“Is this some kind of passage…? It’s longer than I thought it would be….”
While walking, Lee Yoo-jin didn’t stop talking. It seemed as though she was saying that she couldn’t endure if she stopped, causing Jelly to become melancholic. Or perhaps the darkness was slowly consuming her mind?
Either way, her mood wasn’t pleasant, so every time she said something, I gently touched her hand to reassure her.
As if to console her and let her know it would be alright.
Her soft fingers grazed mine, but they bore faint traces of scars and calluses.
At first, her hand was slightly cold, but gradually it warmed up, creating a strange feeling.
…I wasn’t holding her hand out of any ill intention. I could sense that she would feel uneasy if I didn’t.
“Cough! Cough!”
Suddenly, Lee Yoo-jin started coughing painfully. Observing her in the dim light, it seemed like her throat was extremely dry, causing her pain.
Yet, she didn’t stop speaking even in this situation.
If someone gave up in despair while falling from a high place and was buried in darkness, would they end up like this?
Maybe since I’m no longer human, I can’t fully comprehend these feelings.
Neither falling from a great height nor being trapped in the dark affects me much anymore—it’s not the first time I’ve experienced such things.
Rather than that, I wish it were something more straightforward. To prevent her from talking further, I gripped her hand a little more firmly, conveying that even without her speaking, I wouldn’t leave.
“Could you… hold my hand a little more gently?”
…Hm.
Of course.
I loosened my grip slightly, and Lee Yoo-jin thanked me before continuing with slower steps.
Even though she didn’t ask me to let go despite the pain, the sense that she depended on me made me feel strange.
Anyway…
How long had we walked together?
Climbing up some slopes, descending others, it felt like we had been walking for quite some time.
“Let’s take a short break, just for a moment.”
Her exhaustion reached us sooner than anything else appearing. Reflecting on it, we had eaten only embarrassing meals and walked tirelessly until we fell, getting lost and buried in the dark.
Though I still feel energetic…
Humans naturally need to eat and rest properly to move around.
It hit me again how inconvenient humans were in so many ways.
Since Jelly couldn’t communicate through words, I stopped my restless pacing and slowly sat down on the ground to make her sit as well.
I was worried she might plop down with a ‘thud’ if she couldn’t handle my strength, but it turned out to be unnecessary concern since the height difference only inclined her torso a bit.
“Ahh, sorry, it’s because of me… But thank you anyway.”
Thank you, got it… still, how tall I’ve become is practically decoration at this point.
Suppressing the sudden sadness that welled up, I sat down with her on the floor for a short rest. While resting, I checked to see if Daesik had become even more worn out and pondered our location.
While scanning the surroundings, the designer of this game, the so-called Singularity, became increasingly incomprehensible to me.
If this place was made with humans in mind, wouldn’t the falling process itself feel kind of odd?
If this were truly an in-game world, falling from such a high place would only leave a minor scratch, leading one to think, “Lucky…” before standing up perfectly fine. But in such a realistic place, surviving the fall itself would be unusual.
Even before falling, wouldn’t one be crushed by those rock chunks?
What could this secret (or maybe mysterious?) space mean for regular humans?
No matter how deeply I thought, I couldn’t clearly grasp the reasons behind it, and the frustration grew. It might have been nice to discuss it with Lee Yoo-jin, but her energy felt insufficient for such high-level conversations because of her lack of Electric Scent.
Considering I didn’t know sign language either…
…Ah, initially, I wouldn’t even know if I gestured my fingers around now.
Muttering and griping about the Singularity mid-thought…
“Uhmmm… UGH…”
A groan came from above. Naturally, it was Lee Yoo-jin’s voice, not from the ceiling.
Blinking at her intently, I noticed she was leaning against the wall, wincing in pain around her eyes.
I instinctively shot out a tentacle toward her, startled, to check her condition. One hand was still holding hers, and the other was carrying Daesik, so I couldn’t really help it.
