"Initiating Vega protocol regulation timer---set to fifteen minutes."
Out of nowhere, a sound from the ceiling of their elevator alerted them. A robotic voice simply told them that a protocol regulation timer had been set to fifteen minutes yet Yasuda's group; amounting a total of 76---Yasuda herself included---knew not what this meant.
However, from their left and right side, the elevator started to open two new rooms that had suits for exactly 76 people. Number sensitivity is something that each elevator; section; or area within that such said section is firmly familiar with. Although the suits were black and had covers of yellow in their bottom---they mostly looked like firefighters suits. Not only were they heavy but they were cold as well on the inside.
They were instructed to wear the suits by robotic protocols near them; so ultimately, they were all suited up. Although one can see everything from within the upper glass of their helmet, they can't in fact see who is in the suit as the helmet's glass has a protective measure against heat that doesn't allow heat waves to penetrate it. As such, that blocks all possible vision when it comes to another person's helmet.
"Um, are you all alright?"
Yasuda in the center, now fully suited up talked to all of the students in her group. Her voice could be heard loud and clear. As a matter of fact, the suits allowed an impeccable sound transmission to the outside far better than their own voices. To say that Yasuda's voice was receptioned well would be a massive understatement.
"I can hear you so clearly!"
"I know right! But still, what are these suits for exactly?!"
Two members from Yasuda's group spoke their minds. Distinguishing a member from another was only possible through their voices right now. As they were waiting for the elevator to arrive at the final destination, they also wondered about the utility of their suits. The robotic protocols had not told them what they were for, so they were undoubtedly clueless.
"Aren't they for us? You know, because of that protocol?"
Yasuda right away assumed that the suits were for the purpose of protecting the students from the protocol.
"If you say so. Still, for how long is this elevator going to go down for?!"
Albeit unknowingly, one of the girls complained about the timer of this elevator. Something to mention is that Yasuda's group is full of girls and contains zero boys. Thus, Yasuda had an easier time communicating with them.
"It shoul---"
At last arriving at the final destination, Yasuda's sentence was abruptly disrupted by the elevator that stopped its tracks. Not a single person wasn't starring at the door that opened itself grandly. With each second it passed, they could all glance upon the never-ending yellow desert ahead of them.
A stairway that descends into the great desert of this section was buried in sand yet still visible to some. No matter what direction they looked---whether it was left or right----north or south---all they could capture with their visions was a multitude of scattered dunes all over the area. Furthermore, it struck them as odd that an elevator station---the one where they came from---emerged from within the ground.
"It's massive..."
"But it doesn't feel like a desert due to the suits protecting us from the heat, eh?"
Even though it's a never-ending dessert, thanks to the suits, they weren't victims of the immense heat of the desert. To be more precise, they were entirely exposed to the temperature of the suit only so---they had no way of knowing the actual temperature of the desert. However, at the same time, they also had no way of thinking about that because they don't know what the suit truly does.
"Where do we go from here, Yasuda?"
"I'm curious too... We have to put the component in its place but where exactly, Yasuda?"
Everyone started to form a gigantic circle around Yasuda. But, not even Yasuda herself knew where to go. So, she looked at the north side; where the elevator station would be in south now and proposed something to the crowd of girls.
"I say we walk towards the north side! We are bound to find something there, I bet!"
"Okay, let's go then!"
"Yeah, let's!"
Numerous agreements came forth but after a while, one of the girls said something to Yasuda---or every single one of them.
"What about that timer on the elevator? Should we be worried...?"
"...That's a good question..."
Yasuda thought for a bit and then gave her reply to the girl that had an eager voice.
"I think that we should hurry up then... It's only been two minutes, so let's make the best out of it! Although the suits are heavy, they are fairly comfy on the inside. Let's get going, I have to beat Denko!"
They then started to walk in the sands of great depth. The burning sun above wasn't an element of distraction because the suit's vision through the helmet completely nullified any obstacles that would obstruct their vision. Solar light was therefore not an issue. By far, the biggest issue would be how the dunes would go upwards and then all the way down----thus forming an annoying pattern for Yasuda and the girls.
Regarding Yasuda herself, she was determined to beat Shiori Denko when it comes to helping Ryousuke Kawahara. She saw this as a competition more than anything and wanted to impress Ryousuke Kawahara at all costs. Therefore, she was leading the other 75 girls without stopping.
In her right skirt's pocket lied the component which is a switch with a button in the middle. Yasuda did not know what it did and Ryousuke Kawahara had actually told her multiple times that she was better off not pressing the switch.
"...Hm---Is that a...?"
One of the girls on the left side, after walking for a grand total of seven minutes into the north side spoke out loud as she was glancing at something from afar.
Everyone stopped their tracks as they started to look in her direction as well. Subsequently after, they all started to chant their words in retrospect.
"Hey, isn't that a...?"
"Yeah, there's no mistake, there's a person there."
"Really, where?!"
Arriving at the destination to the left where the multitude of girls were in, Yasuda looked in the girl's direction.
"There, look! The person is in a suit too! Try and focus your vision---it will make you see it clearly!"
"It works for me as well! It must be something that comes along with the suit! Amazing!"
"Wow, you're right! I can clearly see it better!"
Yasuda focused her vision like the girls around her were eagerly telling her to do so. As such, she was able to capture a figure from afar who is wearing the exact same suit as all of them. Furthermore, the figure is located on the top of a deserted dune in the middle of the desert; waving at Yasuda.
The figure was desperately waving at them as if the figure was lost in the middle of the desert.
"Hey, let's go there! Maybe we'll find some sort of clue!"
Their distance towards the figure is about 300 meters and the closer they got to the figure, the more the figure would come rushing in their direction. The figure would descend from the deserted dunes and at last, the figure encountered Yasuda.
Shockingly, it was another girl, who didn't hesitate to identify herself through her voice.
"You must be the leading group in charge of putting the fifth section's components in its place, I assume so?"
