SSEI | Chapter 1.8

One of those useful pieces of information was the mention of a scar. That was when Yuan realized something—he had never looked at himself in a mirror before. He had no idea what his own face looked like. He’d only assumed he must look young since people kept calling him a kid…

A scar that looked like a flower. That phrase clung to the empty gaps in his memory, making his skin crawl.

“Uh… I have a scar on my face? I didn’t know since I don’t remember anything.”

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“It’s pretty clear. You’ll see it if you look in a mirror later.”

Come to think of it, his cheek did feel a little rough in some spots…? Yuan absentmindedly touched his face while glancing at the mark next to his. It was a red mark that looked like an X, as if clawed by some beast. The moment he saw it, he knew—it belonged to that Red Man.

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‘That Red Blade is still there…’

Yuan discreetly examined the man’s hand. Both he and Lork had returned to their original appearances after coming back to life, but for some reason, the beast-like blades on the Red Man’s hand were still intact. He glanced around the dining hall, but no one else seemed to have weapons like that.

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‘What is that blade actually…?’

But Yuan didn’t have time to dwell on his curiosity.

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A static noise crackled from the pitch-black speaker attached to the ceiling, followed by a dry, emotionless voice—genderless, ageless, devoid of any warmth.

[Attention, wanderers currently on break. There is one hour remaining before the next match begins. Please prioritize medical treatment, meals, and other preparations. Locate your assigned teammates as listed on the team roster and get ready for battle. The updated team roster is available in communal areas, including the dining hall, lounge, and hallways.]

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The entire atmosphere in the dining hall shifted with that announcement.

People who had been joking around and chatting with easy smiles suddenly stiffened. A significant number of them stood up with tense expressions, gripping copies of the team roster as they strode out of the room.

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Those who remained spoke in hushed voices, only conversing with those they suspected were their partners.

Yuan hesitated, taken aback by the sudden change. In the meantime, the Red Man got up without a word and grabbed Yuan’s tray. Without asking for permission, he returned it to the dish collection area before casually reaching over to grab Yuan by the back of the neck.

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“H-Hey! I won’t run away! Let me go!”

“We’re heading to the Descent Hatch. I have something to take care of in this match, so I need to leave early.”

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Descent Hatch?

Yuan didn’t even get the chance to ask what that was before the man took off running. With no choice but to go along for the ride, Yuan found himself slung under the man’s arm like a sack of cargo.

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The man dashed through the hallway, weaving past the people bustling about. Unlike before, when he had leisurely trailed after Yuan like a predator toying with its prey, his speed now was terrifying. There was no way Yuan could keep up with him on foot. Besides, after all that running earlier, he was already exhausted—so maybe this was actually for the best.

Still, something about their route seemed… off.

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The man didn’t run in a straight path. Instead, he would dash to the end of the hallway, then suddenly change directions and sprint the other way. He ran up and down the same set of stairs, like he was deliberately getting lost in a maze.

“Uh… are you sure this is the right way? I don’t know where we’re going, but this seems kinda….”

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“It’s a shortcut.”

‘What kind of shortcut is this?’

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Confused, Yuan looked around—and that’s when he realized something.

At some point, the scenery had changed.

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It was as if the destination had come to the man rather than the other way around. Based on the number of turns and stairs they’d climbed, they shouldn’t have arrived somewhere new, yet here they were, running down a corridor Yuan had never seen before.

Unlike the Sanctuary, where the walls and ceilings were made of warm wooden panels, the surroundings had turned cold and unwelcoming. The walls and floor were now dark, musty stone, and the hallway itself had grown wider and taller. Normally, a more spacious area would feel open, but since all the windows had disappeared, the atmosphere felt oppressively claustrophobic.

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The only source of light came from occasional torches lining the walls, making it feel like they were descending into a dungeon.

At some point, the branching paths and stairs had vanished, leaving only a single, endless corridor. It almost felt like they were running through the same stretch of hallway over and over again.

