“…Can we really leave like this?”
“What else can we do? We can’t keep living here, so there’s no other way, is there?”
“That’s true… sigh.”
Park Jin-soo’s response made Lee Sang-yong scratch his head as if he had already anticipated it. Then, he momentarily entertained the absurd idea of convincing the people from ‘The Foundation’ waiting outside — the same people who were their targets in the “experiment” — that they were somehow involved, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
After all, whispering to a singularity already seemed dubious, so outside of someone foolish enough to believe in blatant lies — an idea that was quickly debunked — it seemed unlikely that anyone would fall for their story.
Well, maybe somewhere out there might be such a person, but the very thought of it felt ridiculous. Besides, even if true, it wouldn’t improve their situation much.
Even if things somehow went well, their memories would likely be erased. They’d be sent to a fake household, where family would be a distant concept, leaving them with no real ties to the life they once knew. In that scenario, they might even prefer death.
Yet, Lee Sang-yong didn’t want to die, which furrowed his brow even further. They had managed to escape a life-threatening puzzle, one step away from true freedom, yet his steps felt heavier than ever.
Given the circumstances, Lee Sang-yong couldn’t help but blame Lee Yoo-jin for throwing herself off the dark cliff. In his mind, all his current troubles stemmed from her actions. In reality, though, it was his own behavior that had made Lime decide not to return, though he never considered that possibility, choosing instead to solely blame Lee Yoo-jin.
Moreover, both were dead now anyway. Who could possibly accuse them otherwise? The dead have no voice. Well, truthfully, Lime hadn’t had much of a voice to begin with.
And so, Lee Sang-yong continued to berate Lee Yoo-jin, often silently, sometimes aloud, as he ascended the steep staircase. With no shade to protect him from the scorching heat, sweat drenched his body, rising in what felt like a steamy haze despite the lack of motion.
A musty odor clung to them, but there was no one else around to comment except Park Jin-soo, whose state was similarly pitiable, so it might as well go unnoticed.
The two men, soaked in sweat, eventually succumbed to fatigue, sitting down on the worn steps with a heavy sigh.
“Let’s rest a bit. Besides, there’s no one else around, so there’s no hurry, right?”
“…Let’s.”
Park Jin-soo was equally tired, and there was no reason to complain. With no clear direction ahead, continuing was burdensome, so resting felt justified.
Park Jin-soo sat idly, gazing at the sky as the memory of Lime discarding Lee Yoo-jin to vanish with a boulder resurfaced in his mind. The image of her faded, almost erased from his thoughts.
This brought him dual emotions—a mix of anger and surprise at Lime’s selfless act.
Of course, anger was understandable. Considering his reasons and plans for being there, it was infuriating that Lime had sacrificed himself for someone seemingly irrelevant.
On the other hand, Lime’s extraordinary behavior as a singularity surprised and moved Park Jin-soo, particularly the calculated act to save someone.
Thus, Lime shouldn’t have faded away like that—not for the sake of some woman whose face he could no longer recall.
“Haa…”
“Damn…”
As if sharing similar thoughts, both men sighed in unison. The already somber mood grew even heavier.
Lost in contemplation, Park Jin-soo noticed an unfamiliar sensation on his thigh, which led him to fumble through his pocket.
Recognizing what was inside, he smiled faintly. Though it was part of the original plan and something he’d picked up along the way, it now seemed useless and nothing more than added weight. He contemplated throwing it away.
Just then, an odd sound reached his ears, breaking his thoughts.
The noise sounded like someone ascending the staircase. Realizing it wasn’t his imagination, Lee Sang-yong, previously slumped against the steps, jumped up with alarm.
“Did you hear that?”
“…Yes, I do.”
Tension filled their slumped shoulders as the gravity of their situation became clearer. It could very well be one of the locals from this place, but if someone was indeed heading toward the exit, it might indicate that the survived singularity was approaching.
