The survivors stared at Kōan in disbelief, not daring to move.
This woman... she should have been dead. They had all seen her enter the Harumi tunnel, the very first one to be declared defective. No human being could have come out alive. And yet there she stood, panting, her eyes still shining with a confusion she couldn't hide.
"I... I thought I was dead," she whispered hoarsely. "But I have vague memories... as if I had gone through the Toyosu tunnel without realizing it."
The survivors exchanged looks of incomprehension. Was that possible? How could she have changed course, or survived an area that was already doomed? Even Kōan, looking at his own trembling hands, seemed unable to understand what had just happened.
As a heavy silence settled in, a soft, crystal-clear child's voice pierced the darkened sky.
It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Survivors, move forward without delay. The next puzzle awaits you at Kiyosu Bridge."
A shiver ran through the group. Kōan looked up at the clouds, still out of breath, as the wind began to blow harder, as if urging them to get moving again.
The respite was over.
The next trial had just begun.
Reo watched them for a moment, impassive, before declaring in a curt tone:
"There's no point dwelling on details like that. We must get back on the road."
He took a few steps, leading the way toward Kiyosu Bridge, but suddenly stopped. In front of a convenience store half buried under the rubble, a strange glow floated in the air. A notification window had just appeared, suspended just above the front door.
Reo approached slowly, squinting to read the contents.
[Aeon Style Ariake Garden
- Entry fee: 75 coins]
He remained silent for a few seconds, staring at the screen as if trying to make sense of this absurdity.
"Why would such a system have been put in place?" he muttered to himself.
Baka, who was following close behind, shrugged before replying hesitantly:
"Maybe... maybe it's for a puzzle?"
Reo's gaze remained fixed on the closed door, the light from the notification reflecting in his eyes. A puzzle or a trap... impossible to know.
One of the survivors, his voice trembling slightly, spoke up:
"Maybe we should take this opportunity to stock up on supplies. We don't know how long we'll last until the next riddle."
Another nodded, his features drawn with fatigue:
"Yes... we still don't know what we're dealing with. We might as well take enough to last a while. "
Their exchange quickly led to a consensus. Several members of the group walked towards the convenience store, taking out their meager coins and placing them in the illuminated slot under the notification. With each payment, a metallic sound rang out, and the door opened with a hiss.
They disappeared one by one inside, their footsteps echoing in the silence of the tunnel.
Baka, who had stayed behind, turned to Reo:
"What about you, aren't you going in?" he asked, intrigued.
Reo slowly shook his head.
"No."
Baka stood still for a moment, hesitating. He still remembered Reo's cold confidence during the previous puzzle, the way he had solved the test. Little by little, his hesitation faded.
"In that case... I'll stay too," he said with a thin smile.
After this brief detour, the group resumed their walk. The silence, heavy at first, was broken by a hesitant voice in the middle of the line:
"What exactly is going on in Japan...? Are we witnesses to some huge morbid joke?"
No one answered right away. Their footsteps echoed in the dust, and the air seemed to grow heavier as they moved away from the convenience store.
Reo walked calmly at the front. Without turning around, he finally said:
"This is no joke. What we are experiencing... is the Last Judgment. The first riddle was just a prelude."
A murmur of indignation ran through the group. One of them, his features contorted with anger, suddenly stepped forward:
"Easy for you to say! You killed a lot of people by deceiving them! You made them believe you had the answer, and they all died because of you! If we are being judged, it's easy to see that you are a monster." "
Baka immediately turned to him, his voice vibrating:
"Reo isn't to blame! Those who wanted to follow him without thinking should have trusted their own judgment!"
But before he could go any further, Reo placed a firm hand on his shoulder. His cold, clear gaze fell on Baka and then on the rest of the group.
"No need to talk," he said simply.
A heavy silence fell. Then Reo continued, his voice calm but sharp:
"In this new world, it is neither luck nor strength that will save people. It is intelligence. Only those who think, who understand before others, will have a chance of survival. "
His words echoed through the hallway like a sentence. Some lowered their eyes, others clenched their fists, unable to accept such a vision.
With nerves already on edge, a cry suddenly rang out from the front of the group:
"Hey! Look over there! "
Everyone turned their heads. A man, his eyes wide, was running toward a new convenience store whose facade seemed almost intact, lit by the pale glow of a screen hanging above the door. He stopped short in front of the notification window and, after a few seconds of reading, turned pale.
[Aeon Style Ariake Armory
- Entry fee: 150 coins ]
"It's... an armory," he said in a trembling voice. "The entry fee is 150 coins!"
A murmur ran through the group, immediately mixed with excitement and greed.
