"Whew… that was harder than I imagined," I said, calling the building's elevator, feeling the weight of exhaustion on my shoulders.
"Don't worry, it's probably the weakest ones," Ashi replied, staying calm but alert to any sign of danger.
"Guys, we've been waiting for the elevator for five minutes," Kate warned, opening the emergency stairwell door. "It'll be faster and safer this way, no doubt."
"Great… climbing twenty floors will be awesome," Ashi muttered, placing his hands on his face and letting out a tired sigh, showing just how discouraging the climb was.
We soon made our way up the exhausting stairwell, hearing only the echo of our steps in the silence of the building. Everything was perfectly clean, no apparent dust, and, apparently, there were no Trins around.
I opened the door to the floor we needed to reach after fumbling for the handle in the dark stairwell, carefully feeling every detail.
"Finally!" Kate exclaimed, already out of breath. "It would've been better to take the elevator after all, I can't deny it."
"Don't come blaming me for not warning you," Ashi replied, grabbing a bottle of water from his backpack and taking a sip to recover from the effort.
After a brief pause to catch our breath, we continued toward the control room, where television stations were monitored and programming managed.
But suddenly, a noise caught our attention: a female voice, coming from one of the nearby rooms, screaming for help, full of despair.
"Did you hear that?" I asked, pausing for a moment and trying to locate the source of the sound.
"Yes, it still sounds human," Kate replied, cautiously scanning the area, her body tense.
"Any idea where she might be, Ashi?" I asked again, worried she might be in imminent danger.
"This place feels like a maze," Ashi said thoughtfully. "If we're lucky, she might be on this floor."
"We don't have time, let's split up to find her," I responded, quickly analyzing the building's layout.
The floor was divided into four large sections, each with three rooms. But there were only three of us, which made the search even more complicated in this labyrinth. This was one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, a wealthy and prosperous place that provided entertainment and fun for the public.
I chose the path on the left. All the lights were on, and I could see this at the end of the corridor, but I still couldn't identify the interior of the rooms.
I was stunned when I finally saw everything: each room had around twenty to thirty Trins sitting, still carrying out their activities as if they were puppets, working even after their own deaths.
While observing, one of the creatures locked eyes with me, standing from its chair and walking toward me threateningly.
I ducked low, staying under the glass where it couldn't see me.
Ashi, on the other hand, was not in an easy situation either. He ran desperately from an armed Trin, a former company security guard. Quickly taking cover, he drew his pistol and aimed precisely at the Trin's head, eliminating it with a single, accurate shot.
Kate took the path toward the bathrooms and the staff rest area, safer at the moment, keeping constant attention on any suspicious movement.
The Trin searching for me eventually gave up, unable to locate me. Still crouched, I slowly walked to the end of the corridor, finding another path to the right. I entered this new hallway and saw a girl, probably my age, sitting next to a vending machine, hands covering her mouth, sweating heavily from nerves and fear.
Then I felt all of her despair; something ran through my body, tearing at my vocal cords and leaving me breathless. This was the fear of death, pure and intense. I felt a strong urge to vomit and had to stop for a few seconds until I regained control and could breathe normally again.
Soon, an unimaginable comfort came over me, similar to the feeling I had when I met Omega, as if I knew this woman inside and out.
She was overcome with fear, being pursued by a very strong Trin that hadn't appeared yet, and she had to remain still so he wouldn't find her.
I approached slowly and placed my hand on her knee.
"Shiz, is that you?" I asked, looking at her tear-streaked face.
"J-Jin?" she replied, wiping her eyes. "You're really alive?"
Shiz, my childhood friend, always close, the famous Shizuka, queen of our neighborhood friend group.
"Yes… I'm relieved you're alive too, Queen Shiz," I said, running my hand through her silky hair.
"I can't believe it!" she shouted, hugging me happily. "I tried to message you when this all started, but the network went down."
"I came here with Ashi to restore the network, that's the only way I could find you," I replied, standing up.
"No way?!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I came for the same reason!"
"Seems we were meant to meet; it's been a few weeks since I last saw you," I continued.
Shiz was as always: silky black hair, yellow hair clip, and the athletic body of a marathon runner, result of rigorous physical training.
"Where's Ashi?" she asked, walking toward the elevator.
"He went to the right…" I replied, until I saw him running toward us with Kate.
"Jin, there's a monster here!" Ashi shouted. "Wait… Shizinha! I'm glad you're alive!"
"I'm so glad to see you in one piece too, Ashi!" she replied, hugging him.
"And this is Kate, a girl I met on the way here," I introduced.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shizuka, childhood friend of both of you," she said, shaking Kate's hand.
And so we reunited, now with a new member in the group, strengthening our team.
"I don't think it's the right time for introductions," I said, wielding the wooden staff and facing the monster in front of us. "We need to deal with the big one first."
