Second replied in disbelief, "What? How did that happen? No, it is not possible. Why Tenth?"
"Author said so," Third explained. He paused for a moment. "After the game, while you lost consciousness, Tenth lost control and hysterically shouted in agony while hurting her stomach. We stopped her while she was crying. We didn't know why she was doing it. We asked her. She confirmed she remembered her past on Earth. A reality that broke into her was the fact that she was carrying a baby."
She was stunned by what she heard.
"No one knows her condition except her and her boyfriend, who left her as well. She suffered mentally, emotionally, and physically. When she checked with the doctor, she knew that she was ill. She couldn't save both her and her baby's lives. After remembering her tragic past, she couldn't bear the pain she was experiencing, which is why the hologram gave her a choice. Is she going to let herself be killed by Author or will she fight the circumstances that she is facing and live?"
She had no idea that Tenth suffered this much from her past. She seemed like a lighthearted person. Her brown double hair bun had been iconic. But no one knew about her hardships. It must have been a rough journey, but here she was. She fought until she decided to give in.
"In the end, she gave up. Author killed her silently, and her corpse was taken a few minutes ago."
It was as if she were stuck in her seat, and tears welled up. Little did she know that Tenth had such a hard life. Just that morning, she greeted them, and she cooked breakfast with her. It was just last night when she was still playing board games with her. What a speed of events.
"We can't do anything about it. We tried stopping her suicidal acts, but she refused and chose death."
What was happening to them? Why was this happening to them? Why did she feel like she'd rather choose not to regain her memories after all?
***
Second was in her bedroom, and it was time for her to sleep. She was wearing sleepwear and sitting on the side of her soft bed. She held her ballpen and notebook, on which she wrote down every incident that happened to them.
The game of volleyball was another extraordinary game played by girls yesterday. The ball they used had an image projected. Over the course of five rounds, eight of them fell victim to the recurrence of their memories. Of the four previous victims, there was a brain, and the image in the middle was different. This meant that when the ball fell into a team's territory, the ball randomly chose who would be affected, not physically but mentally. Here came what Author stated.
"Only this time, it's more extraordinary. Boys can endure the pain of being physically hurt, while girls can endure the pain of being emotionally hurt. In this game, more unforeseen events will happen. Good luck."
If the boys had felt physical pain playing basketball, the girls had felt mental and emotional pain. The victims lost their focus on playing because something disturbed their minds.
The brain was an image inside the ball that represented mental torture. Everyone had a different image that was projected in the ball because they had different experiences on Earth.
Twentieth - with white paper in the center of the ball—that was a school card. She remembered how dismayed she was at her school.
Sixzen - with letter F—was a mark on an exam. She mentioned she failed her major subjects before, and because of that, she studied so eagerly that she no longer had time to play volleyball.
Aeith - with a currency bill—a financial problem. Aeith had already told her about the hardship she went through until her mother was fortunate enough to be able to go abroad.
Forzen - there were some wrinkles in the middle of the ball—that was 'stress'. Forzen was overly stressed with issues at school, home, and her mental health.
On the other side, here were victims of emotional torture. A heart was the image inside the ball. It affected the victim emotionally.
Sixth - holding hands but with a crack in the middle—meant friendship. Sixth had one of the most important people in her life lost.
Sectwen - leaf torn in the middle—that was family. Sectwen's father and mother were separated.
Tenth – baby—this was the child Tenth was carrying.
Second - the image in the ball was heart-shaped, which was broken and bleeding. She didn't even see the ball itself. Fifzen said that's what he saw. She recognized that hers was the most different because the image of the other victims was animated, but hers was a real heart that was broken and bleeding. Similar to the reactions of the seven victims, her eyes also widened. She got confused, and she was unable to think or focus on the game.
With Tenth's death, perhaps all her memories came back before she died. She was depressed, and they didn't want to lose her, but it was her decision. It was a tragic outcome; nonetheless, they respected and hoped for her to rest in peace with her baby. After Tenth died and it was declared that stage 2 had been cleared, Author announced the winner of both games.
In basketball, the silver team won. It was a surprise, but the boys did it unexpectedly. Author revealed that the silver team won because of First, which she didn't understand. Author did not explain why.
In volleyball, it would have been almost a draw. The gold team won. She didn't know how. As for her fainting incident, it seemed that she missed a lot. When the other team scored, and the ball fell on them, her head hurt, and she sat down. Her whole body weakened because of what she remembered. There was one boy... At first, she thought he would be just an ordinary person in her life, but when he came and entered her life, she met him, she was able to talk to him, and she was with him until he disappeared from her.
Until then, only those were the things that showed up in her memory. Maybe the image inside the ball was a bloody heart because she was hurt so badly. She felt the ache of a bleeding heart due to the extreme pain, but she did not know when, how, or who that person was. Then she understood why Firstwen died. He became weak and could not resist the challenge, just like what happened to Tenth. It was fortunate for her that it wasn't her. By any chance... it could've been her. Maybe it was better to know nothing than to know everything that would hurt her. She sighed at the thought of it.
She left her room. She couldn't sleep after all. She had a lot of things going on in her mind. This was too much to bear, but they had to. She decided to go to the art room to gather her thoughts. She would look at her artwork and maybe alleviate the sadness she felt. She went up to the 4th floor and stopped for a moment in the music room. It was closed, and she heard no noise. First came to her mind. She hoped to hear him play the piano right then, but it was late, and he might be sleeping. She went straight to the art room and was about to turn on the lights when the lights switched on, and the door was slightly open.
Was someone awake?
Maybe someone who couldn't fall asleep in the middle of a silent night after a rough day. She would like to have a chat with him or her then.
Out of curiosity, she immediately opened the door. She was a little startled, not because she thought there was a ghost, but because he did not usually go to this room. He couldn't sleep either, she saw. He gazed at the door as he sat in a chair. There must be something bothering him.