Schizo paused to think, skeptical.
After all, even though he had somewhat loosened up around him, the other was still a stranger nevertheless.
Feeling a faint ache in his legs, he sat down and began to contemplate.
It would be too foolish to sleep unguardedly in his presence, no matter how friendly he looked.
However, Schizo’s eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and his consciousness began to gradually drift. The train of his thoughts kept slipping from his mind like a nimble fish, and he had to take a few seconds to actually make himself fully conscious multiple times.
He felt like he had taken a sleeping pill.
Or maybe it was the exhaustion finally catching up on him.
His limbs weighed down, as heavy as sacks of water. As he hazily fought to keep his eyelids open, he caught a glimpse of the man and barely registered he was already sound asleep.
The sight agitated him.
Seeing the man so carefree and unguarded, sleeping peacefully and in perfect contentment made him slightly envious, and it wasn’t long before he huffed out in frustration, giving in to the tempting comfort sleep brought him, letting his consciousness drift away like a sail in a storm.
◇○○○◇
Schizo was shaken awake by the light and ticklish brush of something soft on his neck.
His eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times to register the sight before him.
The man was kneeling in front of him, and when he saw Schizo was awake, he grinned.
“I managed to recall,” he said.
Schizo frowned, his mind still laced with sleep. He groggily asked, “Recall what?”
“How and why I came here.”
All he got in reply was an annoyed exhale. Confused, the man looked up at Schizo.
Schizo totally understood why the man was excited to tell him, but he really didn’t sense much urgency in the matter for the man to want to go so far as to wake him up from his deep slumber.
However, now that he had already woken up, he might as well continue looking for a way out. This huge cave had to lead somewhere.
When the man didn’t say anything, he pressed on, “Well?”
The man seemed to be waiting for his reaction. As soon as Schizo said that, he started talking, “Well, remember when you stepped in the cabin, and saw an array, then got locked inside?”
For a moment, Schizo was left stunned. He had told the man about him entering a cabin, but had he told him in such detail?
The man continued without waiting for his reply, “Well, I think you accidentally must have kicked me…because I vaguely remember waking up with the intention of revenge, for being kicked to the side, away from my actual resting place, which was the center of the array.”
“I…hold up, slow down,” Schizo rubbed his temples, all the information too much to process.
The man obediently shut up. After a while, Schizo spoke.
“So you mean you were in the cabin when I entered?”
The man nodded.
“And you say I kicked you?”
“Mhm.”
“…were you a ghost? That would explain me not seeing you.”
The man shook his head this time. “I was completely solid and visible to the human eye.”
Schizo remained silent for a while longer, before an idea struck his mind.
“Perhaps you were a little creature? An ant, let’s say. I’m sorry if I squashed you under my foot. I understand why you would want revenge.”
However, the man shook his head again. “I told you, I was resting at the center of the array. You know, the rock you saw?”
At this, Schizo went completely quiet.
The whole place plunged into dead silence.
Only after a long time did Schizo dare to say in a small voice, “You said you were…what?”
“The rock.” The man replied, as if nothing was wrong with what he was saying. “Resting at the center of the array.”
“…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Schizo became silent again.
“…tbk vlv sbe…?” tf vlvc’a mbwqifaf tlr rfcafcmf, lcrafjv rajglcu ja tlr ybvs.
“Yt, P agjcrobgwfv.”
Mlcjiis, Vmtlhb mbeivc’a yfjg la jcswbgf jcv rjlv, “Pr atlr reqqbrfv ab yf rbwfatlcu cbgwji?”
Ca atlr, atf wjc rtffqlrtis rmgjamtfv atf yjmx bo tlr tfjv, j iluta qlcx veralcu tlr mtffxr. “P…vbc’a xcbk. P kjr j gbmx bcf wbwfca, jcv atf cfza, P kbxf eq jr j tewjc klat cb wfwbglfr ktjarbfnfg. Lbkfnfg, fnfgsatlcu ofia cjaegji, rb P cfnfg fnfc rerqfmafv atlr kjrc’a ws bglulcji obgw. Ccv P tbcfrais tjnf cb lvfj ktja lr mbcrlvfgfv cbgwji bg jycbgwji obg tewjcr, rb…”
He trailed off, glancing at Schizo through his pretty white eyelashes.
