A few minutes earlier. . .
“. . .”
Kasumi is intensely looking at a wedding gown being put on a magnificent display in the center of the area inside the clothing store. The design of the gown was a bit eccentric and unique compared to how wedding dresses are usually designed, especially its colors, since it's all completely in dark navy blue.
“. . .”
*!*
“Taking a liking to this one, Kasumi-san? Are you gonna marry someone?”
“HIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
Kasumi was startled and shrieked when Hana suddenly came and talked to her from behind.
“Hana-san, please don’t startle me like that. . .”
“Eh?? I just approached you casually. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“*Sigh* It’s alright, Hana-san. . .”
“So, who’s the lucky guy?”
“Heh?”
“You were staring at it so hard, I bet you were thinking how you’d look in this in front of your beloved!!”
“EEEEHHHH?? P-Perish the thought, Hana-san! I don’t have anyone like that.”
“Really? Not even that red-haired guy with the mean look in his face? You two looked like you had something special going on.”
“M-Master Quroe?! Perish the thought! I simply admire and adore him for saving me and giving me a purpose in my life. I am simply his disciple. I wouldn’t have dared to be in such a position with him.”
“Eh? Sounds like you really wish you did from the tone of your voice!”
“P-PLEASE PERISH THE THOUGHT, HANA-SAN!!”
“O-Okay, okay! No need to shout! We’ll annoy the other customers inside!”
*!*
“I apologize!”
“No, it’s my fault for prying too deeply. I am sorry that I was being insensitive.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Hana-san! Actually, I was happy that you treated me like any other normal woman who has these kinds of thoughts in their head. Thank you!”
“Y-You’re welcome. . .”
“By the way, you and Kaito-san are dating?”
“Yeah, we are! I love him so dearly, hehehehe!”
“I-I am surprised you can say stuff like that without stuttering with such confidence as well.”
“. . .It’s because I am trying to fool myself. I’ve been hurting him every time I lose myself. I keep telling him that I love him, yet I keep repeating the same mistake over and over again. I am ashamed of myself.”
“Huh? Lose yourself?”
“Ah, by the way, where’s the little girl?”
“Luna-dono? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in a while.
On the other side of the clothing store, Luna is strolling over to the aisle of formal women's clothing.
“. . .”
She sees a bunch of blazers and cardigans in various colors.
*Sigh*
“These are too big for me. . .”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! WHY AM I SO SMAAAAAAAALLLLLL??”
*!!!*
Luna suddenly shouted, and she startled people nearby.
“Luna-dono!”
*!*
Kasumi and Hana approached Luna from behind.
“There you are, Luna-dono! Why did you go off alone, Luna-dono? What if you’re lost?”
“Eh? I am 15 years old, Kasumi-san! I am not that young and independent!”
“R-Right! I apologize!”
“And not to mention, I walked off on my own because you were staring so hard at that wedding dress. You didn’t even respond to anything I said. . .” said Luna, puckering her mouth.
“I-I APOLOGIZE, LUNA-DONO!! I really didn’t realize that you were talking to me!” said Kasumi as she bowed her head down at Luna.
“Hmm, you two have really weird dynamics! Usually, isn’t it the younger one who apologizes to the older one?” said Hana.
“Don’t call it dynamics, Hana-san. . .” said Kasumi.
“You’re always rude with your words, Hana-san! Is that a habit from when you were young, or is it just you?”
“Now, who’s the rude one here, shortie?”
“I AM NOT THAT SHORT!!” said Luna, shouting.
“P-Please don’t shout, Luna-dono! We’re annoying the other customers here!”
“But you don’t care when she annoys me, Kasumi-san?”
“EEhhhh? It’s not that, Luna-dono!”
“Hahahahaha! Like I said, weird dynamics!”
“Drop it already!” said Kasumi and Luna at the same time.
*!!!!*
*WRRRRRSSSHHHH*
All of a sudden, the entire clothing store turned pitch black, and not a single light source shone through the darkness.
“W-What? What’s going on?”
“It’s so dark!! Power outage?”
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“Kasumi-san! Luna-chan! Let’s hold our hands so we don’t get separated!”
*!*
“Right!”
“Right!”
The three of them are walking forward carefully as they move their hands randomly, trying to reach out and find each other’s hands in complete darkness.
“(This is so weird! We were standing so close to each other before the power went out. I feel like I’ve moved forward more than one meter, yet I haven’t felt their hands yet!)”
“Kasumi-san! Luna-chan! Are you there?”
. . . . .
There was no response.
“KASUMI-SAN!! LUNA-CHAAANNN!!! ARE YOU THEREEEE???”
Hana started shouting, hoping to hurt their ears since they were standing so close before, but she was so surprised when she didn’t get any response or reply.
“What on earth is going on here?”
. . . . .
