It was an hour after they set off on their journey when the first signs of bedtime began to show their fangs. Verily, it appears it was already high time to test out their strategy against the White Monsters. Alas, due to them being so short on time, they couldn't find an adequate "hidey-hole" to fully create a blockade against the Beast of Slumber.

"I still think we have more time to move..." Elegy complained as they ran into a somewhat tight alleyway.

"Shh!" Sorbet warned, "Didn't you see all those people lying on the ground out in the street? Need I say anything more in regards to that? Now come on, get in your positions."

Huddling up close to one another, the trio successfully pulled off the tight squeeze maneuver so as to block each others' vision. This tactic was in fact multi-useful, for it allowed for relatively easy movement whilst also keeping them protected from all sides. Even if the White Monster physically tried to pry them off of one another, their tight grip on one another would simply cause it to fail. Regardless, a long and dubious night awaited them...

"Holy hell!" Hatwell's voice cried out, "Look at that!"

"D-Don't look, dammit!" The other two annoyedly scolded him.

"I never said anything!" Hatwell warned them, "It was them! The White Monsters imitated my voice to get you to look up!"

"The heck? So you're saying we can't even talk to each other this entire night?" Elegy groaned.

"Not necessarily, we can talk to keep each other awake—in fact we should prioritize that, since falling asleep defeats the entire purpose of this." Sorbet explained, "We just can't allow ourselves to listen to any advice, suggestions or warnings no matter what."

"So it's like a messed up game of Simon Says, where Simon never peeps a word." Elegy chuckled, "Fine then, what now?"

"I-I felt something tugging at me!" Hatwell panicked, kicking the air behind him.

"Calm down, we're safe so long as we keep formation!" Sorbet shot back, "We need to get our minds off of these things. Time moves slower when you count the seconds."

It was obvious that the White Monster was preying on them quite aggressively. Though at first they hoped it could only try and trick them from afar with voice mimicry and the likes, from this latest development they understood that physical touch was permitted as well. If they let their grip slip for even a second, it could prove fatal.

"Let's play Who Utters!" Elegy suggested.

"That's the number one way to fall asleep—by not talking!" Sorbet scolded him, "Sigh, instead we should play Quickster."

"Quickster?" Hatwell raised an Eyebrow.

"We pick a random letter." He continued, "Then, we go round and round, with everyone having to pick a unique word that starts with that letter. If you fail to think of a word in time, or repeat a word, then you lose."

"And what's the time limit?" Elegy inquired.

"It's rhythmical." He smiled, "We start off somewhat fast, but pick up the pace as time moves on. You have to match the pace of the previous person or raise the tempo by saying the word faster."

"Tch, will you stop trying to grab my foot, dammit?!" Hatwell got annoyed at the mysterious being constantly tripping him up, "Hyah! There, a kick to the skull ought to do you good!"

"Stop shaking the huddle, moron!" Sorbet fussed, "You'll knock us down with you if you keep doing that!"

"It was deserved, the thing was attacking him after all." Elegy defended him, "Now come on, let's play!"

The game was afoot. Of course, the letter they would pick would logically have to be something common and easy to think words out of. Fittingly, almost by sheer coincidence, the first letter of they had picked was also the first letter of the alphabet.

"Apple!" Elegy went first.

"...Answer!" Sorbet went after him.

"...Actual!" And Hatwell was last before the cycle repeated.

"..Aardvark!"

"..A-Apocalypse!"

"..Ark!"

".Anything!"

".Arrest!"

"A-A... Ass!" Hatwell blurted out.

"Hmph!?" The two couldn't contain their laughter, "Pfft! Bahahahaha!"

"S-Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else in the heat of the moment..." Hatwell bashfully admitted.

"Don't worry, guy." Sorbet flashed him a grin, "I'm an ass guy myself!"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Boobs for me." Elegy added in.

"I didn't ask!" Hatwell blushed, "Come on, stop making fun of me! Ugh, let's just continue and act like I never said anything..."

Despite what he originally thought, the two weren't in fact making fun of Hatwell, as they were just genuinely talking about their preferences. It was a random comment that most wouldn't think twice about, however for Hatwell it was a hurdle just a few years too high for him. Perhaps, if he was just a bit more experienced... Nonetheless, they continued the game after yet another round of laughs. This time with the letter—D.

"Alright! Can I start us off?" Hatwell seemed stoked.

"The stage is yours." They nodded.

"Ahem... Door!"

"Doorknob!"

"Dock!"

"D-Day!"

"Dill!"

"Drill!"

"...Dick!" Hatwell yet again messed it up, prompting the other two to start tearing up from how much they were laughing, "Grrr, it's not funny! There're only so many words that start with D!"

"Well there's definitely more than 7!" Elegy said between guffaws, "Oh, there's another one—Definite!"

"Man, you've one dirty mind, Hats." Sorbet joked, "Oh, you could've said dirty too! Now there's a word!"

"Mn...! Screw this game, let's do something else!" He got angry.

