A soft hum carried through the air as the elevator continued descending. I kept my eyes closed, waiting for it to stop. I wasn't sure where we were headed, expecting to be quickly taken to some underground facility that led to the land below.
But contrary to my expectations, the elevator continued to move down.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
The elevator continued to move down as everyone stared at the door in silence, the tension building up the more time that passed.
'Just how long is this going to carry on for?'
I was just about to start getting worried about the situation when finally, a chime echoed across the surroundings.
Ding—!
The elevator soon came to a stop.
'Twenty five minutes.'
That was how long it took for the elevator to finally stop.
Rattle! Rattle!
A metallic rattle followed subsequently as the doors of the elevator began to open.
"——!"
And almost immediately, we all started to feel a difference.
At first, it was the smell.
I didn't quite know how to describe it. Stale? The smell wasn't anything bad. But it felt 'closed'. Like the smell of a room that had been left closed for a very long time.
The next thing I noticed was the temperature.
It was cold, but not too cold. Not to the point where I started to shiver.
And lastly...
"It's hard to see."
Mia looked around alongside the others, taking note of the thin layer of fog that had filtered into the elevator room as the doors opened.
I moved my hand in the air, trying to feel the fog, but it felt like just regular fog. Just that it was a tiny bit darker, matching the stale gray sky.
Looking past the elevator doors, we were greeted by the sight of foliage. Trees stood unevenly ahead of us, their branches fading into a thin layer of fog that covered the ground. Bushes pressed close together, forming a wall of green in some places and narrow openings in others.
There didn't seem to be any buildings in sight, no sign that this space belonged inside a structure at all.
The tiled floor stopped at the threshold of the elevator. Grass began immediately after, creeping close but never crossing the metal frame. The fog shifted slowly between the trunks, and the more I looked at the surroundings, the more my stomach churned.
I... had seen a lot of things.
I thought I had gotten used to a lot of things.
But this...?
I had yet to take a single step into the mist, and yet, my heart had already started to beat faster as my palms started to feel itchy.
'I don't like this. I don't like this at all.'
But still, I still chose to take a step forward. Looking around me, it was obvious that the others were just as tense.
"Let's go. We don't have much time."
Crunch—!
The branches cracked as I walked ahead. Taking me as a point of reference, the others followed along as I calmly observed my surroundings, keeping one hand in my pocket as I held onto the knife.
'In case anything comes close to us, I should be able to keep the nine of us safe.'
"Niel."
Maintaining my calm, and keeping my gaze forward, I called for Niel.
"Yes?"
"Give me an overview of the situation."
I had already studied the material in the elevator, but Niel was far better at this kind of thing. He had probably analyzed details I'd overlooked.
"Yes."
Adjusting his glasses, Niel took out his phone and began to speak as everyone followed along, cautiously observing the surroundings.
"In total, seven teams are stranded in Point Z. Based on the information gathered, the BUA lost direct contact with two teams eight days ago. They lost contact with three more teams five days ago, and finally, they lost contact with the remaining two teams two days ago."
I closed my eyes momentarily and proceeded forward. This much, I knew.
"...Doing a little bit more digging, I was able to retrieve the recording of the last message that each team sent before disappearing. I'll play the recording now."
Niel fiddled with this phone for a few seconds before stopping.
Silence filled the space.
Then—
—Khhh! Kh! Khhhh!
A loud static filled the air.
My heart pressed lightly against my chest I navigated past the surroundings, keeping a close watch over everything as the fog started to thicken up.
—Khhhhhhh! Khhh! Khhhhhhh!
The static continued.
The more it echoed, the more eerie it became. But soon, the static was broken up by words.
—Request assistance. Khhhh! Team Kalios requesting for backup. Khhhhh! Khhhhh!
Almost whisper like voices echoed past the static. The creepiest part of it all was the lack of emotion from the voice. It was almost as if there was no sense of urgency behind the emergency request.
—Khhh! Help us. Help us. Help us. Khhh!
Despite this, the words suggested that the situation was desperate.
The parallels between the tone of the voice were enough to make me pause.
Everyone else paused too, turning their attention towards Niel who stopped the transmission.
"You all have noticed it too, right? The weirdness of the message."
"...No shit we noticed." Nora replied, looking at Niel's phone with a frown. "What the hell was that?"
"I am not sure, to be honest. We were all given recordings for each teams. This was the one that I found to be the weirdest. It could be a trap of sorts. That's why I think we should avoid trying to rescue Team Kalios."
"And where were they last seen?"
I suddenly asked, taking out my phone to look at the map of Point Z.
"No, in fact, where are we?"
The GPS didn't work here so besides the fact that we were in Point Z, we didn't quite know where we were.
"...Team Kalios was last located by the edge of Point Z. On the Eastern Side."
Niel answered, his expression turning weirder and weirder as he pinched the screen of his phone, his actions pausing as he then proceeded to look around. He continued to do this until eventually, he paused entirely.
"What?"
Taking note of his abnormal behavior, Mia bit her lips.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, it's..."
Niel pinched his phone again, looking around and then back at his phone. Seeing his actions, I understood immediately, my heart turning heavier.
"We're on the Eastern Side. The Reclamation Forest to be exact."
"——!"
"—!"
Everyone's expressions shifted subtly, their heads lifting to scan the surroundings. But the more they looked, the less they found. All that surrounded us were faint shadows of vegetation, barely visible through the thick fog.
"It's not given."
Niel suddenly spoke up.
"This is merely an estimated guess based on the type of vegetation, and the fact that there aren't buildings. There's some notable greenery in the South, in the Agricultural Belt. But even if we are in the Easter Side, so long as we don't engage we should be fine."
His words didn't lighten the mood. Instead, it made the air feel even heavier as everyone continued to observe the surroundings cautiously.
I took a shallow breath, tightly holding onto the knife in my pocket.
'Still nothing. We should be fine. There's nothing to worry about.'
Niel suddenly directed his attention towards me.
"Squad Leader. What do you think we should do?"
The moment Niel spoke, everyone turned their attention towards me. I didn't answer immediately. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure. In some sort of way, I was tempted to stay here and figure out what was going on with Team Kalios.
If it was true that they were close to us, then realistically speaking, they weren't a bad option.
However, taking into consideration of the safety of my squad, I decided against it.
'Let's not risk it. Let me at least familiarize with this place first.'
"If we're in the Easter Side, what is the next closest rescue team?"
"The Central Area."
"Okay."
I nodded, looking ahead and taking out a certain compass.
"Let's head there."
-x-X-x-
Crackle~
The fire crackled, smoke rising and dissolving into the surrounding fog as the group sat around the makeshift campfire, their pupils reflecting the flickering flames.
Nobody said a word as they all sat in silence.
But the silence merely lasted a few seconds as Niel retrieved his glasses, wiping them with a small cloth as he began to speak.
"Point Z was originally an unremarkable industrial–research district built around a government experimental energy facility. The population of the area was in the hundreds of thousands. It was neither a big city nor was it a small town."
Crackle~ Crackle~
As the fire continued to crackle, Niel put on his glasses again.
"...But the reason there's so much interest in Point Z is that, unlike the other areas overrun by anomalies, this one remained relatively quiet. Within just six hours of the mist's appearance, all the citizens vanished. But that isn't the most concerning aspect of all of this. What's more concerning is this."
Reaching for his backpack, Niel retrieved a small radio. One that looked to have come from several decades in the past.
He fiddled with the antenna at the top and then turned it on.
—Khhh! Khhh...!
Static filled the surroundings, drowning out the crackling of the fire.
But soon, the static began to fade. Little by little, it weakened until voices finally echoed from the speaker.
—It's a sunny... day today! How is everyone doing? This is your radio host, Winderhost, and today I'll be bringing you the latest news!
Niel looked at everyone as the radio continued.
—Today has been rather uneventful. A few car crashes were reported, along with some burglaries, but nothing major. The Police Chief has already arrested those responsible.
Click!
Niel closed off the radio.
"It should be impossible for the radio to function. Let alone the fact that nobody uses the radio anymore, but there should be no signal here. The Mist has made it impossible for there to be any sort of signal. So..."
Niel stared at the radio, his expression tense.
