As I fell toward the tower, my body slammed hard against the hollow black floor below. Despair crushed down on me the moment I tried to stand, my legs trembling as if the ground itself rejected my existence.
"Dammit… dammit…"My fingers dug into the surface beneath me, gripping so tightly that cracks spread outward, the floor breaking under the pressure of my rage.
{Detected Damage}{Warning}
"Shut up!"I raised my fist, ready to smash the voice into silence.
"Adam, stop…"
Rehan's voice cut through the noise.
"You may hate this system," she said carefully, her tone restrained, almost weary, "but shouldn't you know by now that it's the only thing keeping you alive?"
I laughed—a hollow, broken sound—as I staggered forward, pacing aimlessly."You know it too!" I barked, my laughter cracking into something ugly. "Hahah—"
I slouched forward, clutching my stomach as if it could hold me together."I can't believe it… that someone—my companion—would…"
She looked away.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "If you had known earlier… but I truly didn't know at the beginning."
Her holographic form floated around me, flickering faintly, beads of simulated sweat forming along her edges."I only finished analyzing it at the very end. And if you had known sooner, you would've taken even greater risks."
She paused.
"There's no time now," she continued. "Your friend is in danger."
I ran my hands through my hair, gripping my head as I fought to contain the anger threatening to spill over. She was right. Arguing now was pointless—everything was too dire for blame.
Still, my thoughts spiraled. Again and again, my mind circled the same question.
Even if I went back… what would I do?
"I… need—"The words died in my throat.
Pride twisted inside me, bitter and sharp. A part of me refused to help someone who had betrayed me, no matter how desperate things had become.
I was cornered. There was no solution I could grasp.
"Why not return to the Manori world?" Rehan suggested. "Find out why the power of those dreams is causing you to fade."
She hesitated, then added,"Or try other worlds—search for a solution. Or… confront whoever controls the multiverse itself."
I pierced her with a glare.
"…Yeah," she muttered, sighing, drifting restlessly through the air. "That would already be too late."
Then, suddenly—"Wait."
Without another thought, I dashed forward, sprinting blindly through the corridor of portals.
"Go left."
I swerved.
"Go right."
I pushed harder, running as fast as my body allowed.
"Stop."
I skidded to a halt.
Before us lay nothing—only a barren, empty floor. The door was gone.
I scratched my hair, confusion tightening my chest."Surely…"
"Wait a minute," Rehan said sharply. "No—I didn't forget. I log all of your memories. The door should be right here."
"Maybe you're wrong."
"No. I'm not," she insisted. "Even if this were a liminal space, I would have noticed the distortion."
I sighed, pacing back and forth, distress gnawing at me until my strength gave out. I lay down, staring upward, memories flooding back—our adventures in Manori's small world, shaped by her consciousness.
The system there had been crude. Everything felt unfinished, like something built by an amateur.
But it had been fun.
This couldn't be the end… right?
After everything I had faced, everything I had lost—was it all just meant to disappear?
Would I be left alone again?
Why was it always like this?
I knelt on the cold floor, head bowed in hopelessness.
"Adam," Rehan said softly, "not everything will go your way. But that doesn't mean every outcome you experience is meant to be bad."
And then—
The space shifted.
It wasn't a red door this time.
My eyes widened as something formed out of nothing—black and white stripes weaving together, constructing a door where none had existed before.
"…It looks like someone made black-and-white stripes out of someone," Rehan said with a faint smile, glancing at my hoodie pajamas.
I stood instantly and threw the door open.
Beyond it was darkness—pure, hollow void.
I closed my eyes and stepped forward.
Suddenly—
I was standing inside a house.
A familiar one.
It was the same place where we'd once had a sleepover with the White King… and Mai.
But now it was colorful. Warm. Wooden doors painted red. Cute stuffed animals placed carefully as decorations. A table near the center. A large king-sized bed—striped in black and white—standing out as the only colorless object in the room.
At the side, a girl sat writing in a diary.
Her hair was longer now.
My breath caught.
It was her.
She wasn't gone after all.
She stood suddenly, wearing a red hoodie and a skirt. Her eyes shone as she ran toward me, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace.
"You're back!"
She danced in place, brimming with excitement, pulling out something like a phone, tapping and scrolling, crossing her arms side to side in pure happiness.
I scratched my head, completely confused.
"Look!" she said brightly. "I have so much to show you!"
I took a deep breath.
"Mai… I need your help."
She stopped.
And looked at me—confused.