Caren turned his head, staring at something.
“I can’t…
d-die.”
He whispered the words in a dry voice.
He tried to stand, but his broken leg kept him from getting up.
Ren clenched her teeth before speaking.
“You…
do you know what it feels like to be trapped here for a year?
Can you imagine it?
And now I finally have a way home, and you want to take it away from me?
Go to hell.”
Her eyes were filled with madness.
She glanced at the monster and gave it a nod.
The creature kicked Caren as if he were nothing more than a broken toy.
His back slammed against the wall, his eyes widening.
He collapsed and struck his head against the floor.
“Ehh.”
Caren struggled to rise, but the creature seized him by the head and slammed him down again.
A crack echoed through the room.
Pain spread through his entire body, yet he couldn’t speak or even scream.
But he didn’t care about the pain.
He was just…
disappointed?
Yeah.
Of course he was.
He had thought that maybe this time would be different.
That, for once, he could succeed.
But it turned out he was wrong.
He was going to die.
“Stupid…
How could I be so foolish?
Why didn’t I just give up?
I didn’t want to accept it, but it was obvious.”
The monster grabbed him by the hair and lifted him from the floor.
Ren’s expression darkened.
“How dare you try to stop me?
I’m going home.
I’m the one who’s leaving this place, not you.”
Then she noticed something.
Caren’s blank expression.
It was as if he didn’t care anymore.
“You want to give up just like this?
You don’t deserve to go home.
But I do.
I fought for a fucking year, alone, with no one to help me.
Yeah, I killed many people because they were in my way.
But now I can go home, and I don’t feel guilty about what I’ve done.”
Caren’s lips parted.
He whispered,
“What is your temporary power?”
Ren furrowed her brow.
“What?”
Caren repeated himself immediately.
“What is your temporary power?”
Ren smirked playfully and glanced at the monster for a moment.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Hahahahaha.”
Caren burst into laughter.
Then he licked his dry lips.
“Come on.”
“Shut up.
Shut up.
You were suffering?
You have a monster of your own.
You’re really stupid.
Do you seriously think you’re going to lose with that power?”
Ren frowned in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
Caren let out a dry sigh.
“Go to hell.
You talk as if you’re the only one who wants to leave this place.
I want to go home too.
So stop acting like you’re the only one suffering.”
Caren shook his head.
“No.
You’re just stupid.
You talked about where you found other Upside Downers.
I don’t fucking know what they are, but if there was a way for them to get here and they still didn’t come, doesn’t that mean you’re not important to them?”
Ren’s eyes widened.
For a moment, she was completely speechless.
After a brief silence, she whispered,
“Hey…
what did you just say?”
Caren’s body went limp.
Ren’s gaze turned cold and emotionless.
“I’ll make you suffer.
I won’t kill you.
I’ll trap you here and leave you to rot.”
Caren smiled weakly.
Suddenly, the monster roared.
Dead Guide sank its teeth into the creature’s leg and tore away a large chunk of flesh.
The monster lost its balance.
Dead Guide immediately dashed toward the red rose.
It picked up the flower in its tiny mouth and ran back to Caren.
After placing it on the ground beside him, it leaped forward and sank its teeth into the monster’s hand.
The creature howled in pain and released Caren, clutching its injured hand.
Caren fell to the ground but didn’t waste a second.
He reached for the flower.
It was warm, yet strangely cold at the same time.
“What is your wish?”
The flower spoke.
Caren wasn’t surprised.
He didn’t have time to question it.
He simply said in a low voice,
“Take me out of here.”
The flower laughed.
Its voice was calm.
“Glorious…
glorious.
Your selfishness knows no bounds.”
“I accept.”
The flower spoke again.
“Watch out.”
Caren turned his head.
The monster was about to pierce his skull with its knife-like hands.
Then blood erupted everywhere.
A moment later, she was gone.
Nothing remained except blood staining the floor.
Caren couldn’t breathe.
He simply stared at the flower.
“You…
you killed her?”
The flower answered politely.
“Yes, I did.
Now it’s your turn.”
Caren froze.
“My turn?”
The flower giggled.
“Yes.
Of course I’ll take care of you.”
It paused before adding,
“It’s going to hurt.”
Caren opened his mouth to respond, but Darkness rushed toward him.
It wrapped around him again.
Unlike last time, the embrace wasn’t gentle.
Caren screamed in agony.
“PLEASE!
PLEASE, LET ME GO!
I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”
The flower answered casually,
“What?
I don’t want to kill you.
You wanted to leave this place yourself, so…”
Caren couldn’t hear it anymore.
All that remained was pain.
“Aaaa!”
He clutched his head.
“STOP IT!
STOP IT!
PLEASE, STOP IT!”
Tears filled his eyes.
A cracking sound echoed through the room.
Then another.
And another.
He felt his bones breaking.
He looked at his hand.
There was nothing left but bone.
“Please…
please stop it.”
His vision blurred until he could barely make out what was happening around him.
He coughed up blood.
It felt as though even his atoms were being torn apart.
He jolted awake, his heart pounding.
“I…”
His hands were trembling, and his legs felt like jelly.
He looked around.
Instead of sand, he found himself in a room.
A bed.
He was lying on a bed.
Warm tears slipped from the corners of his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
“I’m…
I’m home!”
The moment the words left his mouth, everything went dark.
He was no longer lying on the bed.
There was nothing around him.
Just pure darkness.