"...So how is it possible for the radio to function like this?"
Crackle~
His words were met with the crackling of the fire.
Nobody answered. Nobody could answer.
But eventually, Joanna opened her mouth.
"This could be the work of the anomaly responsible for the disappearance of the people here. It might also be what caused the squads we were sent to rescue to vanish."
"It's possible."
Niel nodded in agreement, putting the radio back. Although he was explaining the situation to everyone, he was aware that everyone already knew all of the information that he was sharing. In fact, everyone had a radio with them as well.
The radio...
It was one of their most important assets.
"Ugh, this is fucking creepy."
Nora muttered while sitting up, stretching her back. "...And uncomfortable," she added while making a face.
"No, but seriously. For how long do we have to rest? The more we stay here, the creepier this place feels."
Nora looked around. The fog had thickened fast, and the sky had long darkened. She could still see, but only a few feet in front of her.
The branches were the worst part. They didn't look like trees anymore. They looked like rusted needles poking through a white sheet. They were still, but as she moved, the perspective shifted, making it look like they were leaning in toward her.
"...This place gives me the fucking creeps."
"Get a grip on yourself."
Joanna commented while standing up, her lips pulled into a half-smile.
"We've been through a lot worse. This isn't even that bad."
Holding a torch, she began to walk away from the campfire.
"Where are you going?"
"Where else? Just need to take care of business."
"Ah, alright."
Joanna didn't look back. She switched on the torch, and a beam of light cut through the fog, illuminating the path ahead.
She didn't go far. Just enough to still hear the crackle of the fire, yet far enough that none of them could see her. There, she found a secluded spot to take care of her business.
Of course, she had taken precautions, tying a string to her ankle so she wouldn't lose her way. If anything happened, the others would notice.
Crunch—!
The crackling of the fire was the only thing keeping the silence around her from feeling heavy. Joanna looked out, but the world ended six feet away. The fog didn't just drift; it sat there, heavy and motionless, like the water in the depths of the sea. It had a weight to it that made her lungs ache, each breath feeling heavier than the last.
Everything was unnaturally still. There was no wind to move the mist, no crickets, no rustle of leaves. It was the kind of silence that made her own heartbeat sound like a drum in her ears.
Joanna lowered her gaze, trying not to focus on her surroundings. Her eyes eventually settled on the camera strapped to her chest, recording everything.
Of course, for obvious reasons, it wasn't on. But staring at the camera, Joanna quietly bit her lips as she looked in the direction of where the camp was.
'It was quite disappointing to see you leave our group like that. However, in the end, we all managed to make a name for ourselves after you left. Do you think it's a coincidence?'
'Oh, but I heard you failed your first trial. The same for your team. Are you guys not holding your Squad Leader back? We all somehow passed, haha.'
The words of her team.
The news articles and the comments from the people.
'I'll carry you.'
The Squad Leader's words.
She wanted to refute everything. She wanted to say that they weren't useless. That they didn't need to be carried, but...
"....."
The only thing she could do was open her mouth.
For... all of it was true.
Slap!
Slapping her own cheeks, Joanna shook her head.
'No, let's not think like this. The Squad Leader chose us for a reason. I'm sure we can figure this out. We have plenty of time. The Congress is still in full swing.'
Crunch!
Taking care of her business, Joanna turned to trace the string back toward the camp. At the same time, she turned the camera back on.
The fog had seemed to thicken in the time it took for her to take care of her business, rising against her throat, making every breath feel even heavier.
She moved in a heavy, muffled silence, her boots sinking into the unnaturally soft earth with a rhythmic 'crunch' that seemed to echo in her ears with each step.
The beam of her flashlight cut a path through the dense fog as Joanna followed the string on her ankle until the sickly, distorted amber of the fire finally bled through the mist. The sound of the crackling fire grew strong, though the silence around it felt a little unnatural.
Joanna's beam cut through the last layer of trees, right before the clearing that led to the camp, but as she did, she stopped, her beam pausing on someone's back.
"Huh?"
Joanna's torch moved sideways, several shadows casting on the ground beneath as the beam stopped behind several backs.
Niel, Nora, and the others were spread out in a wide, perfect circle, standing inches away from the trees, almost hugging them. They were perfectly still, their backs turned from her, staring into the camp.
"Guys?"
Joanna whispered, her voice straining.
'What's going on?'
Nora's head moved. It didn't tilt or turn; it pivoted very, very slowly, almost mechanically. Her face was pale, her eyes slightly wide and reflecting the torchlight like a cat's. She didn't wince or show any discomfort.
Slowly, Nora raised a finger to her lips.
"Shhh," Nora breathed.
Joanna froze.
Niel and the others turned then, performing the same synchronized motion. They all mirrored the gesture, pressing their fingers to their lips, "Shhh."
"What? What's going on?"
Joanna whispered, staring at their glassy eyes.
Niel didn't answer; he pointed toward the center of the camp, urging her forward with a silent motion of his hand.
'What the hell is happening? Did they spot an anomaly?' Joanna's entire body tensed as she drifted toward them, stepping behind a tree near Niel. She leaned out, her eyes following their collective gaze, bracing herself to see a monster, an anomaly, or just anything.
But...
Crackle! Crackle~
All she saw was the campfire.
It was burning steadily. The logs shifted, sending a spray of sparks into the air. But there was no one there. The logs they had been sitting on were empty. The backpacks were gone. The radio was gone. It was just a lonely, starving fire in the middle of a dead world.
"There's nothing there," Joanna whispered, turning to Niel. "Niel, what are you—"
The space beside her was empty.
"....!"
Joanna spun around. The trees were bare. No Nora. No Niel. No squad. Nothing.
A sudden burst of laughter erupted from the center of the camp.
Joanna's head whipped back toward the fire, her breath catching in her throat.
There they were.
All sat around the campfire like before they left.
Niel was sitting on his pack, fastidiously wiping his glasses with a small cloth. Nora was stretching her back, her mouth open in a wide, bored yawn. The Squad Leader sat still, staring at the campfire while Mia cooked some marshmallows, distributing them to the others.
All eight of them were present.
Then, as if suddenly taking notice of her, Nora called out.
"Took you long enough. Did you fall over or something?"
-x-X-x-
Joanna's complexion was abnormally pale.
The moment Nora called out to her, she seemed to hesitate.
"Joanna. What are you doing there? Are you feeling okay? It almost looks like you've seen a ghost."
"Ah, I..."
Joanna's lips parted, but no words came out of her mouth. She looked at us, almost uncertain of whether to move forward or stay where she was. Though subtle, her face appeared rather tense as she continued to scan us with her eyes.
"Joanna?"
By now, everyone had already realized that something was wrong.
"Are you okay? What's going on?"
Nora tried to approach her, but Joanna took a step back.
"...J-just give me a moment."
Joanna held her hand forward, stopping Nora from moving forward.
"I... need a moment."
"What? Did something happen?"
Nora's brows furrowed, and the surroundings started to feel heavier. I took a moment to stare at Joanna before shifting my attention back towards the fire.
"Give her a moment."
I didn't know what was going on, but given Joanna's current condition, I knew that she needed time to collect herself properly. I motioned to the others to sit down while Joanna remained standing where she was, her expression gradually calming alongside her complexion.
Crackle~
Watching the fire crackle, I eventually turned to her.
"Are you feeling better?"
"...Yes."
Joanna nodded, still pressing her hand against one of the trees. But this time, she seemed to be able to speak without any issues as she finally moved towards the camp, taking a seat.
The moment she sat down, Mia and Nora almost jumped out of their seats, seemingly on the verge of exploding from curiosity, but I held the two back.
"Wait."
I stopped them and looked at Joanna.
"What happened?"
The camp turned silent, all eyes fixed on Joanna. Now that she was a lot calmer, Joanna answered after carefully chewing on her words.
"I was... just returning when I saw all of you standing by the trees, staring at the camp."
"Nnn?! What?"
Mia's shoulders jumped.
"What are you saying? We were here the entire time."
"...I assume so."
Joanna calmly nodded, taking a small breath.
"When I tried asking what was going on, all of you turned to look at me and told me to stay silent. Niel even beckoned me towards him."