Not only was this person a girl, but it was someone that already knew what they were in for. As such, Yasuda showed no hesitation in answering back, since she was happy that someone else knew what they were going through.
"That's right! But---who are you...?"
It was only natural that she was skeptical. A person; in the middle of the desert was there awaiting all of them. Being suspicious is the only right thing to do. However, the figure didn't hesitate to dispel their skepticism by introducing herself.
"My name is Lus Sera! I am a staff member from the exam in charge of guiding the holder of the component into the respective area. As such, I would like to know who is in charge of the component."
The figure's name introduced herself as Lus Sera. In addition to that, Lus is in charge of making sure everything goes underway. As such, Lus explained her importance here even more.
"In every section, there is a member like me awaiting for the respective component holder and we are also in charge of guiding the person to the area. You don't have to be afraid, because I am here to help you!"
Lus' voice was sweet and compassionate. Despite the fact that her face couldn't be seen through her helmet, she quickly resonated with the remaining members.
"My name is Yasuda! I am the one in charge of the component as well and this is my group! We all have the same objective which is to place the component in its place. But----if it isn't much to ask, could I see your face?"
Although Lus was good news for Yasuda, she had to make sure that there is a female person behind that suit. Lus' silence made the other members tease her briefly.
"Oh, it's alright---Don't worry about how you look!"
"I really want to see how you look, Lus!"
"Yeah, your voice is sweet and kind! Let's be friends!"
Upon seeing the positive reactions mixed with giggles, Lus surely realized that she was surrounded by compassionate girls who are very welcoming. Yes; these girls are the kindest and find it hard to suspect others because they are naturally kind.
It's not in them to completely instigate someone---especially because they learned previously that judging Ryousuke Kawahara preemptively wasn't the wise choice to make. It turned out that Ryousuke Kawahara was someone that they could trust in the end and as such---they decided to be kind towards Lus.
However, despite that, Lus rejected their offer but she explained why.
"I would love to, but... This section contains a deadly heat that exceeds 100 degrees celsius and if I were to take my helmet off, I would melt very quickly, you see... Look here."
From her suit's right pocket, Lus pulled out a thermometer that showed how many degrees there actually was on the outside and as they all saw what the actual temperature is, they couldn't believe their eyes.
"1435 degrees!?"
"Seriously?! That's just ridiculous! What on Earth is this?!"
The shocking temperature easily exceeded 100 and if they were to take their suits off, they would melt so quickly that they would barely have the chance to even react to the heat.
In light of that temperature, Lus clarified something as she put her thermometer back to her pocket.
"As you can see, it's not possible, but I'm sorry still. I imagine that you are all in a hurry? If so, shall we get going?"
This is true and Yasuda couldn't deny it, as she grew closer to Lus in terms of physical closure.
"Is it far? We only have like fifteen minutes to put the component in its place since Kawahara needs us to be fast!"
"Don't worry, Yasuda. Just follow me and we will get there in time!"
"Alright, thank you! Girls, let's follow Lus, yeah?!"
As Yasuda turned around to the remaining other girls, they gave their respective agreements and just like that they were set to travel alongside Lus to the final destination.
Being a staff member of the exam---Lus was someone that Yasuda already trusted and it went without saying that all the others did too as they followed Lus to the north of the desert.
Midst that seemingly endless walk in the yellow desert under the cerulean sky; utterly cloudless and peaceful at the same time---Yasuda remarked something towards Lus as Lus was on the frontal side.
"Taaaallll!!!"
To make her point even more clear, Yasuda stopped her tracks and pointed at Lus.
This greatly confused Lus as she did not know how to react. Furthermore, the remaining members began to notice what Yasuda meant.
"Damn, you are so tall for a girl!"
"This is so rare, right, right?!"
"I can't believe it..."
Still confused, Lus couldn't help but be extremely confused. The fact that Lus was at least ten centimeters taller than Yasuda and the rest of the girls present didn't strike her as something that was necessary to react towards.
"What...?"
"I'm saying, you are way too tall, Lus! How?!"
"Yes, tell me how, please!"
"We need to know!"
Out of nowhere, a circle began to form around Lus. Apparently, they were overreacting about their height difference and although Lus interprets this as an overreaction, it isn't to Yasuda and the rest. Height difference in girls is something that is practically way too dismissable as a subject but not to Japanese girls.
Since Japanese girls have low height in general, being in front of a girl who has a taller height is almost outrageous. However, they weren't being mean about Lus' height---they were just surprised and frankly amazed as well.
"Oh. I'm taller because of my genetics. You see, I'm from America so my height is naturally higher than yours..."
But this was weird to Yasuda.
"Hang on, you are a foreigner yet your name is Lus Sera?"
Lus' name is Japanese by that standard but she explained something.
"That's my name in Kanji. But in America, I am called "Sarah Light". That is the translation."
"Oh, I see! That makes much, much more sense, thank you! I can see why you are taller as well... Hm, frankly aggravating..."
Frustrated, Yasuda threw a small tantrum as the other girls did the same.
Without speaking a word, Lus started to walk again.
Although there wasn't anything at sight, they trusted Lus and they hoped that they would stumble upon something soon. However, no matter how far they travelled, they started to realize that there was perhaps nothing in this desert outside of soft yellow sand that extends itself in every direction possible.
Through their small talks, Yasuda eventually asked Lus the important question.
"...Hey, Lus? Are we there yet...?"
Yasuda wasn't the only one who was far too skeptical about this and so, more voices came forth, as Lus showed no stops of walking.
"We have been walking for ages.... I'm tired..."
"....You are a staff member, correct? Well...?"
They didn't expect a formal answer at first, but that's what Lus delivered without looking back at them.
"Our destination is a ruin underneath a dune closeby. Please be patient."
Relieved, Yasuda apologized for their impatience as well as her own.
"Oh, my bad then... I apologize, Lus. It's just that we are really tired..."
"You'll be able to rest a bit once you get there. You and all of the rest as well."
"Eh, really? Is there some sort of resting room waiting for us there?!"
