(pov Ki-Moon)
The door closed behind us.
The noise echoed from afar.
As if the dungeon had no end.
I remained motionless for a few seconds.
Before us, darkness.
I couldn't even see my hands.
A darkness so dense that it seemed to possess matter of its own.
Even the torches fixed to the walls could not completely repel it.
Their lights flickered.
Weakly.
Like dying stars.
Next to me, Carina remained silent.
Her little hand was always in mine.
I hadn't let go of her…
Even with all the doubts that had crept into my mind.
Because deep down...
I had no one else and I expected what coming from this game, mine is to take everything as best as possible.
We are moving slowly since we do not have a torch and we were simply following the torches in the distance.
The sound of our footsteps echoed against the stone walls.
Tac.
Tac.
Tac.
It was impossible to know how much time was passing or where we were.
The corridors seemed stretched out, or we were just going around in circles.
Each intersection felt like the previous one, in my experience.
I felt like I was walking in a dream.
Or in a memory.
I looked up.
A torch crackled.
Then it went out.
Another one followed a few meters further on.
Then a third one.
Darkness returned.
I felt Carina's fingers tighten.
– oppa…
- I know.
Even my own voice sounded foreign.
We continued, but suddenly-
BIP.
But the watch vibrates.
A white light illuminated my wrist.
Then the same signal sounded everywhere in the dungeon.
The other teams had probably just received it as well.
An immense text.
Impossible to ignore.
[THE RULES ARE SIMPLE]
As usual, they're taking us for a ride.
[A "TOUCH ME AND YOU DIE" GAME]
[AVOID GETTING HIT]
[AVOID BEING SPOTTED BY THE REFEREE]
[YOU CAN HIT OTHER PLAYERS]
[YOU CAN TRY TO HIT THE REFEREE]
[EACH PARTICIPANT HAS 100 POINTS]
[IF AN OPPONENT HITS YOU: ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR TEAM LOSE 1 POINT, INCLUDING YOU]
[IF THE REFEREE TOUCHES YOU: YOU LOSE 5 POINTS AND YOUR TEAM DOUBLES THAT UNLESS HE DIES]
[FIND YOUR STICK IN THE DARKNESS]
[ONLY THE STICK OF YOUR COLOUR WILL ALLOW YOU TO COUNT YOUR POINTS]
[BE CAREFUL OF THE LIGHT]
[THE REFEREE HAS VERY SENSITIVE EYES]
[THE TEAM THAT HAS NO MORE POINTS WILL BE ELIMINATED AND THE GAME WILL BE OVER]
[GOOD LUCK~]
The message disappeared.
Silence returns immediately.
A silence worse than before.
He remains still.
Carina too.
– ...I already hate this game.
Carina squeezed my hand tighter.
I think she agrees with me.
The referee?
The word bothers me.
An umpire is supposed to be watching; is it being hit by him that results in points being deducted, or rather seeing points deducted from us?
Everything bothered me.
An arbitrator?
darkness?
Why so much emphasis on light? So, it must be forbidden to use light... No light
And no clues on the sticks.
I scanned the surroundings.
The darkness seemed to be moving.
Not really.
But enough to give that impression.
It was as if something was already watching us.
I felt a vibration against my wrist.
Again.
A message.
R.
I immediately clenched my jaw.
I didn't even need to look at the name anymore.
I already knew, it's always her.
I deleted the message.
Without answering.
Next to me, Carina seemed to be staring at the same point in the darkness.
His face was covered in sweat.
She seemed worried.
Really worried.
– What is it?
She hesitated.
Then he whispered:
- Nothing…
I listened more closely.
– What did you say?
Silence
And instead of his voice I felt a slight rubbing.
Like something sliding against the walls.
My body was pulled backwards.
– Are these the other teams?
Carina covered my mouth.
– sschuuuuu …
His response was almost a whisper.
Then all the torches in the corridor were now dead.
Nothing more.
Absolutely nothing.
But in its depths, a sound resonated.
One step.
Then another one.
Lent.
Calm.
Patient.
It was as if someone had just started looking for us.