"What?"
Niel frowned, but Joanna didn't stop.
"I... know. I can tell from your expression that you don't remember."
"What do you mean, I don't remember?"
"I don't know."
She was almost whispering now. Turning her attention towards me, Joanna licked her lips.
"...I don't know whether what I saw was just a mirage, or you guys had been taken over without even knowing. Or..."
Joanna's chest rose, her face tensing further.
"Or... we're currently being watched."
Crackle—!
The fire crackled even more ferociously, one of the logs breaking down as the fire rose and the heaviness in the air rose. Staring at Joanna and then the fire, I wiped my hands against my pants.
Holding onto the knife with the otherhand, I tried to feel for anything in the surroundings.
The more I thought about Joanna's words, the more tense my muscles felt. Taken over...? Although I wanted the possibility, who was there to say that it wasn't possible? Although the scenario where it was just an illusion felt even more likely, I couldn't dismiss the other scenario.
'Could this also be a clue as to how the citizens of Point Z have disappeared?'
"...What about you recording?"
Raising my head, I looked in Ariel's direction. Her attention seemed fixed on the camera strapped around Joanna's chest.
"That's right!"
Mia smacked her fist against her hand.
"If you really did see something, then it might've been recorded. Let's see it!"
"That's true."
Joanna muttered, her face easing a little as she mumbled, "I had turned it off when I went to take care of my business, but I did turn it on right after. I should be able to see something. At least, it should be able to confirm if you guys have been taken over, or I have been seeing things."
Taking out her phone, Joanna tapped it against the camera. As her thumb scrolled across the screen, she suddenly stopped, then slowly turned the phone toward herself.
"Yes, I've got the video."
She tapped play, and the video began.
—Crunch!
The first thing I heard was the soft crunch of the branches beneath Joanna's feet, snapping as she moved towards the camp. The fog was thick, but under the beam of the flashlight, she was able to see ahead with no issue.
She continued to move unhindered until a small, flickering light bled through the haze. The camp soon appeared, and so did our silhouettes.
But strangely, the beam of her flashlight didn't settle on the fire. Instead, it swept past us, trembling as it caught the trees at the perimeter of the clearing.
—Guys?
Joanna's voice whispered through the speaker, the camera shifting around the trees. Almost as if she were talking to someone.
But there was no one.
In fact, looking closely, I also realized that we had yet to take notice of her.
I raised my head, meeting the eyes of everyone present as the air suddenly started to feel oppressive.
The warmth of the campfire died instantly.
"With this, we can confirm that we weren't taken over."
I tried to keep my cool. I tried to calm everyone down.
But—
—Khhhh...! Khhhhh! Kh! HAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Heart-wrenching cries suddenly erupted from the phone's speaker, the sound so raw it felt like the plastic was splintering. The screams weren't just loud; they were distorted, overlapping as if there was more than one person screaming.
"W-what the hell!?"
Mia was the first one to jump up as Joanna's hand shook, nearly losing grip of her phone as the screams continued to pierce through the surroundings.
—HEEEELP! HAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
"Turn it off!"
Mia shrieked, her hands clamped over her ears.
"Joanna, kill the damn thing!"
Joanna's fingers fumbled frantically over her phone, her finger pressing onto the screen over and over again. But the recording didn't stop. The screaming grew louder, overlapping itself until it sounded like a hundred people were howling in unison from inside her phone.
—HAAAAAAAA! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!—
Then, the screams stopped. Amidst the silence that followed, the collective sound of everyone's breathing echoed, all eyes fixed on the screen. Towards the nine figures sat by the campfire, huddled together while staring at a certain phone.
Shivers immediately ran down my entire body, alongside the others, as the crackling of the fire stopped.
For just a moment, everything fell completely still.
Until—
Crackle~
The crackling of the fire returned, and the recording finally paused.
But even though the recording stopped, the sound of our collective breaths didn't as nobody made a sound, several heads turning in a certain direction, only to see nothing but a dense fog.
I closed my eyes, tightly holding onto the knife in my grasp.
'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.'
All of us are here.
I couldn't feel the presence of any anomaly.
We...
We were still fine.
I swallowed.
"Pack up your stuff. Let's head to the central area. We've overstayed our stay here."
The others didn't question my order, all jumping up to pack up their stuff. I could tell. Nobody wanted to stay a second longer in this place.
But I couldn't blame them.
I was no different.
-x-X-x-
Crunch. Crunch—
The crunch of our steps continued to echo throughout the air as several beams of light cut through the dense fog, illuminating the path ahead. Nobody said a word. Nobody dared to say a word, our minds preoccupied with the incident from before.
I was no different.
Thinking about the recording and what Joanna had talked to us about, I knew that there was something fundamentally wrong with this place.
'Could this be a sort of illusion created by the fog? But then how did it take control of the phone and take a recording of us?'
I wet my lips, trying to keep my mind steady.
I couldn't lose focus now. I needed to remain calm.
Crunch!
Taking another step, I looked at the compass in my hands. It was pointing right in front of me.
"We're going in the right direction, right?"
Nora's voice reached me from behind. I didn't answer immediately because I wasn't sure myself. The compass suggested that I was, but given that the compass wouldn't always bring me to the right place, with the occasional risk of it bringing me to the complete opposite place that I desired, I couldn't downright tell her that we were.
"...Most likely."
Yes, this seemed like the most appropriate answer.
"Most likely? What does that even mean?"
"There might be a chance that we aren't. I can't guarantee anything with this fog."
"But... I, agh, nevermind."
Nora seemed to realize as well that, in our current situation, there was little I could actually do.
'At least, as of now, there isn't anything to worry about. I still can't feel anything around us.'
But was this a good thing?
I was certain that the knife would tell me if there were any anomalies nearby, or any sort of life, but what if the anomaly couldn't be felt by the knife? What then...? After all, the knife wasn't omnipotent. There certainly existed anomalies that could escape its influence.
'No, there's no use thinking this way. Just go to the central area and find a place to rest.'
All of us were exhausted. We had planned on staying in the camp to take a rest, but as things stood, we had no choice but to leave and look for a new place.
It was important that we all rested.
"What do you all think about what happened back then?"
Cutting through the silence around us, Niel appeared next to me as he wiped his glasses again. Because of the fog, he had no choice but to do it quite often.
"...It might be something related to the mist."
Joanna replied a short moment later.
But Ariel's voice soon echoed.
"No."
Her words made us all pause for a moment. She wasn't one to speak a lot, but whenever she spoke, it always seemed to carry a certain weight.
"If it were related to the mist, then we would've been informed beforehand in the guidebook."
"But what if it's part of the trial?"
Nora suddenly asked, trying her best to reason about the situation.
Ariel merely looked at her and didn't answer. Or it was more like, she couldn't be bothered to answer as she pointed her beam head.
Nora's face twitched, her lips opening as she mumbled, 'This bitch is ignoring me again...'
"The BUA is crazy, and the World Congress is supposed to test us, but they wouldn't omit such important information. Not only that, but we've all studied the mist. It doesn't have such properties."
Joanna was still the most level-headed in the group as she looked at Nora.
"...If the mist really was like that, we would've known."
"Haa, fine."
Nora waved her hand, pointing ahead as a soft 'crunch' followed her steps. Without saying anything else, she moved closer to me.
I merely gave her a glance before looking back at the compass. So far, it still pointed straight ahead, but looking around and seeing no buildings around, I started to grow more and more worried.
'We've walked for quite a bit, and we should've seen some buildings by now. And yet, there's still nothing. Don't tell me that it's leading me in the wrong path, right?'
My grip over the compass tightened.
If this was really the case, then I needed to take some time to properly assess the situation. Thankfully, I wasn't completely helpless. I could always summon the Realmwalker to check the surroundings and path.
'Maybe I should do that.'
It could—
Swooooooooooooooooosh!
The thoughts died in my throat. We froze, our bodies locking up instinctively as a low, mournful whistling began to vibrate through the mist.
"That's...!"
We raised our heads, and the world changed.
The pale, suffocating darkness of the fog was being drowned out. Blood-red crimson began to bleed through the haze around us, spreading like a freshly opened wound. In that light, the shadows of the trees stretched and thinned, almost as if hypnotized by the red light above.
