In the otherwise quiet halls of floor 28 in the Pit, the sound of several rushing footsteps could be heard in a particular hall.
Reko's heart pounded against his chest. His breathing was ragged, and his legs ached from sprinting for what seemed like an eternity.
'Shit, that thing had no body! What's such a high rank doing on a lower floor!'
Reko had never seen such a Voidbeast during his many years at the containment zone, but he could tell it was stronger than anything he'd faced before.
It had a giant eye, but Reko knew it was a trap. It was just asking to be hit. He knew even Ash couldn't blow that thing up, no matter how hard he tried.
Reko could hear fast, slimy movements coming not too far behind them from within the dark cloud.
A foul stench of rot overtook the squad, making breathing difficult.
Steven and Ash were running alongside Reko, both of them managing to hold on.
But for how long?
Time was ticking, and Reko needed to come up with a plan. They had limited options, but Reko did his best to calm his mind and devise a course of action.
'C'mon, think, think!'
The creature was a few meters behind them, and its cloudy body was quickly closing in on them. It seemed the creature was purposefully letting them run. It was playing with its prey.
The hallways twisted and turned often and had many crossroads.
That's when Reko noticed it.
After a particular turn, he turned to look back at the creature. It had slowed down, then swiftly sped up again.
Reko's brain flared as he came up with an idea. It was a gamble, but it was better than nothing.
'No choice, I guess!'
Reko shouted.
"Ash, give me five of your strongest explosives!"
Ash didn't hesitate and handed Reko four lumpy balls.
"Just throw them, and they'll activate!"
The creature continued its chase, and soon the squad saw another crossroad ahead. Reko could tell Ash and Steven were waiting for his move, so as they were about to reach the crossroad, Reko threw the first explosive at the giant eye.
A moment later, the squad turned right at the split in the path, followed by a loud bang and a gust of smoke from behind them.
Steven growled.
"That's not gonna work! It has no body!"
Reko ignored Steven and, a second before the creature arrived at the crossroads, threw another explosive behind them into thin air.
Instantly, Reko could feel a surge of heat on his back and the floor trembling beneath him.
The creature burst through the smoke and flame behind them and continued trailing the group. It seemed to be infuriated by its prey's futile resistance.
The creature squinted its eye suspiciously for a couple of moments.
Steven and Ash both looked at Reko, but said nothing. They seemed hesitant and worried but trusted him.
'Alright, that's the first part. Now I've go-'
Reko was interrupted mid-thought when he felt a sharp pain permeate the back of his body. The maddened creature shot out a piece of black sludge, which hit him on the back. It clearly didn't like it when the rules of its game were broken.
Reko didn't think about it.
He couldn't afford to.
He gritted his teeth and kept his pace, fueled by adrenaline.
'You little shit!'
The creature was toying with all of them.
It could've killed them at any time.
That carelessness was the squad's only saving grace.
The squad saw another upcoming split.
Reko commanded everyone. He prayed that everybody listened.
"Go full throttle and keep going no matter what!"
The group accelerated, putting some distance between themselves and the monster, and Reko shot two explosives down the hall at the ugly eye.
The explosions went off with a louder bang than before, and a large cloud of smoke blocked the creature's sight for a few moments.
Reko silently pointed left at the crossroads. Steven and Ash went full speed in the pointed direction.
Reko came to a sudden halt in the middle of the crossroads and quickly flung the last explosive as far as possible to the right.
He could hear the giant eye approaching. Reko knew he had a split second to follow the others. He was running low on energy, and his legs felt as though they might give out any second.
Just as he felt he wasn't going to make it, he felt his back burning, and a strange energy surged inside of him.
He shot forward at an unimaginable speed, barely making it out of the monster's sight.
He saw the others in front of him, a couple of paces away.
He heard the explosives go off in the distance. The slimy sound seemed to fade momentarily, but soon became slightly audible once again.
He only managed to trick it for a moment, but that was within his expectations. If they kept going at full speed, they might manage to find the entrance to the next floor and escape!
All they needed was a chance!
Soon, however, Reko's breath got caught. He began to feel dizzy. His head spun, and his eyelids suddenly became heavy.
'No. NONONONONO!'
His weird symptoms were acting up at the worst time possible, as he predicted.
He was going to die here.
In a moment he was going to collapse on the floor, and in a couple of minutes, he would be Voidbeast food.
His entire life had accumulated up to this moment. For him to not be able to do anything. He couldn't even go down with a fight.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
'FUCK. This isn't fair!'
