Chương 33: Reuninon

My shadow rippled, and the world shifted. The room moved up, or rather I sank down into the floor. I vanished from everyone's sight, slipping through the cracks in the rubble and emerging seamlessly on the other side, stepping out from the shadow cast by the unconscious figure lying on the ground. This side of the hallway was much darker. Most of the lights had been broken from all the fights that had taken place here, but I could clearly see who it was lying on the ground. Pyiari. She had actually waited.

Haphazardly, I knelt down beside her and checked if she was breathing. She was. I gently shook her shoulder.

"Hey, hey. Wake up." She woke up in an instant. I half-expected her to throw a little tantrum like normal kids do when they're rudely awakened—but it seemed the children in this facility were conditioned to wake up on the very first call. She jolted upright, though it took a few seconds for the heavy grogginess to fade. I watched her eyes process her surroundings, remember why she was sleeping on a cold stone floor, and finally register who was sitting in front of her.

"Mister!" she gasped, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly.

"I told you to leave," I sighed, patting her back.

"Why didn't you?"

"How could I?" she shouted, pulling back to glare at me.

"How could you leave me behind and expect me to just leave alone? You're a dumb Mr. Alien."

"Okay, okay," I raised my hands in surrender.

"It was my fault."

"Do you even know how worried I was? And how hungry?! Even in this awful facility, I have never gone without eating anything for so long! You were the reason I had to. You are not a good mister."

"Sorry, sorry for not being a good mister." I couldn't help but smile at her scolding."

"Did you bring her?" She asked her eyes full of anticipation.

"Bring who?" I asked even when I knew who she was talking about.

"Lania." As if perfectly waiting for her cue, Lania's voice echoed loudly from the other side of the collapsed wall.

"Mr. Alien! Are you on the other side?" Pyiari's head perked up instantly at the sound of Lania's voice, and a massive, genuine smile plastered across her face.

"Lania!" she shouted back, pressing her hands against the cold floor.

"Pyiari? Is that you?" Lania asked, her voice cracking slightly with disbelief.

"Yes! I am so glad you are here!"

"I am too… move to the side! I will have Jiji smash this wall away!"

"Okay!" Pyiari and I quickly scrambled away from the blockade, pressing ourselves flat against the far wall.

"We are far enough!" I shouted, taking over because Pyiari's dry, exhausted throat wouldn't let her yell loud enough. A heavy moment of silence passed. Then, the rubble shattered with a deafening boom. Massive boulders and twisted rebar were obliterated, sent flying down the hallway as a thick cloud of dust and debris filled the air. As the dust slowly settled, the silhouette of Strange Toy emerged, with Lania, Filki, and the rest of the children standing safely behind it.

"Lania!" Pyiari shouted, sprinting forward the moment the path was clear. Lania ran to meet her halfway. They collided in the middle of the dust, wrapping their arms around each other in a fierce, desperate grip. Neither of them cried.

"Who asked you act all hero and sacrifice yourself for us. Don't you dare do anything like this again."

"Haha, I hope a situation where I have to doesn't arise again."

"Even if it does, just don't." Pyiari pulled herself back, staring right into Lania's eyes. They maintained it for a moment too long, Lania finally relented.

"Okay, I won't." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Promise me,""I promise." Pyiari grabbed Lania into another hug then pulled back the very next instant.

"Also, also," She stuttered but did not break the eye contact.

"I am sorry, I am sorry not staying by your side when you needed me the most." Tears would have came out if Lania was just a moment too late to reply. She touched Pyiari cheeks and said, "It's alright, I was never angry at you, and I am sorry too for lashing out at you earlier. I even got Jiji to harm you."

"No, no. You shouldn't be sorry it should be me."

"Okay, what about what of us stop apologizing. That sounds nice to me."

"But—""No buts," Pyiari bit her lip, then said "Okay" and they were in a hug once again. They stayed like that for a minute.

"That felt nice," Pyiari said.

"It really did," Pyiari finally looked beyond Lania spotting Filki and the other kids, and her smile increased even more.