"Flare..." Mia muttered, her words barely audible. The crimson stain in the fog reflected in her pupils, her eyes dying red in the process.
"What should we do?"
"..."
The answer was obvious. There wasn't anything to think about.
Without saying a word, I swung the beam of my torch toward the place where the flare had burned through the dark and started running.
The others followed instantly.
The crunch of our boots on gravel exploded in the silence, as if the ground itself were brittle bones snapping beneath our collective weight. The beams of our torches jittered wildly, slicing through trees and rock and empty air, never staying still, causing the shadows of the trees to stretch in all directions.
"Start activating your nodes. Take out any protective item that you might've brought with you."
We didn't know what waited up ahead.
Without anyone noticing, I also released the Realmwalker while picking up the pace. We were going to rescue the team, but also potentially fight against an anomaly. I didn't know what waited ahead, but we had to be cautious.
"Ariel."
Calling Ariel's name, my mind suddenly cooled.
My body stiffened for just a brief moment before returning to normal.
"If you lose connection with anyone, tell me immediately."
"...Yes."
This was a preemptive measure in order to protect our minds from any anomaly that tried to do something to our minds. Not only that, but if something did occur to any of us, she'd know immediately, as well as brainwash us into becoming calm if the emotions got the best of us.
Like a puppeteer, she controlled all of us.
Swooosh—!
At the same time, Ariel created a connection with us, a shadow shot past us, Sarah's figure fading as she moved ahead.
With the little presence she had, she was the best scout.
I kept my eyes on her silhouette and quickened my pace, placing each step with care. Heel first, then toe. Slow enough to soften the crunch. Quiet enough, hopefully, not to draw attention.
Everyone else was the same.
The faint red glow pulsed weakly through the haze ahead. One by one, we switched off our torches. Darkness swallowed us whole. The fog pressed in instantly, thickening around us, crawling into my nose and mouth, making each breath feel heavier.
For a moment, we were blind.
Then, pushing past the trees and bushes, the red emerged again, bleeding through the mist.
Sarah's outline stood motionless up ahead.
We closed the distance and gathered around her. As we did, the fog shifted, thinning just enough to reveal the source of it all: a single flare, stabbed into the earth.
It burned steadily, spitting red sparks into the air. The blood-red smoke coiled through the fog, rising up slowly.
But most importantly, and most unsettling, was the absence of anything around it.
No footprints. No dropped pack. No sign of whoever had fired it.
Just the flare.
The soft hiss and sizzle gnawed at the silence. It wasn't loud, but in the absence of everything else, it felt invasive.
Like a soft whisper inside my ear.
My chest tightened as I stared at it, the red light flickering across our faces.
Rustle! Rustle!
"—!"
The sound sliced through the silence.
My head snapped up so fast my neck burned. Every nerve in my body ignited at once. The fog ahead quivered, seemingly disturbed by something.
Something pushing through.
Branches trembled. Leaves shuddered.
My pulse quickened in my ears, drowning out everything but that dragging, slow rustle ahead of us. Beside me, someone's breath grew frantic. Another took a step back, gravel crunching far too loud.
And then—
Rustle! Rustle!
Several figures appeared one by one, their body tensing and freezing at the sight of us.
"You..."
A voice cut through the silence as another figure stepped out of the greenery behind, his expression filled with surprise.
"Were you the ones who released the flare?"
-x-X-x-
The man, along with the others dressed in identical white uniforms adorned with golden embroidery, stood tall, around 180 centimeters. He had short brown hair, and his thick brows gave him a naturally fierce expression.
I didn't know who he was, but I recognized his uniform instantly.
"They're from the Evening Sun Guild."
Joanna muttered next to me, instantly recognizing them from their uniform. I looked at her and then nodded my head.
"Yes, it seems like it."
I knew of them. They were a Guild with a fairly good reputation.
"...Are you not going to answer?"
The man once again spoke, his voice deeper than before as his gaze alternated between us and then the flare.
"No."
I shook my head.
"We weren't the ones to release the flare. In fact, we were coming here to rescue the ones who had used the flare."
"....."
The man narrowed his eyes, as if trying to determine whether I was lying or not. Eventually, he nodded and stepped forward, crouching to touch the flare as it continued to sizzle, though far weaker than before.
"It hasn't been more than a couple of minutes since the flare was released."
He began to speak again, his eyes dragging themselves off the flare and locking onto mine.
Up close, the red light pooled in his pupils, turning them completely red. It was impossible to tell where the reflection ended, and his iris began. For a moment, they didn't look like eyes at all, just two glassy red dots.
His lips parted.
"In that short amount of time, the ones that have released the flare have disappeared. Given the background of this place, they must've experienced what the citizens have experienced here, alongside the squads that we're supposed to rescue."
"...Mhm."
I nodded slowly, looking away from him and onto the flare.
At the same time, I activated the ability of the knife in my pocket. Given what had happened a few moments ago, I needed to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. That the people in front of me were not merely an illusion.
'All good.'
Thankfully, they weren't, and I was able to relax my guard a little. But just a little bit as I continued to remain tense.
Looking at the guy ahead of me, and then around, I spoke.
"Although the probability of them still being around is low, I still suggest we start looking around to make sure."
"Let's do that."
The man stood up, patting his hands as he motioned to his team behind him.
"Go and check the perimeter. If you see anything, let me know immediately."
"Yes!"
"...Understood!"
His team was efficient. They didn't question his orders and immediately got to work, disappearing into the mist. I glanced back at my own team, and they followed suit, leaving just the two of us standing there.
Just as he was analyzing me, I was also analyzing him.
'Since he's from the Evening Sun Guild, he must be quite skilled. Although I don't know him, I'm sure he's very famous. He should be rather skilled. Makes sense considering that the Evening Sun Guild belongs to the Oak Circle.'
"Honestly, I'm surprised."
He was the first one to break the silence as his gaze fell on me.
"I didn't expect you to meet so fast. You're all everyone talks about, and when I looked at you, I couldn't help but be surprised by the fact that you're really at the Second Order. Are you perhaps hiding your skills? Or is this really your Order?"
"I'm not hiding anything."
Surprisingly, the words flowed out of my mouth smoothly.
Thinking about Team Leader Soran, I couldn't help but smile to myself.
"...A person's Order isn't everything."
"But it sure helps."
"Maybe so, but it isn't the end of it all in this industry. You can say that I'm the perfect example of this."
"Perhaps."
The man nodded, turning his attention away from me.
"I know who you are, but do you know who I am?"
"....."
A small smirk played on his lips the moment I didn't answer.
"Patrick Manz from the Evening Sun Guild."
He introduced himself, briefly catching me off-guard as I answered a half-beat too late.
".....It's nice to meet you."
"Not much of a reaction, huh? I guess I don't seem to catch your interest. I'm also a Paragon."
"..."
I scratched the side of my face, not sure how to reply, but he merely laughed as he turned back. Several silhouettes appeared right after, the members of his team returning quickly, scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing?"
They all shook their heads.
'Hm?'
My team also returned, spotting Joanna and the others. Looking at their faces, I understood immediately.
'Looks like they also didn't find anything.'
"Looks like we were all too late."
Patrick said, looking at all of us.
"Seems like it."
'And I thought we were fast. If they don't even give us time to rescue them, how are we supposed to save them? What a ridiculous trial. I should leave before whatever thing took them comes for us.'
Just as I planned on leaving, Patrick's voice echoed once more.
"What do you think about joining us?"
I paused, turning my attention towards him as I raised my brow. I could also notice the confusion on his team members' faces as some muttered, 'Wait, Squad Leader... They are...'
He merely extended his hand and stopped them from speaking.
"I know who they are." He looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. "This place is dangerous. As you've seen from what happened to that team, it's safer to stick together. We've found a decent shelter, an old abandoned building. I can tell you're all exhausted. Why not join us and work together? When the time comes, we can split the points evenly."
Honestly, this wasn't a bad offer. Looking back at my team and seeing their tired looks, I felt tempted.
But there was only one issue.
'Can I trust him?'
He was still a stranger to me. Although I was certain that he was a real person, alongside his team, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't backstab me. I needed to think carefully about this. After all, I had to take care of my team as well.