It looked kind of cute.
Schizo discarded that thought.
He looked down at the ground in deep thought, then looked back up at the ethereal man still kneeling in front of him.
Maybe he was starting to go crazy after all the time spent in the dark with no light whatsoever.
But then again, if he were to dismiss this as an illusion, then what about his surroundings suddenly switching from a cabin to a cave?
Maybe he passed out from exhaustion and this was all a dream.
…
He sighed, then got up.
“Let’s go look for a way out.” He said.
The man looked at him curiously for a moment, before his eyes lit up and he said, “Actually, now that I have recalled this stuff, I also remembered some paths here!”
Schizo looked at him hopefully at first, but then frowned, “Do you also know how the cabin and this cave are connected?”
The man remained silent for a while, pondering, before shaking his head apologetically.
“Oh well, whatever. At least you know the way.”
The man smiled and got up from the ground, catching up with him.
Under his guidance, the two of them walked once again towards the direction Schizo had initially headed in.
It was the only direction anyway.
After what felt like hours, Schizo finally found himself face to face with the fork they had encountered earlier.
Now that he knew where one of them led, he took the man’s hand and decisively entered the second path.
He seemed to hear a chuckle behind him, but he ignored it.
This path was longer than the other, and, much to their satisfaction, didn’t lead to any dead ends or circles.
While still walking, the man fastened his pace somewhat and walked side by side with Schizo.
He stole a few glances at Schizo first, before gradually a playful smile painted his lips.
He glanced at Schizo from the corner of his eye, lips curled up in amusement, and said, “Your hair looks like a lion’s mane.”
Schizo, “…!”
He had totally forgotten about his hair!
He internally wept at the mere thought of the pain he would have to go through when he brushes his hair once he’s back.
The curls were really too difficult to detangle…
“It’s cute.”
The comment caught him off guard.
He looked back at the man, examining his face. The man only smiled in return.
Actually, now that he paid attention to it, the man’s white and silky hair was completely untangled and perfectly neat.
Even his skin looked pristine and clean!
It was really a wonder…
Schizo shook his head, discarding the thoughts from his mind. They weren’t that important anyway.
Soon, a faint sound caught Schizo’s attention.
He ignored it at first, but as they drew closer, the sound grew louder.
It sounded like water.
Was there a stream nearby?
When the sound was loud enough to be unable to be ignored, Schizo followed it.
As they walked, their path slowly grew smaller and smaller, until they had to crouch slightly in order to move forward.
At some point, Schizo found himself crawling with the man right behind him.
Schizo let out a grunt when a particularly edged rock came under his palm. He frowned and stopped, saying, “What the hell? We should go back.”
A sigh was heard behind him, then the man’s voice drifted over, “And go where? Back to that dead end?”
Schizo remained silent at that, and began to crawl forward again.
…
The path kept getting smaller.
And smaller.
And smaller.
“I’m certain this is yet another dead end.” Schizo said.
The man wasn’t so pessimistic. “Maybe there’s an opening at the end, we’ll never know unless we try.”
“There is no way for me to move forward,” Schizo pointed out annoyedly.
“Yes there is,” the man said, “lie down on your elbows and move.”
“…and get myself dirty for no reason? I can’t even wash here, and who knows when I’ll be able to get out.”
“We can both hear the sound of water. Wouldn’t it be rewarding not only to get a bath, but also have cool water? I bet you’re running low.”
“…”
He had a point.
But then again, what if Schizo was right and they would face another dead end?
Schizo rubbed his temples, his head starting to throb.
Right when he was stuck in a dilemma, something suddenly jabbed at his butt.
With a sound of surprise, Schizo turned his head around to glare at the man.
“What the fuck, mate?”
The man shrugged, “What? I’m only asking you to move forward. Even if you don’t want to go to the end, I do, and you’re in front of me, blocking my way.”