"Well, you could say that. Ah, it's right up there!"
Lus pointed at the very fall of a deserted dune that had a path that would go extremely down south in an area far deeper in terms of sand than the others.
Despite leading all of them towards that area, there wasn't anything indicating an underground there which left them all confused for a second.
Everywhere they looked, they saw walls of sand covering this place and as well greatly applying shadow all over the territory.
Ultimately, Lus went to meet with Yasuda and spoke of a way to make the respective location appear.
"This is the location, however, in order to the area to show up, you need to click on the button of the device. This is an encrypted area that will only show up if the button is pressed.
"Hold on, seriously?"
"This is true. That is the only utility of the device, essentially. Would you be as kind as to press it, Yasuda?"
Seeing no reason to not believe it, Yasuda gave it a shot and what started to happen took everyone by surprise.
"Everyone, please distance yourselves and run towards the top! The area is rebuilding itself!"
Lus started to command everyone to the top of the dunes as they all followed her example. Now on the top, Yasuda and the others saw the entrance of a ruin being rebuilt back up through an unknown mechanism.
Ruins that had been blasted and dead for unknown times before started to unravel all over the desert.
Yes, not just in this particular area, but in all the desert as a whole. The ultimate trigger was Yasuda's component as it had the practical function of reviving the dead city of Vega in its lamenting state.
Although it was mostly ruins, this one area looked like the entrance of a dark temple. The entire area around it encapsulates 500 meters in terms of depth and the frontal entrance of the temple scourged by white pillars has an overall height of 700 meters. Furthermore, the entrance is accompanied by a twenty-degree ladder that leads all the way towards the inner area of the temple.
That towering temple was the final signal for Yasuda and the others to walk in, but to make sure everyone got what was happening, Lus explained it, just in case.
"This is the entrance and the component's utility has been served! All we have to do is walk in and go to the area where the component was previously placed in. After that, you will all be able to go back!"
"Okay! Everyone, let's walk in then!"
In a good mood, the students started to descend through the downwards dune and faced the entrance of the temple. It was clear that the area was adjoined to the entirety of the dune and so, this proved that the dunes scattered all around the desert actually have areas underneath them. Thus---the desert is a facade by itself.
Through Lus' guidance, Yasuda's group was able to enter the dark area with little to no illumination.
At all times, Lus and Yasuda were on the front line.
Something to additionally mention is that the helmets have night-vision to them, so the very fact that they are walking down a thin linear dark hall with a straight forward path towards north direction---means nothing as they can see where they are headed towards perfectly.
"Hey, Lus? You are a staff member so maybe you could tell us what these symbols refer to?"
"..."
Yasuda is undoubtedly referring to the variety of triangles and open naked eyes in the walls but more terrifyingly put out---those eyes are scattered all over the dark ceiling towering all of them. They transmit a feeling that they were being watched and that their movements are being taken into account.
To further add meaning to her words, Yasuda spoke once again as Lus didn't deliver an immediate answer.
"Many have concluded that it's the Illuminati, but what is this island exactly? You know something, right?"
Not only Yasuda, but more girls were approaching Lus as she kept on walking down the long path with no clear end at sight; at the current moment.
"You definitely know something, Lus!"
"Come on, tell us!"
No doubt about it, but Lus was keeping something to herself yet the curious girls just couldn't keep their curiosity to themselves. Eagerly; with smiles on their facial expressions, they attempted to extract as much information as they could out of Lus.
Unfortunately for them, Lus was as clueless as them.
"I don't know anything, sorry. I am just a staff member doing its job, girls."
"Awwww!! Darn it, I really wanted to know more! You should have seen Rokoro, Lus! Out of all of us, he was the one most interested in this island! I bet that by now he's going crazy, haha!"
"He is such a crazy-hack!"
"An adorable dork at it."
Many comments were made towards Rokoro as they all accepted that Lus didn't know anything about this island. That she was just a staff member whose task is to lead them to the final area.
Midst their way, they stumbled upon a gigantic door encompassing twenty meters in height but only five meters in terms of width. That specific door had a gigantic open eye in the middle of it and it was also accompanied with a password entry device on the bottom right area.
Nonetheless, that door was adjoined to the right side of the never-ending linear abysmally dark path that went on. By no means was this the final destination, but Lus stopped there as she went to the password entry device and inserted the password.
"Lus?"
Many could see that she was in fact inserting a password, but the fact that she was dead-silent about it was confusing. However, a few seconds after Lus inserted the password, from the right and left side of the door, two rooms emerged within.
Those two rooms were identical to the ones that had appeared in the right and left side of the elevator station. They also have capsules for the suits to be inserted in and as one could guess, the two rooms were made for one purpose alone to which Lus would explain.
"I advice you all to unplug your suits since the door up ahead can only allow you to enter the area if you aren't suited up. Take a look, please."
The door toward the next area, though slightly dark still, was already open since the moment Lus inserted the right password in, it opened itself. But still, although one could just walk into the next area, it wasn't that simple.
As Lus walked into the vicinity of the door's entrance, the door immediately closed itself once again.
Lus turned around and explained what had happened to all of them.
"This is the rest area that I was talking about! However, you can all rest assured that the temperatures here are back to normal, look!"
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Eager to present good evidence, Lus once again took out her thermometer and they all could see that the temperature here was of 25 degrees celsius. In other words, a temperature that wasn't something to worry about was presented immediately.
"Hey, it's true! My hand isn't melting!"
One of the girls in that group had already taken out her right hand's glove the moment she saw Lus' thermometer tempeture. As a matter of fact, multiple girls started to follow that example as they saw that they weren't melting.
Lus explained why they weren't melting.
"The component's button erased the abnormal temperature of the area as the desert was under a regulation protocol."
"Oh, so that was what that was all about!"
"However, the regulation protocol ceased to function once the button was pressed. Henceforth, you don't have to be afraid of the temperatures as everything is back to normal!"
