𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐄 | нwang ᴊunнo

4

☐△◯

SOME OF THEM looked at the other players with amazement, not knowing what had actually happened, but something had definitely changed. Faces that were previously unfamiliar were now clearly recognizable. Those who remained could feel the presence of those who had returned to the game after the vote.

The silence that fell in the room was full of disbelief. They saw that some players who had been certain of their defeat just a moment ago were now standing next to them. They had returned. No one knew why they had returned or how it had happened, but they were there. The faces of those players who had been eliminated suddenly appeared in the same room where the brutal game was taking place.

Their eyes were full of concern, but they had no time to ponder. The players looked at each other, at their former comrades who had returned, as if each of them felt a growing pressure inside them.

This question resounded in the space, echoing off the empty walls. Players looked at each other uncertainly, trying to understand what this comeback meant now – and what it would change in this brutal game, whose rules, as it turned out, were not what everyone thought.

☐△◯

I stood in the hallway, waiting for the players to disperse. I spotted her—212. She didn't seem worried, she just walked forward with a purpose. I looked at her, trying to keep my distance.

"Where are you going?" I asked, trying to maintain control of the situation.

"To the bathroom," she answered curtly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

I knew there was no room for "normal" in this game. Players weren't allowed to walk around freely, especially not now, when the tension in the air was rising. She was determined.

"You can't go to the bathroom now," I said, adopting a tone that was supposed to restore order. "The rules are clear. You have to wait."

But instead of calming down, 212 glared at me, her eyes flashing with frustration. "Stop making a drama out of this!" she screamed. "I'm not going to wait, there's no point! I just want to go to the bathroom, it's nothing!"

Her words were full of anger, but also desperation. This was no longer the same person I saw at the beginning of the game. She was transforming into someone who had had enough. And at that moment I began to wonder if she wasn't starting to lose control.

"You know what the rules are. And you have to follow them," I replied with more confidence in my voice, trying to keep her attention. But it didn't seem to help. 212 stood right in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes, as if she just wanted to get through to me.

"I want to go now! Do you understand? Something's going to happen to me if I don't move!" she added, her voice sounding like a threat.

67 approached us, looked at me with a cold gaze and said shortly:

"I also want to go to the bathroom."

Before I could react, I heard a familiar voice from the speakers in the background. "Guard 045, escort player 212 and player 067 to the bathroom."

I froze. It was Square's voice. An order. No questions asked.

I answered her with just one word: "Go."

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying not to let on that the situation surprised me. 212 didn't wait a second longer. She took a determined step towards the hallway, and I had to follow her. No conversation, no discussion. It was an order, I had to follow it.

"You're lucky," I said, trying to keep my tone cold. "I usually don't let players go anywhere without permission."

212 gave me a look, but didn't answer. She clearly didn't want to talk. She was angry. She was disappointed, or maybe just furious with the whole system. Before we entered the bathroom, 067 stopped once more, looking at me for a moment.

67 looked at me for a moment, as if trying to see something. Her eyes flicked to my mask, then to my movements, and her face twisted into a slight frown.

"There's something about you that doesn't seem right..." she began, as if wondering aloud. "You're not like the rest. You're... not a man, are you?"

Those words stuck with me for a long time. I wasn't ready for this confrontation. Instead of answering right away, I just held back. There was a surprising intensity in her gaze, as if she saw something I was trying to hide.

"Use the bathroom before I take you and 212 back," I replied coldly, trying not to let it show that her words surprised me. 67 just gave me a quick look, as if she knew she had no choice, and headed for the bathroom. I stood there, wondering how much she must have seen through me.

I knew I couldn't break down now. But I couldn't pretend that what she said didn't make sense either.

When she entered the bathroom, there was no further conversation. I stopped at the door, making sure she didn't try to escape. I left her there, as ordered, and waited for the moment when she could return.

☐△◯

The next day, when the whole group of Guards gathered in the hallway before the next round, I noticed 029. He was standing a little to the side, with a mask with a circle on his face, just like me. Although most of the Guards were already busy preparing for the game, he seemed lost in thought, as if not entirely present. And something about his posture caught my attention. This was not the same number 029 I had seen the previous day.

I remembered how he had disappeared during the game, as if he had evaporated from the room, leaving no trace. He suddenly reappeared, as if nothing had happened. Where was he? That was the only question that kept circling in my mind, unable to stop thinking about him.

I approached him carefully, trying not to attract the attention of the other Guards. I wanted to ask him the question that had been bothering me.

"029," I said quietly, leaning on the wall nearby. "Where were you yesterday? You disappeared without a trace."

The mask with the circle hid most of his expression, but I could feel something change in his posture, as if he noticed that I was really watching him.

He was silent for a moment, as if weighing his words.

"We shouldn't talk." He finally answered, his voice even and cold, but full of warning. "Remember the rules."

His words sounded like an order, though I still didn't understand why he had changed his behavior. I looked at him for a moment, trying to see something I couldn't understand in this game. Maybe he knew the answers to the questions that were swirling in my head, but I couldn't figure it out now. There was no time for that.

Instead of answering, I simply nodded. I looked away without a word, feeling the tension slowly dissipate. I was a Guard, just like him. Our questions didn't matter.

Suddenly, we were reminded of our tasks. The next round was about to begin, so there was no time for further conversation. Everything happened according to the rhythm of this cruel machine, in which there was no room for doubt or mercy. The players went to the room, and we – the Guards – took our positions.

The entrance to the room was always the same – mechanical, like everything that happened here. We stopped for a moment to make sure that everything was ready to start a new round. Number 029 walked next to me, as if nothing had happened, as if nothing had changed after yesterday. We all entered the room together, and I, like him, took my place in the line of Guards, ready to enforce the rules.

Before the next task began, for a moment I felt a strange anxiety that had been growing in me since yesterday. What had happened to number 029? I felt that something was wrong, but I had no right to think about it. The mask with the circle on my face was my prison, my identity that erased everything else.

When the next game started, my thoughts were once again pushed into the background. I was a Guard, my job was just one thing - to enforce the rules.

NOTHING MORE.