But as if reading my thoughts, Patrick laughed.
"If you're worried about us backstabbing you, then give the thought up."
He pointed at the camera strapped to his chest.
"We've got a reputation to uphold. You may not have heard about me, but I'm sure you know about our Guild."
My expression turned complex as I looked at the half-sun insignia strapped on the right side of his chest. Indeed, their Guild image was rather good. They were known to be rather trustworthy.
Sigh.
In the end, I sighed.
Looking back at my team, and then their team, I eventually nodded.
"Let's do that."
The more the merrier.
"Great."
Patrick smiled, turning around and pointing the beam of his torch in a different direction.
"Let's get going then."
*
They didn't have a compass as I did, but they all seemed to know how to navigate through the fog. Although I was curious, I didn't ask and just followed them in silence.
Eventually, we reached a stretch of path with far fewer branches. The ground was softer, though the strangely shaped trees still jutted into the trail, forcing us to push them aside as we moved forward.
'...Looking at the path we're walking, I can tell we're finally reaching somewhere.'
We continued to follow the path for thirty minutes, the silence around us only growing. At the end of the road, we finally spotted a sign.
Slowly, I raised my flashlight.
The beam cut through the fog and landed on the metal sign mounted crookedly beside the treeline.
The sign was almost completely devoured by rust. Orange corrosion bloomed across its surface like rot spreading through flesh. The edges had curled inward while the bolts holding it in place were swollen and dark. Whatever paint or lettering had once been there was long gone
'Just how long did this sign stay here to turn like this?'
"Let's keep going, we're almost there."
Patrick turned to look at me, half-smiling as he continued to walk ahead. I didn't say anything and just followed him silently.
We continued to walk for ten more minutes before the scenery changed.
The dense, suffocating press of the trees thinned out, giving way to a row of broken wooden railings. They stood apart and splintered in the middle of the forest, like a row of rotten teeth.
Beyond the fence sat a massive, sprawling building.
It was an uninspiring concrete structure, its surface was mottled with damp, dark patches that spread irregularly across the walls like advancing necrosis, as though the building itself were rotting from the outside in.
Water stains streaked downward in long, vertical trails, resembling old tear tracks.
There were no windows.
Or rather, there had been.
Squared outlines marked where glass should have been, but every opening was filled with pure darkness.
Even when I raised the beam of my flashlight and stepped closer to the building, I could hardly see anything.
As we crossed the perimeter of the broken railings, Patrick led us to the main entrance as he eventually stopped, his hand resting on a heavy steel door that was rusted shut, yet slightly ajar.
He didn't look back this time.
He just stared at the darkness pooling in the gap of the door.
"We're here."
He whispered, pulling the door apart.
CRRRRRAAAAK—
The sound ricocheted through the concrete shell and burst outward into the forest behind us. My skin prickled instantly, the hairs at the back of my neck rising with the sound.
But it didn't seem like Patrick had exerted enough effort to open the door as he eventually grunted, his muscles bulging as he pulled harder.
The doors jerked apart another few inches, metal scraping against metal with a drawn-out shriek that clawed at my ears. Rust flakes rained down at his feet. One hinge twisted slightly out of alignment, and the sound grew even more intrusive.
But eventually—
Clank!
The door fully opened, revealing the dark interior of the building as Patrick stepped in.
"Here we are."
He spoke, slightly out of breath.
"Our hideout."
-x-X-x-
"This place used to be an industrial-research facility, built around a government experimental energy facility. At least, this is what is officially written on the files given to us by those of the Congress. I've heard rumors, though."
Patrick lifted his torch and aimed it straight ahead, illuminating the room before us.
The beam revealed a wide concrete chamber. The walls were bare, marked by damp patches and lined with long, rusted metal pipes. The floor was cracked and stained, but otherwise empty.
He walked a few steps in and stopped near the center, then turned to face us.
"...You can have some rest in this room. Although it isn't anything fancy and doesn't have any decorations, it's still better than camping outside."
"I guess so."
Although the standard wasn't very high.
I moved toward the window, or what remained of it, and touched the cold concrete before leaning my head out as a chilly breeze brushed past me.
Below the building sat a small courtyard. The ground was uneven, patches of dead grass breaking through cracked pavement. In the center stood a rusted playground set, the swing creaking softly as it swayed back and forth.
"A lot of the researchers in this facility had families. With a lot of them being incredibly busy and with hardly any time to go back home, there are a lot of researchers who choose to live here. That's why there's a playground."
Patrick pointed towards a distant building, its frame masked by the thick fog and vegetation.
"That's the residential area."
"And have you not thought about going to sleep there?"
"We did, but at the end of the day, this place is good enough. This zone is also more central, so if we want to figure out some clues, this is probably the best place. Also, the beds and all the items in those rooms are probably all extremely damp and unusable. There's no real difference where we sleep."
"I see."
His words made a lot of sense.
In this regard, I was actually quite surprised by how he was able to find all of this information. And as if reading my mind, he smiled.
"There are a lot of files and papers that are scattered here. Although a lot of them can't be read, there are quite a lot of them. This is a research facility after all."
"You're right."
I nodded in agreement. In all honesty, I was actually quite curious about this place. From the way he was speaking, this didn't seem like just a regular research facility. There appeared to be more to it, but when I looked at him and saw the simple smile on his face, I knew that even if I asked, he wouldn't answer or make something up.
'We're co-operating for now, but we're still competing. There's no way he'll tell me everything.'
"Alright."
Patrick turned back to look at the others.
"You all should have some rest. We can gather other people with us slowly tomorrow morning. Given the current situation, it's best if we are all grouped. I think that will make things a lot easier for all of us, alongside the fact that it can help us guarantee our safety."
Pointing his torch towards the door, he began to walk out.
"My team and I will be staying on the lower floor. If you need anything, feel free to come to us. I hope we can establish a strong cooperative relationship."
His words sounded sincere, but the more sincere they felt, the more uneasy I felt. Maybe this was me being paranoid, but after my experience with the rat, I found it hard to trust anyone. This was also one of the reasons why I didn't want to switch teams.
I had a hard time trusting people.
"Alright, hope you all have some rest."
Patrick's voice faded as he left the room, and his back faded into the darkness that lay beyond the entrance of the room. I kept my gaze fixed on his back, eventually turning away and looking back towards my team.
Seeing the exhaustion on their faces, I leaned against the wall and slid down slowly.
"I'll keep watch for now. We'll take turns to alternate. Go and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
*
Day 1 passed like that.
The swing outside continued to sway, its soft, rhythmic creaking echoing through the entire night. Leaning against the empty window frame, feeling the cold wind, I continued to stare at it until I heard several rustling sounds coming from behind me.
"Nn? Squad Leader?"
Mia was the first one to wake up as she rubbed her eyes.
Then, as if noticing the gray sky outside, her eyes shot open.
"Squad Leader!"
Her voice was a lot louder than it was before, awakening the others.
"Fuck!? Why are you being so loud in the morning?"
Lifting her eye mask, Nora glared at Mia. She was about to speak when she noticed the gray sky outside, her eyes widening in alarm. One by one, the others stirred awake, their reactions mirroring Mia's and Nora's.
Seeing them react like this, I raised my hand to stop them from speaking.
"I'm used to getting little sleep. Since I wasn't feeling sleepy, I might as well let you all get some more sleep. Either way, it doesn't affect me too much."
"But Squad Leader..."
"It's fine."
I stopped everyone from saying anything and reached for my bag next to me.
"I was just speaking with the Squad Leader from the Evening Sun Guild. We discussed the current situation and came up with a plan. We'll split into four teams. Two from our side and two from theirs. Two teams will stay in the facility to investigate and learn more about this place, while the other two will head outside to locate other teams and bring them here."
The discussion took place about thirty minutes ago. While everyone was sleeping, Patrick eventually came up, and the two of us had a small discussion about the situation and the way to proceed.
This was what we came up with.
Considering that the research-facility seemed to hold some sort of secret, I agreed rather quickly.
Also, this place felt too creepy without many people.
I looked around and announced the groups.
