"…Huh?"
The moment I feel the weight of my body returning to this cold reality, I'm hit with a wave of disbelief and nausea.
I'm alive again. I'm standing in the same room.
But everything feels wrong.
My knees buckle and I nearly collapse, catching myself on trembling legs. My whole body is shaking—uncontrollably, violently. Cold sweat clings to my skin like ice. I can't stop shivering. My teeth clatter hard enough to hurt.
I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping the images flashing in my mind will fade—but they won't.
The blood. The screams. The pain. The moment everything ended.
This… how am I alive? Did I die? It felt too real to be a dream… But, how am I even back here again?
- Kai: "Dude, you don't look too good. Did something happen?"
The air around us turns stiff, like the tension itself has weight. Everyone's eyes are on me—wide, uncertain, afraid. They're not just curious... they're worried.
Wait… why are they acting like nothing happened?
Blair was… torn apart. Kai died screaming. Isabella… God.
But now they're just standing there. Talking. Breathing.
They don't remember?
It's like they have no idea what just happened.
- Lena: "Is he okay? He looks out of it…"
- Isabella: "Ayden?"
Isabella steps closer, her expression full of concern—but I can't meet her eyes. The guilt is too much. Images of her disemboweled, mutilated corpse flash behind my eyelids.
Was that real? How is she standing here, unscathed? There didn't seem to be any way to recover from something like that.
My breathing quickens. The walls feel like they're closing in.
I tell myself to calm down—to act normal.
But I can't.
The fear—the memory of death—won't let go.
"Y-Yeah… Sorry. I'm feeling a little lightheaded. Maybe it's stress."
- Kai: "Um, sorry to ask when you're kind of losing it, but you still haven't told us your stats."
- Lena: "Isn't that a bit horrible to ask of him, especially when he looks like that?"
She gestures toward me—my sweat-drenched face, my shivering limbs.
- Kai: "What? Fair's fair. He heard all of ours."
- Christy: "I agree with him. We need to know what lies ahead, including all the cards we've been dealt."
- Isabella: "Yeah. But, still…"
"No, it's fine. I'm okay now…"
I force a breath in as I speak, trying to calm the storm inside me.
It wasn't very effective.
"Let me just open my status screen back up."
At some point during the chaos, the display had vanished. I hadn't even gotten a chance to read it.
I doubt it changed though. I just want to lie down. How do I open this thing? Is there a button or…?
And suddenly—
Snap.
It appears. Just like that.
I guess thinking about it is enough to bring it up.
But this time, it's different.
The screen is wrong. A deep, blood red glow pulses from it. The edges flicker—like it's glitching, unstable, alive.
This… isn't the same at all.
——————————————————————
STATUS SCREEN
Name: Ayden
Level: 1
XP: 0
Attribute Points: 0
[ATTRIBUTES]:
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Perception: 6
Intelligence: 5
Vigor: 5
[SKILLS]:
Phantom's Reset: Lvl 0 –> Death will never rule you.
——————————————————————
What? Phantom's Reset? What is that?
The name alone is unsettling. The description is even worse.
Death will never rule me? What the hell does that even mean? And why is my screen red? No one else seems to notice…
On top of the new skill, my Perception stat has gone up by one.
- Kai: "So? You got anything good?"
I flinch, my mind still stuck on that phrase. But I can't afford to look shaken yet. I need to figure out what is happening before anyone else can see me crack.
I swallow, trying to steady my voice.
"Oh—uh, right. Nothing special. Stats are low, and I got some skill called 'Adaptive Reflex.' Pretty useless."
- Kai: "That sucks…"
I catch Blair's eyes on me — quiet at first, just watching. There is no expression, no twitch, nothing to give away what she's thinking. But the way her gaze doesn't waver feels like a silent weight pressing down. She's watching the way my eyes flicker away, how my fingers twitch against my leg, how my voice wavers just enough.
Then, suddenly, she speaks.
- Blair: "I don't think you're telling the truth."
Her voice cuts through the group like a scalpel. She's staring at me with the same unchanged face as before. Her tone is calm, but it's exactly that calmness that makes her so terrifying.
I force a laugh and put on the fakest smile I can muster.
"What? Why would I lie? What would I even get out of it?"
Blair's eyes narrow slightly, her voice low and steady.
