At first glance, this island of an unknown name holds a shimmering tall point that anyone can visually capture from afar: its volcano; however dormant. Streaming over its dormancy amid a seemingly infinite time for a slumber; the island's heartbeat was born out of a century.
Prematurely, at the very stark of its momentum, the engines all realigned themselves into a singularity; as they made their aim to the core of the island in order to draw enough energy from it to enhance its detonation that was ordered a while ago. On the outer surface of the island which excludes the central temple where the elevators that give access to the ten secret sections lay in, but also the ten sections as a whole too, the island started to quake on a magnitude of 9.8; outreaching the world record for earthquake magnitudes.
In a sense, the island had already started to ecologically decay; but the paragons inside the tenth and final section of this island had no idea that there were such effects going on.
They did, however, become aware of the excruciating loud notice that the island was undergoing the self-destruction procedure as a high-volume warning in the form of a robotic presence ever-present in the ten sections delivered the notification at will's notice.
"Dear customers, I must briefly inform you that this island has been set to self-destruct in thirty minutes." Caught off guard while in the middle of their journey in the tenth section which has already twenty minutes in store for them, they were caught off guard by the sudden announcement "Please contact an administrator for quick access to an emergency evacuation area. I apologize for the inconvenience." Euporia apologized while leaving Denko's group with an uneasy feeling after it.
Apart from Shiori Denko, the leader of the group in charge of placing the two encrypted walkie-talkie devices in their respective place, there was a semi-high number of people in her group, which is thirty-two as a whole; two criminals that this exam was aimed toward additionally remain in the party on behalf of the entire party's consensus.
Face-to-face with the main gateway stone which had unknown usages, after walking for twenty minutes from the elevator which left them in wonder when they walked into this mystical-looking environment, the party reflected on the current dilemma.
"Did I just hear that right?" Ringo showed panic and many others did too "You did, no doubt about it." Denko was not about to undergo a dialogue that would further waste time and so, she decided to act according to the facts quickly "We simply have to place the component in its place. We follow the procedure; we can't allow ourselves to grow intimidated by this." Showing valor and dignity in the face of the posing great danger, Denko encouraged them "She's right, Ringo. If there is one thing we have learned about this island is that there is too much beyond our control. With that said, wasting time is a big mistake----we need to move forward..." Rayazaki, who is side to side with Ringo, lifted her spirits and Kuzan went a step ahead to the center of the area.
The current area is a floating allusive white cloud in the midst of a bright day with no clouds in the upper light blue sky---only a singular dark planet with traits of orange lines in its center which is positioned in the north level of the sky. Temperature-wise, it's fairly neutral, not too cold nor too hot. As for the main attraction within the floating white cloud containing a wide of fifty meters at least, in the center, a small black-inked waystone of a meter, buried in the depth of the cloud, stood with two magnetic balls of small height attempting to collide with one another but nevertheless unsuccessful as their magnetic natures are actually the same.
"There's no other way around it, this is it. But just what..." Curious while not entirely consulting the group for what should be done next, Kuzan reached out his right hand to the tallest point of the black waystone and in a flash, all the existences within the cloud were sucked into the gravitational field force within the waystone itself "What the?!" Rayazaki was the first one to blurt out a line as they were all teleported into a completely new area.
With no sky in sight and surrounded by bright orange-lava waterfalls everywhere, they found themselves in an oval crater of gray stone adjoined to nearby lava with a way up on the north side.
"LAVA?!" Akari became paranoid as the parallel of the area revealed to be a fantasy-like lava oasis, where they are surrounded by an ocean of lava with waterfalls of lava stacking upon each other---creating some occasional magmatic catharsis "Be calm! We can't lose track of ourselves! We aren't even feeling the temperature of the environment which already tells us that we are supposed to be here!" Denko reasoned as she noticed that the temperature was warm but not to the point where they were melting "Up we go, come on!" Placing herself on the lead, Denko started her march to the top.
A crater-like staircase with steps of mid-width and the staircase itself reigning over a hundred meters shaped in an upper diagonal way, led the way for them to the first station.
The more they climbed, the more they could witness the abstract imagery of the area as they witnessed channels of lava overflowing to the north side. The north side emits a strong current of lava that is being channeled for some reason.
"The volcano will erupt, either that or the lava is accumulating as a way to blow this entire place up. But why did the island suddenly go into self-destruction mode...?" Rayazaki, confused, spoke out loud as they envisioned what the area ahead held "Someone must've triggered it. Unless it's specifically a countdown designed for the criminals who reach the final stage... No, that makes more sense, now that I think about it..." Denko reflected on her reasoning as the final step was climbed.
Though similar to the primal area after the teleportation, it was now up higher; at least five-hundred meters above the ocean of perilous lava below. With the same width as the last area as well---an oval structure upholding fifty meters to its circle with a small height of two meters, this crater which would be labeled entirely as a station because it's a magnetic station capable of uniting two levitating craters so long as they don't entirely match with one another, was proving to contain enigmatic elements to it.
But it's not easy to understand just what exactly they were supposed to do.
"Any idea what that is...?" One of the male members of the group asked and all the attention was brought forth to Denko, who was looking at both of the objects while thinking "Two waystones----and on their north side, there are floating craters... Given that there is a stairway forward, it's best to ignore it and continue as we stand nothing to gain from losing time." Choosing between finding out what the waystones do and if they are connected with the floating craters parallel to them or simply following forward, Denko and her group decided to press forward "Ahhhhh, no." But he begged to differ.
Scratching his semi-long black spiky hair bangs while brushing them up a bit, Daniel, who was climbing the staircase that they were previously in, decided to intervene from behind as he thought that Denko's decision to ignore the waystones was incorrect to say the least.
Of course, Daniel's existence, which was thought to be dead to all of them, since they saw his body killed by multiple spears, is functionally confusing to look at.
"B-Bro?!" Kuzan cracked a smile of joy amid his confusion as he was glad Daniel was alive "Hi, Kuzan." Daniel greeted Kuzan though with apathy all over the place as he stopped his tracks "HOW----" Rayazaki was interrupted by Daniel who judged that there was no time for surprises, despite all the present members being bewildered by his presence "Spare me the lines, I know them all. Listen, I know this place infinitely better than all of you ever could, you cannot ignore the waystones, ever. I will explain why now." Taking no time to listen to their opinions, Daniel quickly strode forward and cut through their group while aiming at the left waystone.
These two way stones, each placed on the left and right center of the area, contain a similar design to the one that they first encountered but they were essentially different in their purpose. While the primary waystone teleported them into this area, upon seeing what it did once Daniel reached out to the left waystone with his right hand, it became clear.
"It brings the opposing one closer..." Denko noted as she saw that the floating crater belonging to the right waystone's parallel direction coming closer albeit a bit slow and not entirely progressive as it stopped halfway "Two people need to do this at once; get on the other one too." Daniel ordered and everyone was reluctant to do it, so Daniel offered some convincing insight instead of blatantly showing a dominating know-it-all attitude "By standing with your right hand to it like I'm doing, you will manage to bring the opposing crater closer to the station and it will land where the other crater already is..." They still didn't understand "Once they match, the craters will unite as one and the crater will take you to a new station where you can decrease the levels of resonance..." Daniel spoke about the levels of resonance through a physical example.
He released his right hand which is stretched out to the waystone and put it down, making the floating crater to its initial distance. Then, he switched to the right waystone and performed the exact same action with his hand.