"Joanna, Min, Sarah, and Ariel. You four will be the first group. We'll alternate each day. For today, I want the four of you to go and look for other teams in the perimeter."
In my opinion, this was the most optimal composition for the task at hand. Ariel was the perfect anchor for the group, her skill allowing her to know if anything was wrong with the group.
Joanna was also an incredible leader, and the person I trusted the most to lead a team in my absence, while Sarah was good at scouting, and Min was good at shielding them from any unexpected attacks.
"...The remaining three will be with me."
More than anything, I just needed Niel with me. He was smart. I was certain that he'd help me find something.
Everyone's expressions grew serious as they looked at one another. Soon, they nodded and began preparing to leave. As I scanned the room, my gaze settled on Joanna, who was gathering her group. I quietly approached her and placed my hand over her shoulder, causing her to pause.
"I'll leave it in your care."
Joanna's expression froze for half a second, her head lifting to look at me.
But I merely smiled at her.
"I know you'll be able to take care of the situation without me. I trust your judgement."
-x-X-x-
In a different area.
BANG—!
A massive wardrobe suddenly lurched from the wall, slamming into the floor with a violent, splintering crash. The dry rot in the wood shattered on impact, releasing a cloud of grey dust that smelled stagnant.
"Cough! Cough...!"
A series of coughs echoed as a figure emerged from the scattered dust, their back pressed against the shattered remains of a wardrobe. Not far from them stood another figure, his cold gaze fixed intently on them.
"Why were you following us?"
His words were equally as cold as his gaze.
"Looking at your uniform, you seem to belong to one of the smaller Guilds. Were you trying to spy on us?"
"Cough...! That's not—"
"Maybe you were looking to ambush us at the last moment and steal some of our points? If that's the case, I can't allow you to stay."
The figure stepped forward, his expression growing colder.
But just as he took another step, another figure appeared, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Woooow! Relax, Kyle! There's no need to go this far!"
Kyle stopped, his head slowly turning in Rowan's direction. His eyes narrowed for a moment as his lips eventually parted, "He's been spying on us for quite some time. This is a competition, and we've yet to accumulate a single point. If things go on like this, we won't be able to make it far, and furthermore... we can't take risks. On the off-chance that they do want to ambush us and take the credits, we'll only suffer. Let me—"
"Oy, what's wrong with you?"
Rowan tugged Kyle's shoulder with more force, causing Leon's face to change.
"You're acting rather weird. Why are you in such a rush? Only a day has passed, and no other team has gathered points. I get that you're anxious, but this isn't something that we can rush! Just take it slowly."
"..."
Kyle stood in silence, his expression hard to read.
In all honesty, he was aware that he was acting weirdly. Could he be rushed due to the current situation? The fog, maybe? No, that wasn't it...
He's been feeling weird for quite some time.
His head...
It felt strangely light, and his body felt cold.
There just seemed to be times when he couldn't think properly.
Stopping, Kyle brought his hand to his face and pinched it. At the same time, he took a couple of breaths, trying his best to calm himself down.
When he eventually stopped, Rowan's voice echoed once more.
"You good?"
"...I'm fine. Let's go."
Kyle gave the 'spy' one last look before eventually turning around, meeting the gaze of his squad as he walked away.
'I feel so strange. Just what is happening to me?'
***
Swoosh! Swoosh—!
Several figures rushed forward, their movements swift and agile as they navigated the roads with extreme efficiency. They ran in tight formation, following the figure at the front without making a single sound.
'...The rescue flare should be up ahead. I don't know which team has activated it, but it's very close. Keep the formation thought.'
Liora's voice echoed quietly inside the ears of everyone present as her dark hair fluttered behind her. She and her team cut through the fog, eventually slowing down before an empty road, a soft yet chilling sizzling sound echoing through the air as an empty flare sat in the middle of the road, staining the fog in blood-red.
"..."
Liora stood in silence, calmly observing her surroundings.
Then—
BANG!
A nearby tree shatters, Liora's movement so fast that nobody had any time to react as smoke flowed out from the barrel of the gun she held.
"Nothing?"
Liora's dark eyes narrowed, her hand lowering as she put her gun away.
Although ordinary guns were generally useless against anomalies, there were specialized firearms capable of harming them. However, those were relatively expensive and often not worth the cost. In Liora's case, though, the gun in her hand was tailored to her Decree abilities, making it a crucial part of her arsenal.
As one of her team members returned from analyzing the broken tree, they shook their heads.
"Nothing, Squad Leader. I don't sense anything. Did you perhaps make a mistake?"
"Mistake?"
Liora's eyes narrowed as she looked at the broken tree.
Eventually, she shook her head.
"No, I don't make mistakes. Something was there. Be on your best guard. This place... It's a lot more fucked up than I originally thought."
***
"There's a map of the layout of the building over here, Squad Leader. Although it's a little bit faded, I think I can do some cleanup to get a better idea of where we are and where we should go."
Taking out his phone, Niel snapped a photo of the paper pinned to the wall. I stood beside him, watching as he scanned it, the program on his phone gradually restoring the faded portions of the text.
Eventually, Niel handed me his phone.
"Here, have a look. This should make our lives a lot easier."
"Mhm, good work."
I gave myself a pat on the back. As expected, it was good to bring Niel with me. To be honest, it wasn't just Niel. Everyone else was useful. Everyone had their own skill set, and while people deemed them to be not good enough for me, that was far from the truth.
'Okay, let me see.'
Taking a look at the map, I quickly familiarized myself with everything.
In essence, the research facility was far larger than I had first imagined. What I'd mistaken for a single residence block was only the outer shell of something much bigger. Beyond the housing area and the playground, a separate warehouse was present.
It was an industrial structure built to store equipment, chemicals, and whatever else they were dealing with.
But that wasn't all.
"If I'm not wrong, squad leader, this area right here should contain a sort of underground facility. It's not quite clear, but judging from the writing that I'm making out, there appear to be three sub-levels."
Pausing, Niel looked at me.
"Should we start with this?"
I thought for a moment and looked around. Eventually, I nodded, "Let's do that. Since those from the Evening Sun Guild are staying in this building, we might as well go and explore the underground area."
Honestly, this felt like the perfect recipe to get a sort of jump scare. My stomach was already churning at the thought, but holding onto the knife, I felt a lot more at ease. No, not just at ease... I felt something else.
A tingle that I had no choice but to push down.
Creak!
Moving past the playground, the rhythmic creak of the swing still echoing behind us, we continued beyond the residential block. The building's outer walls were marred with dark stains, like scorch marks left behind by a large fire.
I wanted to pay more attention to it, but I decided to leave it for now, the torch in my hand wobbling as I continued up ahead. The deeper we headed, the denser the fog became. Dark skinny tree branches pierced through the white veil enveloping us, the silence around us shattered by the soft crunch of our steps.
The air was dry, and rusted metal scraps were scattered across the area.
I angled my torch to one side, holding the beam steady as it slid over the scattered items on the ground.
My attention fell on a certain doll slumped on the ground. Its plush exterior was riddled with small, uneven holes; the stuffing inside darkened and clumped with age.
The buttons that once filled its eyes were missing, leaving behind two hollow spaces that seemed deeper than they should have been, quietly catching the light as if they were trying to look back at me.
'Why is a doll over here? Were the children playing in this area? It's not exactly close to the residential area. But then again, they're kids. They play everywhere.'
I hovered my gaze over the doll for several seconds before looking away, moving forward until a large metal trapdoor appeared in my view.
Pointing the light in its direction, I looked back.
"...We're here."
The research facility.
-x-X-x-
The light from the torch wobbled slightly as I positioned it better, the beam slicing cleanly through the fog and settling on the outline of a trapdoor set into the cracked concrete floor. Residual rust bled from the hinges and pooled along the edges, staining the surrounding concrete in dark, dried streaks.
I crouched slightly, angling the beam closer to find the lever to open it.
'There should be some sort of mechanism to open the trapdoor. Although I don't know why they made it so difficult to enter the research facility, we're talking about something that was made a long time ago.'
"Ah, here."
I eventually found the metal lever and reached for it.
The surface felt brittle beneath my grip, flakes of rust snapping free and crumbling against my skin as I tightened my hold and forced it open. It resisted at first, a loud groan echoing throughout before finally moving.
