Chapter 3: Death Is Very Close
The air changed the moment I stepped through the crack of the Gate.
The first thing I felt was… heaviness. As if the air here was thicker, denser, making it hard to breathe. When I looked up, the sky above was no longer blue, it was a deep shade of purple mixed with black, like a massive bruise spreading slowly across the heavens.
Beneath my feet, the ground wasn't real soil. It was soft, sticky, and carried the pungent stench of rusted metal. In the distance, jagged rocks jutted out from a sea of ashen fog, and somewhere within that fog came faint, shrieking sounds that echoed endlessly.
This was… inside the Gate.
I had never imagined it could feel so alive. Everything here seemed to have a will of its own, the earth was breathing, the mist was moving, and the sky was watching me like a starving beast waiting to devour its prey.
"Stay with the team! Keep formation!" Jonas shouted.
I hurried to catch up with the other carriers, trying to steady my breath. Up ahead, flashes of energy burst in the fog as the Espers began to move.
Monsters appeared, rat-like creatures nearly half a meter long, covered in black fur with burning red eyes. They charged at us with terrifying speed, letting out shrill, piercing screams.
"Low-rank corpse-eaters! Burn their heads off!" someone shouted.
Explosions of energy rang out in rapid succession. The monsters' heads were burned to ash, and black blood splattered across the ground. I swallowed hard, forcing myself not to look directly at them.
When the first wave ended, Jonas turned and signaled, "Carriers, collect the bodies!"
I stepped forward with the others. The stench hit me immediately. Carefully, I crouched down and stuffed each carcass into my enhanced backpack. Strangely, it was lighter than I expected. Even when it looked full, there was still space left.
The person beside me grinned and said quietly, "That pack's custom-made. Reduces weight by ninety-five percent, with huge capacity. Just load up, take as many as you can."
I nodded, trying to return a small smile. After a few more small skirmishes, my bag was filled with nearly twenty corpses. Even though the blood smell clung to me, a faint sense of relief grew inside.
According to the contract Jonas had shown me, this much would be enough to buy Nano's medicine for three months. Three months where she could breathe a little easier… live a little longer. For the first time in years, I felt hope.
At least, until I heard the scream behind me.
A high-pitched, tearing shriek, different from all the others.
"Behind us! Something's there!" someone yelled.
I turned around, just in time to see a huge shadow rush forward. The sound of cracking bones echoed right next to me.
The carrier who had been talking to me moments ago fell to the ground, his throat torn open. Blood sprayed like a fountain, hot against my face. I froze.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. That image burned into my mind, his eyes still open wide, his mouth frozen mid-laugh.
"Run, idiot!" Jonas roared.
Then he charged forward. A burst of blue light flashed as he sliced through two monsters lunging toward me. Black blood splattered across his armor, and across my face.
"What are you doing standing there?!" he barked, voice hoarse with anger. He grabbed my collar, yanked me back, and threw me toward the team. "If you want to die, do it somewhere else!"
I hit the ground hard, the pack slamming into my back. My whole body trembled. The stench of blood, the screams, the howling, it was a living nightmare.
I had just managed to get to my feet when a heavy kick struck me from behind, sending me face-first into the ground.
"Stand up, you useless trash!" The voice I recognized instantly. The Esper who had mocked me at the Gate. He stood over me, smirking. "Filthy carriers. Always dead weight."
I clenched my fists, but no words came. I lowered my head and let him walk past.
He sneered, turning away. But in that brief moment, I caught the way he looked at me, like garbage.
Jonas came back right then. His expression darkened, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"What did you just do, Jack?"
"Just teaching the weakling how to stand properly," he said with a shrug.
Jonas stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and growled, "Touch my people again, and I'll snap your neck right here. Understand?"
The air froze. Jack forced a laugh, trying to pry Jonas's hand away. "Relax, I was just kidding."
"Get back to your position," Jonas barked.
Jack backed off, still throwing me a glare sharp enough to cut.
Jonas exhaled hard, then turned to me. He jerked his chin. "Come with me."
We moved away from the others, finding a quiet corner among the rocks where no one would notice.
I was still trembling, my hands and face sticky with blood. Jonas pulled a cloth from his pocket and tossed it to me.
"Wipe that off. You look like you're about to faint."
I took it, wiping my face. "Thanks… I'm sorry, I… I caused trouble…"
"Don't apologize," Jonas cut in. He studied me for a moment, his eyes cold but intensely serious. "If you want to survive in a Gate, you have to react instantly. Don't let emotions control you. The one who hesitates, dies."
I swallowed hard. "I understand."
"No, you don't." Jonas leaned closer, his tone lower. "Next time, if it happens again… I won't save you."
I gripped the cloth tightly, saying nothing. My heart pounded so fast it hurt.
For the first time in my life, I truly understood what "survival" meant.
Jonas walked away first. I stood there in the gray fog, wiping the last dried blood from my wrist.
My hands still shook. The warmth of that man's blood on my face hadn't faded. I tried to take a deep breath, but the air here was thick, each inhale tasting of decay.
"Don't let emotions control you…" I muttered his words under my breath. Easier said than done. How could anyone stay calm after seeing someone torn apart right in front of them?
I lowered my head, tightened my grip on the backpack, and prepared to return to the team.
Then, a quiet laugh echoed behind me.
"You really do look pathetic."
Jack.
He leaned against a rock, arms crossed, eyes glinting like blades. That smirk on his lips told me he wasn't here to talk.
"I heard the Guild lets anyone sign up as a carrier," he said casually. "Didn't think they'd lowered the bar this much."
I stayed silent.
"What, cat got your tongue? Or are you too scared to talk?" He stepped closer, boots squelching in the sticky ground. "Someone like you… one little mistake and you'll be rat food. Hell, I might have to drag your corpse out myself."
I clenched my fists, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I won't drag anyone down."
Jack tilted his head, smirk deepening. "You'd better not. Because if you cause trouble for the team…"
He leaned close, his breath cold against my ear.
"…I'll throw you out myself."
His eyes were full of killing intent, dry, sharp, and merciless.
I said nothing. Just stepped back, out of his reach.
He chuckled and turned away, his footsteps echoing dully against the wet ground as he disappeared into the fog.
I stood there for a long time, heart pounding, my back drenched in cold sweat.
He hated me, not just because I was ordinary, but because I was weak.
And in a world like his, weakness meant contempt. Contempt meant you didn't deserve to live.
I lifted my gaze to the dark purple sky above. From deep within the mist came sounds, screams, or something crawling, I couldn't tell.
Whatever it was, I knew one thing. This Gate wouldn't let anyone leave easily.
I gripped my pack tighter and started walking in the direction Jonas had gone.
Someone was still waiting for me to return.
So I wouldn't die here… not the way trash like Jack wanted me to.