Schizo glared even harder, clenching his teeth before giving up and looking away.
After a moment’s hesitation, he sighed and got down on his elbows, then tried his best to crawl forward while lying.
It was tough, but he kept pushing.
The path didn’t seem to end, though.
Although, much to his gratitude, it did not grow any smaller.
At some point, he stopped to take a breath, and noticed how close the trickling sound of water was.
The man was behind him and Schizo had no source of light whatsoever, so his front was completely shrouded in darkness.
He could not even see his own hands in front of him.
However, judging by the sound, the source of water was probably right in front of them.
Fueled by a newfound determination, Schizo quickly resumed crawling, this time trying to be faster. It hurt his arms somewhat, but he ignored it.
After a few more pushes, his head suddenly collided with stone.
He let out a surprised grunt of pain, the man behind him immediately asking what was wrong.
“It’s a fucking dead end,” Schizo spat out.
“No it’s not,” the man said resolutely, irritating Schizo further. “It must be an opening. Feel around.”
Despite his irritation, Schizo extended his hand. His back was starting to hurt. He wanted to get out of there after all.
Surprisingly enough, the man was right. There was a block in front of him, but more than half of it was opened in a rough circle in the center.
His hand extended to the other side, feeling around. Much to his delight, he realized it was an open space.
And the opening was just big enough to fit him.
Perfect!
Schizo instantly dove forward, using the last remnants of his stamina to push himself out of that cramped space.
Immediately after he got out, he sat up stretching his back and taking a deep breath.
He still couldn’t see anything. The man followed after him, and only once he got out of the little hole did the place light up a bit.
Schizo looked around, his mouth agape.
They were in a wide space, with a huge lake with crystal blue water, dusted beautifully with sparkling particles. A large, overgrown tree stood proudly at the center of the lake, and similar tiny sparkling particles floated around it. Despite the trickling noise, it painted a serene sight, appearing ever so ethereal.
Suddenly, the man came and stood beside him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him in a half hug.
“Pretty, isn’t it?”
Schizo merely nodded in an awkward manner, not quite sure how to deal with such proximity.
“Told you it would work out.” The man grinned at him, to which Schizo rolled his eyes.
It really was a breathtakingly beautiful place, but…
Schizo slowly felt a sense of estrangement crawling in his chest.
It felt oddly…lonely.
The place held beauty, grace, and majesty yet simplicity.
But it looked like it lacked a soul.
Which felt really weird, because Schizo was not one to use such vocabulary.
But that was the only way he could describe it.
It made him feel suffocated.
Funny. The air there seemed fresher than any of the places they had been.
And yet, it made him want to escape.
As if he was stuck in a terrible dream, and he was somewhat aware that this is a dream, but unable to escape it.
And really, wasn’t that what was happening to him all this entire time?
Everything that happened so far felt unreal.
Utterly unreal.
His surroundings suddenly shifting, him walking hours just to stumble upon a robotic man, the said robotic man suddenly acting like human over the course of seconds, and hours upon hours of walking through the same scenery, even if it might not be the same spot.
The entire cave was nothing but stone walls looming over them ominously. He had no idea how long he’d been trapped in here, but it felt like forever since the last time he had a change of scenery.
As much as this view disturbed him deep inside, he was still somewhat glad to have a new view. His eyes had started to throb.
Suddenly, the man’s voice rang out, breaking him out of his reverie.
“There is no way out of this…”
“What?” Schizo asked, confused.
“This place doesn’t have any other openings, except for the path we came from.”
Schizo took in his words for a moment, devastation washing over him.
…when he started, he only had one way forward. And he walked it. He stumbled upon this man, then walked forward again. Up until the forks, there was only one way forward. After encountering the forks, they tried one path, which winded them up back to the beginning point. They tried the second path, which once again led them to a dead end.
This whole thing was a fucking circle.
The fires of irritation blazed furiously in his heart, but after they were burnt out, the only thing left behind were ashes of hopelessness and helplessness.
In a situation like this, what was he supposed to do?
