Second was left hanging by what First thought. She silenced herself for a couple of seconds to absorb what he said. Excellent! He abruptly found out the secret behind the game. She was not able to figure it out, and he really outdid himself.
"Does that mean?" she probed for details.
"In volleyball, you experienced mental and emotional pain. It is to challenge you to see if you can keep the game while remaining unfocused. There are traps that surround and prevent you from crossing the line. A challenge, if you can save your members from falling into those traps, or you'll just keep playing the game for the sake of others. The scoring is based on which team can handle the mental and emotional pain that your past is tormenting you. That explains why you lost."
It all matched what he said. She already understood why they lost. Maybe the game could have been concluded as a tie if Tenth hadn't given up; that's why they lost. They all had nightmares from their past, and the game measured their resiliency.
"I'm sorry... You guys still fought to win, but we, the girls, lost the game," she spoke.
"You don't have to feel sorry for that. Honestly, I'm grateful as long as you're safe."
"I didn't play much in that match. I just relied on the team." Yes, she just got carried.
"No, that's not it," he smiled sparingly as if to say that was okay. "When you lose consciousness, you must be... dead."
Her eyes widened. "W-Why?"
She saw for a moment that First's eyes couldn't look at her directly. "You are the last victim, and your mental and emotional pain is the deadliest. Your memories are the most painful you have ever experienced. Author told us you could've died, but you resisted. When you called me to stay by your side… I sat your head on my lap."
Is that so? So, that was what happened—the whole story of it.
Second was just like Tenth. If she hadn't fought back against her painful past, she wouldn't be here. That was really a close one. She smiled because she was still lucky. Just a little mistake she made in the game, and her life would be at stake. One of her feet seemed to be buried in a pit. But she was saddened by the loss of Tenth and the rest of their friends.
She remembered instantly what First had told her before the girls started playing volleyball.
"Thank you, and I'm still alive, maybe it's because of the charm you muttered and gave me. But it doesn't seem to be effective because I still got nervous." She joked with him because the mood of the conversation was too serious.
He smiled, a mischievous one. "Oh, that one? ..." he scratched his head. "Actually, I lied."
"Huh?"
"The true purpose of the charm was not to keep you from being nervous. I said that, but that's not it."
"Then what?"
"I just uttered those words and wrote them in the palm of your hand, but that's not the real meaning of it." He confirmed.
"What is it then?"
"When I reached out and held your hands, I held them close to my mouth and closed my eyes. I mouthed 'Please come back safe'."
***
Second woke up late because of the meeting, if it could be called a meeting. First, she had a lot of things to discuss, but she ended it because they needed to sleep. He said he still wanted to talk as if it was their last night there on the nth planet. They seemed to be taking advantage of that opportunity to have a late-night talk about the game and their lives.
She went downstairs while squinting her blurry eyes.
"Here's the grand winner!" Seventh and his troops greeted her when she came down the stairs from the second floor. Her hair was still messy, and she yawned. She felt like she overslept, yet she was still drowsy, so she didn't have time to play with them. She just went down to drink water to freshen herself up.
"Eat, Second! Your brunch will be moldy," Aeith scolded her. She was sitting with her on the sofa in the living area.
She realized it must be afternoon by now since Aeith mentioned brunch. That was a long sleep; no wonder her head was starting to ache. She saw First just coming down the stairs, his slightly squinting eyes and morning face showing he had just woken up. He greeted her as well before hanging out in the living area to watch the boys play some board games.
She went to the kitchen and noticed a bowl of rice, tofu stew, and mixed vegetables on the table, all neatly placed in containers with lids. She decided to put the food in the refrigerator first and planned to eat it later after taking a bath.
"Sleeping like a log, huh?" Fifzen scoffed as he sipped his drink.
"Hey, Second and Fifzen, we need more people to play with. Join us!" Ninezen invited.
"Are you okay? What happened, and why did you wake up so late?" Fourth checked on her, clearly not used to seeing her get up this late.
She gave them a hand gesture indicating she was okay, then left the kitchen without saying a word and headed upstairs to her room.
Seventh followed her to speak. "Hmm... I smell something fishy. You and First woke up at the same time. What happened last night?"
If she had been drinking water, she might have choked.
"Nothing in particular," she answered, trying to sound bored.
"Oh, really?" he teased with a knowing look. "I heard two people in the art room."
"So, you were eavesdropping?" She thought he should've just admitted it sooner.
He smirked and crossed his arms. "It's not like that." Now he was denying it.
"You should've joined us." To make their conversation last longer, Seventh definitely should have joined.
"I heard some, but I went back to my room because I got sleepy."
She shrugged. "It's not like we're hiding anything, so feel free to drop by sometime." She wasn't sure if he would make the conversation more interesting by joining them to discuss their tri-games theories and personal lives.
He scratched the back of his neck but had no reply. He must have been expecting something fishy from them, but he got nothing.
She ignored him and returned to her bedroom, plunging into her soft bed. If her estimation was correct, it was their 14th day and 13th night in the castle.
"Well, our class president is quite busy with the upcoming events."
"All right, let's get good at drawing."
"Miss ***, have you decided on participating in the art contest?"
"***, let's go out."
"Get ready yourself for a vacation in the province!"
Her quiet life was interrupted by an incident…
They had a ceremony, and she enjoyed talking to different people.
Laughing, crying, giggling.
Someone pulled her, and they ran to the school garden. She recognized him as someone well-known at school. He was holding a necklace. The surroundings lit up. When she woke up…
Second opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. Although she woke calmly, her mind was confused. She had dreamed again. Sadly, she couldn't understand it well. She sat up from lying down and felt something wet on the side of her right eye. Tears. Had she cried? Unbeknownst to her, she had been crying while dreaming. Though her mind was troubled, she was grateful for the dream and that her memories were gradually coming together. Whenever she dreamed, felt déjà vu, or had her memories return, she immediately wrote them in her journal.
She lifted the sleeve of her school uniform and saw her tattoo embossed on her skin. The black color faded at the edges and turned gold. There was more gold than ever before. She didn't know why it changed color so fast. Maybe she was doing better than expected. This tattoo also seemed to indicate what rank they were in the game—whether they were fighting or completely relying on others. Regarding her tattoo, she could say she was neutral. She was neither weak nor strong enough. She closed her journal and placed it on the table next to her bed. How much longer were they going to stay here? Hopefully after all this…
*toktok tok*
"Second, get out of there. Author is here!"