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Just how long had they been running?

Finally, the man reached the end of the passage, where an enormous iron door loomed.

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Despite its massive, heavy appearance, the door swung open soundlessly. Without hesitation, the man stepped inside.

“U-Whoa….”

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Yuan let out an awestruck gasp. He couldn’t remember anything, yet this felt like the first time in his life he had ever seen a place like this.

Beyond the iron door was a vast, dome-shaped chamber. The floor and walls were made of pristine white marble, glowing with an almost ethereal radiance. Embedded throughout the walls and ground were luminous blue and white gemstones, but unlike ordinary crystals, they weren’t reflecting light—they were emitting it. Strangely, they only glowed just enough to illuminate the space, making the atmosphere feel even more mysterious.

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Along the outer walls, giant metal containers were neatly lined up in rows. The material was a blend of dark gray and silver, giving off a sturdy, industrial feel. Each container was large enough to fit two people inside, and in front of each one, the same marks Yuan had seen on the team roster were carved into the floor in pairs.

Yuan could make an educated guess about what these containers were for.

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Still, something felt… off.

If his guess was correct, there should be exactly twenty-five containers. But for some reason…

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“Uh, there’s one empty spot in the middle.”

“That would be Lork and Dark Cloud’s mark. I figured as much—they must have left ahead of us.”

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The man responded indifferently and started scanning the marks on the ground one by one.

‘Lork was already here?’

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So right after ditching Yuan, he must have checked the match-up board, found his new teammate, and come straight here.

‘I know the teams changed, but he really just ran off without hesitation like that, huh?’

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Yuan understood. He knew Lork had no other choice. He could even guess how Lork must have felt at that moment.

But still.

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Even if Lork couldn’t have helped, even if Yuan had to team up with this guy… Did he really have to throw him straight at the Red Man and bolt like that?

…Wait.

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‘Was that really what happened?’

Yuan, who had been grumbling inwardly about his sorrow, suddenly had a different thought pop into his head, making his eyes widen. Was the Red Man really angry right now? Sure, he was acting all high and mighty, but for someone whose little rumor about being, well, temporarily out of commission had spread everywhere, he seemed pretty calm, didn’t he?

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Yuan had vaguely assumed the Red Man was like some kind of devil with horns on his head, but the truth was, the man had never actually hit him or bullied him. He had chased after Yuan because they were on the same team, sure, but even at the cafeteria, he had piled up food without forcing Yuan to eat it. Not only that, but every time Yuan asked something, the man had answered properly.

Maybe… he wasn’t as bad as he seemed?

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As that thought flashed through his mind, Yuan impulsively blurted out a question.

“Uh, why aren’t you mad at me?”

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“Mad?”

“Yes. Before I died, um… how should I put this… your, uh… thing…”

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The moment he started talking, embarrassment rushed over him, and Yuan instinctively covered his face as it burned red. But the man—whose thing had actually been cut off—looked so nonchalant that it was almost ridiculous.

“I don’t really care. In a game where people kill each other, I don’t see the point in fussing over something so trivial.”

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“Well, you might not care, but everyone else is whispering about it.”

“Pointless gossip from nobodies? It usually dies down in a day or two. I don’t see why you’re making such a fuss about it when you literally got your head chopped off.”

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“I mean, yeah, but—still! It was… you know, a very important part.”

“I don’t see what’s so important about a part that has no use here anyway. Or don’t tell me—you’re the type to obsess over that kind of thing? Come to think of it, the weapon you used in the last match was…”

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“No! Absolutely not! That was just—!”

“Alright, then.”

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Yuan, feeling utterly humiliated, shouted in protest, but the Red Man just turned his head away with a look that said he couldn’t care less. Yuan felt a small sense of relief—at least the guy didn’t seem mad.

The Red Man strode forward, as if he had no more reason to waste time talking. The path led toward a symbol on the ground—one that marked both Yuan and the Red Man’s names.

