"Dark Hole."
Crack.
A grating, ear splitting friction screamed from the floor as black space swallowed the gaps between the tiles.
At the same time, an identical sound echoed above them.
The ceiling split open at the exact corresponding position.
Cael lifted a corner of the broken floor and peered down.
What he saw made him grin.
Below was the same room.
The same furniture.
The same people.
Cael, Asa Mitaka, Kobeni Higashiyama.
Another Cael was crouched beneath him, staring upward in the exact same posture.
"Heh. That's funny."
Cael jumped straight down.
The next instant, his body dropped back through the opening in the ceiling and landed exactly where he started.
Asa stared, stunned.
She knelt beside the hole and cautiously reached her arm downward.
At the same time, she looked up.
Half of her arm emerged from the hole in the ceiling.
"…That's insane."
Kobeni sat slumped against the wall, hugging her knees, her expression hollow.
"It's like that everywhere," she said weakly. "Time doesn't move, space loops forever."
"We'll probably be stuck here until we starve to death…"
"Kobeni, don't be so damn negative," Cael said casually. "We're here now. Nothing's happening to you."
Kobeni sniffed and wiped her eyes. "But… we still can't get out…"
Asa sat beside her and gently put an arm around her shoulders, then looked at Cael.
"It's not like there's no solution."
"As long as Cael makes contact with the Devil, he can break the frozen time and space with his ability, right?"
"That's the idea," Cael said, nodding. Then he turned to Kobeni. "You've been here the longest. Have you seen the Devil at all?"
With both of them calming her down, Kobeni finally steadied herself a little.
She shook her head, tears still slipping down her face.
"No… I haven't seen the Devil. But there are other people trapped here too. They're losing their minds. It's terrifying…"
Cael stood up and dusted off his pants.
"Then let's stop sitting on our asses. We go look around, talk to the others, and see if anyone knows something. Thinking in this room won't solve shit."
"…Okay," Asa said, standing as well. "Kobeni, do you want to come with us?"
"Uh…"
She hesitated. After finally finding people she knew, she clearly did not want to be left alone again.
Before she could answer, shouting erupted from the hallway.
"Ow! What the hell are you doing?!"
"You're trying to commit a crime, aren't you?!"
"No, you can't do this!"
A young man's screams echoed clearly.
Thump.
The sound of a fist slamming into flesh.
"For the sake of the greater good, student Kaiharu, please sacrifice your personal interests," a dull male voice said.
Thump. Thump.
More kicks landed.
"Crime?!"
"We're already trapped here and you're still talking about crime?!"
"Fuck you!"
"In this place, who's left to punish us?!"
"The kind of person I hate most is smug university students like you!" another man roared.
"Hurry it up. I'm starving. According to the deal, I only want half his arm," a shrill voice chimed in.
"I'm doing most of the work. I want a whole calf."
"Big brother Jinfu, can I have his ass…"
"At most half."
"That works."
The young man on the ground, his face swollen and bloody, cried out desperately.
"You can't do this! We should work together and find the exit!"
"I'm smarter than you. If you eat me, you'll never think your way out of here!"
"And once you get used to eating people when you're hungry…"
"You'll start killing each other!"
"You'll all die!"
"Please, listen to me. We have to unite!"
Thump.
More brutal kicks answered him.
"Who the hell are you lecturing?!"
"Can unity fill your stomach?!"
"All I know is that eating you keeps us alive!"
"Exactly! That's why I hate university students!"
"Regrettably, student Kaiharu, this is the will of the group. Please go die."
Cael sighed deeply and looked back at Asa and Kobeni.
"Yeah… Kobeni wasn't exaggerating. These guys are fucked in the head."
Asa touched her chin, thinking. "That guy said he's smart. Cael, do you think he might actually know something about the Devil?"
"Only one way to find out."
Bang.
Cael kicked the door open.
"Huh?! Who the hell are you?!"
The sudden noise froze everyone in place.
More than a dozen gaunt men turned toward them.
The hallway was chaos.
The oldest looked to be in his forties, the youngest barely fifteen or sixteen.
The beaten man lay on the ground in a torn student uniform, blood soaking the bandage on his forehead. His face was bruised purple, and his medium length hair covered one swollen eye.
The moment he saw Cael, then noticed Asa's uniform, his eyes lit up with wild hope.
Tokyo Fourth Higher Academy.
That was the same school.
They were classmates.
He was saved.
With what little strength he had left, he raised his hand and shouted.
"Fellow students! You're from Tokyo Fourth Higher Academy too, right?!"
"I'm one of you!"
"My name is Ise Kaiharu! Please, save me!"
"These people are insane!"
"They've already killed and eaten others, and now they want to eat me!"
Slap.
A sharp crack echoed.
One of Kaiharu's front teeth loosened.
The youngest looking blond punk shook his hand, sneering. "You little shit. You think they're here to save you?"
Cael did not respond.
A tall man with a gloomy face stepped forward.
He looked to be in his thirties, nearly two meters tall. Even starved thin, his broad frame was obvious.
"I'm the leader here. Okawa Jinfu," he said. "Can we talk?"
His eyes never left Cael.
Cael casually dug a finger in his ear. "Talk."
Jinfu did not react to the disrespect.
"It's impossible to survive alone here. You can join us. I'll personally approve giving you a foot."
"Don't listen to them!" Kaiharu shouted through blood and broken teeth.
"I don't eat people," Cael said flatly.
Jinfu smiled, cold and hollow.
"Everyone says that at first. But in a place like this, where there's nothing to eat but water, people change."
"Keep my offer in mind. You'll thank me later."
Tsk.
Cael was already bored.
Maybe talking to the guy on the floor would be more productive.
Seeing Cael stay silent, Jinfu assumed he was considering it.
"But joining the team isn't free," Jinfu continued. "You enjoy the benefits, you fulfill your duties."
Cael blinked. "Duties?"
"Yes."
Jinfu pointed at Asa and Kobeni behind him.
"The two women belong to the team. You don't get to keep them to yourself."
Whistles filled the hallway.
From the moment the trio appeared, greedy eyes had been crawling over Asa and Kobeni.
All the survivors were men.
They had urges.
Two young women like this, even outside, would turn heads.
Finding them here felt like winning the lottery before starving to death.
"Boss Jinfu is a legend!"
"Jinfu! Jinfu!"
"Line up already!"
Cael laughed.
Not amused laughter.
The kind that came when patience ran out.
"Well," he muttered, eyes half closed. "Guess we're past talking."
____
Patreon = _Zeph