"As you can see, it's actually faster than the previous crater. They have opposing rhythms and that's what I meant by "resonance". They work on opposing forces and all waystones essentially have to be perfectly matched. So, for example, there has to be two people in front of the waystones and they have to perfectly match each other in rhythm in order to make the two craters gather." Daniel didn't mind explaining it, but he wasn't aware of the amount of superstition he was causing just by dropping this amount of untold information that they didn't know about.
Without a doubt, as they began to retreat back a little, they saw that Daniel was a person who had an agenda of his own and that there was something more at play here. That alone was information that the slightest minimally intelligent human being on this planet could process.
Abhorrent by the social distancing from the entire group, Daniel clicked his tongue while making his stand.
"Look, there's no time for questions here! It's been almost twenty minutes now and if you all cooperate with me without asking anything, there is a way to stop the self-destruction." Daniel gave the key-crucial information they were very much needing to hear "It can be stopped?! But how?!" Ringo questioned Daniel as she exhibited great interest suddenly but so did all of them, realistically "This is the main section that controls and generates the electro-magnetic energy pulse of the island. It goes without saying but the lava below is all submerging into the great energy tube in which all the lava will be blasted from. Given that, the island will be in an eruptive state." This was Daniel's complicated and unnecessary way of saying that the volcano would soon decimate the island and everything in its path "Wait a goddamn second, Ringo!" Rayazaki stood in front of her, very overprotective.
A verbal disagreement broke out as Rayazaki could handle Daniel's attitude no longer----even if the endeavor as a whole was counterproductive.
"What the fuck?! You just warp in here, tell us all of this, know all of this, and you expect us to follow through like a horde of hounds bound to their master?! You were dead! I SAW YOUR BODY LIFELESS; PIERCED WITH SPEARS!! EXPLAIN THAT SHIT!! WHO AM I LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW?!" Rayazaki pointed his right index finger at Daniel; his face containing a high level of extreme nervosity meanwhile, Daniel kept a straight face while rebooking the claims "Rayazaki, you have the wrong interpretation here. I know all of this because this isn't my first time here. And besides..." He looked at not Rayazaki, not Kuzan, not Ringo, but to Denko only, who was silent in the background, trying to analyze Daniel's agenda "You seem clever, you must be the leader here. Surely nuclear-waste-Rayazaki couldn't handle this group with his impulsive attitude." He provoked Rayazaki and he thought of going forward in order to hit Daniel.
However, Denko calmly stepped forward and placed her right hand on Rayazaki's left shoulder---Rayazaki fuming with rage as he stared down Daniel's arrogant facial expression basking in Rayazaki's stress.
"I believe you have a point, Daniel." Acknowledging the situation and making everyone present surprised by this, Denko didn't dismiss Daniel's upbringing "You said you could get this done in ten minutes. Tell us what we have to do." Denko knew that the circumstance demanded such, so she didn't hide "........." Impressed by her attitude, Daniel was left stunned for a bit, as he saw a fading reflection of his fallen idol "We wish to put a stop to the self-destruction and we will help you by showing cooperation, however, only if you tell us, right now, where the components must be placed..." Denko player her move and Daniel immediately replied with the answer "It's at the top station. In order to get there, we need to decrease the resonance levels by the maximum. You understand that we must all cooperate, right? The more people we have, the better." Daniel told Denko to make it count and as such, she summoned their attention and gave an order to her group "You might not like it, but there is no better option. Complain later to me, but we will be at his mercy. Remember, we have to make it back at all costs. And for that reason, I'm counting on all of you." She smiled at everyone present as she placed herself in the center.
Daniel continued to observe Denko as he couldn't shake off the image of his fallen idol from his vision.
Now facing Daniel, Denko looked at him and he knew that they were ready to go forward.
A bit over fifteen minutes remained until the countdown; the large stream of lava from all the waterfalls was now depleting tremendously as the rapid development showed over the atmosphere below.
"At the same time. One---two----three." With ease, Daniel and Denko, who were at opposing waystones, managed to extend their hands at the same time and since the right waystone's crater is faster than the left waystone's, it was necessary for their rhythms to be perfectly matched in order for the initial crater to not rapidly overtake the slower one.
From about twenty meters up ahead, they witnessed the two craters smashing each other into boulders and thus, the borders went to the lava below.
"What the fuck, they just collided and turned to nothing?!" Rayazaki, dissatisfied with this development, as he, alongside the group with Daniel, where on the edge of the crater, looking down below right where the two crater's bits were thrown at "....It's emerging!" One of the girls noted as she saw a completely new metallic platform with a square structure and a width of ten meters, arrive with speed near the edge of the station where they find themselves in "Two of you will go and you will find slightly different objects that need the same method applied; they will serve as magnitude resonators---this will make the resonance decrease and our upcoming station will be easier. Furthermore, a crater to the upcoming station will be summoned on the east side of the crater where you will be standing. Take that floating crater and meet us there." Daniel resumed everything and Denko, upon absorbing that information chose her two members well.
Shiori Denko noticed from the exercise just now done between her and Daniel that there has to be a wavelength of compatibility. Whether it means that the two people find themselves mutually comfortable with one another or if it's simply natural due to external factors; it doesn't matter as long as it's done. There is, however, merit in choosing people who are already on a mutual emotional wavelength with one another.
"Leandro, Barbara, can you two do it? Compatibility is actually a big component at stake here, so I'm positive you two can make it." Denko gave them their vote of trust "...I'll try, no promises..." Leandro, nervous still, from the circumstance, didn't fully trust himself to deliver "We got this! We'll meet you up ahead, come on!" But his girlfriend, Barbara, pushed him to do it and so, he gained a higher level of confidence as they jumped onto the steel platform that took them far into the west; beyond their sights.
With nothing else to do and without feeling the necessity to talk, Daniel moved to the north side of the crater and started to elevate his speed through the staircase's stone steps. Denko, as she felt that her group wasn't in length with Daniel's speed, gave an order immediately.
"Faster! This is no time to relax! Prepare yourselves with pairs! If you're a couple and you feel like your emotional connection is strong, then you're already on the line! If not, then pick someone who you feel you can match your rhythm!" Denko climbed the steps while striding forward at great speed; almost reaching Daniel's---but Daniel's right leg speed was abnormally absurd from her perspective "Daniel---how much time?!" Not shying away, Denko asked Daniel, who was precisely ahead of everyone and almost reaching to the next station which towered the previous one "Twelve minutes and fifteen seconds." He calmly replied "What?! And we can still do it?!" Denko asked and Daniel didn't answer.
In a sense, Daniel not answering the question was already an answer itself---and Shiori Denko didn't fail to capitalize on that.
In less than a minute, after precisely running while being physically out of touch with running, some members were out of breath. The new crater presented four waystones; two to the left and two to the right. However, this crater contained something different from the previous craters.
The waystones were powerfully linked with magmatic chains that seemed to possess overflowing lava running through them and those chains were bound to the endless lava below which is now at least a thousand meters below the current station.
"This one is a little different. The flow of the magma has to be balanced and it's a crucial factor in order to stop the self-destruction. Essentially, what's causing the island to go into self-destruction mode is the state of the flow of the lava. If the chamber's lava is contained then it can't be released onto the island which means that we can temporarily hold the eruption." Daniel explained the importance here "But it's not enough, right?" Denko asked as she posed in front of the left waystone, meanwhile, Kuzan and Rayazaki took the right waystones; Daniel was in charge of the leftmost waystone "It's crucial, as I said." Daniel readied his speech "I will have to match with Rayazaki. You and Kuzan will have to do the same, but not at the same time, understand?" Daniel spoke words that didn't make much sense to them because it was a different order altogether from the prior one.
