As the massive, unstoppable boulder, easily twice their size, thundered toward them, Joine and Akari stood there frozen up, there's nothing they can do but Joine doesn't want to give up.
"Ahaha… AHAHAHA!! HAAHAAHAHA!!! Isn't this fun, Joine?"A deep, eerie voice echoed, sounding both scary and excited.
Joine couldn't hear the voice.
"Can't have you dying on me now, Joine. Heh heh!!"
"Now... witness my power, child."
Click
The tunnel trembled.
From the shadows behind them, a dark pulse rippled out, like ink spilling through water.
"W-What the?!" Joine spun around as something emerged from behind him.
CRACK… CRACK-CRACK!
The boulder suddenly stopped mid-charge, just for a split second before black spikes of energy burst from the ground.
BOOM!!
The rock exploded into pieces, sharp chunks flying in every direction, only to be swallowed by the shadows before they could hit Joine or Akari.
Smoke and dust filled the tunnel. Then... silence.
The eerie voice laughed again, low and twisted.
"Close call… heh heh… now things get interesting."
"Until we meet again… hahaha..."
The voice slowly faded into the shadows.
Akari's voice trembled. "W-What just happened...?"
Joine let out a shaky laugh. "Haha… We're alive. That's what just happened."
"But... you saw that, right, Joine? That wasn't normal."
"Yeah," he nodded. "And I'd rather not think too hard about it. Let's just get the hell out of here."
Joine walked over to her and offered his hand. She hesitated for a second, then took it. He pulled her up gently.
The two of them continued deeper into the maze, searching for a way out…
Still shaken, but alive
After hours and hours of walking… after endless dead ends…
They finally saw it
The exit
"Huff… huff… ahh finally!" Joine gasped, nearly collapsing to his knees.
His voice echoed through the narrow tunnel, bouncing off the stone walls like a long-awaited cheer.
"HEY AKARI!!!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
"Huff… huff… g-give me a minute," Akari panted behind him. "Ughh, man… that was such a pain… my feet are crying."
Her expression was a hilarious mix of pure exhaustion and relief — sweat dripping down her forehead as she dramatically flopped onto the ground.
"Hehe…" Joine chuckled tiredly, slouching against the wall.
A few minutes passed in silence, only the sound of their heavy breathing filling the space.
Eventually, Akari dragged herself to her feet and shuffled toward Joine. But as she reached him, she noticed something off.
He wasn't moving.
He was just… staring upward.
"Mm? What are you looking at?" Akari asked, confused and still half-dazed.
Joine raised a shaky finger and pointed up.
"Look."
Akari followed his gaze, and her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," she whispered.
Whatever energy she had left instantly left her body. Her legs buckled.
BAM!
She hit the ground with a thud.
"Hahahaha…" she laughed nervously, her face twitching. "N-no way…"
Joine squinted at the towering obstacle above them and mumbled,
"Heh… heh… looks like we're not done."
He turned to say something else, but..
Thud!
His legs gave out too, and he flopped backward
"Ohhh damn…" he groaned, flat on his back.
Akari peeked over at him and burst into laughter.
"Your body's trying to tell you something!"
"Yeah, yeah… we've had a long day," Joine said with a wheezy laugh. "Let's just… chill out here for now."
"Pfft, you were talking big earlier! Where's all that 'let's go!' energy now? Huh? Huh?" she teased, poking his feet
Akari smirked. "That confidence? I guess it walked away
"Haha! More like crawled away. Disgracefully."
"Yeah, yeah… ancient history now."
"It was literally two seconds ago!" Akari cackled.
They both lay there, beaten, sore, and completely drained… but somehow still laughing.
Somehow still themselves
Even with a massive obstacle waiting above, they found a moment of peace.
"Anyway… how about we call it a night?" Joine said, closing his eyes.
"Hah… how would we even know it's night?"
"Good point," he replied, eyes still shut. "But hey… this place feels like a checkpoint. Let's just rest and worry about that… when we've got some energy again, yeah?"
Joine gave her a tired but soft smile.
Akari looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah. You're right. Let's get some sleep."
"Yeah…"
And so, Joine and Akari lay down on the cold ground, side by side, letting their bodies finally rest.
Their breathing slowly calmed.
The tunnel grew quiet again.
Tomorrow… they'd face what's next.
But for now
Sleep.
Meanwhile…
Lumi collapsed to the ground, the last of his clones vanishing into flickers of fading light.
"J-Joine... h-hang on... I-I'm comi—"
Hhhgh... Haaah… Hhhkgh—hahh…![Each breath… weaker… raspier]
His voice cracked
Then…. nothing
He had been searching for days.
Calling, Running, Pushing far past his limit.
And still...… Nothing, No trace of Joine, No answers, No hope
His mana had run dry.
His legs gave out.
His fur was soaked with sweat and stained with dirt.
Each breath now felt like glass tearing through his lungs.
He lay there, trembling…
Body broken, Mind slipping
No more strength to move.
No more strength to care.
Even the will to speak… fading.
His vision blurred…And in that frozen, helpless moment—his life began flashing before his eyes.
Then the voices in his head
Low Twisted Haunting.
Echoes from the darkest part of his past
The memories he tried so hard to bury.The pain that never truly left him
"No… No… Nooo!!"Lumi whimpered, barely conscious.
The voices grew louder
snarling, laughing, taunting.
His mind slipping deeper
His heart pounded.His breathing broke into tiny gasps—barely enough to stay alive.
Hhhghk… khh—haa… hhgg—[Too faint… too slow…]
He couldn't move.Couldn't scream.
And then...