𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚎.

◇cruel comfort◇

"how long will it.. take? before you start to hate yourself,"

the deaths were a blur. kanna.. nao... your brain completely blocked out the memories of their demise. you went straight to your room the second it was over, unable to face anyone. you didn't have long to think, though, when a knock echoed through your room. silently, you stood, walking to the door. opening it, you were met with the sight of someone you didn't necessarily want to see.

"keiji." you spoke curtly. "safalin says this floor's about to shut down. we've gotta go upstairs." you said nothing, pushing past him to the commons room. everyone was already out there. "what's gotten into you guys?" sou- no, shin spoke. "..cutting it awfully close, hm?" alice replied. the teal haired man laughed. "try greeting me with a smile next time. we're allies, aren't we?" his smile was as empty as your gaze, a forced grin. "like i can be all smiles right now.." q-taro frowned. "huh? but i'm smiling, see?"

"just stop it! the one you were tryin' to protect... we just went an'-" he cut the baseball player off. "what would that be?" alice took a step back. "w-what would that be?!" shin thought for a moment. "ohh.. you mean kanna? well, it was too bad. in that main game, kanna even went and got the sacrifice. alas, she didn't get the chance to choose me and have us escape together. couldn't use her after all... a shame."

suddenly, keiji laughed. "what's so funny?" the officer shook his head. "ah, how pitiful... if there was a world where that happened... kanna wouldn't pick you. she's pick f/n, or sara... haha.. did you really think she'd pick you?" shin's eyebrows furrowed- just for a second. "shut up, keiji! i know that, of course i know that! you just want to laugh at me 'cause i'm fated to die no matter what! well, go ahead and laugh!"

"quit with the lies, sou. you put your life on the line to protect kanna. you were ready to throw your own life away... those weren't rational actions. they were your heart screaming out... and we obstructed it." gin sniffled, slowly gravitating towards you to grab your hand. "you must hate us to death. regardless, we have to cooperate. kanna... made her choice." shin shook his head slightly, pulling at his scarf. "...this is going no where. enough. let's hurry to the next floor. you sure are strange, keiji... during the discussion, i could've sworn you wanted me to die so bad."

"well... it's different now." your brain, completely overstimulated, began to block everyone out. and suddenly, you were filled with adrenaline. your arms felt like they could fly off at any second. you were filled with the urge to slap yourself in the face until you couldn't think anymore. you yearned to run, and run, and keep running. "you coming, f/n?" your vision slowly unblurred as you turned to the voice. stupid fucking keiji. you didn't respond, walking through the large green doorway. "what the hell is this place?!" a large staircase with a blue sky background.

"it's nothing surprising at this point, woof. it's just an image, meow." gin spoke boredly. "y-yer becomin' such a worn down adult, gin!" annoyed, you began walking up the stairs. everyone seemed to follow you. it was dark. "everyone okay? nobody fallen behind?" gin yelled out next. "i'm fine, meow! hold on tight to the clothes of the person in front of you, woof!"

"ahh, 'zat right... thought my back smarted, so it was gin's claws!" alice laughed. "are you guys unsuited to the darkness?" you could practically hear the eye rolls. "guess the guy who locked himself in a locker would be an authority, meow." the darkness began to fade. "ah..! i can see a faint light!" you arrived at what seemed to be a long stone, vertical, brightly illuminated. "is that... a grave?" sara asked. "from the looks of it, i'd agree. gotta admit, this place isn't exactly bright enough to navigate alone."

"still... what is this doing here?" your heart beat quickly. who's grave was it? part of you hoped it'd be yours. "hmph... perhaps provocation from the kidnappers? implying we'll be buried here and such...!" suddenly, another light came on, revealing a large box. "that box's even bigger'n me." sara stated it was a coffin. which, frankly, adds up. "wha...?! ya don't think... there's someone inside?!" your heart beat faster. "ridiculous... whose body, exactly?" tired of the anticipation, you walked up and slid the lid off. sure enough, someone was in there. "a person! there's a person in here!" q-taro yelled behind you.

"unthinkable... that's..!" alice didn't finish his sentence. (pun!) another box was lit up. "what in the world... wha's goin' on?" sara opened it up. again, another body. "meowww?! this glasses guy.. i've seen him before!" sara gasped. "that victim video..! he's someone who died in the first trial!" gin nodded. "that's right, meow.. an axe.. came at his head.."

"and yet... not a single visible wound, huh?" suddenly, a bunch more coffins popped up. "this is like fucking whack-a-mole..." you mumbled, frankly a little pissed. "huooh?! a whole bunch of coffins!" you walked over to the middle coffin, the first one you opened. your eyes stared at his scarf. when they finally flickered to his face, he was looking at you. quickly, he reached his hand out and swung towards you. "what the fuck?!" on instinct, you slapped him as hard as you could before stumbling back.

his skin was cold.

in a second, he filled your vision. "nice to meet you, miss f/n. ahaha, sorry to pop out of the darkness. did i startle you, i wonder? that was quite the slap!" q-taro seemed especially scared, as did shin and alice. "y.. ya mean you weren't a corpse?!" he smiled. "as you can see, i'm super duper. so, did you enjoy it?" your eye twitched. you already wanted to hit him again. "who the hell's gonna enjoy that?! jes' who or what are you?!"

"huh..? so sure enough, you don't remember...that's perfectly fine, though! i'm your floor master this time! hello!" you audibly groaned. not this shit again... "floor master, you say?" keiji asked. "yep! i waited in that coffin for five hours! it's so cruel of you guys to keep me in suspense." he seemed like the kind of guy to get "suspended" by his underwear from the flagpole in highschool. pissed you off. "now now, gather closer to me! hehehe.. you too, shin... come on. and you, alice... my murderer."

"as i thought... you're the real sou hiyori..!!"

"most people are other people." -oscar wilde