Finally, we entered the gates leading to the center of the Stratum.
The atmosphere was like stepping into a decaying dream—buildings either crumbling or half-finished, long-legged machines towering ominously, supporting the decaying infrastructure. Dangling objects were ensnared in tangled wires like forgotten puppets, and strange, blocky structures reminiscent of Tetris pieces littered the area in a chaotic mosaic.
Scattered construction machinery lay gangling on the ground, forgotten like toys from another time. Snow began to fall gently, casting a fragile silence over the metallic graveyard.
Adam stretched his hands out slowly, eyes trailing upward toward the ceiling.
"Hahh... It feels colder than last time," he muttered to himself.
Before he could collect another breath, a snowball struck him square in the face. He stumbled back and tumbled to the ground, coughing and laughing as he wiped the snow from his eyes.
"Okay—who did that?" he asked, grinning through the sting.
Yoku stood nearby, a cheeky smile plastered on his face, clearly proud of his ambush. Yuruki chuckled softly, watching the antics while trying to adjust to the cold and the bizarre setting.
"I just got an idea," Yoku said with a short laugh. "And it's a gesture worth hearing."
Adam closed his eyes, a playful smirk forming as he grabbed a fistful of snow and hurled it at Yoku.
"Haha! But first—get hit on!"
Yuri sighed deeply, shaking her head at the childish energy, only to be caught off-guard as Kineki lobbed a snowball right into her face. Her eyes twitched, steam practically shooting from her head. Then, without warning, she scooped up armfuls of snow with machine-like precision and began pelting everyone with perfect accuracy.
Yoku's idea continued as we all began collecting scraps—metal pieces, wires, cans, even steel poles. We connected them with ropes, attaching metal heads to their ends and affixing them to building blocks. Bit by bit, we shaped three-dimensional faces—our faces—crafted from salvaged debris.
Adam stood back and smiled at the result, never expecting he'd get to do something like this again.
But then Yoku suddenly winced. His hand trembled slightly as he tried to grip a piece of metal.
"Hey... what?" he muttered, confused by the numbness. Before he could dwell on it, Mino collapsed nearby, gasping and heaving for breath.
Yuri rushed forward, catching her before her head hit the ground. Kineki clutched his own hand, looking at her, then down at himself with a mixture of guilt and frustration.
"The pills... we've already used all of them," Yoku sighed heavily, the weight of the situation sinking in. "And we don't have enough food for the rest of the journey."
Mino stared up at the sky—well, the wall that passed for a sky in this place.
"Why don't you leave me behind?" she whispered, a gentle smile on her lips despite her condition. "I'm happy, really. I don't want my weakness to be the reason we don't make it to the end."
Adam turned to Yoku with a deadpan expression. "Hey... did you teach her that?"
Yoku turned red, flustered and awkward. "I did not!... Hahh..." He looked around quickly for an excuse, then nodded to himself. "I'll go look for supplies. Pills, food—whatever I can find for Mino. We'll catch up."
Adam furrowed his brows. "But Yoku... didn't you always dream of reaching the ceiling of the Stratum? Are you seriously giving up now?"
Yoku shook his head. "No. I said I'd catch up. This way, we increase our chances—two groups, two paths. Higher probability of success."
Yuruki's eyes narrowed slightly, deep in thought. After a pause, she spoke.
"I think there may be some pills left at my old facility. I'll help however I can. I'll go with you, Yoku."
Adam blinked. Something didn't sit right. His thoughts felt jarbled—like static. He didn't want her to go. After all, she had been the one who caught up to them alone when they were nearly lost. Still... something just felt off.
Yuruki seemed to pick up on that. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, then gently closed. She leaned forward like a mischievous child, hands behind her back, a playful grin on her face. She pointed a gesture at Adam and teased him softly:
"Do you think something will happen?"
Adam's face flushed crimson. He stumbled backward, visibly flustered. "What!? No! What are you even talking about?!"
Yuri stared at them both blankly with a tired expression, then sighed and looked at the ground. Yoku smirked knowingly.
"Hoho?"
Yuruki reached into her backpack and pulled out a folded map—hand-drawn, yellowing at the edges. "Don't worry," she said, unfurling it. "I've mapped out the whole city since my first day leaving the facility. I know the way. I'll be quick, I promise."
Kineki stared at her, his expression blank and soulless. "You're too short to be so assertive."
"And you're too young to be so dead."
They packed quickly. Mino, Yuruki, and Yoku waved goodbye, their silhouettes fading into the snowy horizon.
Adam watched them disappear. The group had finally split.
But... he couldn't help but feel hopeful. After all, isn't it human to think that nothing bad will happen—because there's nothing you can do—and to hold on to the fragile belief that maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay?
"So... this is it," he whispered.
Kineki looked out toward the endless wreckage. "Should I have gone with them?"
Adam glanced at him. "Would you have wanted to?"
"They're already gone... It's too late."
Silence.
"Thank you for everything," Kineki said quietly. "If you hadn't kept chasing after us... even when Mino nearly cracked your skull with that bat, even when we pushed you away... you still adopted us. If you hadn't, I don't think I'd have ever known what it meant to be part of something."
Adam thought of Berto—how he'd jumped off the truck, how that one act led to meeting these two. Berto now sat comfortably on Adam's head, not having eaten in a day, yet refusing to leave the group.
After hours of trudging through snow and ruins, we finally arrived at the final sector.
A colossal, spiraling staircase towered in the center, ascending all the way to the top of the Stratum. Around it stood a massive facility, like the heart of the entire structure.
We stepped inside, greeted by strange scripture—drawings etched into holographic surfaces. They depicted massive, fantastical rocks—some the size of houses, all with unique shapes—hovering outside the facility. Adam stared at them, struck by a deep, strange familiarity he couldn't quite place.
His hand reached out to touch one of the screens.
Suddenly, a surge of static electricity coursed through him. The gate in front of them whirred and opened automatically.
[You're confused why it does that, Adam? Hehe... I hacked the system to think you're the owner. That way, we could open the gate.]
"Rehan?! You heartless tin can! You only tell me now?!"
[Well… sigh. I guess this is the finale.]
As the gate fully opened, the group entered the final sector. A faded metal sign greeted them overhead:
0-04