This was great news for Yasuda and the rest. They no longer had to be hyper-aware over the fact that they were under extraterrestrial temperatures. Furthermore, a place for them to rest was at sight. Through that door, once they unplugged all of their suits; Yasuda included---they saw an amphitheater that had seats over the upper parts where the audience would usually be in.
Unlike the dark hall that they were in, the amphitheater was greatly illuminated by solar light from the desert above. With seats on both rows, there was plenty of space for all the girls who were now on their casual clothes, to seat in.
Yasuda now was back on her usual school uniform since this would be her last day on the island---as Ryousuke Kawahara had promised all of them. Putting her utmost faith in Ryousuke Kawahara, she had no doubts that she was going to get out of this island.
As many of the girls started to leave the scene to rest on the row seats, Yasuda stood there with Lus and a few other members.
"Aren't you going to unplug your suit as well?"
Under the impression that everything was solved, Yasuda thought it was strange that Lus wasn't unplugging her suit as well, but Lus explained the reality of the situation once again.
"I can't unplug my suit yet because I have to enter an area up ahead that requires this type of suit. But, can you come with me? We need to put the component in its place as fast as possible!"
"Hold on, do I have to go into that area as well?"
"No, not at all. It's the staff member's room and I need to inform my superiors that the component has been placed in its place. Well, it will actually be the equivalent of lying to them but since we will be putting it in its place, it doesn't really matter, you get me?"
Understanding what Lus was implying, Yasuda smiled, giggled a bit and spoke her mind.
"I really do, haha! You must be tired as well, I am sure you want to leave your work as soon as you are done with this?"
"That's right. My work is very exhausting and I am currently a bit tired, but I can keep going. As a matter of fact, I will keep on going until I am done with my job. Get it?"
"Damn, your job must really be tough for you then. Yikes, let's hurry up then. Ah, don't worry about me, girls! Me and Lus will be back in no time, right, Lus?"
Agreeing with Yasuda as she saw the rest of the girls off, Lus nodded twice while as well expressing her opinion to them.
"Try and rest as much as you can since you will all be undergoing a trip back to Japan soon enough. The moment I inform my superiors about Ryousuke Kawahara's success, multiple helicopters will be arriving soon!"
"Alright, we will wait for you too, Lus!"
"I can't wait to see what you look like! I bet you are pretty!"
After saying their respective lines, the remaining girls started to walk into the brightly illuminated ancient amphitheater just ahead of them---leaving Yasuda and Lus in the dark hall.
On her own, Lus started to lead the way towards the north side---far away from the amphitheater now.
This time around, Lus would be the first one to engage in a conversation with Yasuda.
"A while back I got a call from an acquaintance of mine who was looking for a student named Shiori Denko. Does that ring a bell to you?"
"She's my friend! Hey, me and her actua---"
Instead of listening to Yasuda's full opinion, Lus briefly dismissed her entire take and went straight to her point.
"Could you tell me where she is so I can tell my acquaintance where she is? This is urgent."
Understanding that Lus was perhaps feeling rushed and wanted to help her acquaintance, Yasuda saw why Lus straight up discarded her opinion like that.
However, it wasn't as if Yasuda had anything remotely positive to say to Lus.
"I'm sorry, but I don't.... Kawahara told me and my group to get inside the fifth elevator---all that I know is that she has to be in the other sections. But why? What does your acquaintance want with Denko?"
Naturally, Yasuda was a bit suspicious as Lus hadn't told her what her acquaintance wanted with Shiori Denko. Or why her acquaintance is looking for her.
"I don't know. But, for some reason, my acquaintance is on the look for her. Anyways, wait here a bit, I'll alert my superiors right away. Our destination is just right ahead of us."
"...Okay."
Yet another room lied to their right with a password entry device on the bottom right side of the gigantic door with another naked eye in the middle. That door was exactly the same as the previous one that would lead to the amphitheater.
But this one led to a room full of darkness and it didn't reject someone with a suit. As a matter of fact, it's quite possible that someone without the suit could have some sort of consequence applied to them as a result.
That's what went through Yasuda's mind as she saw the door close and Lus' body became engulfed with darkness as Yasuda lost track of her for a second.
"......"
Forced to acknowledge the environment around her, Yasuda found herself sweating in pure isolation. She tried to not look up, but as she kept avoiding it more and more---as she waited for Lus to emerge from within that now-closed door, she was drawn to it ultimately.
Why was she avoiding looking up? What was there amidst that profound darkness that was emitting a slight of radiance from above? A providence impossible to ignore---she felt drawn into the terror as her head lifted towards the naked eye above scattered all over the ceiling---empowering a mighty 100 meters in length.
"........!!!!"
Frightened at how serious the eye is; even though it's clearly not alive, Yasuda couldn't shake off that feeling of unease.
Soon enough, Lus would come from the room once again and upon seeing her, Yasuda couldn't help but say something about the eye above.
"Who came up with this creepy design?!"
Lus shook her helmet off a bit before answering towards Yasuda.
"Our leader---most likely?"
"Eh?"
Lus started to walk forward this time as the path towards the north side only invited more darkness.
Meanwhile, Yasuda lagged a bit behind as she was trying to process what Lus meant.
"By leader, you are referring to your boss?"
"Obviously. I want to meet the leader eventually."
"Ah, I see---"
Yasuda realized that didn't add up. Why would Lus say that she wanted to meet her boss eventually when her boss is someone that she has to see every now and then? Yasuda thought that that was the nature of work.
"Oh, I get it... You haven't met your boss in a long time, is that it? I tot---"
Lus interrupted Yasuda right away.
"No. I'm saying---I haven't met the leader yet. Oh, could you get my gloves off for me?"
"Erm---Alright..."
Complying, Yasuda helped Lus take her gloves off while speaking about her misunderstanding to Lus.
"It's a bit strange.... How can you work for someone when you have never seen that person?"
"I suppose you are right about that."
Lus' right hand was now visible to Yasuda, who at first paid no mind to the sight of her hand, but as she moved on to the left glove and as Lus delivered her subsequent opinion, Yasuda took a note of a few things.