He cursed the world.
'I get dragged away from my parents and get sent to this hellhole for no reason. I slave away with no end in sight!'
He felt like a victim.
'Why?! Why me?! I didn't do anything wrong! Why do I have to die a meaningless death here?!'
He wanted to give up.
'I tried so fucking hard! I really did...'
Deep down, he already knew, though...
Such was life.
Reko felt his emotions wash away as his consciousness began to fade and his body hit the cold metal floor.
As he was about to lose consciousness, he heard a loud shout.
"The hell are you taking a nap for right now?! Off your ass!"
The last thing Reko remembered was a loud clap followed by the feeling of his body being flung through the air.
Then he passed out.
***
In a desolate forest, a young man lay on the ground, peacefully sleeping.
He was of average height and possessed a strong physique, with lean muscles hidden beneath his dirty, worn clothes. His looks were above average, and he wore a jaded complexion, with all the softness of youth long gone. Messy, tangled black hair rested on the ground beneath him.
Slowly, Reko opened his eyes.
'So, there is an afterlife?'
Reko couldn't recall what had happened in the final moments before he passed out.
He stood up, feeling dizzy, and scanned his surroundings.
It was pitch black outside. However, he could see just fine. Trees and greenery surrounded him. There was a strange, blue glow coming from all the leaves on the trees, and he spotted it on the ground as well at times. He seemed to be in a forest.
Reko took a glance up and saw a stunning night sky, painted with stars, vividly coloured auroras and even galaxies. The sight stunned him, not having seen the night sky in many years.
'Beautiful... I haven't seen the outside in so long.'
Reko admired the sight, completely forgetting about his earlier predicament. He was mesmerised.
He could've stayed here forever.
After gazing at the night sky for a couple of minutes, he reluctantly turned his gaze away. He needed to figure out where he was.
'Guess I should look around.'
Reko began to tread into the forest. There were no paths, but he felt like he knew he had to get somewhere. Something was calling him.
'Is it death? Am I about to be eaten, and is this my final reward? The accumulation of my life?'
Reko felt a bit bitter at the thought, but continued to march onward. Death seemed better than living another day back there.
The forest showed no signs of life. No animals could be heard, only the soft, rhythmic dance of the glowing leaves in the wind.
Upon heading deeper into the forest, Reko discovered that the distant blue hue on the ground was flowers. He knew his mom would've loved these.
'I hope Steven and Ash made it out alright. Then again, the two are a bigger threat to one another than any monster ever could be,' Reko grinned to himself.
After walking for an indefinite amount of time, Reko spotted a clearing in the distance. There was a soft patch of moss on the ground, surrounded by the glowing flowers. Reko instantly felt drawn to it and walked towards it.
'Seems to be the place.'
He instinctively lay down on the moss and stared up at the sky. The vivid collage of bright colours and stars greeted him once again, and he felt trapped in its gaze.
Reko lay on the moss, remembering all of the problems in his life, all the unfairness, all the sadness, everything. Soon, he spotted a shooting star, which made him make a wish automatically.
'I wish I could see my parents again.'
Another bright light flashed by in the sky.
'I wish I could leave that containment zone.'
A third one shot by.
'I wish I could've done more with my life.'
Again.
'I wish I had been stronger.'
And again.
'I wish Steven and Ash make it out of there alive.'
Stars began flying by.
'I wish...'
'I wish...'
'I wish...'
...
Reko poured out all the wishes in his soul to the night sky.
Soon, the whole night sky was an array of constant, bright flashing lights. The sight left Reko in a long silence. The unending barrage blinded him, but he didn't care. He simply enjoyed the moment.
After the long silence, he muttered his final wish.
Having long since convinced himself that there was no hope of ever making it out of the containment zone, this wish made him hesitate at first. However, sitting on one's deathbed makes people realise many things.
"I wish to try again."
Mainly all their regrets.
'I gave up too soon. Even if I never get out and die in that hellhole, nothing's certain until I'm dead.'
At that, all the light in the sky above halted, as if reacting to Reko's resolve. His eyelids suddenly grew heavy. He didn't resist. It felt right.
Reko peacefully shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
As Reko fell into his slumber, a single star shot from the sky into his chest, causing an eruption of light.
Reko was engulfed in the warm light. It embraced his whole body, entangling itself with every fibre of his being. Through his half-awake mind, Reko could tell something fundamental was being awakened within him, so he let it happen.
Soon, the light dimmed, and the whole world went dark.