“Hana-saaann?? Luna-donooo??”
“(Where are they? We shouldn’t be far away from each other this much! I’ve walked forward quite a lot and I haven’t felt their hands yet! Not to mention, it is way too quiet here. I no longer hear any sound or voice coming from them.)”
*Thud*
*!*
“A wall? Why is there a wall here? I was standing between clothing racks, there shouldn’t be any wall to my left and right!”
*!!!*
All of a sudden, the light came back on.
“W-What is happening. . .”
Once Kasumi sees everything around her, she has a problem comprehending everything.
She saw that she was currently in a very long hallway, but the walls themselves were the same walls as those in the clothing store; however, in some parts of the hallway, the walls merged with other walls that belonged to a different store in the city. The walls around her are all 4 meters tall, and all of the walls have the same height, no matter where she looks. There are also countless four-way intersections as far as the eye can see.
This entire hallway looks like it was a rough patchwork of different combinations of walls from designs and textures found all around in the city. It was the same as well for the floor beneath her.
There are also so many random objects coming out of the walls and the floors randomly, with no specific patterns. Just nearby Kasumi, there’s the top of a lamp post from the streets of the city, coming out diagonally from the walls, standing upwards.
But when she looks upwards, she sees that there is no ceiling. She can clearly see the clear blue sky above, but there is a see-through purple ceiling that belongs to a gigantic dome that stretches as far as the eye can see. The see-through purple ceiling has white shiny white dots all over it, it’s as if looking at the outer space itself.
Kasumi activates her Vein Armor and jumps high above.
*THUD*
*!*
Her head hits an invisible wall at the height of the top of the four meters wall. There seems to be an invisible ceiling throughout the entire hallway. She drops to the floor safely and turns off her Vein Armor.
“I can’t escape. . .”
“LUNA-DONOOOOOO!!! HANA-SAAAAAAAANNNN!!! CAN YOU HEAR MEEEEE???”
. . . . .
There was no response.
“Is this a maze? First, I have to find the two of them!”
Kasumi reactivates her Vein Armor and starts dashing through the hallways.
. . . . .
*Step step step step*
Somewhere inside the strange maze, Hana is currently running through a long hallway as well.
“I gotta find them! What on earth is happening right now?”
*step step step*
“Also, what happened to Kaito-senpai? He was outside, so I hoped he didn’t get involved in this!”
*!!!*
When Hana takes a turn to the left at an intersection, she almost crashes into a man who’s standing facing the other way.
“Oh! Someone’s here! Sir! Are you okay?”
The man turned around, and he was one of the customers who was picking clothes for his wife at the same clothing store.
“M-MISS!! WHAT IS HAPPENING? FIRST, THE POWER WENT OUT, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, I AM INSIDE THIS CONFUSING MAZE!! WHAT IS GOING ON, MISS?? I‘M SCARED!!”
The man grabbed Hana’s shoulder as she shouted and shed tears in fear.
“(URRRGGGHHH!!!! ANOTHER MAN IS TOUCHING ME!! THIS IS SO DISGUSTING!! I ONLY EVER WANNA BE TOUCHED BY KAITO-SENPAI ALONE!! WHY DO I ALWAYS GO THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS? I UNDERSTAND THAT HE’S SCARED, BUT COME ON!! I AM KAITO-SENPAI’S PRIVATE PROPERTY!! NOT JUST ANYONE CAN TOUCH SOMEONE ELSE’S BELONGINGS!! GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!)”
“C-Calm down, mister! I am also in the same predicament as you! Let’s walk together for now, but please lift your hand off of me!”
“Ah! I-I am sorry, miss!”
The man lets go of his hold on Hana.
“Sir, did you have someone else with you when you came here?”
“Y-Yes, yes I did! I was with my wife and daughter! We have to find them!! Please help me!! Hurry!!”
“I understand! I also need to find two people! They’re my. . .”
“(Wait, who are they to me? I mean, sure, we’re on the same team since we’re all technically in Seven Layers of Judgment, but we just met, and I don’t really know much about them. It’s not right to call them friends just yet. . .)”
“They’re my acquaintances! Let’s go, sir! I don’t actually know where to go, but let’s go this way!!”
“R-Roger! I’ll follow you, miss!”
Hana and the man started running through the hallway with no clear directions, only clear intentions, to find the people they had gotten separated from.
. . . .
“Kasumi-saaaaaaaannnnn!!! Hana-saaaaaaaaaaaaannnn!!!”
“Ugh, where are they. . .”
Luna is strolling through the endless hallway without having any idea where to go.
“It’s so lonely. What on earth is even happening?”
. . . . . . .
*BING BONG BING BONG*
*?!*
After fifteen minutes that the maze appeared and captured everyone in the vicinity, a peculiar sound was ringing throughout the entire maze that everyone could hear.