"The word "work" isn't correct here. I obey the leader and so do my other companions."
"....Why....?"
"Hm? Oh, it's because I find it challenging. Other human beings would probably say no to the absurdity of the tasks, but just to get a chance to join in, I was given a pretty absurd task."
Yasuda had no idea what Lus was on about. Furthermore, her vision was filled with something completely different as Yasuda took the other glove off and let them fall on the dark ground consequently.
"N-No.... Why are your hands so... veiny and.... why is there blood over them... Lus?"
Without answering back, Lus simply limited herself to remove her helmet, and upon seeing who was behind the helmet, Yasuda couldn't shake off her sensation of terror as she had been fooled all along into thinking that there was a girl behind it.
However, before she could form a reaction, Daniel bashed her head into the right wall causing Yasuda to lose consciousness transiently.
Afterward, Daniel dragged her unmoving body onto the dark room where he was just a few moments ago.
Around an hour went by then.
The room where Daniel and Yasuda are currently in is not only a control panel room but also an experiment room used for unknown purposes that not even Daniel knew. In the very center of that brightly illuminated room, there is an electric chair. That electric chair is connected to a plethora of cables that ultimately establish themselves in a control panel window where the electricity comes from.
On the right side of the chair, there are plenty of unused syringes alongside flasks of unknown substances on the bottom layer of the small pillar.
Aside from the three rows with multiple control panels, in front of the electric chair, there is a gigantic plasma emitting footage of multiple places of the ruins all over the desert. Not only are there more than 100 of them, but the amphitheater is included.
Although the illumination in this room is fine on its own, the lights are slightly worn out and don't function as well as they once probably did.
Removing his suit, Daniel took a five-minute nap on the bench on the east side of the room where the darkness would allocate itself the most.
Midst that, Yasuda, in pain, started to open her eyes and Daniel took notice of that. As such, he quickly got up and went to greet her; vis-a-vis. Firstly, he went from behind her as he noticed that Yasuda was looking to her right and left.
"....Why am I tied up to this---chair....!? Huh?!"
Since Yasuda is tied to that chair with her column laid out on the extensive body of the chair---she can't look behind, even though she was trying to.
That's why she was so terrified once Daniel forced her eyes to met his eyes as he looked at her from above as he came from behind her without saying a single word.
"A-A-Ahh....!!! W-What do you want...?! Wait, aren't you---?! But, how....?! Oh God----we've all been tricked, what? But-but----"
Seeing how nervous Yasuda was, Daniel took a soft approach as he started to walk in circles with his two hands behind his back.
"Calm down; you are safe."
For five seconds, that was all he said, as Yasuda watched him circle around her. His eyes were entirely fixated on her and would not move away from her figure. He saw how she was trying to break free multiple times and only then did he speak.
"Your friends are not."
This caused her a sensation of fear that she never had felt before but she wasn't expressive about it as she was more scared of Daniel.
"However, you'll be the arbiter of their fates. Look there; at the middle. The amphitheater plasma."
Daniel crooked his posture down and on Yasuda's right side, they both looked at the middle plasma that was centering the entire area from above. The plasma was transmitting footage due to the fact that the eyes served as cameras. Since there is a huge gigantic eye on the top of the amphitheater's dome, it's possible to see what is happening, therefore.
"They will all die."
"N-N-N-Nooooo... Stop...."
She started crying out of despair and her blood pressure got immensely high due to her anxiety plaguing her body nonstop.
However, Daniel didn't care and continued to explain.
"The difference is---I am giving you the privilege of choice here. Aren't I so generous? I am. I really am. So---let's look at the bottom plasmas."
"Oh God....! What.... What are those?!?!"
Fifteen rows of plasmas emitting powerful illumination had footage of caged animals.
Starting all the way from the west side the first footage contained footage of four locked up komodo dragons. The second footage has three alligators basking in their respective environment; just like the komodo dragons. Regarding the third footage: a total of 10 hyenas are all collectively locked up in cages waiting for their ultimate freedom. By slight contrast, only one brown colossal bear is inside the cage that belongs to the fourth footage. An endless variety of poisonous tarantulas could be witnessed inside the fifth footage as they dominate their territory continuously.
Following that up, the sixth footage has two lone wolves that are eagerly waiting for their prey yet they are caged up. A long savage dark horse with an uncontrollable quench for blood runs rampant through its cage on the seventh footage. Inside multiple stacked flasks on top of one another; an endless quantity of red ants were all co-aligned with one another on the eighth footage. Meanwhile, on the ninth footage, aerial hornets circling a round hive exceeded the number of 100 far too quickly.
On the tenth footage lied within two brutal tigers capable of unknown massacres; ready to prove their savagery at any chance given. To further add terror, on the eleventh footage, a tremendous multitude of scorpions could be witnessed as well. Next; a group of six African Cape buffalos was severely chained up as a countermeasure for their limitless potential when it comes to devastation---surely they belonged to the twelfth footage. A majestic proud lion that doesn't know how to lose awaited for its prey patiently in his own cage on the thirteenth footage. Penultimately, three long alligators sharpened their teeth fangs on the fourteenth footage. Lastly; a gigantic anaconda with 250 meters in overall length balanced from tree to tree on the fifteenth footage.
As Yasuda processed all of this, scenarios of terror started to scatter all over her mind, but Daniel was quick to dispel that.
"I know what you are thinking... "This guy couldn't possibly be thinking of releasing all of them into the amphitheater, right?" or "Please, for the love of God, don't let those abominations out of their cage!"----well, here is the deal. You can avoid all of that."
"....???"
Confused and terrified, Yasuda looked in Daniel's direction as he started to walk in circles once again.
"W-Wha... What do you mean...?"
"I'm saying... If you do me one small favor for me, I won't release those filthy abominations upon them. I could. The amphitheater's doors are locked up so they are currently stuck in there without a way out. Well, what do you say? Want to help me out?"
Daniel was smiling now, but Yasuda knew that whatever he had in mind wasn't something that could possibly be good.
