"Where.." Ren looked around him as he sat up.
He was still outside, laying on the sand.
Rita's corpse however was no longer here.
Had it been taken care of? Or was it just thrown away as food for the defiled?
The idea of Rita's body being torn apart and disrespected by those beasts did not really rest well in Ren's mind. 'I should ask that tall man…'
As he stood up he felt weirdly heavy, as if he hadn't moved his body for days.
Taking one step after the other, he slowly managed to walk towards the entrance of the menacing building. He threw his weight against the door, forcing it open just wide enough to squeeze through. It let out an atrocious screech before slamming shut behind him.
Ren stood there in silence, his eyes wide open.
The room was filled to the brim with people, countless people of countless origins.
While a few of them glanced at him, most were either asleep or too preoccupied with something else to look at him.
The room was dimly lit by a few candles and lanterns, and at the very end of that room was a timer, just like the one he saw when all of this started.
[73 : 46]
Ren looked at the timer for a full minute before the number changed, just as he did, someone came up to him.
"Hey! You just got here right?" Said a smiling lady in a laidback and cheerful tone.
Ren almost jumped at the sight of the woman.
She was around his height, had some very light pink hair, a tan caramel skin and some big blue eyes.
An absolute beauty.
Seeing such an angelic face harboring such a friendly smile in a place like this had Ren on his guards.
"Oh! No need to be scared! I'm just like you! We all are!" She said trying to reassure Ren.
Ren warily looked at her and opened his mouth:
"Who the hell are you? What is this place? Why is everyone so quiet?! Are you with that tall guy—"
"Wow! Well someone sure is lively!" She cut him off.
"Um well, to be frank, I don't know much either. I presume you were also taken from your home and… well forced to this hell outside before getting here, and that's the same for us. Well probably at least I didn't ask everyone after all.."
Ren looked at her before finally calming down a bit.
"Then… why are you guys all just… sitting here?" He asked confused.
"Ah! That I can answer! So, we've been told by some weird shaped flying triangle to wait here until the end of the timer! At least I think so…"
Ren stared at her.
"You think so?"
"Well, I've been told that was the case.
I wasn't there when it happened.
A lot of us weren't here actually, only a few dozens…"
"And you all just believed that?" Said Ren growing suspicious.
"I- I mean… what else can we do? It's not like we're gonna go stay in that desert..."
He closed his eyes before finally talking once again.
"My name's Ren."
"Oh! Nice to meet you Ren! I'm Lucia!"
After talking a bit more with Lucia, Ren managed to get more info on what was going on.
It seems that they were currently waiting to be « evaluated », and that they were given this time to rest in case more people arrived. After the countdown reached 0 they would be given a reward for completing their « first sorting », which was the mission they were given at the start.
After that, they would be given a week to prepare for the second sorting.
All this new information felt weird for Ren.
It all really felt like a video game. But of course it wasn't, after all there was no revive button or second life, if he died, it meant he was gone for good.
Ren found a nearby wall and sat down next to it. A lot of questions were raised in his mind.
What the hell was going on? What was that weird dream, who was that on that throne, why was he so afraid of them? Where was Karma?
But right now he couldn't concentrate on any of them. Because his mind kept going back on the same two things. Rita and Eric.
Were those two really dead?
Ren felt sick, he knew they could die, but for people he had spent so much time with lately to die right in front of him, in such a short period of time too. It all still felt unreal to him.
Ren shook his head, he couldn't start crying just yet, after all, there was still that second sorting, which meant it wasn't over yet. He looked at Lucia and thanked her, before finally sitting down to rest.
She decided to sit down next to him.
"Also, I was wondering, would you like to join my group? Me and my uncle ended up here together! We split up to find new members for the group since our last members… um.. aren't here anymore." She looked away at that last part, clearly still a bit distraught.
Ren looked at her with distrust.
"Why me?" He asked.
"H-huh?"
"Why ask me?" He repeated. "I mean, there are clearly more competent looking people here, so why ask me of all people?"
Lucia stared at him for a second before laughing quietly.
"You're not very trusting are you?" She said. "Well, if I must answer, I'd say it's because you're cute!"
Ren took a few seconds to react.
"H-huh?!" He shouted, caught off guard by her statement. "Th-that's not a good reason!"
She laughed a bit harder at his reaction.
"Sorry, sorry- you're just really cute, I had to tease you." She had a wide grin on her face.
Ren's face was a bit red after being complimented out of the blue.
Lucia finallly calmed down and stopped laughing. "Okay, I'm done now. I'll stop teasing… for now at least."
