Chapter 27: Enchanted Soliloquy

back in the simulation
~Enchanted~

The cave seemed quiet now, when Enchanted concentrated really hard, he could hear drops of water; echoing from seemingly far away.

The sweat that trailed down his back and the heavy breaths he couldn’t stop himself from taking were the only evidence of the death chase that had started a mere five minutes ago, but now it seems like they are leaving him alone.

Perhaps the cave was too dark, and they thought it wasn’t worth it. Perhaps they think he’ll just die on his own.

Enchanted’s eyes adjusted a little more, and he stared at the bumpy ceiling. Beyond, the occasional water drops continued.

If he has water, he’ll at least be fine for… a week…? At least that seems to be what he remembered.

He never studied, oh, he wasn’t cut out for this at all!

…

The stream was down the cave a little bit more. Enchanted sat down by the side of it. 

He has water now, but no food. Nothing at all. How long can people survive without food? He forgot, but the hungry feeling came almost immediately after he had a taste of the cold stream.

At least the temperature in this cave wasn’t that bad. At least the stream seemed relatively clean. Otherwise, he might be even worse off.

There was no light anywhere, and he couldn’t see his own reflection either in the stream. He ended up sitting by the side of the narrow walls, figuring that if he didn't move, then he would be able to survive the longest.

…

Enchanted doesn’t know how long it’s been, at all. But he slept once, and he was woken up by very distant cannons.

That must mean that people are dying…

He struggled to remember how many people should be remaining and discovered that he had zero clue.

More distant noises came over. Is that Centuria? Cyclosword? He couldn’t make out the pitch of the voice, much less the words.

What is happening?

Perhaps he needs to get up and start finding a way out now.

He shot his own idea down immediately. It was way too dangerous… plus, he already doesn’t remember which way he came from.

…

Enchanted slept a couple more times, trying to pass the time blankly when he couldn’t. More cannons sounded.

He got worried. How many contestants are left by now? 

At this point, what if he has to go to the Global?

A fight to the death…? With 198 other people?

He can’t do it. He wants to live his peaceful life.

Thinking about that, he gets up to walk. The side of the stream is narrow, and he stepped in cold water without meaning to.

Now his right foot is dripping wet… maybe he shouldn’t try that again.

…

More cannons sounded, and his worry started to burn like fire. They reflected in his sped-up pacing - when he’s awake - and he no longer cared about getting wet.

His head doesn’t feel right either, maybe something about the darkness of the cave.

His hunger had magically disappeared. It used to be this gnawing feeling in his stomach, but now he feels somewhat okay, as if everything was normal. Was it normal?

Now he is worried. Perhaps he had simply lost the ability to feel any hunger, but he was actually starving and needed food now.

But if he starved to death like this, it would be good, wouldn’t it? Because then he can continue living, and he doesn’t have to go to the global or put his life on the line.

Okay, then let’s walk around a little more.

…

A long time passed. At least, Enchanted thought that it did. He fell asleep more times and spent his waking times pacing. The thought that he didn’t want to go to the global at all became brighter and brighter, until Enchanted decided, with great difficulty, that he should drown himself in the stream now. 

Except that when he finally overcame the fear of the icy cold to submerge himself, he discovered that it did not cover him fully even when he laid down.

He turned the other way instead, planting his face against the hard rocks underneath the stream, but the desperate urge to breathe and do whatever he could to live was too strong and he could do nothing to overpower it.

Coward! He tried to curse himself, but still, he sat up and never tried it again.

…

The next time Enchanted opened his eyes, everything was completely quiet. When he tried to listen, a muffled voice seemed to be coming in from whichever way the opening of the cave was supposed to be.

He didn't try to figure out why his vision was so blurry and why his head was so dizzy, it seemed too tiring to…

That is, until the dark rocks of the cave’s wall ahead of him lost their sharp edges and slowly turned more and more… low-poly-like… 

And then it all faded to black.

…

The next time Enchanted opened his eyes, he was staring at a white surface. 

What a relief to be looking at something bright instead of a dark cave wall. 

Now that he thought about it, there’s lights on the surface too! 

And he’s warm… ah, there’s a blanket on him, that’s so nice.

He attempted to sit up, but fell down again against the soft bed - yay, something soft! - when he was three quarters of the way there.

Any sort of strength seemed to be sapped from his limbs completely. Even blinking was an action that seemed tiring. Still, he tried to keep his eyes open, looking around at the white walls of the room.

“Hey Enchanted, you’re awake!” 

It took more than a second for Enchanted to recognize Centuria’s voice. Her golden yellow hair hung down, covering Enchanted’s view of the white room.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! You won!”

What?

Enchanted tried to focus again. Innocent eyes blinked down at him, one purple, one pink. 

“Yeah! Did you know that?”

No, he didn’t want to, that can’t be…

The news was like a wave crashing at him, and without warning, his world went black again.