I stared at the grotesque creature. And it stared back at me. I wanted to run, I wanted to run so badly, and I hadn't wanted for something with such yearning since birth.
But my body just wouldn't move.
Then a screen appeared in front of me,
Main Scenario #1: A New World
Difficulty:
[F grade]
Win criteria:
[Defeat the unknown creature]
Rewards:
• 1 B grade skill
• 500 Geld
Time limit:
[None]
Failure condition:
1. Your physical body's death
2. Leaving the scenario area {Runesca}
[No deities are watching this scenario.]
All the information on this screen immediately entered my mind, and that's when it hit me. This wasn't my world.
A sudden movement from the monster was the jolt of lightning I needed to move.
I ran. I ran up the hill and beyond it, past the mini-bridge, and through the second cross street. And as I ran, I saw changes, very slight changes. But changes, nonetheless. The sign that was supposed to say, "Keith and Co Butchers" wasn't there, a couple streetlights were missing, and there were holes everywhere. Large holes in the walls, the roads, and the houses. I could see the inside of every other house that I passed on Cross Street.
As I ran, I realised how lucky I was that I walked 8 miles every day to school and another 8 back home. That had considerably built up my stamina and I was able to run without much effort.
Soon after that, I reached my school, a building built by the government, back when it still cared about its people. Strong pillars, monotone colours, and grim architecture lead to everyone calling it the grey palace.
I looked back for the first time since I started to run. The monster was nowhere to be seen. I went up to the terrace of the school building, what was left of it, and sat down. I could see buildings filled with craters, as I peered down at the familiar, yet so unfamiliar streets.
I looked up to see the moon, blood red. I had seen such a blood moon just around a year ago. But I never comprehended just how scary it was, especially in such a desolate setting.
I should've run home. I should've seen whether my mom or my grandfather were fine. But that way was blocked off by that creature.
I slowly thought about everything. What was that monster? Where am I? If I am home, then why is everything so broken down? What is Runesca? Was this a dream? And what was that game-esque screen with the rewards and the failure condition?
Was this a place where I could die?
As all these thoughts rushed into my mind, it hit me that I didn't have as much stamina as I'd hoped. And it was mostly adrenaline that helped me run. A wave of pain, cramps and sheer terror washed over my body. I immediately saw only darkness.
___
I slowly opened my eyes, my joints felt even worse than before I had slept. I looked around and realised the moon was still up. I don't think I'd slept past that night. Not like I could grow accustomed to this eerie atmosphere.
[GrrrrrGlubGlubGlub]
My stomach growled. I was hungry. And my throat was drier than the Sahara. What was I going to do? I managed to lock the door from the outside here. But no one could say what kind of dangers waited for me downstairs.
What if I searched through the classrooms? Hopefully, there was someone's leftover lunch. I held on to this dream that I knew was fruitless, but I marched on nevertheless.
With that newfound hope, or delusion, I opened the terrace door and went down the stairs into the final year classes on the fourth floor.
As I walked through the classes, I began to remember that the sign that said, [12-A], was so worn down that the sign only managed to say, [1 -/\].
I went in and looked around. It was weird looking at a class that was usually full to be so lonesome. There weren't any bags or bottles here. The tables and chairs were thrown around, and the blackboard was cracked diagonally, with zigzags resembling a lightning bolt. I walked across the room, looking out for any sign of a bottle of water, or even better, some food.
There was nothing.
A screen suddenly popped up,
[Your health is deteriorating. You need food and water.]
I saw that and slowly felt alone. What the hell am I doing? If I stay here, I'm gonna die anyway. I'd rather take my chances outside than die alone in this place. It's not like everyone could've disappeared.... Could they?
I walked past all the classes, glancing in occasionally, hoping for any sustenance. Unfortunately, that hope never came to fruition.
I went down the stairs and managed to get out the gate. I took a deep breath as I took in the world in front of me. This wasn't my world. And if it was my world, it wasn't my time.
I decided against going near the hill again, I didn't want to risk that monster finding me just to find my desolate house. I walked east, deciding to walk in one direction till I couldn't anymore.
The wind blew past me, attempting to push my back, perhaps. My uniform was uncomfortable; were there always so many crinkles? Was the fabric always so rough? My shoes, thankfully, were intact. Our town didn't have proper roads yet, at least not smooth ones. Jagged rocks permeated and grew past the baseline of the road.
My feet ached as I walked, and walked, and walked past the innumerable houses. I must've gone at least 10 miles. I didn't know what to do.
I decided to rest in someplace for a while. I looked east, and there was a cornfield that stretched beyond my sight, twisting and turning past every landmark that I could see.
Looking west, seven houses looked identical to each other, their only distinguishing factor being the various holes at different places.
That's when I first saw it. I thought my eyes were fooling me, but they weren't. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the light past the window again. I saw a small amount of smoke coming out of the window and merging with the smog-filled air outside.
I knew this could be risky. This could cause my death. But I knew if I didn't get something to drink or eat. I would faint soon.
It took everything I had to push myself towards that house. I prepared myself to knock the door down, but it was left unlocked. I pushed the handle, as slow as I could, and walked, with cat's feet, as far as I could. As I entered the second floor, I looked at the door farthest from the stairs, to the right. It was left slightly open. I walked in hushed steps towards it.
I was finally in front of the door, I tried to peep through the gap in the door. The room was empty, I couldn't see the source of the smoke. I opened the door and walked in.
The room was untidy, almost as much as mine back home. The bed was torn, as if a griffin had scratched it apart. Cigarette buds lay in a small pile near the window. This was what had caused the mild smoke. I saw a couple of burnt sticks, which seemed to have been extinguished just now.
I realised what had happened and tried to turn around.
I felt a sharp object poking my spine.
"Don't make any sudden moves". Boomed a voice that was a child's attempt at making a grown-up voice. The voice altering might've made me laugh; unfortunately, the blade pointed to my back, ruined all possibilities of me taking this with a side of humour.
"Hey, who are you? I'm turning around very slowly now. I'll keep my hands up and won't make any sudden moves."
I turned around slowly and looked at the child in front of me. Emerald eyes and platinum hair. Her eyes were sunk deep in beyond her age, and she looked 12 at best. Her clothes looked tailored, like an aristocrat's attempt at looking poor, yet their allure seemed to have been ruined by Father Time. loose threads sat at the seams, with tears and patches scattered across her clothes, like uneven pock marks.
And her blade, it wasn't a blade. It seemed to be a small stick, which had a piece of sharp iron stuck to its end. A makeshift weapon for such a dangerous world. It hit me that she might've also been transported here like me.
"Hey, what's this place? Do you know where we are? What year is it? I saw a monster, it had three hands, and holes all over its face... What was that?... Please stop glaring at me..."
Her eyes continued to pierce me.
"Go to the far end of the room, keep your hands up, and don't move ur arms or look away from me"
I followed her command. Moved and sat on the ruined bed.
"Are you going to answer my questions?"
"I have a few questions for you first. When did you first enter this world? How did you enter this world, and what the hell did you do to escape the Zenith?"
I assumed she called the creature that I saw the Zenith.
I did my best to explain everything about Alice, my attempt to save her. The light and me fainting. The screen I saw and the monster. Me running to school and coming here.
Her eyes seemed to waver at multiple parts of the story. Alice's appearance, the monster, and my escape all seemed to mean something to her.
"So, will you answer my questions now?"
"Hmmn, I guess I have to start at the beginning. This is the Dark Dimension. And the fact that you survived that Zenith is a gift from heaven. And according to that scenario, unless you kill it. You'll never be able to get out of here."