However, she also knew that if she didn't obey him that he would release all of those animals onto the dome and the remaining members of her group would slowly be reduced to nothing.
She, therefore, had no choice but to go along with Daniel since she deeply cares about her friends.
Although her emotions aren't stable right now, Yasuda nonetheless gave Daniel a positive reply.
"I-I... I don't know if I can do what you have in mind but---"
Daniel rapidly dismissed her idiotic assumption as his facial expression grew wider a tiny bit.
"Oh, but you can. Anyone can, as a matter of fact!"
"O-Okay.... Oh God---just promise me that you won't release... them after you are done raping me..."
Daniel stopped moving and started to resemble a statue as he didn't know how to react.
He then thought to himself out loud as Yasuda was also confused. She was undoubtedly sure that Daniel had thought of raping her.
"This can't be a coincidence... The other one thought that I was going to rape her as well without actually implying such on my behave and now you as well. I see; it's just a natural reaction. If you are a girl and you are in face of a criminal that is a male, all alone, isolated without salvation at sight; your worse thought is not you dying, but the possibility of getting raped."
Daniel wasn't looking at Yasuda at all, but instead, he was walking in a circle again.
As for Yasuda, she couldn't help but blurt something out to him, very nervously and still terrified.
"O-Other one...?! Who----Oh God---don't tell me that the others..."
Yasuda grew even more frightened as she thought of what Daniel was implying but she quickly dismissed that thought as she said the upcoming words out loud.
"Wait, no... You can't just be everywhere at the same time that's just---"
"Are you referring to the girl from Slovenia?"
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Yeah, she's the one. Don't worry. I don't fucking care about rape. It's an emotional act that emotional criminals commit just for a sensation of control and because they are highly incapable of managing their emotions. As such, I can't commit rape because it requires a quantity of emotion I just don't have. Did I make myself clear here?"
Midst his explanation, Daniel was releasing Yasuda from her shackles and then, he took ahold of her two wrists as Yasuda was processing the insanity behind Daniel's previous words.
Daniel moved Yasuda's forcefully to one of the chairs near the control panel and sat in front of her. Afterward, he let go of her hands and warned her first.
"Don't try to run away. You'll just make things worse. Also---"
He touched Yasuda's face softly and moved her chin up so she could match his soulless eyes.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/466312922864549890/880652059253297172/It_will_do.png]
"Look at me."
Their eyes grew closer and closer but that only managed to scare Yasuda more.
"Good. Now---About that favor; as I've said, if you do it, I will not release any of those abominations on the dome. As for the favor itself..."
Daniel took out a small dagger from his left calf and turned it around while ultimately giving it to Yasuda; who had yet to grasp it or even process what Daniel was implying.
Nevertheless, it would all become clear once Daniel would speak about that favor.
"Kill yourself in front of me."
".........Wh...at...?"
It never had crossed her mind. Yasuda thought for sure that Daniel wanted something that Yasuda could solely provide yet Daniel had already rejected Yasuda's thoughts about the possibility of raping her, which meant that he didn't want to conduct sexual activities with her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have already done it. If he wanted to torment her, he would make her watch all of her friends die at the hands of those animals. She always thought that it would be something that would cause her extreme emotional grief.
So; committing suicide was beyond her imagination.
"I don't care how you do it, just kill yourself. Wrist slicing----throat slicing---heart stab---tongue slicing---whatever you want. Hurry up."
"W-Why...?"
Not only did she wet herself but her tears increased as she could not understand why Daniel wanted her to commit suicide.
"Does it actually matter why? I can explain it, but does it actually matter though? I'm saying, if I explain it, will it help you gain the motivation to commit suicide? Or are you just saying "Why" because you can't understand my thought process?"
"I-It's weird!!! No one does this---like----why?! What do you have against me....!? Aghh... Why meee...?!"
"So you think this is personal..."
Seeing the rapid increase in her tears, Daniel started to clear them out of her face; not with care, but with an absurd speed.
"Listen, it's nothing personal. It could be any of you, honestly. But it turned out to be you. You were the one holding the component---therefore the one who will be a part of this."
"T-T-That's not... alright! That's even worse...!! You're asking me to commit suicide without having negative emotions towards me! That's what's so weird about this! You're committing evil without having some sort of grudge against us...?!"
But Daniel didn't find this strange at all and he couldn't understand where Yasuda was coming from.
"Not all evil is about emotion. As a matter of fact; emotion makes evil look weak. I try to do things from the opposite approach. I commit evil not based on emotion but based on intelligence. I seek to understand why my previous girlfriend committed suicide a while ago, but I can't find answers anywhere, so I've decided that I will naturally gain an understanding once I watch a girl commit suicide in front of me with my own two eyes."
Yasuda in the midst of his speech realized that Daniel's previous girlfriend was someone that Yasuda knew. In name only though.
"...Is it Yulia...?"
His eyes widened for a while and then he meekly held his head up down while applying force on Yasuda's left cheek with his right hand---though not for long as he would erupt his face once again---collective and calm this time around.
"Yeah. Now you understand where I'm coming from. So, there should be no doubts. Do it."
Far more serious now, Daniel hurried Yasuda into doing it. As such, Yasuda started to look at the sharp small dagger on her right hand; especially towards that razor refined edge.
However, as she did so, she started to tear up even more as she remarked something towards Daniel.
"I am---am sorry!! I am sorry that we couldn't meet on any other occasion---I would gladly help you out and---"
"Bullshit. You only say that because your life is on the line. Hurry up or your friends will be fodder soon."
"I-I am serious.... Please listen..."
"No. I don't care. Will you do it or not? I am growing tired of this conversation already."
Yasuda wasn't trying to manipulate Daniel, but the moment he noticed that she was pitying him, he turned completely heartless; incapable of feeling remorse towards Yasuda who genuinely feels sorry for what Daniel went through and what he has to do just to gain some sort of understanding.
"You're making me look like some sort of victim, but you are the victim."