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As soon as he placed his hand on the box in front of the mark, there was a mechanical click, and the box opened. Inside, there were two seats, along with a control panel full of buttons.

“Get in. It won’t start unless two people are inside.”

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So it was a vehicle.

The Red Man stepped in and sat down without hesitation, and Yuan hurriedly followed, taking a seat across from him. The moment the door shut, a small light on the ceiling flicked on, illuminating the space. Almost immediately, the whole box vibrated slightly, letting out a low whirring sound.

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Now that he thought about it… how did this thing move?

Just as that thought crossed Yuan’s mind, the box jerked and started tilting to the side. Reflexively, he grabbed the metal handle attached to his seat—a decision that turned out to be very smart.

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Because in the next moment, the entire box smoothly tilted downward, and a dizzying sense of free-fall crashed over Yuan.

“W-We’re falling?!”

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And in that instant, he realized something.

Back in the last match, had he… also fallen this way?

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He had wondered how it was even possible to “fall” in that barren wasteland, where there wasn’t a single tall structure. But if the battlefield was designed so that people descended using a vehicle like this—!

As Yuan clung desperately to the handle, overwhelmed by the sickening feeling of plummeting, the Red Man remained perfectly composed. He held onto his own handle with one hand while the other reached out to adjust the controls on the panel. Yuan had no clue how the system worked, but it was clear the Red Man knew what he was doing.

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As he operated the device, he finally spoke again, his voice as calm as ever.

“Besides… you look kind of familiar.”

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“Huh? Have you seen me before?”

“If you’re a rookie, then it shouldn’t be possible… but the feeling is too strong to just be a mistake. It’s been bothering me, so I’ll give you something to keep in mind.”

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Something to keep in mind…?

Yuan blinked, unable to process the sudden shift in the conversation. Meanwhile, the Red Man finished his adjustments to the controls, then casually pushed aside a panel on the wall.

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The moment it fully opened, Yuan’s breath caught in his throat.

Beyond the opening, an endless sky stretched out before him, with thick clouds rolling beneath their feet. The altitude was so impossibly high that he couldn’t even begin to grasp the distance. It felt unreal.

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“If you win this game, you can escape. But that’s only half the goal.”

“H-Half? Then what’s the other half?”

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“You willingly chose to come here, for whatever reason. If you blindly focus on escaping without remembering why you entered in the first place, then all the suffering you endure here will be meaningless—a death in vain.”

“……?”

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“So find it. The reason why you came here.”

Despite the overwhelming sensation of freefall and the dizziness in his head, Yuan let the Red Man’s words sink in. The reason he came here? He had no idea. But if there was a reason, then of course he wanted to know.

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…Though, maybe he should first get used to this insane situation before diving into existential self-reflection.

“T-Thank you!”

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Yuan shouted with all his might, fighting against the powerful wind slamming into his face. Maybe—just maybe—this guy was a lot kinder than he seemed.

If Lork had a habit of dumping a bunch of explanations that turned out to be utterly useless, then the Red Man was the complete opposite—unreliable in demeanor, yet unexpectedly willing to offer crucial information.

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Had Yuan been too quick to judge him? Maybe he had just let himself be influenced by everyone else’s opinion—unfairly branding the Red Man as some villain.

Just as he was thinking that, he barely caught a faint murmur through the roaring wind.

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“…But you have way too many variables.”

“Huh? What? I can’t hear—!”

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“It’s better to take care of problems before they become a real issue.”

The Red Man muttered in an almost indifferent tone. Then, without any hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Yuan’s hair.

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Pain shot through Yuan’s scalp as he flinched in shock, but before he could even register what was happening—

He saw it.

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The flash of crimson steel carving through the air.

‘…Huh?’

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And just like that—his head was severed from his body.

His neatly sliced head spun through the open sky, disappearing beyond the sea of clouds.

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