However low time, they didn't question Daniel and as such, they envisioned the four floating craters from afar and decided to go with it.
"One, two---thr--" Rayazaki pressed it earlier than Daniel, and his floating crater flew close by at a blinding speed "Rayazaki... Now's not the time..." Daniel was aware that Rayazaki did that on purpose "........." Rayazaki looked behind him and at Ringo specifically and then, after a bit, focused forward "Let's try again. One, two, and... THREE." Their resonance was on point and since the two craters were at the same speed, they matched at the moment of departure.
But instead of them colliding with one another and smashing themselves into bits, they simply came forward and underwent the left and right side of the crater.
"Send a pair." Daniel ordered Denko, without looking at her, and also told her something in addition "Nine minutes, just do it, and then perform the next action and do the same." Receiving this information, Denko turned around and directed herself to the group "Ina, Gustavo, please." Not a couple, but Denko felt that the two could go toe-to-toe thanks to their personalities.
Without speaking to each other, they went opposing ways and rode their respective craters into a place that is, according to their perception, a resonance balancer, just like Daniel had previously told.
Needless to say, but since the resonance is now more balanced, Denko and Kuzan didn't have trouble balancing it out and as such, they were successful in bringing the two craters to the north and south side of the crater they stand in. In addition to that, Denko sent another pair which made their group now consist of twenty-seven people; Denko included.
After some time, no longer than thirty seconds, they saw the chains tied to the waystones were completely colored in lava and melted away the waystones.
"It... melted?!" Kuzan, confused asked "Let's go. There are still two more stations before we can completely stop the flow." Daniel gave a hint "If the flow is stopped then it won't erupt, right?" Denko asked yet again, as they walked into yet another upperward diagonal staircase---the lava below going wildfire in havoc "Stopping the flow means that the great tube won't allow more lava to be harnessed into the magma chamber. If the magma chamber hits a sufficient level of lava to implode, it will set off. So no, it doesn't necessarily stop because it will still release out all the lava that's already in the chamber." Daniel gave his explanation and thus, they moved forward.
Their way up was now safely reassured as Daniel was speeding through the steps---the others following him as they felt that there was no other choice.
"Hey, it's really weird! How come none of them have come back?! You said that they were supposed to be able to return to the upcoming station!" As they reached the third station, which had new elements to it, the first thing the group members became very conscious of, was the fact that Daniel's reassurance that the members who were sent to the supposed area where they would fix the resonance between the floating craters, had not yet returned "The crater's speed is relatively slower, so they will eventually be here. I forgot to mention." Daniel told them, without batting an eye to them "Six minutes and thirty-seven seconds. We need four minutes perfectly timed if we want to do this in time." Daniel presented them with the harsh reality.
The third station held controlling priorities over the state temperature of the lava since it runs on electromagnetic subatomic particles. Given its nature, it doesn't necessarily stop the flow of the lava from reaching the chamber; rather it fully manages to grasp the necessary temperature it must have.
"There are eight separate rivers up ahead that all condense and process the lava. These... They ensure that the lava that is streaming through those rivers is directed onto a single singularity which is the magma chamber. If we shut all these down, then they will not specifically go into the chamber." Daniel explained the necessity of the machines that are in front of the eight waystones spread out in the center of the area "Then where will it go?!" Akari asked Daniel, mildly impatient "To the ocean below, it will simply stay there; in order for the lava to be deposited into the chamber, these machines are crucial. Without them active, their course will be off. Come on, people, LET'S GO! WE HAVE TO DO THE EXACT SAME THING AS EARLIER AND THEN THE REST WILL TAKE THE RESPECTIVE CRATERS INTO THE RESONANCE CHAMBERS WHERE YOU CAN SHUT OFF THE LAVA'S COURSE!!" Daniel ordered with a shout.
Not seeing much choice although none of them liked the fact that they were being ordered around by Daniel, someone who showed up at the eleventh hour, eight people, four of them being Daniel, Denko, Kuzan, and Rayazaki, stood in front of the eight waystones. These waystones had something that made them different from the prior ones, they were adjoined with gigantic scaling thermometers that had to show an evenly matched temperature in-between certain waystones in order to completely blend in together.
For example, Daniel and Rayazakis' waystones, which are polar opposites of one another; Daniel on the leftmost waystone and Rayazaki on the far rightmost, had an initial temperature of 0. However, for the resonance to be acceptable, the temperature required must be evenly matched. Daniel's waystone requires 320 degrees Celsius to be output by Rayazaki and Rayazaki's requires 765 degrees Celsius. By stretching out their hands to the waystones, they are channeling a flow in the temperature that rapidly advances from 0 to 150 in about two seconds.
Needless to say, but it's tasking to match this.
"DAMN IT!!" Daniel had matched Rayazaki's waystone's necessary thermometer's temperature of 765, but Rayazaki was showing great deals of struggle just to get it done "Rayazaki, you need to match it correctly..." Daniel told Rayazaki but told him something in addition "Count to four seconds and just when you're about to reach it, you let go of it." Daniel offered insight on the precise countdown.
Rayazaki looked at Daniel with doubt at first but as he saw that Daniel already had precise knowledge about how these cryptic machines worked, he opted to fully trust his opinion.
"......" Stunned at the precision of Daniel's information and the fact that through his information alone he was able to get the correct timing down, Rayazaki gritted his teeth without looking at Daniel "Form eight pairs and head to the resonance machines and stop the flow of the lava from entering the chamber! Come on, there's not much time, hurry!" Denko let out the imperial order and four pairs; eight people as a whole, went to the resonance craters that are located far beyond their visual reach.
With the four pairs leaving the group to the resonance craters, the group was now down to twenty-one people; excluding Daniel. Aside from that, the massive thermometers melted alongside the waystones after a few seconds; which was a common theme with the waystones and the engines they were endorsed with.
Their path up top was now clear and the climb began once again as they rapidly ran through the rocky upper diagonal staircase leading to the final station.
"This is it, isn't it?! But I don't see some sort of way to put a stop to the self-destruction!!" Ringo complained as she walked into the oval crater which is two-thousand meters above the lava ocean below imploding with magma explosions "It doesn't matter. I am manually preventing the self-destruction from going off. Now that the flow of the lava has been blocked from going into the chamber, there is only one thing left to do..." Many could guess just what exactly Daniel was referring to, as they looked at the remaining ten waystones "We release the remaining lava that's accumulated inside the magma chamber and that way, even if it's set on self-destruction mode, it will release nothing..." Denko claimed as she reasoned.
Far wider and possessing a large range of machines at sight with only one waystone in the center, which surprised a few, the final station unraveled itself. It's important to notice that there is technically no way up; this of course refers to the fact that there is no existing staircase leading up or just any other place---except down, naturally.
Spread over the north side of the hundred-metered length oval crater, five enigmatic silver clocks with the size of five meters stood on top of the respective five pillars which are crucified onto the crater. These clocks indicated a specific time for five sections.