- Blair: "You're stuttering. Your eyes keep shifting around the room. Your smile looks forced. You're hiding something."
My throat tightens. I can feel everyone's attention shift back to me, but I can't crack. Not now.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about. I got nothing. Seriously."
Christy cuts in, her voice steady but firm.
- Christy: "This isn't the time for this. We need to figure out what we're doing from here."
Kai shrugs his shoulders, clearly not interested in the conversation that occurred moments ago.
- Kai: "I mean, there's only one path. The dark, creepy, cold hallway that leads to God knows where."
- Lena: "Are we sure there's no other way? I really, really don't want to go down there…"
The conversation shifts, but the weight of Blair's gaze lingers on me.
I force myself to ignore her piercing stare, burying it beneath the noise of their voices and the churn of my own thoughts.
They're distracted. Good. But that screen… that skill…
It confirms too many things. That wasn't a dream. That wasn't some weird hallucination.
I died—painfully, brutally.
And this thing… this Phantom's Reset… it brought me here again. On top of this, I gained one point in Perception.
But why me?
It's clearly not just resurrection. It's a rewind. The world itself went back—but I didn't forget.
A loop? A checkpoint?
No… it's like I loaded a save file. A cursed one.
And I'm the only one who knows it happened.
So back there, they only thought I was panicking. To them, nothing happened.
Which means I'm alone in this. Completely alone.
I look at the group, each of them unaware.
Fine. I'll be the one to remember.
I'll keep us alive—no matter what it takes.
Even if I have to lie through my teeth to do it.
The rest of the events transpire the same way as last time. The only difference is that Isabella is more attentive to me. She seems more worried for me than the first time around.
I don't really mind the attention, but again, I don't want things to stray too differently from last time. They say history repeats itself right? I need that to happen for what I'm planning to do.
Just as last time, the path splits into two—right and left. I clench my shirt remembering the horrors that await us down to the right.
I absolutely cannot let us go down the right path again. No matter what.
- Kai: "Um, what should we do now?"
- Christy: "The path splits into two."
- Kai: "Yeah, no shit. But which path should we take?"
- Kai: "I personally think—"
"I think we should take the left path."
I cut him off.
I can't let them speak—can't give them the chance to choose wrong again.
- Christy: "Can I ask why?"
I'm taken aback by this sudden questioning.
They didn't do this last time. Maybe it's because of what Blair said? Either way, I'm prepared for this.
"Well, studies show that people tend to pick the right path in these kinds of situations, right? So it might be a trap set up by the voice from earlier. It might be wanting us to follow habit, not reason."
- Christy: "Hm… That is a valid point. We might be walking straight into a trap."
I hope they buy it…
- Kai: "Well, I was gonna say let's go right before you cut me off. But now, I don't know anymore!"
Kai is ruffling his hair and shaking his head, trying to piece together a good decision.
Please. I don't want to feel that ever again.
- Lena: "I still think we should go right, but if what you say is true, then I don't mind following that logic."
YES! Finally, things are starting to go my way.
- Blair: "How do you know that study? Where did you hear about it?"
And again, I spoke too soon.
The shift in her tone is subtle, but unmistakable. She doesn't blink. Just stares. Not accusing. Not surprised. Just… watching.
A chill crawls down my spine.
Shit, she was thinking about that exact logic. I didn't think about what she would say after I practically read her mind.
Maybe I shouldn't have said it so confidently.
"U-Uh, I think I read it online once? I don't know—what do you want me to say?"
She takes a step closer. Not enough for anyone else to find it strange, but I feel it like a shadow crawling up my spine. Then, suddenly, she backs up, crossing her arms.
- Blair: "…Nevermind. Forget I said anything."
What the hell was that about?
I force a shrug, trying to play off my mini panic attack.
Blair's expression doesn't change—still blank, still unreadable—but I swear I see something shift in her eyes. A flicker of doubt? Or maybe she's already decided I'm lying and is just waiting to catch me in it.
- Christy: "Well, going off of Ayden's logic, the right is a trap. What do you all think?"
There's a long pause. Everyone is deep in thought. The silence is suffocating.
- Isabella: "I trust Ayden's decision. Let's go left."
I nearly let out a breath of relief. Her blind faith in me makes my chest flutter unexpectedly.