Ashi's face twisted in nervousness as he watched the Trin, feeling fear and nostalgia at the same time.
"He… he was one of the company managers…" he said, covering his mouth with his hand and taking small steps back.
Shizuka grabbed Ashi's wrist and started running toward the elevator.
"Take care of him!" she shouted, running. "Ashi and I will go to the control room upstairs!"
"Understood, Queen!" I replied, positioning myself for the imminent fight.
As I prepared, Kate opened her backpack and grabbed a relatively large knife, acting quickly; our time was being counted, though she didn't know it yet.
The manager approached slowly, his steps shaking the floor, purple liquid dripping from his mouth, eyes glowing the same color. He punched the nearby wall, breaking a pipe, and the hallway filled with dense gray smoke.
"Kate, grab the flashlight from your bag!" I shouted, moving closer.
She aimed the light at the monster's face, and we heard groans of pain and inaudible phrases.
I activated my ability again, but this time I felt everything the manager was feeling. Everything around me dissolved like dust, and the environment turned completely dark.
I found myself submerged in unprecedented darkness. Several greenish human souls appeared, forming a small shrine with incense. At the center was a photo of Ashi with his sports car; the souls crowded around, whispering, creating a dark purple aura.
They performed a prayer and placed yen coins on the shrine. They extended their arms toward the photo and removed a bag full of money, also emanating a sinister aura.
One soul waved at me, calling me over. Approaching, I saw its face resembled the real-world manager, smiling mockingly as it tossed money into the air. One of the bills fell on my back, burning like hot iron.
The soul was startled, picked up the fallen money, but soon returned to the photo, siphoning more personal items from Ashi's life. Another soul came to me, placed its hand on my neck, and lifted me, preparing to do something. Its arm passed through my chest without piercing it, removing a photo of me hugging my sister in childhood.
The soul's expression closed, consumed by anger and despair, crushing the photo and wiping away tears with it. When I realized, I was back in the real world, with the manager holding my neck the same way.
"Envy… you're the worst of sins!" I shouted, hitting his head with the staff and freeing myself.
The mist dissipated, allowing me to see Kate running toward me.
"Jin!" she exclaimed, placing a bandage on my neck. "I thought I was going to lose you!"
"When you asked for the flashlight, you started floating, and the smoke went into your mouth," she explained, nervous. "The manager's eyes pulsed, and you both froze."
"I tried to stab him, but a purple hand, ghost-like, threw me away," she added.
The manager began to rise.
"I just woke from a dream; the important thing is I'm back," I replied, raising the staff.
This time, the staff shone intensely, its surface gleaming like gold.
"Big guy, you better choose your last words," I said, part of my hand taking on the same color as the staff.
I defended against punches and kicks, countering with staff strikes while Kate tried stabbing from behind. The monster quickly grabbed a piece of iron from the wall and, before Kate could hit him, struck her in the ribs, sending her crashing into the glass.
Without time to think, I lunged, grabbed the knife midair, and drove it into his neck, slicing the body from neck to spine. Blood gushed, staining my shirt and the floor.
"Kate! Can you breathe?" I asked, kneeling.
"It didn't hit me directly; I managed to protect the area before it broke my rib," she replied, showing her bloodied forearm.
"We need to get upstairs as fast as possible; we don't know what kind of danger they might face," I added, helping her up.
We ran to the stairs and reached the upper floor, finding piles of Trins and a few dead humans.
"Shizuka, Ashi, where are you?" I shouted, staff ready.
No answer. Silence took over, an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.
"No choice… we'll have to search," Kate said, adjusting her hair. "This time, we go together, Jin."
"I won't leave your side, not for a moment," I replied calmly. Her eyes shone like a protected child's.
We proceeded down a locked corridor, marked: "Authorized Personnel Only." As we passed, everything grew even quieter—no bodies, no blood.
"Something's wrong," Kate said. "This atmosphere, without sound or disturbance… it's like someone is preparing the room for sleep."
"You're right, stay alert on all sides," I said, keeping my hand the same color as the staff.
We turned right, another corridor sealed by a door with a small window. I looked and saw Shizuka and Ashi sitting on the floor, her head resting on her friend's shoulder.
"Ashi!" I said, opening the door quickly. "Wake up, this isn't the time to rest!"
They didn't respond, though they were breathing.
"Hey, look at this mark on her neck," Kate said, pointing to Shizuka. "Maybe it's from some Trin."
"But… why didn't the Trin kill them?" I asked, running my finger over the bluish mark.
"Some can be intelligent, seeing no need to kill them," Kate replied. "That way, they reduce the risk of being killed."
As I reflected on this, a loud noise came from the next room, like someone snoring deeply. We got up and slowly followed.
"What… is that?" Kate asked, peeking through a small gap in the door.