14:00
Returning to the main building for the fifth period, Takakai found his earlier frustration had dulled into resignation.
No point getting worked up over something I can't change.
Ai, however, remained visibly irritated. Her "discovery" in the library—the motionless figure behind the shelves—had evaporated without a trace. Takakai had spent considerable effort reassuring her, even guiding her to the hidden [Survival Rules], only to confirm she still couldn't see them.
The dungeon's cognitive block was a masterpiece of cruelty.
Players who uncovered deeper truths became isolated—unable to share their findings, forced to act alone.
But after Chika's explanation about Japan's oppressive "atmosphere," Takakai wondered:
Is this isolation mechanic just the dungeon's warped reflection of that?
The more you resist conformity, the more you're ostracized.
The more truths you uncover, the fewer allies you have.
How disgustingly fitting.
The afternoon passed without incident.
By dinner, the players regrouped in the cafeteria, comparing notes over another meal of surreal culinary mashups.
No breakthroughs.
No anomalies.
Just exhaustion under a darkening sky.
21:55
Dormitory 203
Takakai lay on an unfamiliar bed—one "borrowed" through sheer peer pressure.
Earlier, when he'd asked to switch dorms, the mimic-student had refused outright. But when Kumami and Kenbei backed him, the student folded instantly.
The remaining roommate now cowered on the floor, muttering "I'm sorry" on loop.
Did we just bully a ghost?
The implications unsettled him. Their mission was to "change the predestined future." What if playing the bully locked them into a worse outcome?
But with no leads, they had little choice.
22:00
Lights out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Takakai's senses sharpened—his own breathing loud in his ears.
Kenbei and Hayasaka Kenbei lay still, clearly awake.
The fourth "student" was gone. No footsteps. No fading. Just… vanished.
Do they disintegrate at night?
A yawn escaped him.
His eyelids grew heavy.
So tired… Maybe just… sleep…
Crack—
A mental fragment shattered.
Takakai jerked awake—
Just in time to see a figure plummet past the window.
A woman?
A thud echoed from below.
Then—
Blackout.
Cold concrete beneath his palms.
The clink of chains.
Takakai blinked, taking in his new surroundings:
Walls: Bare cement.
Lighting: A single bulb behind wire mesh.
Barrier: Iron bars, spaced just wide enough to slip an arm through.
Beyond them—nothing. Just an abyssal void.
And across that void, in an identical cell:
A skeletal old man.
White-haired. Sunken-eyed. Grinning.
His lips moved.
But the voice came from behind Takakai—hot breath grazing his ear:
[Don't you know where you are?]
[You do know.]
[We're in the Abyss (Bythos).]