Why does she trust me so much? I barely know this girl…
I glance around at the others. They're still unsure, still weighing their options.
- Kai: "Fuck it! Let's go left then."
- Christy: "Alright then, it's a majority vote. Let's go down the left path. Are you okay with that Blair?"
- Blair: "I don't mind."
Blair says this without looking away from the ground. She's clearly still deep in thought, and thinks arguing will only inconvenience the group.
A bit of tension leaves my shoulders, but the relief is short-lived. My thoughts are still racing. I avoided the right path.
I avoided death—for now.
As the others start moving, I glance back one last time toward that dark corridor we avoided.
It looks the same as before: shadowed, silent, and waiting.
I know what lies down there. I can still hear the sounds—the crunch of bone, the screams, the helplessness.
Never again.
I shift my gaze to the left path instead. It's not exactly inviting either. The air seems colder, and there's a subtle hum, like a distant vibration you can only feel in your bones. But at least it's unknown. Unknown means we might still have a chance.
- Lena: "Ugh… this better not be worse than the right path."
- Kai: "Only one way to find out."
He walks ahead, his tone light, but I catch the edge in his voice. They're all scared. They're just not showing it like I am.
Isabella lingers by my side a moment longer than the others. She gives me a small smile—genuine, gentle.
- Isabella: "Thanks for speaking up, Ayden. I don't know why, but… I trust you."
The butterflies come back. I nod, unsure how to respond, and follow the others.
We step into the dark.
Each footfall echoes a little too loud. Each breath feels stolen.
But this is the path I chose. And if this world really does work like a game… then there has to be a good ending. One where everyone gets out alive. I'll get it. No matter what it takes.
We've been walking down the left corridor for about ten minutes now. Maybe more?
It's hard to tell—time feels strange here, like it's stretching out on purpose.
The path hasn't changed at all. It's the same cracked stone beneath our feet, the same damp walls pressing in on both sides. Even the air feels identical to when we first entered—cold, stagnant, and heavy with silence.
It's unsettling. Too consistent. Like we're walking in place.
Like we're rats in a maze designed to keep us lost.
The only difference is the absence of blood. No stains. No broken bones. No remains.
Just endless grey stone and the sound of our footsteps echoing too far for how narrow the space is.
Occasionally, a faint chill brushed the back of my neck. The stale air seemed to ripple, like a distant hum rising from nowhere.
This feels wrong… it's all too calm.
Then—
A sudden hiss.
A pulse of cold.
I stop. My breath catches.
No… no, not again.
And then—fog.
A thick white mist surges in from nowhere, swallowing everything in an instant.
- Kai: "What the hell is that?!"
His voice is distant—fleeting.
- Christy: "Stay together!"
Christy barks, but the sound is already warping, stretching like it's being pulled apart.
I hear a faint sound of yelling, most likely belonging to Lena.
- Isabella: "Ayden!"
Isabella's voice is close—scared.
I turn just in time to see her silhouette reaching for me through the fog.
"Isabella!"
I yell, lunging forward, trying to grab her hand—but the moment my fingers brush hers, her shape vanishes.
Gone.
All of them—gone.
I'm alone.
I stumble through the fog, breath heaving, arms swinging wildly through the air, hoping—begging—to make contact with someone. But there's nothing.
No warmth.
No figures.
No sound.
I try to scream—but nothing comes out. My throat moves, but the world has muted me.
Only silence answers back.
The fog thickens, brightens—becomes blinding.
And then it's just… white. Endless. Infinite.
Like I've stepped into the space between moments.
No up. No down. No walls. No air. Just me.
Alone.
Then—
A shape emerges ahead—faint, distant.
Human? Woman? I can't tell.
Is it Isabella?
I step toward it.
As I approach, the gray mist swirls, parting just enough to reveal soft contours—curved hips, a narrow waist, the outline of long hair cascading down her back. She's shorter than me by a few inches, just enough to notice.
There's no color. No face. Just a silhouette carved in smoke.
She turns—slowly, gracefully.
Even now, her features remain hidden, swallowed by the mist. But her presence is unmistakably feminine.
And then—she speaks.
A voice, light and airy, echoes through the fog.
It's sweet—too sweet. Brimming with affection, almost euphoria.
The kind of joy that doesn't belong in a place like this. The kind that makes your skin crawl.
- ???: "I've finally found you."