The sound was duller than when glass breaks, and lighter than when marble breaks. It felt hard and smooth when I touched it, and it also broke easier than expected. It felt as if an impact had been applied to the surface of porcelain.
I think there was a time when I broke something in the air like now. Back then… Was it the forest where Illinan came from? As I was briefly looking back on my memories, the space outside began to break apart from the area where I had broken it.
The sound of a crash sounded quite ominous in a situation like the one where the building was collapsing. Although I reflexively looked around the room, the source of the sound was outside the building, not inside.
The crack that had been rising through the pure white landscape quickly spread in all directions, as if taking root.
In the end, some of the pieces created by the crack couldn’t remain in place and fell down.
“That… Is it perhaps outside?”
“I think so.”
Surprisingly, what I could see beyond the gap where the piece had fallen was a scenery I hadn’t seen since I came here. Unlike before, where everything seemed to be painted white, the scenery reflected a deep blue sky and clouds that could almost be said to be reality.
I was able to realize it instinctively. We have to get out through that gap.
Dante said that this building is disconnected from reality. So, can we say that the glass has begun to end now that the outside scenery is visible?
As I quickly turned my head, Masha, who was standing with a dumbfounded expression on her face, groaned next to me.
“Ei, your hand…”
When I belatedly lowered my head to check my hand, I saw a wound across the back of my hand, as if it had been pierced by one of the fragments.
Just looking at this, I look like someone who came from somewhere to fight. In fact, I got the wound from punching itself.
“It’s fine. It’ll get better in a little while anyway.”
“Getting better isn’t the problem… Wait, don’t push me!”
When I pushed Masha’s back to the window, she let out a brief scream. I understand her feeling scary, but what should we do if there is no other way.
“Probably, if you check after we get out of here, it will be gone? It doesn’t really hurt, so don’t worry.”
“Wait, wait a minute, Ei. Are we really going to jump out of here?”
“Yeah. The spirit will help us, so we probably won’t get hurt.”
After saying that, I looked at the spirit as if asking for its consent, and the spirit shook its body up and down as if nodding its head.
“Look, it’s helping us.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe in the spirit, but… Aaaah!”
The moment Masha answered, I suddenly felt the building shake the loudest I had ever felt. Dust fell from the ceiling, and not only the wall but also the pillar next to it began to crack dangerously.
I held on to the window frame to avoid falling, but I heard an ominously loud sound behind me.
If I’m not mistaken, it sounds like something fell entirely. I couldn’t tell if the ceiling or the floor had fallen.
But what is certain is that there is no time to look back.
I grabbed Masha’s shoulders and hurriedly opened my mouth.
“Don’t be too scared. Just with the thought of crossing over, we can jump together…”
But as soon as I pronounced the word ‘together,’ the spirit hovering next to me suddenly shook its body rapidly.
Now that I think about it, it seemed like it was taking turns going back and forth between the two of us. At first, I thought it was just an urging gesture, but now I wonder if it had some other meaning.
“…Could it be that you can’t help us both at once?”
The restless spirit immediately shook its body up and down violently. Then, it seemed to be saying that it would be possible for Masha and I to wander around one by one again, not two at a time.
Not only did I understand the spirit’s words surprisingly well from earlier, but if the two of us couldn’t move at the same time, I had to hurry.
“Masha, you go first.”
“What?”
Masha, who was checking out the window, quickly turned her head and looked at me. Her face was even paler than before, showing that she didn’t want to go first even if she had to die.
But no matter how I think about it, it’s right for her to leave first. If you had to choose between the two of us who could survive being trapped in a collapsed building, you wouldn’t have to worry about itㅡit would be me.
Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to say my thoughts out loud in this situation. I briefly measured the height between the ground and the building through the cracks, and then spoke to Masha in a calm voice.
“It’s better for me to stay than for you. So come on.”
“…Are you sure we can’t go together?”
“Yeah, that doesn’t work.”
Because the spirit hovering next to Masha hung back sullenly, Masha was unable to add anything more to her words.