Shaking, Yasuda looked at the dagger that she unconsciously elevated towards her throat, very slowly.
Yasuda loves her friends and would do anything for them. So, with that in mind, she was actually giving thoughts about killing herself.
She looked ready to commit suicide by slicing her own throat as the edge of the dagger was already scratching the surface of her pale skin.
However, she couldn't do it and as such, she let the dagger fall onto the ground while embracing her lachrymose face with her own two fragile hands.
"I can't...!! I just can't. I have a mother and a father to who I owe my life. A younger sister and a younger brother who I want to grow older with....!!! And I just became friends with someone I've idolized for as long as I can remember...! Not to mention that I am in love! I can't kill myself BECAUSE I don't want to freaking die! You hear me!? I want to live and you probably want to die that's why you are so horrible on the inside! You don't know the positive side of life and I do! I am just experiencing it and I can't believe that my life has become reduced to this.... Ahhhhhhh....!!!! My God, why meeeeeeeeeeeeee......!?"
Mad, frustrated, and scared, Yasuda stomped on the ground while still covering her watery face with her two hands.
"A-And....!! And....! Aghhh, I can barely speak..... It hurts to talk because whenever I look at you it's like th-there's some sort of freaking alien in front of me... not another human being...! Human beings can't be devoid of emotion, but so-somehow.... I don't believe in that anymore.... That's how fucked up you are."
It scared her immensely how Daniel was extremely calm and collected while glancing at Yasuda closely through her hands.
"Are you done?"
Yasuda's heart stopped for two seconds straight as she realized that all of her previous words were all for naught.
".....D...Do---Did my words... even reach you?"
"Naturally. I am capable of audition, so I have to, unfortunately, listen to others."
"N-No. Not like that....I am saying, can you understand my perspective? Try to be me right now....!!! Just try it, please."
"..."
Daniel distanced himself for a while and thought for a bit. He then replied to Yasuda.
"I don't think you realize how much I orchestrate things here to go my way. What's happening to you isn't the work of a coincidence or any sort of "luck". However, I'll admit that you---the owner of the component---is slightly lucky. Except that's not true. Sagasuga had already informed me about the ten leaders. I knew you were among them."
"S-So it is personal...?!"
"As I said, that's not it. Also, you won't do it, really? Are you sure...?"
Coldly, Daniel asked Yasuda that in hope that she would change her mind.
"You do realize that you get to watch them all die, right? Will you be able to live with that? Will you?"
"Well, what am I supposed to do?! I don't want them to die, but I also don't want to die!"
"That's the point of this. You have to choose. Your life---or theirs. Choose."
In the middle of his speech, Daniel kneeled down and took ahold of the dagger basking underneath a pool made out of Yasuda's body fluids.
He shook it off to the right and hoped that this conversation wouldn't drag longer than usual.
Admittedly, Daniel was going along with Yasuda for only one reason. He wanted to see whether or not Yasuda would kill herself once she TRULY realized the hopelessness of the situation.
"...Let me die with them at least..."
"Huh? Are you deaf or some shit? I am saying your only two options are: suicide or watch them die."
"But I don't want you to be successful here...! So my only choice is to not kill myself... but to also die with my friends at the same time."
"........"
Daniel didn't expect this. He thought for sure that Yasuda cared deeply for her friends and would blindly commit suicide just to keep them safe---so he couldn't understand what was currently happening.
"But you have the option to save your friends. Why?"
"You don't get it, do you...? I don't trust you... I know you won't keep your word. To keep your word, you need a moral code or emotions at least. I've learned that much just from talking to you. Daniel, you can't keep your word even if you tried...!"
"..............."
Daniel looked to the ground and thought to himself whether that was true or not. He hadn't given thought about this whatsoever, so Yasuda's reasoning was surprisingly accurate to him, for some reason.
After a while, he looked to the despairing Yasuda.
"Congratulations. It appears you're correct about that. So, you want to die with them, is that it?"
"Yes... Let me at least die along with my friends, since you are going to kill them all."
"................."
Daniel didn't felt in charge anymore because Yasuda had already come to terms with her fate. He thought to himself that it was his fault that he no longer "felt" in charge and therefore, he had to fix that.
"So, you think you are in control just because you get to decide how you and your friends will die?"
"T-That's right... I won't let you win, Daniel."
"No, not that. I am saying, I have to be the one that kills all of you or at least the one responsible for bringing your deaths. In other words, if you all die from a cause that I'm responsible for, you win. If not, then I win. Do we agree on these terms?"
"....Yes... But you are incapable of keeping your word, so you will end up killing us all in the end, so I win, no matter how I look at it."
"Oh, I see now."
Having understood the only way to win, Daniel got up from his chair and took a long deep breath, which confused Yasuda.
"I don't accept losses well, so here is what I'm going to do, I am going to go ahead and put the component in its place and I am going to move into the next section. There, I will continue with my goal."
Yasuda had vast trouble accepting the truth of Daniel's words as he was deadly serious about not being able to accept losses well. Willingly, he sacrificed all of his work just to not let Yasuda have control here.
"...Wh-What...? That's even weirder..."
"You made your point. I would be losing if I were to let you have control of the situation so the only way that I can't lose here is if the situation itself is suspended. That's what's going to happen. I am suspending this event so I don't lose."
"But---But that only makes you a coward!"
"Intelligent people are cowards; it's factual. Get out of here before I change my mind."
Taking ahold of the component that was on top of the table, Daniel started to exit the room meanwhile Yasuda was left speechless as she had just escaped from an unbelievable situation. Although she didn't mean to manipulate Daniel, she had done so successfully.
This was something that was impossible to not acknowledge.
"....You can't be serious...."
Ten minutes had passed since then and throughout that entire time, Daniel had not made his return. Furthermore, by keeping an eye on Daniel through the footage, Yasuda saw him exit to another area but she thought to herself that if she were to follow him that it could be a potential bait.
