(...): What is... this?
I'm finally outside. For the first time...
I turned my head left and right—two different paths.
It was a little brighter than inside, but I still couldn't see very far ahead.
There were two corridors, one to my right and one to my left.
I didn't know which way to go.
I was finally outside, yet... this isn't what I imagined.
The outside doesn't look much different from the inside.
(...): Before I decide where to go, I need to understand where I am.
As I walked down the corridor, I noticed many rooms just like mine.
Were those also rooms for other subjects like me?
I decided to check the one with the broken door first.
When I got there, I noticed some writing next to where the door used to be.
(...): 0009...
(...): What... does that mean?
A long time ago, one of the doctors came to me and taught me some "simple things."
How to walk, how to speak, how to follow commands... and a bit of reading.
But one day, that doctor told me, "You've learned enough," and never came back.
Though honestly, I barely remember most of what he taught me.
(...): 009... Is that...
Could that be... a name?
Then, maybe my name is written next to my door too...?
But first, I should check this room.
I slowly stepped inside. The moment I did, a horrible smell hit me.
(...): Ugh! What... is that!?
The stench filled the entire room.
It was hard to make out much in the darkness, but the place looked just like mine.
The only difference... was the skeleton in front of me.
(...): What... happened here...?
I was confused.
Was this person the one called 0009?
They were slumped beside the bed—completely still... but why?
---
(...): 0009...
I'd been waiting for a while, but they didn't move.
They weren't healing either... why?
By now, their body should've started recovering—or at least that's what happens to me.
Could this... be their normal state?
Do they not want to talk to me... or can't they?
(...): I don't know. There's no point staying here.
I left 0009's room and walked to mine.
"What's my name? I'll find out soon... But how were these names chosen, anyway?"
Lost in thought, I didn't even realize I had reached my own door.
(...): 0000
(...): My name is 0000.
It felt strange—no, more like wrong.
Oh right. Now I remember... the doctors used to call me "Subject 0."
Subject 0: So that's my name... Subject 0.
Subject 0: Yeah... that feels right.
My head's still a mess, but I feel like I need to leave.
But why? Where am I supposed to go? How? Why do I even want to go?
Is this place really... the outside?
Subject 0: I need answers!
Then it's decided.
My goal... is to find some answers—or someone who can give them to me.
---
Subject 0 had made his decision. He had to leave.
He turned back once more toward Subject 9's room, gave it a brief look, and continued walking.
As he moved on, he noticed that some of the other room doors were open, while others remained sealed.
He didn't know what was inside—and he didn't care.
Even if someone was there, what could he do?
There was no reason to get involved, and besides, he couldn't open their doors anyway.
While passing the rooms, one thing caught his attention:
The subjects' numbers seemed completely random—0962, 0046, 6392... but why?
He didn't know.
Subject 0: So this is... the end?
He reached the end of the corridor, where a slightly open iron door stood before him.
Subject 0 slipped through the gap.
Subject 0: What... is this place?
What he saw left him speechless—
the lifeless bodies of the doctors who used to visit his room, lying motionless before him.
But Subject 0 couldn't understand what he was seeing.
Subject 0: Why... why are they just standing there?
Subject 0: No... they're different!
They look like how I remember them, but... why aren't they moving?
For someone who had spent his entire life inside a single room, it was all incomprehensible.
After all, Subject 0 had no concept of death.
As he kept staring at the doctors, a strange chill ran down his spine—
as if someone was watching him.
Subject 0 turned toward the dark corner of the room.
There, a faint silhouette stood, staring right back at him—motionless.
Subject 0: Hey... who are you?
Those words... were Subject 0's last memory.