confines of a hollow existence that she had been forced to endure for so long.
She knew that once she'd come back to reality, she would have to continue to live out her mundane life without ever knowing the truth about herself.
Thinking back on everything that had happened thus far—all the steps she had taken since she met Kazami—she was constantly finding herself teetering on the edge of a past discovery. She knew that the key to answering all of her questions resided within the depths of this mysterious world.
"No, I shouldn't be thinking this way," she murmured, knowing full well that this was nothing more than a momentarily selfish wish outside of danger.
'I wouldn't be thinking this way without the protection from others. I should be grateful rather than selfish; after all, I am the dead weight in the group.'
She knew that her main priority was to escape the game alive with all her friends. She knew that, yet beneath the surface of her resolve to live and protect those dear to her laid a labyrinth that contained all of her yearning excitement to truly experience what it means to really live her own life.
In the end, no one can escape its grasp, no matter how desperately they try. Whether it came swiftly or lingered on the edge of consciousness, death is the great equaliser that renders all fears and ambitions meaningless in its wake. They all lead to the same path of abandonment, leaving everyone behind to go into another world, much like this one.
Perhaps our fate had already been sealed from the start. It would just be better to die a painless death inside a video game where everyone can be buried by the illusion of the game's excitement and adventure.This girl also have the same thought, which really surprised me. It seems like our minds are still somewhat in sync.
Creed chuckled softly at Tang-Ji's fidgety gesture as he read her like an open book and knew exactly what was on her mind.
"I can tell you are still very attached to reality. That's good. Hold onto it and don't ever let go." He made a sad expression.
His voice echoed softly through the cave, the sound absorbing into the damp, rock walls. As they walked side by side, the distant glow from ahead flickered, casting faint shadows across their path.
"Death is natural," he continued, his words steady, but his eyes distant. "And while it feels like our loved ones are gone, remember... the dead stay dead. Mourning won't bring them back."
A small breeze stirred the air, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and stone, mingling with the quiet hum of dripping water from above. His gaze shifted, as if searching for something in the shadows.
"But as long as we keep them in our hearts," he added, his tone softer, "they'll continue to live on through us. We're all seeking something in this life. Let the spirit of the dead be a guide—a lesson—to lead us to the end of our journey."
Tang-Ji walked in silence for a moment, the weight of his words lingering in the air, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the cave's hollow interior.
"I-I'm sorry for bringing up your friend." She apologised nervously; she was caught off guard by what he had said.
It was strangely profound, but she still found it out of character for him, even though she only knew him for a day. The fact that a complete stranger was able to understand her was something that she could never dream of seeing her old classmates bothered trying.
Now that Tang-Ji thought about it, she had been feeling a strange sense of ease around everyone here. The odd feeling has continued to linger inside of her ever since her first encounter with Kazami.
It was as if the hardened jade stones that were sealing her heart together were finally cracking; every new face she saw after him seemed to bring forth the human expression she had previously believed she was incapable of expressing. She still vividly remembered the face she would make through the mirror heart in her room every day before going to school.
"Dull doll," "expressionless nerd," "ice queen," "basic freak," she still remembered all those insults that people threw at her, which didn't really bother her.
She didn't even know how to react to those comments; the feeling of loneliness would be the closest thing she had felt; however, even then, she would just immerse herself in reading and forget about it the next day.
'What face am I making right now?' She wondered while trying to pace herself to keep up with the others.
He shook his head, his gaze gentle. "It's alright. You don't have to keep apologising. Let's focus on finding out who orchestrated this fucked-up game instead," he suggested, his determination clear.