The seconds passed like eons. The heavy breathing, that rhythmic, mechanical rasp hitting the iron door... I held my breath until my lungs felt like they would burst. My grip on the iron rod was so tight my fingers lost all sensation.
Then, the sound began to fade. The roar receded gradually, and the heavy footsteps moved down the corridor until they vanished completely. In that moment, the tension holding me together snapped.
"He's... gone..." I whispered, my voice barely audible. It was the signal my body had been waiting for. My strength gave out all at once. I couldn't even maintain a sitting position. I slid off the hard metal bed frame, my body hitting the cold concrete floor with a dull thud. I felt no pain; my entire being was numb from sheer exhaustion.
I sprawled on the ground, the iron rod slipping from my hand and rolling away. I began to mutter to myself in a faint delirium: "I've done so much... so much today..."
The events of the day flashed through my mind; starting with the men who wanted to "render fat" and ending with that Nomu. I felt like I had lived a century in a single day. My body no longer contained a single spark of energy.
My vision began to blur. The cracked ceiling and the shadows in the room started to overlap and dissolve into a thick fog. I tried to resist closing my eyes for one last second, but my eyelids were far too heavy.
"I just need... to..."
I didn't finish the sentence. The thread of consciousness snapped entirely, and I sank into a deep sleep.
"Ooh..."
I opened my eyes slowly, feeling a terrible stiffness in my muscles from sleeping on the cold concrete. Every inch of my body was rigid; even trying to move a single muscle caused agonizing pain.
I crawled toward the iron door and pressed my ear against it for a few seconds, listening for any movement. I heard nothing, so I deemed it safe. I peeked through the small gap in the side of the door, searching for any sign of a Nomu, but the corridor was empty, save for the swirling dust and shafts of sunlight. I breathed a sigh of relief and decided to risk going out.
I walked with cautious steps toward the previous room—the one filled with blood. The scent of iron still lingered, and the bed was completely stained, but I didn't care. My eyes locked onto the wobbly wooden table.
There, amidst the chaos, they lay: the knife and the steel wire.
I exhaled a breath full of relief. I had forgotten them yesterday in the fit of terror and the flight from the Nomu. Even though the knife was in my hand when I first saw the monster, I had dropped it before I started running like a madman. And even when I returned after killing it, my mind was so exhausted I hadn't noticed them.
"How pathetic of me..." I muttered bitterly as I picked up the knife, feeling its cold blade. "How could I forget my only weapons in a place like this? If another monster had appeared yesterday, I would be dead for sure."
I tucked the steel wire securely into my pocket and gripped the knife tighter this time. I looked around the room one last time, realizing that staying in this place was extremely dangerous. But as soon as the word "danger" crossed my mind—
"Grrr..."
I froze in place, but quickly realized the sound was coming from my stomach. [Damn, it seems hunger is the next monster.] I decided to move immediately to find food. I began searching the ruined rooms in this wing, moving quickly and cautiously.
After much effort, I found a partially destroyed room. Inside a metal cabinet that had survived the collapse, I found a treasure: canned food. I inventoried them quickly; beans, dried peaches, and some mystery cans. If I rationed the food, it might last me twenty days, maybe twenty-five if I was frugal. I didn't care about what would happen after that; I would face that problem when the food ran out.
I gathered the cans and hurried back to my room. I placed the food on the floor, then slammed the iron door shut and made sure it was locked. I sat on the edge of the metal bed and looked at my thin hands.
[It's finally time to work on myself...] I thought, before standing up and grabbing the metal rod.
I gripped the rod with a trembling hand before looking at my faint reflection in the knife's blade; I was gaunt, pale, looking like a walking corpse. Even though this body had handsome features, the blood and filth covering it obscured everything.
I began swinging the rod. It was unimaginably heavy, and every strike in the air consumed my breath. It wasn't long before my hands began to crack; blisters and cuts appeared, staining the metal handle red. The pain gnawed at my shoulder and my battered ribs, but I didn't stop. I trained my entire body; push-ups, squats, and constant swinging until I collapsed from exhaustion.
By the third day, I began to get used to the rhythm of the pain. The muscles no longer screamed with the same intensity, and my grip on the rod became steadier despite the painful wounds. I learned how to distribute my energy and how to breathe with every movement.
By the fifth day, I noticed something amazing. Muscles began to grow and bulge under my pale skin. It wasn't a massive transformation, but it was enough to give me hope. I started to feel a firmness in my core and a strength in my legs that hadn't been there before.
The days passed quickly. The iron room became my private training hall. The Nomu outside no longer terrified me as it once did; instead, I found myself waiting behind the door, practicing my stabs and swings with lethal precision. My thin frame transformed into a lean, agile body. Though the muscles were small, they were more than enough, and the tremors in my hands had vanished.
I reached exactly the twenty-fifth day. I opened the last can of beans and looked at it bitterly. The stockpile was gone. I stood in the middle of the room, shirtless, my body covered in sweat. I gripped the iron rod; I no longer felt its weight. It had become an extension of my arm.
I looked at the iron door. This place was no longer a sanctuary; it had become a cage merely preventing me from leaving. Although I was still afraid of the Nomu, I was deeply certain that I could survive.
I pulled the iron bolt to reveal what was waiting for me outside, before my pupils dilated completely.
[Hello, you bastard... I've been waiting for you.] "Tuna..."
(Toge's picture)