The party eventually reached a structure.
The remains of an ancient tower, ragged and lonesome, stuck out in the whirlwind of dust and grit, granting the group a long awaited respite.
'Hallelujah,' Ciel thought.
A dull ache was seeping through Ciel's bleeding feet as he was wheezing from exhaustion. His sedentary lifestyle finally caught up to him. At this moment, Ciel swore that when this journey was over and he returned to the real world, he'd take up exercising.
Klarissa's open palm steadily rose above her head.
"Halt. We'll rest there for half a day before we move on."
The group got to work. The soldier that took Ciel captive froze in place as he closed his eyes. A few moments later, the air surrounding him started getting colder as he proceeded to locate every opening of the shabby tower and plug them with layers of ice. The one with brown hair grabbed what seemed to be a tiny generator from his backpack, pressed a button on it, and set it on the ground — slowly warming up the tower. Meanwhile, Abelia extended her palm as a pleasant feeling spread throughout the building, Ciel's vigor recovering.
Everyone took off their gas masks and piled into a corner.
And unexpectedly, Klarissa stretched her limbs and yawned.
"Alright. Good work today, everyone! Leo, did you bring the supplies?"
The rather short, brown-haired soldier straightened his back.
"Yes, Chief! They're in my backpack."
"Good. Ciel, go help Leo unpack the supplies."
Leo took out a sturdy metal case from his backpack, placed it on the floor, and unfastened its locks. Inside were metal utensils and packs of what Ciel could only describe as a nauseating, greyish paste.
Leo grabbed one of those packs and shoved it towards him.
"Here's dinner."
Ciel stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Uhm, you're joking, right?"
He stared right back at him, deadpanned.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Ciel opened his mouth, trying to say something, but Abelia beat him to it.
"Don't mind Leo, that's just how he is. But he's not joking, that is our standard meal when traveling."
She crouched beside the boys and poked Ciel with a small pouch of white powder, beaming a gentle smile.
"Here. If you mix this in, it won't taste as bad."
He did as he was told, carefully taking a couple pinches of the powder and mixing it with the paste. Upon closer inspection, Ciel realized he was mistaken. The packs were even more disgusting than he originally presumed, identifying several green, fuzzy spots that resembled mold.
Ciel sneaked a quick peek at Abelia, only to see her tender, anticipatory expression gazing at him.
'Screw this, what's the worst that can happen?'
He scooped up a small portion and shoved it into his mouth before he could change his mind.
'Blarghh…'
It tasted exactly the way he imagined — a rancid flavour with the texture of what he envisioned sewer waste would feel like. His eyes instinctively watered as his entire body recoiled in protest.
Abelia's hopeful smile wavered.
"Well?"
Ciel forced himself to swallow, his throat burning slightly.
"...Not bad," he managed to mumble.
Leo snorted. "He's lying."
"I can see that," Abelia said, laughing despite herself. "You're actually supposed to heat it first."
Ciel stared at her, astonished that the sweet, innocent looking girl standing next to him was capable of malevolently poisoning him. And then laugh on top of it!
"...You could've said that before I ate it."
Abelia smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry! It's tradition to prank the new guy. And Leo made me do it!!"
Leo raised a brow and looked at her incredulously.
"I did no such thing."
Abelia puffed her cheeks, mock dissatisfaction plastered all over her face.
"Yes you did!"
Suddenly, the soldier that captured Ciel — who had been quietly sitting near a corner — raised his voice.
"If the two of you are done fooling around, eat. You're disturbing The Chief."
Leo and Abelia both scowled at him, definitely thinking 'buzzkill.'
"I appreciate the concern, Kaius, but let them have some fun. They had an exhausting day," said Klarissa.
Kaius nodded and went back to gazing off into space. Meanwhile, Abelia was beaming.
"The Chief is the best!"
Ciel gave her a doubtful look, muttering under his breath:
"... if you disregard the fact that she threatened leaving me to suffocate three hours ago."
Abelia smiled softly, handing Leo her meal so he could heat it up.
"She's strict, but she's really not so bad once you get to know her. The reason she seems harsh is because of all the flippant squads she witnessed vanishing. I promise you, she is much harder on herself than she is on any of us."
Ciel kept quiet.
He just watched.
Watched how Leo nonchalantly handed over the warm meals, how Kaius earnestly scrubbed the masks they wore today, and how Klarissa glanced at them every once in a while — her lips curled up.
Abelia noticed.
"Hey. The food is getting cold."
He snapped out of it.
"If you consider this food, I'm terrified about whatever's in your fridge on Earth."
She paused, confused on what he meant by that.
"Earth?" she asked.
Ciel didn't think much of it. She was probably just tired, in need of more context.
"Yeah. I mean in the real world."
Blink. Blink. Blink. Abelia looked completely puzzled. She kept staring at him, waiting for the punchline. Yet the punchline never arrived.
"...What do you mean in the real world? Are you one of those conspiracy theorists who thinks we're living in a simulation?" She smiled awkwardly.
It was Ciel's turn to be puzzled now.
'Does she think this is the real world? I … no… no way she does. It's probably another prank. But then why does she seem genuinely confused?'
He scrutinized her expression once again. Indeed, there was no doubt in his mind. Her confusion was genuine.
'What's going on?' He thought.
Ciel opened his mouth, trying to say something…
But before the words left his mouth, Klarissa's voice interrupted:
"Okay. Fun time is over, we have a busy day tomorrow."
Abelia got up, brushing aside the strange conversation as a prank Ciel pulled to get back at her.
Ciel followed suit, standing up and moving towards the spot all the guys slept. He however, could not brush the conversation aside. From the moment they met, everyone seemed to take the game too seriously. Well… to be fair… so was he.
'No, it's not the same. I'm only taking the game seriously because Lyra warned me that I'm a Null — therefore not compatible with the game — if I die, there's no telling what'd happen. I might even become braindead.'
Well, whatever it was, it could wait. Right now, surviving was his top priority, and being underslept would no doubt reduce his survival chances.
***
The morning arrived.
Looking around the room, Ciel realized there was no equipment throughout the tower anymore. Then, his gaze landed on the group, everyone now wearing gas masks as Leo came to 'wake him up'.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," he said.
In need of more sleep and drowsy, Ciel could only power through the grogginess with sheer willpower. He stood up and put his mask on, departing along with the squad.
***
The five of them have been travelling for hours now, looking around for any sign of a structure. However, no matter how much they kept looking or kept walking, there was no end in sight to the storm of grit and dust.
Ironically, just then, the outline of a building made itself seen in the distance.
A… tower? Another one? Oh well... progress is still progress.
However, as the group reached the tower, everyone froze.
...It was the same tower.