"The lava has to be deposited back to the ocean below and can't be allowed to remain in the chamber..." Up ahead, beyond the current crater they are in, by looking below, they could see a gigantic river with an endless width containing lava that would start to fall into an unknown place like a massive magma waterfall "That's what's feeding the chamber all the lava. These clocks are all differently timed because they all refer to different things. Starting from the left, that clock which has twenty-one hours and fourteen minutes and one second on the clock is----" Daniel, though more than eager to explain all the upcoming information, was brutally interrupted by Rayazaki "Dude, how do we deplete the lava from the chamber?!" Reasonable, Rayazaki wanted to know how to solve the problem "Yeah, if we can take the lava out from the chamber, then the eruption won't work! Come on, tell us how!" Ringo was impatient too and Daniel was mildly upset that his explanation was short-lived.
He looked at them with spite but nonetheless was able to get to the point that they wanted him to get at.
"There's not much time, do as I say, and the self-destruction will be manually halted." He warned them and they got ready to obey his orders "Five of us will operate the clocks. I, Rayazaki, Kuzan, your leader and..." Daniel was having trouble picking one of them but he pointed out at Ringo in the end "You." He made Rayazaki question his intentions while doing so "What about the rest?!" Akari questioned Daniel and he answered instantly "The rest of you will need to reach the waystone and all of you, at the same time, will be teleported into the final resonance station where you will have to pull an anchor which will allow the lava that's within the chamber to be deposited back into the ocean through one of the channels." But they weren't getting something that Daniel was talking about "Anchor?! What?!" Akari questioned Daniel again "You will know once you see it. It takes a lot of physical strength to drive the anchor in, that's why all of you need to be present. NOW GO!" Daniel gave the order with a loud shout.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
One minute and a few seconds on the clock remained.
By now, the group which was previously composed of twenty-one people, was now reduced to four people, excluding Daniel. The overall absence of the remaining group members was something that was gradually becoming a conscious worry for Denko, Rayazaki, Ringo, and Rayazaki. However, they were now face to face with their respective clocks as Daniel would lay down the explanation of what they had to do in order to deplete the lava from the magma chamber that is located below their visions.
"We will time the depletion that will cause the lava to be depleted at the same time to a single spot. For that to happen, the clocks timings have to be adjusted so they match the intended timing. We will all put the timing into midday. HURRY, WE HAVE LESS THAN A MINUTE!" Daniel began to maneuver his clock and so did the four of them.
In essence, the clock pillars that exhibited large silver clocks on their top, had three valves in the middle. The left valve controlled the pointer that was connected to the seconds, the middle valve controlled the pointer that was connected to the minutes, and the right valve controlled the pointer that was connected to the hours. By turning the valves around, albeit this required a lot of physical strength, it was possible to align the clocks into a single mirroring parallel.
Daniel's clock, the leftmost, was at the time of 21:13:48 now, but he managed to quickly pull the valves correctly and put it on the timing of midday/midnight: 00:00, effortlessly.
"Thirty-seven seconds." Daniel simply said as he turned to his right, where Denko was showing physical struggle to adjust the hours, minutes, and mainly the seconds---since the seconds also matter when it comes to getting everything right "Why do the seconds require so much... strength...?!" This wasn't Denko that complained, but Ringo who was on the third clock "......." Rayazaki was done with his clock which had the initial time of 09:38:16 and so, he rapidly went from his clock to the third one, where Ringo was "Kuzan, help Denko when you're done! This is not something that can be dealt with alone!" Rayazaki said that, despite having just done so.
Ringo's clock which was initially set to 03:59:25, was physically hard to maneuver for a particular set of reasons. First of all, the maneuver connected the hours, was arguably the weakest of all in terms of physical requirements. However, the real deal starts to level up once the middle valve has to be piloted since this valve requires a precise set of physical strength, but thankfully, all Ringo had to do was spin it to the right just to make the minutes zero again. The hardest part is arguably the maneuver that's in charge of the seconds.
Rotating that valve is the equivalent of pushing a 30 kg metal. Given that, it's no wonder that Ringo, a girl with no physical experience in such activities, saw so much struggle in just doing that.
"Twenty seconds." Daniel, not offering any help of sorts, saw the four of them undergo an immense physical trial that was proving to put their wits to the limit "I'm done! Denko, I'm coming!" Kuzan exited the fourth clock and aided Denko who has her clock now set on 00:00:14, meaning that all that's left is to turn back the seconds "Kuzan, I'll leave it to you!" Abandoning her clock and fully entrusting it to Kuzan as she judged this was something he wouldn't have a problem achieving in the long run, Denko went to the third clock where Rayazaki was gritting his teeth in order to strike back the clock.
With Kuzan and Rayazaki on the clocks, Denko and Ringo stepped back as they were, unfortunately, powerless to do the task which requires a fair amount of physical strength.
"Ten seconds, fellas." Apathetic but seeing the progress that they were making, Daniel spoke to Kuzan who is on the second clock with the time of 00:00:08, and Rayazaki on the third clock with the time of 00:00:13 "DAAAAMMMMMNNNN IIIITTTTTTT!!! COME ONNNNN!!!" With all of his strength, while letting rivers of saliva drip from the corners of his mouth, Rayazaki shouted a cry as he pushed the valve; effectively reducing three seconds per second "WOOOOOAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!" Kuzan, who needed not to do much else but nevertheless felt that he was in a pinch, summoned all of his strength and was able to reduce the clock to 00:00:00 with three seconds on the clock.
Switching immediately from the second clock to the third clock, Kuzan, along with Denko and Ringo, gave Rayazaki assistance by putting their hands on Rayazaki's valve while turning it to the right---ultimately shouting as they miraculously managed to time the clock to 00:00:00 just as sudden earthquake mildly hit the atmosphere, causing the present individuals to show visible problems in holding their physical ground.
"Bro! Did we do it?! Why is it shaking so much?!?!" Kuzan, unsure of whether or not it had worked, asked Daniel, who was calmly adjoined next to one of the clock pillars with his right hand supporting it "Yeah. Look." Daniel pointed at the ocean of lava below.
From the seemingly infinite ceiling which is foggy due to the evaporation of the lava below, two metallic structures found their way into the edge of the massive waterfall where the lava was being poured into the magma chamber and thus, a blockade was formed as the lava could no longer flow into the chamber.
"But that was not our doing. It was them." Daniel pointed at exactly from afar, in the west direction, where a faraway wide crater---precisely similar to those that appeared on the sideways of each station---lies with individuals on it "There they are... Goddamn it, that was slow! You could've said something..." Rayazaki complained to Daniel "Are you okay, Ringo?" At the same time, he helped Ringo get up the shaky ground that was showing no signs of stopping its quaking process "........" Denko, who was capable of supporting herself by using the structure of the second clock's pillar, noticed a flaw in what was happening "I don't get it." She advanced and walked to Daniel, who was now on the west edge of the crater, seeing the lava being locked up---despite the mild earthquake "What are these clocks for? How do they connect with the blockade showing up? You said that it was their doing; they brought forth the blockade... With an anchor, you said... Tell me, for what purpose did we do this...?" Curious and also feeling lost in information, Denko looked at Daniel from behind as he refused to bat an eye at them.
Overflowing with lava and no longer being able to transition to the other side, the ocean below was becoming far taller since it had less room to spread out. There is also the fact that the magma chamber has been accumulating lava for almost thirty entire minutes. There is no telling just how deep the chamber really is, but just taking into account the time that it took to accumulate lava, already tells that it's by no means little. As a matter of fact, if it was aimed to destroy the island as a whole with an eruption, it had to be in large quantity.
Which brings the question to life.
