The ground was still smoking after the flames had passed. I detached myself from B-02's body, which fell heavily to the ground and cracked.
Silence
The calm after B-02 was not just calm.
It was a kind of realization, a tear in the air itself, in the matrix, something that no one had anticipated.
All eyes were on me.
Not towards A-09.
Not towards Kim Young.
Not towards Kang-Dae.
Me.
It wasn't the first time I'd been looked at, but this time the looks were different. Dark and suspicious.
The invisible child of the Korean team.
The weak link.
The one that poses no danger.
And now, what has changed? I haven't done anything more than the others.
Seo-Hwan was the first to speak.
He stared at me as if he had just understood an impossible theorem.
"...I understand better now," he murmured.
He took a step back and moved away from the group.
- You are an element to be eliminated.
No one protested.
Not even Kang-Dae, whose face was pale, as if empty.
Kim Young, elle…
She sat up slowly, an almost imperceptible smile at the corner of her lips.
"The game is over, that's what matters," she breathed.
"That was crucial," she corrected gently.
- we need to think about what comes next.
And something in his eyes…
made my heart beat faster.
Because she didn't look at me like a player.
But like an event.
[INTERRUPTION ENDED]
[GAME RESUMES IN 01:30 minutes]
A vibration ran through my arm.
Stronger than all the others.
*[R]: "You've caught my attention. Now... receive your gift. But be careful, I'm not the only one watching you anymore."
I lowered my eyes.
My bracelet opened.
Not like a screen.
Not like a notification.
Like a wound.
A kind of crack in the void
A black, endless space that floated unsupported
It formed above my watch, burning hot, pulsating.
And something fell into my palm.
A cube.
Little.
Noir.
Perfectly smooth.
It weighed nothing…
Light as a feather and soft as a cloud, yet it appears hard.
Kim Young's eyes widened.
- hum…
Kang-Dae, for his part, recoiled with an almost animalistic reflex.
- Ki-Moon! Put that down! Put it down immediately! We don't even know what it is!
I raised my head towards him.
He stepped back even further.
– that's just the reward of the game
Kim young stared at me, crossing his arms over his chest, and simply said:
– You're not the only one who participated, or is this doll just messing with us?
The shaded room
Because of its expression…
She was no longer the person we knew.
*[R]: "Now come up, come up, climb up to me and you will know the answers to your questions."
I closed my hand around the cube.
That's my goal
Now I have one.
I had never felt like that before.
An icy heat.
A liberation mixed with a feeling of vertigo.
A force that was not mine is rising again; is this world truly mine?
The zones were not going to return.
We were stuck in a no man's land of lava, smoke, and waiting.
A-09, high up, sitting with his legs crossed, one hand on his chin, stared at the scene.
Then he burst out laughing.
- and to think you all wanted to kill me.
He pointed at me.
- Not bad, kid. You saved my life.
A frank laugh.
A man's laugh that didn't need saving.
A joke or a simple word
But the atmosphere wasn't so calm among our dear "buyers"
Madness suddenly exploded in noises, alarms, and panicked voices.
The newcomers are observing each other
Especially what lies hidden in the shadows of the game
- A gift?
- A black cube?!
- WHO gave him that?!
- The game is over before the time, before the time?!
- That's impossible! We haven't approved anything!
The buyers were screaming.
were banging on the tables.
But I couldn't do anything.
Then silence.
One step.
The lolita doll walked into the room.
one step after another, hands behind their backs
Tac tac
She clapped her hands
Panic set in.
Most heads bowed.
"What are you doing...?" she said slowly.
His voice had never been so cold.
She moved closer to a row
- I heard from someone... and saw that there are some gods who... dare to descend to that level for their own amusement... can you explain?
She smiled, a disturbing, overly broad smile.
Hahahaha
- You think you have the same authority to dare to INTERFERE IN MY GAME…
even though you're not even qualified to speak on an international scale?
Startle...
His glass of wine spilled onto her dress.
"Shut up, you're always such a spoilsport. A doll is supposed to bring a smile," he sighed, wiping the stain.
The doll turned around, hearing him, until she came face to face with this man who was not afraid of death.
– Your rudeness has not diminished despite the centuries, Dionysus, what are you doing among vulgar players, I will have to punish you and send you away.
The players were lying on either side of the playing field.
This time…
There were only 15 of them.
To survive.
There was calm.
Then
They all started running.
"What's going on?" asked Kim Young, jumping up from his rest.
He was all running towards us.
A large crowd came from the east, raising a great deal of dust that covered them, and in front of them, at full speed, the Libyans.
I was observing the cube in my hand.
Nothing abnormal.
I got ready to mail
Kim Young moved closer, a shiver in his voice.
- You should never have agreed to that.
I looked up at her.
- It wasn't my fault, and how could it be the fault of that cube?
She swallowed.
- So… get ready.
Because from now on… you're becoming a problem for me and others. You should get rid of that cube.
00 : 30 minutes
- If you want it so badly... you just have to tell me and not accuse me, if that's how it is, take it.
And the cube left my palm.
Like a coin, I tossed it.
He flew off towards his new destiny.
Tac
She catches up with her and lets go of her.
She watched me for a long time, then stared at me as if she existed and doubted me. She raised an eyebrow, bent down, and picked it up without another word.