In a dark, suffocating space, a voice echoed through the hollow structure.
"Hey… Caeson. Caeson, wake up."
Caeson slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, his senses dull. A foul, choking smell filled the air.
Where am I?
He tried to move, but his body felt unbearably heavy. Something cold and wet pressed against his back.
"…Am I sleeping on something… liquid?"
A bitter taste crept into his mouth.
He immediately spat it out.
"Ugh! What the hell is this? It smells like sewage water!"
As his vision cleared, he noticed something resting on his chest—a small, old scrap box with rusted edges.
Caeson picked it up.
"Hawker? You're here too?"
The box rattled slightly, and a voice came from within.
"Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?"
"Good question…" Caeson muttered, glancing around the dark tunnel. "Do you know how we got here?"
"No idea," Hawker replied calmly. "I appeared right after the summoning of the Emo-Circle."
The Emo-Circle—a strange phenomenon tied to mythical items like Hawker. It reacted to the user's emotions. Once those emotions crossed a certain threshold, the item would be summoned from the Mind Palace into the real world.
"Anyway," Hawker continued, "you should take an item quickly. It's my time to move again."
Caeson frowned.
"I can't even see properly, I don't know where I am, and you're already rushing me?"
"Oh," Hawker said suddenly. "You need a torch."
The lid of the scrap box opened.
A burst of light flooded the tunnel, instantly cutting through the darkness.
Caeson blinked as his surroundings came into view.
A long sewage tunnel stretched ahead, damp and filthy. Murky water flowed slowly beneath him, and the walls were stained with layers of grime. The stench was unbearable.
"Well… now I can see," Caeson said. "But if I want to move further, I still need a proper torch."
He reached inside the box and pulled something out.
Then froze.
In his hand… was a fluffy rhino soft toy.
Caeson stared at it blankly.
"…What?"
He turned it around, inspecting it from every angle.
"This is not a torch."
He pulled the toy's tail, hoping it might activate something.
Nothing happened.
The box suddenly snapped shut.
"That was a technical issue," Hawker said.
Caeson looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"This isn't the first time. You never work properly."
"Well," Hawker replied casually, "aren't you the one who always ends up in trouble? Look at your situation. How do you even get into places like this?"
Caeson glared.
"Hey. Isn't it time for you to leave?"
"Nah," Hawker said lazily. "You've got one more turn. You triggered the Emo-Circle twice in a row."
Caeson paused.
Then… a slow smile spread across his face.
"Wait… Normally, there's a one-hour cooldown after each activation."
Hawker stayed silent.
"But if it triggered twice…" Caeson said, staring at the box.
Hawker sighed.
"You're planning something."
After a while, a circular iron cover above the tunnel creaked open.
Caeson climbed out of the sewer and stepped onto solid ground. He held Hawker in one hand, using the faint glow from its slightly opened lid as a makeshift torch. The fluffy rhino rested in his other hand.
Fresh air filled his lungs.
Soft sunlight spread across the land—it looked like early morning.
Caeson closed Hawker's lid.
"Why are you always so serious?" he said, stretching his arms. "Look at this atmosphere."
A gentle breeze swept across the grass.
Caeson placed Hawker on the ground, spread his arms wide, and balanced the rhino on his shoulder.
"I don't know where I am," he shouted toward the sky, "but it feels good! It's full of positive energy!"
He laughed lightly.
"My old life was miserable anyway. Maybe this is my chance… From now on, I'm starting a new chapter!"
Hawker remained silent, clearly unimpressed.
Then—
"Caeson," Hawker said sharply. "Open your eyes."
"What now?" Caeson replied lazily.
"This place isn't safe."
"Come on—"
"Look over there."
Caeson squinted into the distance. A figure was running toward them.
"It looks like a man…" he muttered. "But why is he running like that?"
The figure got closer.
Its skin was rotten and dark, covered in scars and dried blood. Black stains spread across its body. Its eyes—completely white.
And it was running straight at him.
Caeson blinked.
"…Is this some kind of cosplay event?"
"He's a real zombie, you idiot!" Hawker shouted. "RUN!"
"Then give me a gun!"
Instead of fleeing, Caeson opened the box again and pulled something out.
A rope.
He stared at it in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding me… This is not a gun."
"You never stored a gun inside me," Hawker replied.
"You've been giving me the things that I don't even stored and yes I remember that gave a real gun for my school shooting competition, and now you giving useless stuff since the start! Like this stupid rhino!"
"Technical issue."
The zombie was only a few meters away now.
Escape was impossible.
Caeson nervously raised his hand.
"Hey… are you acting or something?"
The zombie roared and lunged.
"ARE YOU STILL THINKING THIS IS FAKE?!" Hawker shouted.
For the first time—
Fear hit him.
Caeson raised his arms to shield himself.
Then—
The rope moved.
It shot forward like a living snake, wrapping tightly around the zombie. In a single motion, it spun the creature violently and hurled it far into the distance.
Silence.
Caeson stood frozen.
"…What just happened?"
The rope floated in the air, twisting slowly like a serpent.
"Oh…" Caeson said softly. "So you saved me."
But Hawker had already disappeared.
With the second item drawn, it had returned to the Mind Palace.
"…Great," Caeson muttered. "Now I have to explore alone."
He glanced at the floating rope.
"Well… maybe not completely alone."
Then—
He heard it. Heavy footsteps. Many of them.
Dozens of zombies emerged from the distance, moving toward him.
Caeson sighed.
"Well… that was a short adventure."
He stood still as they approached.
"Looks like our journey ends here."
Just as the creatures closed in—
A rain of arrows tore through the air.
Several zombies dropped instantly. The rest staggered back.
Moments later, a group of armored riders charged in on horseback.
Caeson stared at them in surprise.
They looked like warriors… but not from any era he recognized.
He raised his hand.
"Hey—"
"Seize him!" one of them ordered.
"Wait, what?!"
Before he could react, several small pins shot toward him.
They pierced his clothes.
His vision blurred.
"H-hey… I was just—"
Darkness swallowed him.
When Caeson opened his eyes again, he was lying on the cold floor of a prison cell.
Iron bars surrounded him.
A guard stood outside.
Caeson slowly stood and approached.
"Hey… can you tell me what's going on?"
The guard glanced at him coldly.
"Keep quiet."
A pause.
"Tomorrow will be your execution."
Caeson blinked.
"…Execution?"
His voice echoed faintly through the prison.
"Wait… what?"