"Any minute now." Daniel spoke out loud as he furiously tapped his right foot into the quaking ground "For what, bro?! What's going to happen?!" Kuzan asked as he came to be side by side with Daniel, who was demonstrating a grim grin "Just watch, Kuzan..." He didn't elaborate "You said that we could place the component in the top station... Is this not it?!" Denko asked Daniel who didn't answer just like last time "Answer her, damn it!" Not Rayazaki, but Ringo, frustrated by Daniel's deceptive behavior, shouted at him.
A single rupture in the ground below made Daniel notice it, as he looked at the foggy ceiling of the entire area where they stand. All they have to do is look up, and they will know.
"It's here... You don't wanna miss this... This is the fun part!" Daniel remained enigmatic while alluding to something else "The fuck...?! What in the fuck is wrong with you?! You're not making sense! Hey, why aren't they coming back?! I see them all from afar! It's not just twenty, it's the entire rest! They are all in that floating crater from afar, but it's not showing any signs of moving!" Rayazaki showed great distrust toward Daniel, who ignored him "Why you...!!" Rayazaki, who could no longer be controlled, decided to reach Daniel from behind and come face to face with him "ANSWER M------MMUUUUHHH---" Daniel reacted fastly to his movement and used his right hand to tap Rayazaki's mouth, which surprised him, to say the least "Be quiet..." Daniel kept looking at the west direction "...And here we go!" Daniel released the hand from Rayazaki's mouth "What?!" Unable to understand, just like any of them who kept looking in the west direction trying to figure out what Daniel was all about, they all witnessed it in a single moment.
Violently pouring down from the upper level though not coming into contact with where they now stand, the five of them watched the lava that was being contained in the magma chamber being released onto the entire ocean of lava. This, however, came from above.
"OH MY GOD!!" From the edge of the crater, Denko watched the remaining members of her group being poured on by the contained lava just like a kitchen sink's faucet being turned on "AHAHAHAHA!!" Like a psychopath, Daniel went on a laughing spree, as Kuzan and Rayazaki were left speechless by the horror that they witnessed "OOOOHHHH GOD----" Putting her two hands on her mouth, Ringo broke down crying on the ground after watching her classmates melt "DANIEL............!!!!" Possessed by rage, Rayazaki clenched his fists and with the aim to kill, lashed out at Daniel with a wide-open right fist, to which, Daniel didn't bother to dodge and instead intercepted the fist fully with a guerrilla knife on the punch itself---shattering Rayazaki's right-hand bones "AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!" Deflected, Rayazaki fell to the ground in pain.
The ground had now stopped shaking and Daniel was no longer laughing. And now, with Rayazaki crying in pain on the ground, Daniel decided to take full control of the situation.
Starting off with Ringo, he took out one of his pistols while putting his guerrilla knife back into his belt and shot her in the middle of her head mercilessly.
"?!?!" Perplexed and confused with Daniel's actions, Denko was left stunned by the chain of events happening "B-Bro?! What did you do that for?! Rayazaki!!" Indecisive between confronting Daniel who was holding a gun that could very well kill Denko and aiding Rayazaki who had a serious injury to his right hand, Kuzan became nervous but Daniel tried to make it all seem reasonable as he pointed his gun at Denko; who is cold on the ground, unable to know what to do "Kuzan, Rayazaki, I have nothing against you two. As a matter of fact, I think we can come to an agreement where the two of you could be alive by the end of this." Daniel offered his words of reason while still remaining with his gun aimed at Denko "....Ringo....!!!" Agonizing over Ringo's death, Rayazaki started to cry "I don't get what you're saying, bro! Why did you shoot her?! And the way you were laughing back then!" Kuzan didn't like Daniel's new attitude, a side of him that Kuzan had never seen before.
But this was all strange to Daniel as he thought that Kuzan would definitely understand him.
"Kuzan, what are you talking about? You're talking like a goodie two-shoes but you're a criminal, just like me. Same goes for you too, Rayazaki." Daniel made his stand "And as for you... You're going to have to die, get that through your thick skull." Daniel announced Denko's death sentence as her eyes widened "Y-You can't! She's master---I mean, Kawahara's..." Kuzan, struck with guilt if something bad were to happen to Denko, accidentally blurted out those words, which surprised Daniel "...Wait, really?" Daniel looked at Kuzan and then looked at Rayazaki, in order to get a read on their expressions "...Don't touch her, leave her out of this, you motherfucker...!!" Defensive over Denko, Rayazaki emitted a killing scent to Daniel "...Huh." Daniel looked at Denko for a bit in the eyes, but she was looking at the ground, due to her inability to know how to act.
Walking up to her, Daniel got on the ground with his left knee and grasped her chin, making her look at him with her tears running through her face.
"LEAVE HER ALONE, DANIEL!" Rayazaki forcefully got up from the ground and shouted to Daniel "Please, bro! You don't have to do this! She won't do anything, I promise!" Kuzan tried to verbally reason with Daniel "Hmmm... Kawahara... But you don't really like him, right? I mean, you just faked the whole thing because you were too afraid of his status in the long run. It's not something hard to---" Against his expectations, Daniel was interrupted by no other than Denko who looked at him with fierce eyes "...Wrong... You're wrong...! Don't you dare assume anything about him!" She shouted back at Daniel with no fear in her soul; creating an echo within the area.
Surprised and somewhat impressed by her attitude yet again, Daniel whistled in her direction.
"It's decided, you're the one." Daniel elevated from the ground while leading toward Rayazaki on his left side "W-What are yo----" Daniel shot Rayazaki's right shoulder mercilessly "AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" On the ground for the second time now, Rayazaki felt excruciating pain and Daniel was quick to point the gun at Kuzan next "Kuzan, support Rayazaki on his left side." He coldly ordered and pointed the gun at Denko next "Woman, you will do the same but on the opposite side. Support Rayazaki." Denko took a while to process this while still on the ground "NOW!" But Daniel's shout woke her up enough to the point.
Supporting the wounded Rayazaki who had blood rivers dripping down from his right broken fist and his severely injured right shoulder, Kuzan and Denko managed to lift him up despite his undergoing lingering physical trauma.
Daniel decided, on the other hand, to walk to the third clock which is the middle one, went from behind the pillar and used a key from his central belt on it---but the three of them couldn't see just what exactly he was doing, all they knew was that he was trying to achieve something.
However, a problem was arising.
"BRO! RAYAZAKI'S BLEEDING TOO MUCH, HE'LL DIE AT THIS RATE!!" Switching from Daniel and Rayazaki with his worried eyes, Kuzan requested some sort of assistance "We can fix that." Daniel simply said those words with an apathetic voice as he removed the key from the pillar, which caused an additional staircase to be elevated on the north side "...What...?" Shocked, as she thought that there were no other stops, Denko didn't see it coming as they all stared into the upper diagonal staircase made of crater, but also far hotter and denser since it came from the lava below "On we go. It would've been easier if this was actually the final station but there are still a few more stops." Daniel ignored them and walked through the pillars containing the clocks---reaching for that staircase leading to an unknown place.
Feeling the blood on their clothes, Kuzan and Denko became increasingly alerted for Rayazaki's life.
"Rayazaki! Hang in there! I will do anything to save you!" Kuzan said, albeit based on Daniel's shallow words "Hurry up, creatures! If we don't hurry, Rayazaki over there will be forced to mirror the poor sidewalk on the center of the crater, HAHAHA!!" Daniel insulted Ringo which made Rayazaki cry in agony while feeling tremendous rage "...Damn it---!!! If only...!!" Showing grief and lament, Rayazaki's pride took a deep hit as Denko and Kuzan began to move toward the staircase "It's alright." Denko said to Rayazaki although her facial expression was showing a mere reflection of her past composure.
