We stayed at that same position for almost an hour. Harriet not once questioned me, but, after being faced by too much honesty, that is comforting enough.
She was the first to pull away.
I whimpered, and she rolled her eyes.
"A grown man, by the way. Hey, Reverie, as a child, were you dropped in the head or what?" she said to no one in particular, her voice echoing.
"Mmm…call me Reve."
"Right, right. "
After a few moments of talking back and bickering, I stood up and dusted my clothes, especially the part that sat on the ground which happened to be dusty.
I took a fiery torch from the wall.
Harriet looked confused.
"We'll be needing it," I said.
We walked further for about half an hour before reaching the first chamber which happened to be doorless.
Harriet, who walked side by side with me, was about to enter the chamber when I stopped her.
"Chances are," I said, "the others have already looted that place."
She let out a "oh" then we walked some more.
Half-truth, it was.
From what I could remember the first chamber had most of the treasures, but to balance it, I had added an army of undead and rat-nephilim offspring called behemoth. If it was a human-nephilim offspring it would be called a devilman.
Which, I presume, was the type of creature the child I had killed in the 0th round was.
Through my ears, I heard the whispers of a child crying.
I ignored it as much as I could.
I decided to walk faster so that I could lead Harriet to the fourth chamber, but, to be honest, her gaze from behind made me uncomfortable.
Then, I had a funny thought.
Was this how fictional characters felt when I read about them?
I looked at the panel in front of me.
[The next round shall commence in:]
[33:58:21]
The next round…
The leather soles of my shoes tapped stridently.
Each chapter was two thousand words, and each round differed in length.
I tried to remember the second round's main conflict, but to no avail.
Thirsty, I drank the rest of the water in the canteen Harriet had given me.
A few moments passed and we encountered the second chamber.
Harriet looked at me for approval and I nodded.
She entered the doorless chamber.
I followed.
The chamber was pitch black but was flooded with light once I entered with a torch in hand.
There was a throne made of stone in one end of the room, which was as small a jail cell, as well as a low yet long table made of the same material.
The shrill cries of a baby remained in my mind, making me even more tired than I already was.
I rested my body on the table as though it was a bed, handing the torch to the brunette. Could it actually have been a bed? I wondered.
Drowsily, I alerted Harriet.
"Give me ten minutes. I'll sleep here," said I, laying on the hard and rough surface.
"All right."
-
Harriet was attracted to Reve at first sight.
She has always had a liking with bad boys, after all. Reve just happened to be nearly a hundred and eighty centimeters, with eye bags and dark features, and a thin yet muscular body. She was sure he took care of himself the way his skin was still clear from the aspects of aging.
But Reve, despite his actions and personality, was far from bad. That was Harriet's initial thoughts of him.
Though Reve was kind towards her and almost clingy, she couldn't help but feel like he's hiding something or that he knew more than he let on.
Have they ever met before? Maybe, once upon a time, in a different universe.
The memories during and beyond her childhood surfaced.
Her family were farmers of rice and wheat so it was no wonder that she became a baker.
For most of her life, she felt like a robot, as though programmed to say this or do that. The same can be said to her past and present companions.
They were all flat pieces of cardboard and even they themselves did not know why. They had no control of their own mind.
She doesn't even remember which countryside she resided in, only that it was far from the city, nor does she remember how she ended up joining the rounds.
The 0th round, she doesn't remember a thing. However in the first round, there were a few aspects she recalled but they were very straightforward and not three-dimensional at all.
She never understood why.
It all changed when Reverie appeared.
Like a messiah, he appeared and gave life to all of them.
Richard was all of a sudden always tense and annoyed, unlike his once two-dimensional character.
Chris became more authoritative.
The others were more backstabbing, but there was life and glory in what they received.
Even Harriet herself became more hot-headed.
With that, Harriet was possibly the only one who noticed what had occurred.
It made her wonder if Reverie was some sort of god, after all.
Reverie, god of the people. It had a ring to it.
The chances may be slim but never zero.
Harriet glanced at the sleeping Reve. It annoyed her slightly when she noticed that he had longer lashes than her.
Then, she stopped. I never had thoughts like before today, before meeting him.
She was experiencing new feelings all at once.
But she was sure that Reve meant no harm. Chances are, even he himself was not aware of this effect.
That made him sound more like a messiah, Harriet thought, amused.
The torch enlightened around a meter around Harriet, noticing a tall stone that was akin to a bookshelf.
She spotted a piece of paper—some kind of flyer, she reckoned— stuck on the walls. To which, she approached, enlightening it with the torch.
It was dusty and faded, but it was still readable if one would wipe off the dust.
"Que*n…" her fingers traced each poster, "Oas*s… Foo F*ghters."