"Filki, and you guys are here too." Pyiari ran towards her and gave a brief hug to all of them. Unlike Lania she did recognize the existence of other kids but she didn't talk with them either. The kids who had taunted her in the learning center were there too, at the end though they didn't say anything this time.

"Mister you are so awesome, you brought everyone. I am so happy—" Her stomach made sounds, and she got very embarrassed.

"Eat this," Milo offered her a sandwich. She hesitantly accepted it and devoured it.

"Thanks," she managed to say with a mouthful. That broke the tension between Milo and Pyiari and soon between everyone else. It was a sight I longed to see. After some more talking and eating we started walking again. I followed them from a few paces behind, watching them walk toward the dim light at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, I crashed hard into something.

"Oof." I rubbed my forehead and looked ahead, but there was absolutely nothing there. The hallway was clear, and the others had just walked right through this exact spot without an issue. Frowning, I extended my hand forward. My palm pressed against something flat and entirely solid, yet completely invisible. I dragged my hand across it. It was a massive, invisible wall.

"Guys! Hey!" I shouted. None of them stopped. None of them even flinched. I hit the invisible wall with my fist and shouted as loud as my lungs would allow.

"Hey!" They just kept walking. I hadn't spoken to them for a minute or two; normally, Pyiari or Lania would have turned around to check on me by now. But they didn't. It was as if... they had completely forgotten I was ever there. I watched their silhouettes slowly shrink as they walked further toward the exit, never once looking back. I wasn't a part of their story anymore. I was a Walker, an outsider who had stepped into a memory recorded in the Akashic System.

Now that their history was set and they were safe, I couldn't go with them. I dropped down and sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor. Watching them fade into the distance didn't make me sad or angry. Sure, it would have been nice to get a proper goodbye, maybe a final hug from Pyiari and Lania, but this was enough. Just seeing them walk out of this hellhole into their freedom was more than enough for me.

A notification that had been hovering quietly in the back of my mind finally pushed itself to the forefront of my vision. Quest: Superpowers — A Gift or a Curse? Life's Last Hope was established to research the immortality drug. So, why are they treating children here? What are these superpowers they are trying to treat? How are they actually researching the drug? Why do they have the support of every government? Goal: Discover the truth behind the facility.

(Completed) Reward: Rift Card Warning: Accepting the reward will mark this quest as completed and cause the Rift to immediately collapse and close. Accept Reward? [YES] / [NO] I stared at the glowing blue text. What would happen if I hit 'NO' and tried to exit the Rift the normal way? Would the Rift remain open? If it did, would Pyiari, Lania, and all those kids just be dragged right back here to act as endless, repeating NPCs for the next Walker? I wasn't going to risk that. I mentally selected [YES].

The blue system text dissolved into a flurry of glowing particles. The light gathered in the air right in front of me, condensing and materializing into a solid, physical card. It drifted gently into my waiting hand, glowing with a brilliant silver light. Second Chance A kid locked away their entire life finally found one hallway that led somewhere new. They didn't know where it went. She went anyway.

Sometimes the bravest thing a person can do isn't winning the fight in front of them—it's choosing to believe, against every single lesson life has taught them, that something better might actually be waiting on the other side of the door. Recorded in the Akashic system in the year 4760. Second Chance lets the wielder grant one instance of renewed hope or resolve to another, once per day. I read the text, tracing my thumb over the silver border.

The card was a manifestation of exactly what had happened here in the Rift. It was about the kids who stood up, fought back, and believed in a future they had never seen. That sheer belief was what allowed them to grasp the freedom they sought. I pressed the card to my chest, and it assimilated into me. The moment it vanished, the floor beneath me violently shook. Not just the floor—the ceiling, the walls, the very air around me began to vibrate and tear.

The hallway where Pyiari and the others had walked was entirely gone, replaced by a swirling void. The walls of the facility cracked open like shattered glass, revealing nothing but endless, absolute darkness beyond it. The quest has been completed. System text floated in front of my eyes. Reward has been collected. Rift will now be closed. All Walkers inside will be teleported out. The ground beneath me vanished completely. I closed my eyes and let myself fall freely into the welcoming darkness.

Hope you enjoyed the story.