A sharp, metallic snap cracked through the air as the internal locking pins sheared off, the sound ricocheting through the air. It was followed by a heavy, rhythmic clack-clack-clack that caused the trapdoor to shake.
"Ukh—!"
With a final tug, the trapdoor finally started to lift as a heavy and deep groan reverberated through the surroundings.
CLANK!
As the heavy iron slab tilted upward, it swung back until it hit the concrete with a dull, echoing thud, causing the ground to shake.
"...T...haa.. hat was heavier than I thought."
I wiped my palms against my pants and peered into the void, where a series of metal rungs emerged from the darkness, bolted to the wall of the narrow shaft like a makeshift ladder. Pointing my torch down, I tried to see what was beneath, but the darkness was all I managed to see.
Pressing my foot down, I quietly released the Realmwalker to check the situation for me.
At the same time, I turned towards the others. But as I did, I noticed the strange expression on Niel's face.
"What's wrong?"
His gaze appeared fixed on the trapdoor.
"I'm not sure," Niel replied after a brief stretch of silence, his brows knitting together as he stepped closer to the trapdoor and crouched to examine it more carefully. He brushed his fingers along the edges, studying the worn metal and the flakes of rust clinging to the hinges. After a second, he straightened, his gaze lifting to meet mine. "It just feels like it was a little too easy to open. For something this old and rusted, I would've expected it to put up more of a fight."
His words made me pause.
'Right, now that I think about it, he's not exactly wrong. While it wasn't easy, it was still not that difficult.'
"Do you think..."
"I am not sure."
Niel replied after pulling his gaze away from the trapdoor. Patting his hands clean, he looked down the dark hole.
"You never know with this type of stuff. The mist could always be a reason for something like this. I am not sure. What do you think we should do, Squad Leader?"
"....."
Looking down the hole, I eventually crouched down and entered.
'According to the Realmwalker, there's nothing wrong. I think it should be fine for us to go down.'
Reaching for the metal rungs, I started to move down.
"Let's go."
I climbed down slowly, gripping the cold metal and lowering myself one rung at a time. Each step sent a dull, metallic thump echoing through the narrow shaft, the vibration traveling up my arms before the sound was swallowed by the heavy, suffocating air.
A second later, more thumps followed from right above me.
The darkness seemed to press in from every side as I continued my descent, the faint circle of light above growing smaller with each rung. The air felt cooler the lower I went, to some extent thicker, continuing all the way down as I eventually reached the bottom.
Stepping off the ladder carefully, the darkness somehow feeling even denser than before.
I pulled out the torch and aimed it straight ahead, the beam cutting through the darkness to reveal a long, narrow corridor that stretched as far as my eyes could follow.
The light trembled slightly in my hand, tracing the tight passageway and the low ceiling above us. The air felt damp and heavy in my lungs, and the concrete walls on either side were slick with moisture, glistening under the beam as if they'd been coated in oil.
I stepped forward, and a cold splash echoed off the low ceiling.
'Why is it wet?'
A thin layer of water covered the floor, hiding the cracked tiles beneath. With every step, the water rippled outward in gray circles.
I eventually stopped, looking behind me as several figures jumped down.
"This place..."
"Ukh. What sort of working conditions are these?"
Nora and Mia looked around, their eyes wandering.
"...Why is there water here? Accumulation from the rain? Or is a pipe broken?"
Niel trailed after them, blinking a few times before letting out a quiet sigh. He slipped off his glasses and wiped the lenses on the edge of his shirt, squinting slightly as he tried to make sense of the dim space without them.
I waited for him to put his glasses back on before shifting my attention back towards the dark tunnel and proceeding forward.
Nobody made a sound, everyone following me in silence as the soft sound of our steps splashing beneath bounced off the narrow walls of the tunnel ahead of us.
'I shouldn't be surprised by how things are,' I told myself, my gaze drifting over the corroded walls and exposed wiring that appeared on the sides of the walls as we headed deeper.
'This is an old research facility, of course, it's going to look like this.'
What unsettled me more was the thought that this was only the first floor. There were supposed to be several more levels beneath us, descending even deeper underground. As far as I knew, the place had been built to study some kind of electrical project.
'So why does it feel like more than that?'
The layout, the trapdoor above, the heavy locks... It felt a little bit more complex than it should've been. But then again, maybe I was just overreacting. Maybe the dark and the silence were getting to me, turning ordinary and standard things into something far more ominous than they really were.
'The Realmwalker stopped? It seems to have found a door?'
My steps slowed for half a beat. Eventually, they resumed as I commanded the Realmwalker to open the door and go inside.
In order to make sure that everything flowed smoothly and minimized the risks, I had the Realmwalker scout ahead and act as a meat-ehm, as a safety precaution in case something did happen.
'...Looks like it's all good.'
The Realmwalker was efficient. In just a few breaths, it did what I had asked it to do and opened the door, entering and making sure there were no problems.
We continued down the corridor until we finally reached the door at the end. I raised the flashlight and let the beam crawl over its surface, taking in every detail. Just like the trapdoor above, it was badly rusted, the metal eaten away in patches, and the hinges on its side worn thin with age. The handle looked brittle, as if it might snap under too much force.
I started to reach toward the hinges, intending to open it quickly, but a hand shot out and Niel stopped me before I could touch it.
"Wait."
"Huh?"
I paused and turned toward him, a question already forming on my lips.
Instead of answering, Niel stepped past me and angled his own flashlight downward. The beam slid away from the door and settled on the floor just in front of it, illuminating a series of rusted flakes.
...Oh.
"The door has been opened recently."
His words bounced off the surroundings, causing Nora and Mia's expressions to tense up slightly as they moved forward, scanning the flakes with utmost seriousness.
"You're right."
"Nnn?!"
I also pretended to do so, but I was internally beating myself up.
'Yeah, this is on me.'
This was no doubt the Realmwalker's doing.
I didn't wait for the three of them to continue looking, reaching for the door, and opening it.
"Wait!"
"Don't worry, there's nothing inside."
"How do you know that? If you look—"
"I just know."
I answered quietly, stepping into the room as the air shifted around me, growing heavier, more humid. The door quietly groaned as I let go of it. I lifted the flashlight and swept the beam across the space, taking it all in piece by piece.
It was fairly large.
A long table dominated the right side of the room, its surface cluttered with scattered papers and corroded instruments. Metallic shelves lined the walls, packed with books and binders, some knocked over, others sagging in poor condition.
Large, bulky computers sat on and around the tables, their thick monitors coated in dust, cables snaking across the floor. Several chairs lay overturned, as if the room had been abandoned in a hurry.
"There's no doubt about it. Someone has been here. And it hasn't been long since they were here."
Niel commented, his expression tense as he looked at the state of the room.
I looked at the state of the room and pursed my lips.
"Maybe, or the room was just like this, and people ran away due to the mist."
Niel looked at me, opening his mouth to say something, but eventually stopped himself. He still clung to his idea.
But it wasn't like he was wrong. The idea of someone else coming here beforehand was possible. Perhaps it was one of the teams that we were supposed to rescue, or maybe those from the Evening Sun Guild.
I didn't dismiss his idea as I made my way toward the desk, boots scraping softly against the damp floor. The scattered documents were brittle beneath my fingers as I gathered them into a neater pile. I pulled out my phone and began scanning each page, angling the screen to catch whatever faded text still clung to the paper.
"It'll take a while for the app to properly scan everything and make out the information, but it's not a bad idea to scan everything. You all should start doing this too."
glanced back toward the others, about to say something, then froze.
Slowly, I raised the torch and flashed the beam back across the room, the light cutting through the thick air and pausing on two figures.
Two?
"Where's Mia? Where—"
The words died in my throat as a low, distant groan rolled through the corridor outside, like metal bending under intense pressure. It reverberated through the walls and into the floor beneath our feet.
"Shit!"
I exchanged a quick, alarmed glance with Nora and Niel, and without another word, we bolted out of the room toward the source of the noise. Our footsteps splashed frantically against the damp floor as the echoes chased us down the corridor.