As they supported Rayazaki through the upper staircase which had yet to show an endgame location, Denko engaged in a dialogue with Daniel.
"Are there more like you in the other sections?" Denko wanted to assert the safety of the other groups and evaluate the potential losses "Nope. Just me. And that's all that's needed." This confused her "Wh...What do you mean by that?" She asked unsure of whether or not Daniel, who is almost ten meters ahead of them now, would answer "Oh, my dear, they were never getting out of here alive. But, I know what you're thinking..." Daniel swiftly turned around for a bit and spoke to Denko with a lunatic's smile "How could I have been at the same time in all the nine other sections?! It's simply not possible. It goes against common sense to assume such a thing because time is equal to every place, without exception. But... What if I told you that all the ten sections that are lying underneath the island are nothing more than locations of a time and space that is not Earth?" Daniel offered mysterious words that didn't make sense to them at all "That... So, this place is not the island...?" Denko was attempting to figure out at least that.
Daniel smiled at her but didn't reply, simply resuming his tracks to the top.
After a minute of walking through the staircase while carrying Rayazaki, Denko and Kuzan came face to face alongside Daniel with a smaller oval crater that didn't have a waystone but instead had a tomb in the middle of it.
It's also important to be aware that the illumination in this area is far darker than the ever-glowing atmosphere within the lower levels of this area due to the illumination emitted from the lava. Noticeably, they were now so up high that the distance from the lava ocean below felt like observing a faraway shore on the top of a lighthouse.
"A tomb..." Denko noticed it as Daniel was standing in front of it, speechless "Bro, please... Rayazaki is bleeding so much..." Begging Daniel with a sad look on his face, Kuzan wanted to find a way to save Rayazaki, whose life was treading side to side "Weird..." But Daniel ignored Kuzan and kept staring at the name within the tomb which was actually encrypted in numbers.
Unlike an average tomb, this one didn't have the familiar elements of one. Yes, it's buried in the thick crater below, but there are two layers above in which the supposed buried body remains. It's covered in red and upholds golden borders yet the eye-catching aspect of it is the identification of the body that is buried. Approaching the seven-length metered tomb with the small height of one meter, Denko, Rayazaki, and Kuzan, cast their sights onto it.
"1, 4, 1, 13. 23, 5, 9, 19, 8, 1, 21, 16, 20... Well, it's encrypted, but it all starts from here." Daniel monologued to himself as he inserted a special golden key into the lock located on the right horizontal side of the tomb; making a loud ancient click emerge from within the surface "My advice? Just do it and don't think about it." Daniel jumped inside the open tomb now since the click actually unlocked the frontal cover of the tomb which made possible access to the inner zone of the tomb.
No longer in the area, Daniel had jumped into the open tomb. As for the three of them, they were left with a single option, should they want to potentially save Rayazaki though they know not how.
"Turning back is impossible, I believe." Denko panted and presented her opinion "What are you talking about...?! Leave me here and go with Kuzan back to Kawahara... You can't stay any longer here, Denko... He's---he's out of his mind... And I think I know the reason why..." Rayazaki, after connecting some dots, laughed and gave his thoughts to Denko and Kuzan, who were watching over him "He had a girlfriend but she committed suicide out of nowhere... We all thought that he was done for, but all this time..." Rayazaki coughed some blood "Rayazaki!" Denko and Kuzan, fearing for Rayazaki's life, decided to take action "...He said that the two of you---your lives---they are up to debate and given the fact that he is a merciless killer... There's no other choice, Rayazaki..." Denko was in favor of going forward "I don't understand him any longer, but... I don't want you to die, Rayazaki! I-I-I-I-I---" Kuzan kept crying while trying to form his upcoming words "We have to go!" Staying strong, Kuzan and Denko dragged Rayazaki, who was looking lifeless, into the tomb's area.
From up close, as they looked into what was inside the tomb, they found a massive black area containing only black.
"He jumped into it... If I had to guess, it will take us to a whole new place, just like when we took the first waystone from the floating cloud into the crater inside the volcano... Kuzan, on my watch?" Denko looked at Kuzan on her left "One---two---three!" Summoning their physical strength, they managed to jump into the dark hole while supporting Rayazaki's body weight, as they ventured into a completely new area.
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Muxiphobia.
Through a very small telescope, the astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered the spheroid gas giant which he would name after a Roman emperor----Jupiter. Many years later it would be claimed that this gas giant; a planet nonetheless with an ongoing storm lasting a time beyond anyone's certainty---was in fact, and still is, the biggest planet in the entire solar system.
Despite being able to fit more than 1300 Earths inside Jupiter; the real thing is barely visible in the sky; sometimes, depending on the month and time of the day, it is possible to see a small speck of what it really is. Yet from Earth's perspective, it could just be confused for another star. Likewise, Venus can often be confused for one though it's frequently visible from the Earth's globe.
As such, there is no real fear amongst human beings when it comes to Jupiter despite its titanic size.
There was a phobia formed around the time Galileo Galilei found Jupiter.
"........" At first, a silence adjoined with a sparse sense of darkness was inflicted as the three landed on the spot "...So dark... Wait, where are w--------" Kuzan, who looked down below and saw faraway stars glittering from the bottom direction---in every direction as a matter of fact---erupted his head forward and saw something unthinkable "A-Ahhh...!!" Trembling, Kuzan immediately looked away from it "You're not serious... No, no way... It's not possible. It's..." Denko tried to breathe air and she did just fine, saw her two feet on the spacial dark matter albeit not floating but simply being still like on top of some structure "...Not possible...!! This has to be some sort of hologram. There's just no way that..." Denko refused to accept it "........Oh my fucking God." Rayazaki, on the other hand, slightly elevated his head and saw the entire thing for himself as horror populated their consciousnesses.
Not far from it, although they don't know why they can even be physically alive if they are looking at the real thing and are isolated from Earth's atmosphere, they saw the greatest and biggest imaginable piece of existence that their eyesight ever allowed them to look at.
Covering 85% of their vision, Jupiter as a whole, clusterred with millions of storms inside its atmosphere; the most noticeable being the great red spot which looked at the three of them like an impending eye---was seen at first glance.
Never in their lives, did they feel so remarkably small, physically speaking. If the common moon was replaced with Jupiter, it would be massive but the sky would still be wider. Furthermore, the distance from the Earth and the planet itself in this scenario, would not necessarily evoke such horrors.
However, if seen from exactly 29 million kilometers, which is technically a lot, it would shatter the very perception that the average human being has on planets.
"OH MY FUC----AHHH... AHHH!!!" Rayazaki looked up and down on Jupiter "It's not real!! DON'T THINK IT IS!! NO MATTER WHAT!!" Offering a coping mechanism, Denko told Rayazaki "No, that's the real thing." From behind, Daniel startled them, as he entered through the spacial matter "JESUS-------" Scared out of her life, Denko's heart almost physically stopped "Bro, what the hell is this!? Jupiter?! This close?! This isn't funny, I'm scared! I've never been this scared!! What is this feeling?! I can't even look at it, it's so----" Daniel finished Kuzan's sentence "Big? You're precisely right, Kuzan. And I've looked into it. It's called Muxiphobia." Daniel further explained it "People from Earth couldn't even dream of perceiving something like this... I mean, just look at it... It makes you feel so small that you dread for your own existence... Cosmic horror is so enthralling, hahaha..." Laughing with a sickening voice, Daniel walked forward.
