CH 1.1

As I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar environment unfolded. The sunlight made it look like it was daytime, but it was only barely peeking through the cracks in the black dust-covered windows.

When I lowered my head again, I could see that the rotten wood floor beneath my palms was damp.

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“Ugh…!”

Appalled by the fishy odor coming from somewhere, I raised both my hands.

‘…Wh-what is this? Where am I?

A heavy darkness seemed to weigh down my entire body, and my heart was beating faster and faster.

…Was this a lucid dream? It was a situation that made no sense if it wasn’t a dream.

‘Yes, my dreams were always vivid.’

Instead of taking a closer look around, I lowered my head back down and wrapped both hands around my face. It was because by doing this, I could no longer see the frightening surroundings. Still, I couldn’t help but notice the unpleasant odors that wafted in.

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‘Come on, let’s wake up. Dream, please take me back…’

I believed that when time passed, I would naturally wake up from my dream.

However, one second felt like one minute here. The longer I waited, the more chills stroked my back. On top of that, since my eyes were covered, my other senses were heightened. I could hear all sorts of sounds coming from somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

Swoosh.

The sound of something passing by quickly.

Thud.

Sounds like something hitting the floor from the ceiling.

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Cling-clang!

The sound of something, presumably a tin can, being hit and tumbled.

‘Ha, this isn’t going to work…’

It was a small sound, but it was enough stimulation to get me to my feet.

Then, as I mustered up all of my courage and glanced around to see if where I was was safe, I could see that there was a long hallway on both sides. No matter how you look at it, it was far from a safe place and I couldn’t stay in such an open place.

‘…Please wake up.’

I began to walk slowly down the hallway, all the while praying fervently inwardly that I would wake up from my dream.

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It was the only light and hope that could save me now.

“…Excuse me?”

It was a whispered voice that only I could hear.

The visibility was short, so it seemed like if something would jump out in front of me at any moment, I’d be helpless. My legs had been trembling for a long time. At this point, I was lucky if my heart didn’t explode.

As I barely moved my legs like that, I could suddenly see a room in front of me.

‘I have to go in there and wait to wake up from my dream.’

I took a difficult step with a little more energy.

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There were many small picture frames hanging on the humid wall as I was walking closely next to it. It was dark, so I assumed it was mostly gray or white, but the shape was quite distinct. Each frame had a round shape drawn on it, some looked like eyeballs, and some looked like eggs.

Upon looking closely, there was another small circle inside the circle.

‘…It’s an eyeball.’

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What kind of artist just paints one big eyeball on a canvas? Still, it was an elaborate drawing that even depicted the faintest hint of veins in the eyeballs.

I stuck my tongue out at the sight of ten grotesquely framed eyeballs hanging in a row.

‘It’s not a normal place.’

The trembling in my legs had metastasized, and now my hands were now trembling as well.

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Ppyuk!

All of a sudden, I stepped on something, and it popped like a grape, sending sticky liquid splattered forward. Even though I tried to remove the foot, it was too crushed and I couldn’t make out the shape.

Feeling uncomfortable with the soles of my shoes, I had to rub them against the floor several times before I could walk again.

I barely managed to stand in front of the door to the room, contemplating whether or not to open the closed door. It was because I didn’t have the confidence to look beyond this room. While it would be fortunate if there were nothing, I remembered the sound I’d heard earlier.

Obviously, it was definitely not a place where anyone was. I was convinced that I wasn’t the only person here.

Creak.

‘…Huh?’

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From somewhere, I could hear the creaks of the old wooden floor.

Even though I immediately checked the left and right aisles, I couldn’t see anything. Because of that, I listened quietly as if time had stopped for a moment.

Creak. Creak.

…I wasn’t wrong.

Frightened, I immediately opened the door in front of me and went in quickly.

Looking around, it seemed to be someone’s room. There was a bed, a closet, and a small desk though it looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. Furthermore, white blanket-like fabrics were torn and scattered here and there, and the bed was split in two and stuck together.

Other than that, only white, dense cobwebs filled the room.

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“Ugh. A spider web… and, what—”

Regardless of my will, my legs, which had been shaking vigorously, collapsed.

As I slumped down on the ground, frozen in place like a stone, the sound from earlier hit my ears again.

Creak. Creak.

The heavy footsteps came quite close. As the old wooden floor pressed against the soles of my feet, I let out a quavering cry before immediately turning my head toward the door of the room.

The door was still wide open.

I could have run right away and closed the door, but the thought crossed my mind that this would be the perfect time to run into the owner of the mysterious footsteps as well.

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Creak. Creak.

‘What is it? What’s coming…?’

My eyes instinctively searched for a place to hide, and in this room, the only place to hide was in the closet, which seemed to be the most intact.

It was large enough for one person to fit inside.

The sound of approaching footsteps becoming even closer gave me no time to think. Moving quickly into the closet, I sat down and gently closed the door, holding my breath.