"Weapons!" exclaimed one of them. "That's exactly what we need in this apocalyptic world! With these, no one will be able to threaten us anymore!" "
But another, more hesitant voice piped up:
"One hundred and fifty coins is a lot... What if it's a trap? We don't even know if these weapons still work."
Silence fell. Everyone stared at the closed door, as if it held both the promise of power and the fear of the unknown.
Then a man with a cold, determined look stepped forward without saying a word. He took out his coins, placed them in front of the door, and confirmed the payment. The notification flashed for a moment, then the door opened with a metallic click.
The rest of the group watched him disappear inside, torn between fascination and fear.
Barely a few minutes had passed when the armory door opened again with a sharp creak.
The man came out, a broad smile on his lips, a revolver in his hand.
"So, is this your famous new world, Reo?" he said ironically.
All eyes turned to him. He calmly raised his weapon, pointing it straight at Reo.
"You said earlier that in this world, intelligence reigns supreme, right? Well, I just used mine."
A predatory smile spread across his face.
He took a step forward.
"You're not coming into this armory, understand? If you dare walk through that door, I'll shoot you."
A heavy silence fell over the group. All that could be heard was the icy wind rushing between the gutted buildings.
Then, to emphasize his words, he pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out, sharp and brutal, echoing through the empty street. The bullet struck a few inches from Reo's foot, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The survivors jumped back in panic. Some screamed, others threw themselves to the ground.
But Reo remained motionless.
His gaze remained fixed on Takeyasu, calm, almost disinterested, as if he were watching a capricious child armed with a dangerous toy.
While Reo remained motionless, the gun still pointed at him, Baka, taking advantage of a moment of inattention, discreetly tried to slip past Takeyasu and into the armory.
But Takeyasu noticed him immediately.
"You stay here too," he said coldly, pointing his gun at him.
Baka froze, his hands raised, trembling slightly.
"You're his teammate, aren't you? Then you're in the same boat. No exceptions." "
His tone left no room for negotiation.
A heavy silence fell over the group. No one dared to move.
Takeyasu, standing tall, dominating the scene, embodied the law of the strongest. He had managed to transform fear into authority, and his weapon into a scepter.
Little by little, some of the survivors began to exchange nervous glances.
"Actually... he's not wrong," whispered one of them.
Another nodded. "If he has a weapon, we might as well have several."
So, one by one, a few members of the group took out their coins and approached the armory door.
The sharp sound of payments echoed in the heavy air. Each one entered, then came out a few minutes later, a weapon in hand and a more confident look on their faces.
Reo watched the scene without flinching.
Around him, the tables had turned: those who feared him were now seeking to arm themselves to protect themselves from him.
But in his calm gaze, there was neither panic nor anger. Only a cold gleam, that of a man watching his opponents lock themselves into their illusion of power.
Then a childish voice, clear and almost joyful, suddenly rang out in the sky.
"Dear survivors! The first team to reach the second puzzle will receive a special reward. As for those who arrive too late... they will die."
No sooner had these words been spoken than a loud thud rang out, followed by a vibration in the ground. A gigantic translucent curtain appeared in the distance, slowly but surely advancing in their direction. A new notification window immediately appeared in front of them:
[Special Event: Escape the toxic zone before it engulfs you.]
The air grew heavier, and a thick fog began to spread, swallowing the buildings one by one.
"Shit... we have to run!" someone in the group shouted.
Immediately, everyone began to run at full speed, abandoning any idea of order or cohesion. Footsteps echoed in the empty streets, and ragged breathing mingled with panicked screams. Some stumbled, others jostled to get ahead.
The translucent, merciless curtain was gaining ground.
While everyone else started running, Koan remained motionless. The translucent curtain approached at a frightening speed, swallowing everything in its path. A member of the group shouted in panic:
"What the hell is she doing?! She'll die if she stays there!" "
Reo, who was watching the scene from a distance, frowned. Something about Koan's attitude seemed strange to him.
Koan, her eyes vacant, murmured...
"If I understand correctly... when I send one of my suicidal impulses toward death... my unconscious does the opposite... it directs me toward life."
Her lips trembled, then a slight smile appeared on her face.
"Let's see if I'm right."
Without the slightest hesitation, she started running straight towards the toxic area.
The others, frightened, didn't have time to understand what she was doing. They continued to flee with all their might, while Koan disappeared into the thick fog. Soon, she began to suffocate, her lungs burning from the gas. Her knees buckled, her fingers clawing at the ground.
The pain was unbearable. But just as she thought she was going to die yet again, her breath caught in her throat.
A moment later, she opened her eyes abruptly. Before her lay the area of the second puzzle.
The childish voice echoed in the sky again, joyful and mocking:
"Well, it seems that one team has arrived faster than the others!"