Denko observed Daniel walking and noticed that his footsteps were provoking some sort of reactive waves similar to bare feet touching the water but among the dark matter around him.
"Daniel..." Denko, alongside Kuzan who was also supporting Rayazaki, followed Daniel "What?" He didn't turn around and kept on walking north side, facing Jupiter---the great spot at the very horizon from afar "How are you going to save Rayazaki?" Curious, she asked "Oh, it's simple. Once we reach his house, I can put Rayazaki inside an auto-regenerative healing capsule and his blood loss will be halted alongside with his damaged properties being thoroughly healed." Daniel's answer gave birth to a lot of questions but he silenced them with one follow-up "Enjoy this experience, woman. It's your last." Daniel kept reminding her that she was in fact going to die as they walked to the north side.
It would take them around three minutes to envision a small house mysteriously standing amid the dark matter; like an isolated island in the middle of the vast Pacific ocean.
This house at first looked abandoned and looked like an old facility covered in gray, but at closer range, it held the fine structure of a three-floored house. Windowless and in the shape of a triangle, the way in was through the middle as a black-inked rectangular entrance of five meter showed itself.
"Good job not absolutely freaking out, guys." Daniel clapped as he momentarily stopped "Before we get in, I want us to reach a consensus and for that to happen I'm going to have to tell you some truth." Daniel held his breath back and spoke to the still cosmically terrified Denko, Kuzan, and the injured Rayazaki "I'm not supposed to be here. The plan was simple; I go through each section and exterminate all the students that have been brought to this island. However, after some errands here and there, it became complicated to do it on my own and once I got in the tenth section, it became a bit abrupt. That's why it went like that." Daniel brushed his frontal hair with his right hand "I don't understand... Why did you do it..." Rayazaki asked Daniel, as his voice was fading out "Why? I was ordered to." Daniel answered "Ordered to...?!" Revolted and confused, Kuzan asked "Yes. I mean this from the bottom of my soul when I say this: I never held any initial grudge toward those that I had to kill in order to accomplish my mission." Daniel spoke with a serene face.
But Rayazaki begged to differ, as he elevated his posture despite his lingering wounds.
"Fucking liaaaaarrrr!!! YOU ENJOYED IT! I SAW YOUR FACE WHEN YOU KNEW THAT THE LAVA WAS GOING TO BE POURED ON THEM!! DON'T FUCKING TELL ME THAT YOU DID THIS BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!! YOU KNEW YOU HAD ONE!!" Rayazaki screamed at Daniel who formed a wide-open smile the more Rayazaki spoke "Yeeeesssss!! See, that's the fun part, HAHAHA!!" Daniel held his stomach with his left hand while laughing out loud "I WANTED THEM TO FEEL SO DESPERATE, KNOWING THEY WERE GOING TO LOSE THEIR LIVES SO THEY COULD KNOW A MERE FRACTION OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU GENUINELY FUCKING LOVE, OUT OF NOWHERE! AND THROUGH THAT MENTAL ANGUISH AND NECESSARY SUFFERING, I AM NOT ALONE IN MY PAIN ANYMORE, HAHAHAHA!!" Daniel loudly laughed in their faces.
They remained silent but became vastly aware now, that Daniel, was under no circumstance, a person that could normally be reasoned with.
"But listen." He completely froze his expression and turned serious for a second "I have nothing against you two. Kuzan, Rayazaki, you lovely pieces of shit. You're exactly like me. I consider you two brothers, believe it or not!" His serious expression remained "Huh...?!" Perplexed, Kuzan was speechless "What... the fuck did you just say...?" Rayazaki too, had a similar reaction of disapproval "Mhm? No, come on now, you must've told her, right?" Daniel posed the question "..........." But they kept their silence as a sudden shame struck cords "Oh. Well, that explains things." Daniel commented as his vision was now on Denko, who was looking at Rayazaki and Kuzan----the two that refused to currently look her in the eye "Let's go inside. We need to get Rayazaki back to normal." Daniel didn't wait for them and they walked inside; the moment they placed their feet in it, the artificial aurora-like lights lit up.
Revealing itself to be fairly hollow with cement covering the floor from long ago, the first floor had a stone staircase leading below.
However, there was one specific thing that sparked the interest of the three of them as they walked in, standing in the middle of the lonely area.
Two coffins embroidered in the same pattern as the early tomb though not containing the same height---these two being slightly taller for about a meter, lay in the center, with two computers that were linked through a multitude of cables that supported the computers' energy.
Daniel sat on top of the red coffin and pointed at the three of them to sit on the opposite coffin's surface, to which they did.
"I bet you're curious." He simply said "...I don't care about it... People can change." Denko confidently said "Change? People can change? Huh... Well, what does that mean? Enlighten me here." Daniel genuinely asked without showing traces of sarcasm or irony in his voice "...Fine." Taking a deep breath and attempting to explain what she meant, Denko took a portion of her frontal blonde hair to the right side of her side in order to clear her vision and spoke "Everyone does wrong things in their lives. Some, people like you, will keep on doing it for a longer time than others. It's a matter of scale. If people can become aware that they have to put a stop to their impulses, then they can change." Daniel's eyes widened "Impulse? What an odd logic." He judged her and she halted her speech "No, go on." He urged her "...Rayazaki and Kuzan are criminals... I know that much..." Daniel interrupted her "Do you? I mean, we are branded as criminals, but it's the equivalent of labeling socially awkward outcasts as criminals just because they act a little bit different from normal. If they haven't told you their crimes, then do you really have concrete absolute evidence that they are in fact criminals?" He silenced her "Ah, you don't... See?" Nevertheless, she went on "That doesn't matter, Daniel." Denko held her ground.
But Rayazaki, who was on the verge, decided to speak out for himself.
"Wait." He looked at Denko from his right "He... has a point... as much as it pains to admit it..." Rayazaki coughed blood "RAYAZAKI!!" The two of them worried over his health "I... don't think it's fair for the two of us to receive your kindness. Kawahara played a big role in making the group and... I admit, I enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, I grew up to love it. Denko... You need to know what I did. And after that, promise me, that you will tell me your honest thoughts..." Rayazaki had a confession planned in mind "Stop! You don't have to do this! You two will live and I will die, you don't gain anything by doing this, Rayazaki, just stop..." Trying to be logical but close to tears, Denko attempted to stop Rayazaki's words "...Don't worry... This is out of my own accord... Kuzan, you better tell her too... Because, I don't think that I have enough courage to do this anywhere else or with somebody else..." Daniel was emitting sheer happiness as he watched the climax go down.
With a steady breath, Rayazaki placed his two hands on Denko's shoulders, the right one bloody while the other one not as much, and solemnly confessed.
"Back when I was twelve, I used to be a boy scout. I... used to take advantage of girls when they would enter the confession chambers..." Rayazaki couldn't really continue as he was shaking with shame "..........." Denko showed nothing of the prior sentiments and simply awaited for Rayazaki to continue "One by one, at a different time of the day, I would rape them until I was satisfied! I would keep their mouths shut with a rope inside the chamber since the confessions were made alone and when I was done with them, I would keep the bodies in a nearby forest...!!" Rayazaki was speaking with so much spark that Denko quickly grew terrified "HAHAHAH!! A rapist is trying to make a point to me?! A killer too!" Daniel couldn't control himself "Guys, stop!! Rape and murder are very serious things! You're going to scare her at this rate!" Kuzan became aware of Denko who was getting up from the coffin, attempting to distance herself from Rayazaki "...What the... fuck...!" Scared, she was quick to move away from Rayazaki.
