(Viewpoint: Ji-Yunwoo)
The silence no longer existed.
It had been replaced by a noise that had become unbearably familiar.
The clicking of the spikes.
The breath of the wind.
Then the bodies.
The spikes had retracted once more into the stone, disappearing with almost elegant precision. The tower's internal mechanisms vibrated like the heart of a vast, living machine.
No one was celebrating.
No one was speaking.
They all knew what was going to happen next.
The void.
Again.
I slowly raised my head.
Above us, Jae was only a few meters from the summit.
Five steps.
At least our team will pull through.
I was having difficulty breathing, my shoulders were painful, I couldn't feel my legs anymore, they were trembling.
– aah ~
Five steps.
A ridiculously short distance.
And yet...
It seemed endless.
CLICK!
A turning point.
Then the world disappeared beneath our feet.
Our bodies are tilting into the void.
I didn't even have the strength to scream anymore, I just let myself be carried away.
The fall lasted an eternity.
CRAAASH!
My body crashed against the spikes.
The noise echoed throughout my head.
A few seconds later, the white light engulfed me.
– I didn't expect to go to paradise
I'm slowly coming back to myself.
Shit
I just woke up to the same step.
I struggled to keep myself going.
My hands were trembling.
My lips too.
I looked away.
There was no point in counting anymore.
For a long time.
I placed my foot on the next step.
The mechanism vibrated.
I knew.
I already knew what would happen next.
The second group was so fast.
The void sucked me in.
For a split second, my stomach rose up to my throat.
Then…
impact.
The pain was so intense that it ripped the air out of my lungs.
I felt every bone burst.
Each muscle is tearing.
Each organ will break down.
I died once again, what could possibly frighten me anymore?
I opened my eyes again.
My breathing was ragged.
I found myself standing.
At the same pace.
I ran a hand across my chest.
Intact.
Yet...
The pain remained.
It never completely disappeared.
It was piling up.
With each fall, my body refused to forget.
I caught my breath.
One more step.
Another fall.
This time, the suffering was different.
Deeper.
It was as if the spikes were piercing directly through my memories.
I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled.
Do not shout.
Whatever you do, don't give them that.
When I came back to life, my legs were wobbly.
The pain…
Had doubled.
I could feel it.
She was becoming more precise.
More real.
As if each death removed a little of that strange protection that still separated my mind from my body.
One more step and it's over
Just one
Again
Before
One step
It'll be OK
My eyes were getting hot, my vision began to blur, and my throat started to throb.
– one more step
I'm tired
How long has it been?
I had absolutely no idea anymore.
My eyes were staring into space.
But I seemed the least "dead"
His face showed nothing anymore.
No fear.
No anger.
No sadness.
Only...
L'absence.
He looked more like a forgotten statue than a human being.
The wind gently stirred her hair.
Even when another player fell near him in a shower of blood, he did not look away.
As if the tower had already finished its work.
As if she had won.
Bro
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted.
Then another one.
Then a scream.
I slowly turned my head.
Kim Young.
She was huddled against the steps.
This crazy woman
Her arms were wrapped around her knees.
Her body swayed back and forth.
Slowly.
Then faster.
Faster and faster.
She jumped up.
– Continue!
She pointed to the top of the tower.
- Come on !
Her legs gave way.
She fell back to her knees.
Her hands sank into her hair.
– Stop…
She seemed very alone.
Jae advances to an encore.
Four steps.
Only four more to go.
The summit seemed almost within reach.
Yet…
With each climb...
The fog surrounding the last steps was becoming denser.
I resumed my walk.
Another fall.
Another death.
I looked up at the sky.
I have no choice anymore; there is nothing noble about suffering.