(pov Ki-Moon)
– …who exactly are you?
My voice echoes in the silence.
Carina doesn't respond.
She simply bites her lip.
Her fingers tightened around his sleeve.
And it's now, since I met her...that I find her help a little too suspicious.
She seems to be scared now.
I remained motionless in front of her.
Attendant.
A few seconds.
Then a whole minute.
But no words came out.
I finally looked away.
- …Let it go.
His head jerked up abruptly.
As if that answer hurt her even more.
It was me who let myself go.
I'm not insisting, because I'm no longer sure I want to hear the truth.
The screen in front of us began to crackle.
Your tour will begin:
Then a countdown timer appears.
00:04:58
00:04:57
00:04:56
The next game.
I sink into the sofa.
My gaze remains fixed on the numbers.
But my mind was elsewhere.
Mom.
This image keeps coming back to me, but I can't see her face.
Would I be able to recognize her?
How long was she held prisoner? What did she experience? Will she remember me?
I can still see Oh Lee with a smile on his lips
"Your mother... she's here..."
I close my eyes and give myself a few slaps.
This phrase refuses to disappear.
What if He lied to me?
Perhaps that's the worst part.
I have no certainty.
But I just need to find her.
It doesn't matter what needs to be destroyed.
It doesn't matter who has to fall.
I will find her.
Bipppppppppppppp!
A vibration.
I glance down at my watch.
A message.
R.
[Let me free you from this burden]
I immediately clench my jaw.
That thing again.
I deleted the message.
But another one appeared immediately.
[You are very alone, poor child]
–…shut it up.
Carina turns her head towards me.
- What ?
- Nothing.
I turn off the screen.
But the watch continued to vibrate.
Again.
Again.
Like a trapped insect.
I refuse to watch.
Then the main screen lights up.
Abruptly.
A long message scrolled across it.
[CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PLAYERS!]
It's as if his voice is echoing in my head.
[THE NEXT GAME WILL START IN THREE MINUTES]
Images appear between the letters.
Corridors.
Stairs.
Stone gates.
A vast underground complex.
[THE DUNGEON OF THE LOST]
I squint slightly.
[THREE TEAMS]
Portraits appear.
Team Korea.
Carina.
Me.
Then :
CH-05
CH-09
CH-02
And finally:
ME-07
ME-01
ME-06
The Mexicans seem to be much better equipped.
Weapons.
Armor.
Objects.
Even through the screen they appear organized.
Dangerous.
We looked like novices next to them
[OBJECTIVE: REACH THE LAST ROOM]
L'image change.
A huge sword appears.
Planted in the ground.
Black.
Massive.
[THE FIRST GROUP TO REMOVE THE SWORD WINS]
Simple.
Too simple.
I don't like it.
This is not like this doll.
The hairs on my back stood on end.
I could feel her burst out laughing.
[TRAPS ARE OPTIONAL OF COURSE~]
Then the screen goes black.
Silence.
One second later.
The walls begin to shake.
The entire room is moving.
Mechanisms are activated beneath our feet.
No sooner had Carina stood up than they made her suction.
– It's time.
I couldn't answer.
I found myself just upside down in a dark and damp underground passage, I got up with difficulty and with back pain.
The metal corridor seemed endless.
No one is speaking.
Even the drones remain silent.
I pray the march last.
Carina, for her part, took the initiative.
Like two strangers.
But at every crossroads.
At each door.
I can feel his gaze on me.
But I refuse to cross paths with him.
She had succeeded.
Part of me is doubting now.
The journey was short.
We finally reach a huge square room.
The other teams were already there.
CH-05, as he wrote on his outfit.
Grand.
Calm.
Arms crossed.
He analyzed everything.
CH-09 and CH-02 remain behind him.
Disciplined.
Silent.
Then my gaze drifts towards the Mexicans.
ME-07 is sitting on the floor.
Calm.
As if he were waiting for a bus.
ME-01 checks its equipment.
ME-06 is talking with him.
No stress.
No fear.
Once I added myself,
CRACK…..
A dull thud resounded.
The dungeon door slowly opens.
The air coming out of it was cold.
Humid.
Darkness seems to swallow the light.
Torches are lit one by one.
The path seems to descend deep underground.
ME-07 smiled and rushed in.
– So, shall we go?
advancing without hesitation.
The other two follow him immediately.
The Chinese start a few seconds later.
As expected.
Then we,.....
I took a long breath.
I need to get back to basics.
– Lee go ?
I murmured
Carina nodded gently, a smile appearing once again on her lips.
I took her hand and together we crossed the threshold of the dungeon.
Darkness immediately engulfed us, with the door slowly closing behind us.
With a heavy and definitive rumble.