Lee Yoo-jin, after all, had already been dismissed as deceased by both Park Jin-soo and Lee Sang-yong.
“Hurry, let’s go.”
“Damn, alright.”
With faces that would make anyone salivate at the potential for conflict, the two men quickly resumed their ascent. If this singularity was really making its way to the top, they needed to reach it first.
A slight unease persisted—perhaps it was all in their heads—but they deemed it unimportant at the moment.
*
Dangling.
Daesik, the jelly-like entity often referred to as such by Lime, currently had no attention spare as he focused on maintaining his grip on Alice, who had become almost an extension of himself.
A mere moment of neglect and he feared her limbs could go flying off somewhere.
Though initially hiding within the doll’s confines was instinctual, now it felt like losing Alice would leave a part of him absent.
Although the consciousness within Daesik occasionally yearned to loom large, to intimidate Lime, at the moment, his priority was safeguarding Alice. Secretly, he might have admitted that a bigger form was unattainable anyway.
In any case, Daesik, held tightly by Lime, stiffened once again when her pace suddenly accelerated.
Indeed, the seriousness in Lime’s hurried steps became evident as she splattered along, seemingly unfazed by the urgency.
Daesik, too, braced himself fully. The sight of the TV-like structures before them nearly caused him to lose a limb. If Daesik had eyes, they would have been glowing brightly, despite Alice’s slightly battered eyes due to scratches and dirt.
Soon, the horizontal sways gave way to vertical oscillations, disorienting Daesik further. Though not feeling nauseous, he tightened his jelly core, visibly stressed.
“Let’s… go higher…”
Beside him, the panting voice of Lee Yoo-jin echoed. She was evidently exhausted, gasping occasionally, yet her movements never ceased. Pitying her perhaps, Lime extended a tentacle to hold her securely, suspending her briefly before stabilizing her as if she were on someone’s back.
“Kyaa!?”
Only then did Lee Yoo-jin realize Lime’s intentions but could not take back the outcry. She could only hope her voice had not reached their pursuers.
The locals chasing her appeared equally fatigued, but with no capacity left for more than herding, Lime quickly ascended the stairway.
As the pursuers grew distant, watching her retreating figure with strained faces, Lime continued scaling the steps with near-blinding speed.
Inevitably, Daesik stiffened his jelly form tightly under the pressure of not losing his limbs like some superhuman character from a manga!
For what felt like hours under the dizzying sway, the group finally reached the summit. Daesik let out a sigh of relief, finally relaxing into his natural jelly state.
As figures appeared on the opposite side, Daesik’s limbs barely hanging on but still intact, he braced himself once again.
At the sight of these unfamiliar silhouettes, Daesik felt an unsettling sense of unease.
Although disguised as a simple doll since their first meeting, Daesik genuinely sensed ominous vibes from these strangers. Whether it was his crisis-detection ability, developed while hiding from ‘Jangseung’, or just innate dislike of unfamiliar faces, the anxiety felt real.
“Still alive! As expected!”
“Kuh, hahaha.”
A sinister male chuckle ignored Lee Yoo-jin, hanging helplessly from Lime’s grasp.
Only after Lime placed Lee Yoo-jin gently on the ground did Park Jin-soo and Lee Sang-yong seem to notice her existence, shock etched on their faces.
At the sight of Lime’s tentacles in action, they seemed to abandon treating her as a mere girl. Maybe they had reached their breaking point.
“Are you alive, too?”
“…Did 7496 – KR help you? Or some game mechanic? Doesn’t matter now.”
Through Daesik’s perspective, the central standoff between Lime and the men unfolded. As the men seemed to advance, Lime’s tentacles swayed aggressively, causing them to step back uneasily.
“Seems our girl has gone crazy, huh?”
“…Appears to be.”
“…Morons.”
“What?”
As this peculiar standoff persisted, Lime extended a tentacle toward the central object. Simultaneously, Park Jin-soo retrieved something from his pocket.
