"Kayo, hurry up! This man is showing the same reaction as before!"
"I never expected it... The situation is only going to get worse, what should we do?"
"There are still many people who haven't regained consciousness yet... What if we watch over them until they fully wake up?"
"And while we're doing that, what are we supposed to do, huh? We still don't know anything about this place, do you think everything will be solved just by waiting for them all to wake up?"
——
Accepting Kayo's invitation, I followed him into the room next door, the place where I first woke up.
We immediately went inside because the door was already open, maybe the people who entered earlier were panicking so much that they forgot to close it.
There were still so many people lying on the floor, just like me, they were asleep because of the effect of their memories being erased by something.
There were several people gathered around a small area in the middle of the room, staring at something surrounded by the crowd.
Their faces showed panic and despair at the same time, not a single person was trying to smile or laugh to change the gloomy atmosphere.
When Kayo saw that, he immediately let out a slightly panicked growl while biting his lower lip, then hurried into the crowd.
I stopped for a moment when Kayo did the same thing, but I followed him again to gather with the others.
Kayo tapped a few people on the shoulder so they would give him space to get through.
Unlike me, I could only stand in a small space, slightly squeezed between several people whose heights far exceeded mine.
I had to stand on my tiptoes just to see what was there, even to find out what was happening, I had to do this.
—
"What do we do, Kayo!?" "Can he still survive?"
Several people immediately asked Kayo to tell them about his condition, but he simply shook his head slowly in response.
In front of Kayo, who was crouching down, there was a man lying on the floor, but in an absolutely horrifying condition.
The man seemed to be gripping his own neck tightly with both of his hands, almost as if he wanted to kill himself.
His skin was extremely pale as though all the blood had drained from it, and his eyes were opened incredibly wide, fixed on staring upward.
His mouth was wide open, and white foam slowly came out when I first saw him... It was truly horrifying.
Kayo touched the pulse on the man's right hand, placing two of his fingers against the fading skin for a few moments before once again confirming that the man could not be saved.
Several people immediately lowered their heads in disappointment and sadness, seeing one of their own pass away as though this had already happened many times before.
While Kayo and several others adjusted the position of the man who had now died, I spoke to someone standing beside me.
Honestly... At first, I truly didn't have the courage to ask him anything, but there was no way I could disturb Kayo while he was occupied with all of this.
"U-um... May I ask you something?" I asked while slightly raising my voice so he could hear me.
He was a young man who looked about the same age as Kayo and me, and I only reached up to his shoulder. In my opinion, he was incredibly tall.
He shifted his gaze toward me while softening his expression after furrowing his brows. Was he trying not to show that expression in front of the others?
"A-ah... Forgive me, what is it that you want to ask, Lin?" he replied while asking me back.
I was genuinely shocked when I heard him call my name even though I couldn't remember ever speaking to him before.
Could it be that I also lost my memories about this man...?
"... What exactly is happening right now? Why did that man kill himself?" I asked.
He glanced briefly at the dead body that had already been covered with cloth by Kayo and the others before closing his eyes for a moment, then looking back at me again.
"No, he didn't kill himself. How should I put this... I'm also a little confused about how to explain this to you..."
"... Did he catch some kind of illness?" I asked again.
"You could say that... Maybe. The point is, you already know that some of us lost memories covering more than half of our lives now, right?"
I nodded my head while listening to his question.
"When we wake up, the brains of those who lost their memories also lose the same functions they once had before their memories were taken away."
"Simply put, their brains can no longer process all the desires within their minds because their brains are unable to respond after being affected by whatever erased everything inside them."
"Because of that, indirectly, they begin to develop strange impulses to do things that endanger their own health."
"For example... You can see it yourself, right? His hands moved on their own to strangle himself and block his airway. Slowly, he couldn't breathe and it looked as though he was killing himself."
The explanation he gave me was enough to make me understand the reason behind this unpleasant condition.
Thankfully, I didn't experience symptoms like that when I woke up earlier. I was truly grateful...
"On top of that, there have already been three people who died for the same reason, although the way their brains chose for them to die was different."
"... Are all the people who still haven't woken up right now... Going to experience that as well?" I asked with a sorrowful voice.
I truly felt that all of us were already like family as members of the fox race, which was why losing someone among us was enough to make us think of them as family who deserved to be cherished and loved just like ourselves.
"I understand now... In that case, may I ask something else?"
"Of course, is there still something you're curious about?" he replied while shrugging both of his shoulders as he continued looking at me.
"I feel bad for asking this... But, could you tell me again who you are and what kind of relationship we have with each other?"
He immediately let out a small laugh after hearing my question that sounded incredibly ridiculous.
On the other hand, I truly felt that it was unfair. He knew who I was, yet I didn't know anything about him at all...
"I see... While Kayo is still busy, I'll tell you about the past you shared with me. Don't worry, I've already put everything together into short sentences that will only take a moment for you to understand."
He replied while placing both of his hands on his waist, looking at me with both of his eyebrows raised higher above his eyes.
This might restore my memories faster than waiting for Kayo to finish what he was doing, but I was sure he would explain everything clearly to me later. For now, I wanted to know a few small things about this man first.