In response to this, Daniel took out one of his pistols and pointed at her head sideways.
"Sit the fuck down." He ordered her "Why...?" Daniel answered her "Because I told you to sit the fuck down." Her expression grew even more terrified "D-Denko, it's fine, really, I---" Rayazaki was trying to speak but it was too late; the moment she caught a glimpse of his true nature, in spite of what she had said, her fear formed a defensive mechanism "YOU RAPED AND MURDERED INNOCENT GIRLS, RAYAZAKI!!" She shouted at Rayazaki, whose reality was being shattered "...Eh...?" She held back not a bit "Y-You...!! How many of them were?!" She nervously asked while still raising her voice "H-How many...?! You expect me to have kept a count?! There were so many, at least twenty girls would come on a daily basis..." Rayazaki confessed "...Dear God...!!" Midst this, Daniel spoke to Denko "Woman, you have three seconds to sit down." He announced the countdown.
She looked at Kuzan subsequently as she judged Rayazaki to be beyond saving or worth her time.
"I never killed anybody! Or raped, I swear!!" Kuzan started with that "Then what did you do?! What did y------" Daniel's countdown had gone down "One." He got up, stuffed his pistol in his central belt, and with his right hand, grabbed Denko's face entirely "?!!?!?" She was forcefully put in between Rayazaki and Kuzan "Kuzan, it's your turn. Rayazaki, don't let her escape. After all... You want to know her final judgment, don't you...?" Daniel smiled at Rayazaki.
Forcefully locking Denko's movements despite being injured, Rayazaki was able to keep her in the same place with his two hands, even his broken right fist---which adjoined to the combination. His face, though nervous and guilty, was also slightly infuriated.
"R-Rayazaki...?! Let me g-----" Rayazaki looked at Denko with apathetic eyes as he spoke one single word "Liar." Daniel advanced the stage "Kuzan, come on, don't keep the lady waiting!" He laughed it off as the nervous Kuzan was unable to come to terms with the confession "I don't want to...!!" Kuzan spoke about his decision "Really? You don't want her to know? I think you do..." He provoked Kuzan with a malicious grin "No...! No! Rayazaki, please don't hate her!! She's just scared!!" He defended Denko "....What... did you do, Kuzan...?" This wasn't about curiosity, but rather, a defensive action took place as Denko spoke without thinking "...Please, don't make me say it..." Kuzan was still adamant about saying it.
Not Daniel, not Denko, but Rayazaki, forced Kuzan to speak about his inner dark secret that he was refusing to tell.
"Tell her! Let her judge you too! Come on, you know who you are!" Applying even more force to Denko's wrists, Rayazaki shouted at Kuzan "FINE! I GET IT, SHUT UP!!" Never before seen, Kuzan broke out of his formal attitude and raised the volume of his voice to an entirely new level "Yeah, I used to rob all sorts of stuff, didn't matter what!" Kuzan spoke with pride, refusing to be shallowly judged by anyone present; even earning Daniel's respect "I would break into houses in the middle of the night and would use weapons to beat people up so I could steal precious things! I even would steal from disabled people often from a blind people's center! But so what?! It doesn't compare to what they did! I'm not a murderer or a rapist!" Kuzan used the same argument in order to keep reminding Denko of what he wasn't.
Less nervous but still feeling the need to ask a question, Denko gulped and asked Kuzan.
"...Why did you do all of that, Kuzan...?" Simply wanting to know the core reason as to why, she asked "..........For my sister..." Kuzan's face became nervous and he was having trouble keeping eye contact with Denko "Pffffttttt!" Daniel laughed "No, no, no. Kuzan, you shouldn't lie to her. Remember, she's in a fragile state! Spare her the lies, tell her the real reason! The one reason as to why we always do it despite all the moral implications behind it!" He urged Kuzan to speak the truth.
Kuzan gritted his teeth, looked at Denko, who was shaking in horror, and upon seeing her premature reaction, Kuzan already knew that Denko was never going to treat him with the same hospitality again.
"Oh... So that's who you are." Kuzan spoke with apathetic eyes to Denko "....No...." Refusing to believe in it, Denko blurted that "Bro, you're right. I couldn't ignore it! The vice told me to do it again and again! IT'S SO FUCKING ADDICTIVE!!" Kuzan erupted in laughter "SEE?! YOU DO IT ONCE, YOU WANT TO LATER DO IT AGAIN!" Daniel rose up from the coffin and opened his arms to which Kuzan jumped in and hugged Daniel happily "Bro, I knew you'd get it!!" They shared a moment of happiness, Rayazaki smiled a bit and Denko knew that she didn't belong there.
It wasn't all quite clear to her yet. How this development had come down in the first place or just what exactly was holding it back from happening.
"I'm going to die, aren't I...?" Denko asked Daniel while looking at the ground; the three boys placed their eyes on her "I don't want you to die, Denko..." Rayazaki still felt the same way genuinely speaking "This is just our nature, I think if we can get past that, then we can still hang out..." Kuzan tried to adjust things from that angle "There's no way I would ever hang out with fucking psychopaths like you... All this time... You lied and deceived all of them... It's... pretty clear that I'm going to die... So, I want to know, one thing, Daniel..." Tears started to well up in her eyes "Ryousuke... Are you going to kill him?" Her tears ran through her horrified expression but Daniel didn't even have to think about it "Nope, no way. He's one of us. I think... he's just a little confused like Rayazaki and Kuzan over here and tried to have a change of heart because he figured that if he could prove himself to innocent bystanders like you, that it would allow him to ease up his inner mental burden. And I'm telling you, that's just bullshit." Daniel laughed it off once again.
Mildly relieved, Denko spoke her next words to Daniel.
"...Uh... Hold on a second..." Daniel crooked his posture as Kawahara watched him from his right side, burning with hate though paralyzed "This is weird... I can't remember it. And it was like in less than an hour ago; well, according to the time there, at least. The time here has always been the same but since it's in different places, it naturally has its own predetermined time and how it interacts with this one, so don't let it get to you..." Daniel gave up on trying to come back to that scene "...Shiorrrriiiiii....!!!" Struggling immensely to even flinch, Kawahara tried to put his hands on Daniel's right shoulder---covered with his black t-shirt filled with blood "I need you to understand something: It's not that I openly defend criminals like us, but I like to think of us as a primordial unity. And for that reason, unless I'm given an order, I won't ever try to kill any of you. What happened was unfortunate and it's best to forget about it." Daniel relaxed his head back into the seat where he and Kawahara were standing.
Daniel breathed in and out with his eyes closed; Kawahara's vision was starting to fade away.
Transiently, before he could catch this moment for the last time, Daniel would speak to him one more time.
"Everything will go back to how it was. I'll pretend like this never happened. Kawahara... What you took, or rather, what I injected you, is a two-week memory loss agent. It takes an hour to act, but... I don't think you'll be awake anytime soon, right Kawa---" Daniel felt Kawahara's head stumbling on his right shoulder "Oh... You're tired too... But..." Daniel patted Kawahara's blonde hair which had black ends; ultimately elevating himself while placing Kawahara on his back "We gotta go! Don't worry, big guy! I have a lot of things planned! And you... are a part of the many people I will include in them..." Daniel confessed to the sleeping Kawahara, who had tears running down his face which emitted emotional turmoil.
To the bright light at the end of the area on the north side where a helicopter awaits outside ready to take, they enclosed their journey on this island of memories.