Touching her forehead, she felt warm, and now I understood why her cold hand had grown warmer.
“…”
Finally, my tentacle brushed her ankle, and a sound like a cry of pain came from her mouth. She must have been hurt, though I didn’t know when. There was no distinct smell of blood, so it didn’t seem serious, but when I gently lifted the bottom of her pants to check, her ankle was swollen.
Why hadn’t she said anything about this injury even though she seemed to be in so much pain?
Had she kept quiet out of fear that I would abandon her if she complained?
She looked like she was desperately trying to hide her pain. If I had a throat, I would have sighed, and now I was glad I didn’t.
During this time, while wiggling Jelly, she wore an uneasy expression, perhaps thinking I would leave her behind.
Does she think I won’t notice? Or does she put on that anxious face because she knows I’m watching?
…Sigh. I don’t know.
Anyway, I extended a tentacle toward the increasingly worried Lee Yoo-jin. The appendage rising from my back gently cradled her.
“Eh? Wh-what?”
Since she already knows I’m not an ordinary girl but rather a creature of the Singularity, it shouldn’t matter too much.
Cradling her softly in my tentacle, I lifted her up and began rushing toward an exit I hoped existed.
I should’ve done this earlier; it would’ve been much better!
But… where did we come from again?
Ah, that side.
There was a momentary commotion, but it wasn’t a great problem. A bigger problem was how to deal with Lee Yoo-jin’s ankle.
Usually, I’d take her to the hospital, but we were certainly not in a place for hospital talk. If we could have, I would’ve called an ambulance and already escaped from here.
Thinking about it.
If her foot is sprained—that means her bones are out of alignment, right? The swelling indicates that assumption is correct.
Then… do I need to adjust it properly?
Is it even okay to do that?
Am I even supposed to do something like that?
Ugh… I don’t know.
First, I thought it best to find a brighter area to examine it carefully, so I quickly resumed my movement.
From Lee Yoo-jin’s mouth came strange murmurs like “Aah!” and “Ow!” but I kept walking, considering it unavoidable.
“Isn’t it heavy?”
In the middle of the journey, a rather unnecessary worry reached my ears, but it was light enough that I could carry her all day if needed.
…Comparing her weight to something would be a bit rude, wouldn’t it?
In moments like this, I’m glad I can’t speak. Sometimes I feel relieved at the possibility I might unintentionally say something.
And so, after carrying Lee Yoo-jin for I don’t know how long, it seemed she had fallen asleep either due to pain or the comfort my tentacles provided.
I suppose it was worth it, considering that I provided her with such stability.
Dim light started to appear faintly in my eyes. Speeding up without shaking her too much, the light got closer, and it seemed like it might truly be an exit.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any reason for the light.
Excitement! But as I hurried toward it…
Something felt off.
The closer the faint light became, the clearer the surroundings appeared, revealing that it might be a curved passage.
That meant there was some kind of light source at the end of the bent passage.
In simpler terms, the likelihood of it not being an exit was high. Maybe the chance of it being one would be similar to getting an SSR in a game.
…Still, even that was worth gratitude, but during that thought process—
Lee Yoo-jin, startled by the light, tried to voice something, so I quickly covered her mouth with a tentacle. Making noise would definitely draw the owner of the light toward us.
The startled Lee Yoo-jin soon calmed down upon seeing the light, clearly understanding my concern.
That was a good thing, but it turned out to be insignificant.
Footsteps approached from where the light source shimmered, meaning someone or something was heading in our direction.
It seemed whoever it was had heard the sound Lee Yoo-jin managed to make in that brief moment.
Thud, thud.
The footsteps weren’t singular but multiple, making me hesitate.
Shall I run back into the darkness with Yoo-jin or put her down and confront this thing?
Both options seemed reasonable, but her injury was troubling.
…What to do?
The footsteps grew closer while I hesitated.