Firstly, Yasuda wiped her tears and composed herself as much as possible. With Daniel no longer on the scene and all the animals firmly kept in their own cages, she grabbed the general microphone and attempted to create a reaction among the members of her group located in the amphitheater.
"Everyone, can you hear me?!"
Although she couldn't hear them clearly, Yasuda captured multiple reactions and as such, she began to cry but nonetheless quickly composed herself as she delivered the good news. Naturally, she couldn't tell them that Lus was actually Daniel or that Daniel is alive for all that matters.
She had to lie for the greater good.
"I'm sorry it took this long but I was seeing Lus off as she went ahead to meet up with her superiors! She told me that we have to get back to the elevator station where we came from and meet up with Kawahara!"
Yasuda knew that she couldn't lead her friends into the same area where Daniel came from so her only option was to go towards the primary elevator station.
As such, she exited the room and ran down south as fast as she could to meet up with her friends.
She tried and tried to compose herself so that the others wouldn't notice her panic. Thus, a few minutes later, when she reached the door of the amphitheater, which is now locked up, she took as many deep breaths as she required before inserting the password which would unlock the door respectively.
"Calm down, Yasuda... You won. You survived that terror... Uuufff."
Now slightly calmer, Yasuda typed the word "The" and the door opened itself.
As the door opened itself, multiple girls---or rather, all the girls from Yasuda's group began to run in her direction as they were worried sick.
Some hugged her while some were even crying about what could have possibly happened to Yasuda---the thought of something bad happening to her had greatly devasted them, that's for sure.
"Did something happen to you!?"
"We were so worried about you! If you could talk through that microphone then you could have told us something at least!"
"Yasuda! Yasuda!"
Seeing how worried they were about her, Yasuda couldn't help but deeply cry as she had too many emotions bottled up----not from being alive from all that only but as well for being able to reunite with her friends.
As she cried and smiled, she gave her humble apologies.
"I-I'm sorry I made you all worry----Haha... I... love you all... But, we have to get going! The component is in its place and Lus said we don't have any time to lose!"
In a hurry, Yasuda broke out of the circle and attempted to lead everyone towards the desert once again, by going towards the main hall.
They all acknowledged her sense of urgency and wanted to leave this area as soon as possible as well.
However, as Yasuda entered the main hall she thought of the possibility of the desert containing those insanely high temperatures from before. She thought that Daniel was baiting them into walking right into the desert that way---but with the suits, that would entirely change.
The suits are capable of protecting the ones wearing it from any sort of high temperatures. With them, they wouldn't have to unnecessarily become the victims of the desert ahead of them.
"Everyone, let's put the suits on, just in case!"
"Yeah, I don't wanna take any chances!"
"Me neither!"
Not a single person disagreed. While they were suiting up, Yasuda explained that the possibility of the heat outside being far too high was in fact possible and that their suits are cold on the inside which makes the travelling all the better.
As such, the 76 of them were ready to leave the area. Yasuda was in front of all of them and the moment they left the area; they began to witness something strange.
Yasuda looked at the very sky and multiple comments began to describe that particular sky.
"It's darker now..."
"Hm, darker----it's like the sky became engulfed in fog or something...."
"It looks singed, but not quite... It's hard to describe."
The sky was no longer cerulean but despite that, it was cloudless---the only retaining feature of the previous sky. It looked like a young night sky as it approach a starry sky form.
While exiting the scene, Yasuda and her group couldn't stop looking at the sky as countless shooting stars could be captured on that lively sky.
A dark gray color took over the sky at that very moment.
"Eh? What is that....?"
One of the girls on the left side pointed at the very tiny fragment that seemed to be a star but it was slightly bigger than your average star. In the first place, although technically they move themselves, the human eye can barely see any movement---if it can capture any movement in the first place. Still, if so---would the human eye really be capable of harnessing the sudden movement of an astronomically large star? That's just highly unlikely.
"Hold on, am I seeing things?"
"No, I don't think so... It's moving isn't it...!?"
Every section holds some sort of gimmick to it, but more importantly, they each have some sort of catastrophically default to them that makes the requirement for constant regulations to be applied. However, once those regulations are overt their time, the atmosphere of the section will gain its true form. The Arcturus Waterway became like that not too long ago.
"Oh...My... GOD."
"WE HAVE TO RUN AWAY! EVERYONE, LET'S GO BACK!!!"
"FOLLOW YASUDA!!!"
There is a reason as to why this section is called Imperial City of Vega. Under no normal circumstance would a city that is constantly a victim of an unstable atmosphere be able to exist. In the first place, a stable atmosphere is mandatory for a city to exist there in the very first place. However, against all odds, this imperial city that undergoes reconstruction all the time through mechanical protocols set to reconstruct this destroyed city, is an undying city that will never cease to exist thanks to its protocols underground set to swiftly rebuild the city every time.
This begs the question: what exactly keeps destroying this city?
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! THAT FREAKING COWARD!!! DANNNIIIIEEEEEEL--------"
No, Daniel isn't the one that orchestrated this. Yasuda and her group simply exceeded the time of their stay and as such, they started to become highly subjected to what keeps destroying the imperial city countless times again and again. As a matter of fact, Daniel never overstays his stay in a section that will eventually run out of regulations.
Especially this section which is a never-ending desert that has a core that attracts stars from the universe to it. Or---to be more precise, since the gravity of this section is extremely high, it constantly attracts deadly meteorites onto its atmosphere; thus causing the Imperial City of Vega to go under a brutal frequent assault of meteorites onto its atmosphere; over and over.
It goes without saying that since a meteorite has over 1648.889 degrees celsius, just the scrap of the momentum that it forms while approaching the atmosphere; was enough to melt away the suits capable of resisting unspeakable temperatures---because even though the suits are extremely resistant, they aren't meant to resist absolutely any temperature. There is a limit.
No one can win against nature, but nature can be avoided.
Yasuda had to learn that the hard way as her entire group was engulfed into melting flames just from the bare momentum of the meteorite that would soon collapse onto that infinite desert; mercilessly.