We rounded the corner and finally spotted Mia. She stood in front of another door farther down the hall, her hand clamped tightly around the handle. The metal groaned in protest as she struggled with it, having forced it only halfway open.
"What are you doing?" I approached Mia, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her back as her shoulders jolted and her gaze fell on me. "Why did you go by yourself? And why did you open this door?"
-x-X-x-
A few seconds after I reached her, slightly out of breath, Mia's dry, flaky lips parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn't quite force the words out. Her grip on the handle trembled.
But eventually—
"What... are you saying, Squad Leader?"
She looked at me in confusion.
"You're the one who told me to open the door."
The words that left her mouth made my expression falter slightly as a cold knot tightened in my stomach. My pulse spiked, pounding hard enough that I could hear it in my ears.
"You were standing by the other door when you noticed the flakes on the floor," she said, her voice rather small. "After Niel pointed them out, you changed your mind. You said we shouldn't touch it and told us to keep going."
Her grip around the handle loosened.
"We walked farther down the corridor until we reached this door. And then..." Her eyes locked onto mine. "You told me to open it."
I drew a deep breath, trying my best to keep my expression as calm as possible. Looking at Mia's expression and the confusion on her face, I knew that she wasn't lying. This had most likely been the truth.
I thought back to the situation with Joanna not long ago and came up with a conclusion.
'It must be another illusion of some sort.'
"Do you think it's related to the thing that happened to Joanna not long ago? An illusion?"
Even Niel seemed to think the same as he spoke to Mia. But instead of agreeing, Mia slowly shook her head. Her fingers once again tightened around the handle, knuckles paling.
"No, that's not possible."
She appeared rather adamant, her face turning abnormally pale.
"Because the Squad Leader touched me," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the distant hum of the corridor. Her hand slowly slipped from the handle as if the memory itself unsettled her.
"On my back."
She swallowed, her hand touching her back.
"He... he told me to open the door."
The silence that followed her words felt unsettling, our gazes all turning in the direction of the door.
Maybe it was just the atmosphere, or maybe it was the weight of Mia's words settling in, but the air suddenly felt colder against my skin. My eyes fixed on the narrow gap she'd forced open, barely wide enough to peer through, but at the same time, not large enough to let anything move in.
Standing by the door, I felt strange.
My hand prickled as I slowly reached for the handle, the cold metal biting against my skin. For a brief moment, I hesitated, unsure of whether I should pull it shut or force it open the rest of the way and see what was inside.
No one around me said a word. I could feel their eyes on me, waiting, the silence stretching until it felt deafening, pressing in on my ears. Even the faint drip of water somewhere down the corridor seemed to have stopped.
'What should I do? Should I send the Realmwalker to check the situation inside? The knife doesn't detect anything. There shouldn't be anything inside, but I can't be certain. But there might be some important clues. Why was Mia being led here?'
I was just about to make up my mind, my fingers tightening slightly around the handle, when a sudden sound tore through the stillness.
"——!"
It was deafening yet strangely muffled, as if it had traveled a long distance through layers of concrete and steel before reaching us. The walls trembled faintly with the echo, and our heads similarly snapped backwards.
Clank—!
Something about the air seemed to change.
A second later, my expression hardened.
'Shit!!'
I rushed forward, breaking into a sprint, the beam of my flashlight jerking wildly up and down as it struggled to keep steady in my shaking grip. Shadows leapt along the walls as I ran, boots splashing against the damp floor. Behind me, I could hear the others following just as fast, their footsteps echoing frantically through the tunnel.
Although the beam of the torch wobbled violently, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet ahead, I didn't need the light to guide me.
I already knew where I was going.
Gradually, my sprint slowed to a hurried walk, then to careful steps. The beam steadied as I came to a stop before the metal rungs bolted into the wall.
Slowly, I tilted the torch upward.
My heart dropped the instant the light caught the underside of the trapdoor.
It was sealed completely shut.
"Well, shit."
***
At the same time, in a different area.
"...Let's stop here for a moment. Let me map this area."
Joanna stopped while taking out her phone to scan the surroundings. Once she was finally done, she looked back at the others. The moment she did, she smiled bitterly while scratching the side of her face.
'The Squad Leader really assigned the most talkative people in the group to himself, didn't he?'
Her team was composed of Ariel, Min, and Sarah.
Mutes...
Unless they absolutely needed to, neither of them was going to say a word. Joanna sighed while putting her phone away.
'At least, it's a good team.'
The composition was perfect for their task. Especially Ariel. With her abilities, Joanna didn't have to worry about the others getting lost or any potential ambush. In fact, Ariel was also good at detecting anomalies, albeit not as well as those from the 'Hunter' Decree.
Sarah was a good scout, and Min was the perfect person to deal with any ambushes.
The team was absolutely perfect in every way.
'I can't let the Squad Leader down.'
Thinking about her old team, Joanna bit her lips. Taking a deep breath, she quickly dismissed all thoughts about them.
'I'm glad they're doing fine, but so am I.'
Looking back at the others, Joanna continued up ahead.
The fog was relatively thick, clinging low to the ground and weaving between the trees that stretched out in every direction. Somewhere beyond them, there were supposed to be more houses scattered in the distance.
But from where they stood, visibility was poor at best.
Whatever the situation truly was, one thing was clear: they couldn't stay put. They needed to find the other teams, or at the very least, any clues that might lead them to rescue the teams they were supposed to find.
Joanna moved forward with the others, their silhouettes fading in and out of the mist as they walked. The beams of their flashlights stretched ahead in pale columns, slicing through the fog but revealing only fragments of the path at a time.
She glanced down at the map in her hand, adjusting her direction to follow the marked route. Just as she was about to step onto the indicated path, Ariel's voice suddenly echoed from behind her.
"What's that?"
"Hm?"
Joanna looked in the direction that Ariel pointed and paused.
"What?"
In the middle of a small clearing, a two-story house emerged from the mist. The mist drifted lazily around it, thinning just enough to reveal its worn exterior. Broken fences circled the property in uneven lines; some panels collapsed entirely, while others leaned at awkward angles.
The front door stood slightly ajar, revealing just a little bit of the interior.
"Should we check it out? There might be something inside. I also don't seem to sense anything.
Ariel suddenly proposed.
Joanna hesitated, looking towards Min and Sarah.
"What do you two think?"
"...Sure."
"Okay."
The two didn't have any objections.
Seeing the others agree, Joanna gave a short nod and started toward the house. Sarah moved ahead of her without a word, lowering her presence as she slipped quietly through the open doorway to check the interior first.
Min followed a few steps behind while Ariel stayed back just enough to maintain her connection with them, eyes scanning the perimeter.
When they finally reached the front of the house, Joanna lifted her flashlight and aimed it at the windows.
The glass was worn and cracked, thin fractures spreading across the panes like spiderwebs. A thick layer of dust clung to the surface, dulling the reflection of the beam and making the inside impossible to see clearly.
"Found anything, Sarah?"
"...No. Nothing."
Sarah's voice echoed half a second later from inside the house as Joanna entered.
Creaaak!
The moment Joanna stepped past the doorway, the wooden floor creaked faintly beneath her boots.
She raised her flashlight, and the beam swept across a spacious living room. A large television stood against the far wall, its dark screen coated in dust. Opposite it sat a wide sofa, the cushions slightly sunken and dulled with age.
Between them rested a small tea table, its surface cluttered with old magazines and a thin layer of grime that glittered under the light. Resting on top of it was an old land phone.
"Huh... It's been a while since I've seen one of those."
Joanna commented while turning her flashlight around.
But as she did...
"Huh?"
She suddenly realized something.
"Where is everyone?"
She was alone.
"Sarah? Min? Ariel?"
Joanna called out for the three of them, her voice carrying through the empty house.
No response came back.
Her expression tightened instantly, the muscles in her jaw setting as unease crept in. She opened her mouth to call out again, but before she could, the door behind her slammed shut with a loud bang.
The sharp sound cracked through the room, echoing off the walls and making her flinch as her heart lurched violently in her chest.
And then—
Drrring! Drrrrinnnng!
A shrill ring suddenly pierced the silence.
The sound was sharp and bounced off every wall of the small house, growing louder with each chime.
Drrrrring—!