Eventually, Masha stopped struggling so fiercely and put her feet up on the window sill. In a precarious state that looked like it was about to fall at any moment, Masha looked back at me for the last time and said.
“You have to come quickly!”
“Yeah, see you below.”
As soon as I said that, Masha fell out of the building.
As soon as her red hair disappeared before my eyes, my heart skipped a beat. I quickly put my head out of the window and before I knew it, Masha had disappeared into nowhere.
Since she wasn’t seen falling, she probably slipped through that gap safely.
Although I wanted to sigh in relief, I couldn’t even relax for a moment because of the vibrations felt right away.
In my heart, the words about collapsing the building were mere threats, and I was hoping that the repeated shaking would stop suddenly.
ㅡBoom!
Seeing as if the floor I was standing on would collapse at any moment and merge with the floor below, it seemed like that wouldn’t happen even if I died or woke up.
I looked down at the floor, which was shaking and starting to tilt, then stepped on the window frame and climbed on top of it. If the building collapsed faster than the spirit returning, it seemed better to jump off even with my bare body. No matter what, I have to save my life.
And even if it doesn’t save my life… It would be right to choose the one that will keep my body more intact.
These thoughts were like old habits. Rather than believing that you will never die, think about what will happen after death.
Choosing a more comfortable way to die rather than struggling to live.
But at this moment, thinking about death itself felt like committing a mistake.
This is probably because there’s someone who fears my death more than anything else. Even if I say that I won’t die and that my wounds will heal quickly, there’s someone who is consistently anxious.
The wound on the back of my hand disappeared as if it had been washed away without me realizing it. The same thing happened with the scratches that appeared earlier when I quickly touched the window frame.
Dante won’t know I’m hurt if I don’t tell him. But still…
Even if I don’t have to bring up the story, I hope he will first ask if there are any injuries. Even if I say there are no injuries, I hope he doesn’t stop worrying.
To think that I want someone who is already anxious to worry about me, my thoughts are weird indeed. This was better than thinking about dying. Dante probably thinks so too.
Of course, I’m saying I want someone to worry about me, but that doesn’t mean I want to make people sad.
In this situation, I guess I can’t even decide on that, Dante. I muttered as I felt the spirit that hadn’t yet returned and the building that began to tilt with a loud noise. You’ve had enough trouble just by me coming here.
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to return safely after doing something like this. But there was nowhere to retreat, and in the end there was only one choice for me.
“…Still, it would be nice if I don’t die.”
Because I can’t leave Dante alone for too long.
After saying that to myself, I threw myself towards the gap where I could see the scenery.
It felt like I was more afraid than ever of my body starting to fall quickly.
***
I once felt this way again. There’s no way I can remember exactly what happened at a moment like this, but what remains in my mind is what I thought was a feeling I never wanted to feel again.
It was as if my heart was next to my ear, and it was pounding loudly even in the midst of all the chaos. I couldn’t tell if it was the wind that was harshly brushing my cheek or something else.
It seems that my wish to never die won’t come true. At this height, I would probably be dead.
Am I scared? I am, of course. My whole body would be destroyed. Even if it weren’t for that, I’d be scared to death of falling.
As I felt my body falling faster and faster, I had a premonition of the pain that would come soon, and I closed my eyes tightly without realizing it.
…However, what I felt at that moment wasn’t the pain of a broken bone.
“…”
A warmth that couldn’t be felt in this situation enveloped my body. I felt like my heart, which had been shaking, stopped in the air as a strong force held me tightly.
I think I was moaning all over my teeth without even realizing it. As if responding to that short sound, someone’s arms hugged my body more tightly.
When I finally realized that a familiar scent was passing through my nose.
When I barely opened my eyes, the face that had filled my mind just moments ago came into view.
An expression that is inevitably unfamiliar to me and whose emotions can’t be read.
“…Dante.”
Although it was only for a moment, the thought that something big had happened passed through my mind.
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