After a little while, Ren was no longer flustered. "So? What's the real reason?" He asked, wary once again.
Lucia stopped smiling.
".. well, to be frank I did ask a few people before you but… I didn't really get an answer. Everyone seems to be rather tense so I'm guessing they weren't in the mood. Or maybe they didn't want to join the group of such a frail lady like me…"
Ren looked around. It was true, everyone did seem tense, and so was he.
Lucia looked at him with the eyes of a crying puppy.
"S-so? Will you join us?"
Ren took an involuntary step back. He almost fell for her trick!
But then he thought about it, was it really a bad idea? I mean, if the second sorting was as dangerous, or more dangerous, than the first one being in a team could be nothing but beneficial. And Karma was probably not going to be very willing to go with him, after all Ren could feel Karma partly blame him, after all he blamed himself too. 'I might as well..'
Ren sighed.
"Sure, I'll join."
"Really?! Thanks so much! I'm sure my uncle will love you!" She said, giggling as a few annoyed glares fell onto them.
Feeling the frustrated stare from those around them, Ren quickly signaled Lucia to calm down as he sat back down to end the conversation.
Lucia quickly put her hands over her mouth as she shut herself up and decided to sit down right next to Ren.
They quietly sat together for a while, before Ren started asking questions about her uncle.
"Hey so, exactly where is your uncle? And what does he looks like?"
Lucia took a second to answer.
"Hmm? Oh. He also went to find some new people to join us, but… I'm pretty sure he's struggling quite a lot."
"Why is that?" Ren asked, curious.
"Well… he's kind of… scary? I guess. He's quite tall, around 2 meters, and he's also quite muscular. He used to be in the military!"
"Huh… he does sound kind of impressive."
Lucia scoffed.
"Don't worry, he's really not. He's a just a big goof. Well, most of the time at least."
"Sure…" Ren looked at her a bit more attentively. "So since I'm gonna be joining your group, I feel like there's a question I have to ask."
Lucia looked at him and smiled.
"Sure! What is it?"
"How… exactly did your last teamates die?"
Lucia's smile disappeared almost instantly after hearing his question.
"I don't… really wanna talk about it…" she said.
"Well, as a member of your team, I believe I should know about this sort of things, so you know, I can make sure it doesn't happen to me." Ren insisted, ignoring her discomfort.
"… fine."
Lucia's voice wavered as she explained.
They had been wandering the desert for days, the sun carving into their backs, their water nearly gone. Every step felt heavier than the last, hope thinning with each mile of endless sand.
Then, like a miracle, they saw it. An oasis shimmering on the horizon.
They ran.
The promise of water pulled them forward, faster, reckless. Lucia could already feel the cool relief against her lips.
"Stop."
Her uncle's voice cut through the air like a blade.
They froze. He unfolded the map with steady hands, though his eyes were anything but calm. The next marked oasis was still kilometers away. There was nothing, nothing where this one stood.
"It shouldn't be here," he said.
The young man scoffed, desperation sharpening his tone. "Then the map is wrong."
"Or outdated," the woman added quickly. "We don't have a choice."
Lucia hesitated, but thirst clawed at her throat. Before she could speak, the young man seized her wrist and pulled her forward. "We're going."
Her uncle's warning came too late.
They crossed the final stretch at a sprint.
Just as the young man's foot hovered over the lush edge of the oasis, Lucia's uncle lunged. His fist crashed into the man's face, sending him sprawling onto the grass. Lucia stumbled free from his grip, gasping.
The woman rushed after him, dropping to her knees at his side.
For a heartbeat, everything was still.
Then the ground trembled.
A low, unnatural shudder rippled through the oasis. Lucia's uncle didn't hesitate. He grabbed her and ran.
"Don't look back!"
But she did.
The grass split open.
Teeth, massive, jagged, and glistening, erupted from the earth itself. The oasis wasn't land. It was a mouth.
The young man barely had time to scream before the jaws snapped shut, crushing his skull with a sickening crack. The woman's cry was cut short as another row of teeth speared through her abdomen, lifting her off the ground.
They were only meters from safety.
Blood sprayed across the sand, warm and thick, spattering Lucia's face as she was dragged away. Their screams echoed behind her, swallowed along with them.
Lucia then fell silent. There probably was nothing else to add, or at least nothing Ren deemed she needed to share with him.
Ren awkwardly patted her back. "Rotten luck huh..?"
Lucia looked at him and almost laughed.
"You really are a cutie huh?"