“Good afternoon, everyone! How are y'all doing in the maze? Having fun, I presumed?!”
“A male voice? Where is this voice coming from??”
*Step step step step*
Kasumi is increasing her running speed. She’s trying to get close to where the voice is coming from.
“The voice is reverberating through the hallway weirdly. I don’t have a clue where it’s coming from, but I gotta keep going!!”
*Step step step*
Hana and the man also heard the voice as they ran through the hallway.
“A voice?! Where is it coming from?”
“I don’t know, but I can safely say that this voice belongs to whoever trapped us inside this endless maze from the way he talks!”
“Er-hem! *Cough cough* GOOD AFTERNOON ONCE AGAIN, EVERYONE!! YOU ALL HAVE BEEN INVITED TO A VERY EXCITING SURVIVAL GAMEEEEE!!!!”
*!!!*
“Survival game?” said Luna.
“As you all realized, there is no escape from this maze! BECAUSE I NEVER MADE ONE!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
After that sentence, everyone inside the maze started panicking.
“WE CAN’T GET OUUUUTTTT!!!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PLEASE, LET US GOOOOOO!!!”
Amongst the people who were trapped, there is a certain someone, a 36-year-old man, who’s trying to meet up with her daughter, whom he hasn’t met since she was born 20 years ago. The man had just been released from prison prior to this event.
“TCH!! OF ALL DAYS THAT THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN AND IT’S TODAAYYY!!!! FUCK!!”
He’s endlessly trying to run through the maze while searching for his daughter, who might have arrived in the city and gotten trapped inside as well.
*!*
“Mister! Ooohhhh!! Finally, there’s someone!!”
Luna walked up from behind, approaching the man.
“Mister, let’s go through this maze together!! I’m all alone and I can’t find my friends!”
“You, too, huh, young missy? Alright, let’s find our friends and family!”
“Alright!!”
Luna and the man run together side by side.
“HOWEVER, I NEVER SAID THAT YOU ALL CAN’T GET OUT!! THIS IS A GAME AFTER ALL!! AND A GAME WHERE YOU CAN’T WIN IS JUST BORING!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!”
“Tch! This guy is talking with long pauses in between sentences so we all could equally comprehend everything that he said.” said Kasumi.
*!!*
Kasumi took a turn at an intersection, and she almost bumped into an old lady, walking slowly with a cane.
“That was close, madam! Are you okay?”
*!*
“Ah! There’s a young, beautiful woman who appeared before me, hohohoho!”
“Are you here alone, madam? Were you with anyone else?”
“Ah, young lady! I was strolling through the city with my grandson before I was swallowed by darkness and ended up here. I am also separated from my beloved grandson!”
“Got it! Let’s go together in this maze, madam!”
“Are you sure? I can’t walk fast! I’ll only slow you down!”
“Then let’s do this!”
*?*
Kasumi is now carrying the old lady on her back with her Vein Armor activated, making the whole thing effortless for her.
“Hang on tight, grandma!!”
“Alright, dear!”
*Step step step*
Kasumi dashes through the hallway effortlessly with an old lady on her back.
“EVERYONE!!! I’VE ADDED SOMETHING TO THE MAZE! YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED IT RIGHT AWAY, BUT THERE ARE DOORS NOW SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE MAZE!! Ah! The doors are unlocked, of course!!”
. . . .
“HM? WHAT’S THE POINT OF THESE DOORS, YOU ASK? Well, since this is an endless maze, you guys will spend a really long time inside this maze. So, I’ve added plenty of food and drinks so you guys don’t just die out of hunger and thirst! That wouldn’t make the game exciting!!”
. . . . .
“BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!! I HAVE NOTICED THAT NOT EVERYONE TRAPPED INSIDE IS A BELIEVER!! SO, TO MAKE THINGS FAIR, SOME OF THE DOORS WILL HAVE A VARIETY OF WEAPONS INSTEAD OF FOOD AND DRINKS!!”
*!!!*
“Wait, is he hinting at. . .” said Hana with a worried look on her face.
“THAT’S RIGHT, FOLKS!! THIS IS A KILLING GAME!! EVERYONE TRAPPED HERE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE UNLESS THEY KILL AT LEAST TWO OTHER PEOPLE INSIDE THIS MAZE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
*!!!!!!!!!!*
Everyone inside the maze has started panicking even more. Their facial expressions have shown how much they are currently in despair.
“AND WITH THAT I WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO ‘THE GAME’!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
*Step step step*
Luna and the 36-year-old man were running side by side until he suddenly stopped when he realized the situation they’re all currently in.
*?*
“Mister?”
Luna stops herself and turns around to check on the man.
*!*
But then she quickly realized what was happening to him once she saw his facial expression.
“I’m sorry. I really need to see my daughter. I have no grudge towards you whatsoever.”