With only two short rounds to their name, the trio had managed to fend off the White Monster for a total of... 9 minutes. They had another 23 hours and 51 minutes before they could open their Eyes again and continue the journey. At this rate, they would definitely run out of games to keep them occupied before even the 12 hour mark... Eh, make that 6.

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***

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"Then, let's-Ack!" Sorbet got tugged a little harder than usual, "Whoa, that one actually could've gotten me..."

"You think we should duck to make it harder for them to topple us over?" Elegy reasoned, "It could help improve stability, 'cause as it is currently—All it takes is a single bad shove and our whole defense comes crashing down."

"It could work, but that would mean we'd have to squat for an entire 24 hour period." Sorbet shook his head, "Not something we could feasibly accomplish."

"I wish we found a place to stay at." Hatwell sighed, "We're not on the main streets, but we're still outside."

"Let's go find us a place to stay at, then!" Elegy suggested enthusiastically.

"Absolutely not, that's too risk-Hey, was that really you that said that?" Sorbet caught on to the White Monsters tricks.

"Nope, it was another mimic." The real Elegy(?) stated, "Gods, those things really know how to mess with you. I almost started believing that that was my voice as well."

"Please at least learn to tell that apart..." The two looked at him with great disappointment.

It was impossible to discern a real voice from the White Monster's mimicry. The only way to accurately guess if it's the real voice is not by listening to how it sounds, but what it says. In other words, only by knowing the other person well enough could you stand a tiny chance at not getting duped. Of course, this means our trio is destined to a doomed fate at this rate.

"How much longer do we have to wait it out?" Elegy groaned.

"It hasn't even been an hour, dude. Just chill, how hard can it be?" Sorbet shot back, "Actually, it's pretty hard. But standing in place has got to be the easiest thing we could be doing for an entire 24 hour period, seriously. If it was running, or even fighting them, then we'd be doomed for sure. Even with that sword of yours."

"...Oh yeah! The sword!" Elegy remembered he had lodged the sword behind him, "I can make life so much easier if I just do this!"

"Huh? Hey, what did you do just now?" Hatwell was scared of the turbulent movement Elegy was causing to the huddle, "I feel lopsided."

"Isn't it obvious?" Elegy smirked, "I used the crossguard as a seat!"

"How does that help us at all, you dimwit!?" Sorbet shouted.

"Well maybe not you, but it definitely makes it easier for my legs to bear the wait." He shrugged, "By the way, since I lodged the sword deep into the ground, there's no way I'll get pushed off or have the sword get yanked from under me. You could make the argument that this added stability helps the overall team performance as a whole."

"Using fancy words won't get you out of this!" Hatwell demanded, "Scoot over! The crossguard's got two sides to it, doesn't it?"

"O-Oi, stop that! You're gonna push me off completely!" Elegy tried shoving back.

"You idiots! I can't keep holding both of you at the same time if you move like th-!"

-that, he was about to say before the rocking sword dislodged itself from the back and forth movement, sending everyone tumbling to the ground. With the chain link completely destroyed, Elegy and Hatwell were now splayed side by side on their backs, with Sorbet being the only one facing the cloudy ground below in between them. Without wasting a second, the White Monster forcefully opened both of the angels' Eyes and sent them to the land of slumber. The mission was a failure.

"L-Let..." Sorbet refused to budge as the White Monster tried taking the two away back to their homes, "Let them be, you vile thing!"

" "

"Back off! They're my prey, not yours!" He kept lying there until he recalled the sword still lying under him, "Dammit, I told you... to leave!"

Still keeping his Eyes firmly shut, his body constantly facing the ground, and his face pressed in between the two angels' arms as a shield, he blindly hoisted the serrated weapon over his head, sweeping at the Monster's ankles. To his surprise, he didn't feel any form of resistance or impact, but the Beast did seem to leave him be after that. Of course he knew, there was still a lot of time before he could be safe again, so this was probably just a tactical retreat from the White Monster. It WILL be back soon, and he had to get these two to safety until then.

"Guess they're out for now, but I can still salvage this!" He repositioned them under him after hiding everyone behind a corner, "Losing their memories changes nothing for me. I can always just get them caught up with the situation again next cycle. But I need them with me in order to do that. I can't let them get taken away, otherwise I'll have to go back to the start as well to look for them!"

This was indeed the name of the game. Though Sorbet was the only one that survived the attack, this didn't mean they would need to get brought back to the beginning. So long as even one of them remained awake to keep them all from getting sent back, they could effectively keep their progress between cycles. It was a rather unorthodox method, and even still should be counted as more of a safety net than a way of doing things, but it was good to know nonetheless.

" "

"...."

" "

"...Phew." He finally let go of his breath once the White Monster left the vicinity again, "This is gonna be so much more difficult alone. Or is it? Looking on the bright side, at least I don't have to constantly listen to these two dumbasses anymore."

He was a rather optimistic fellow, at least now that his number one enemy got humbled by a gold-armed bum and a sandman-like eldritch horror. There are always two sides to a coin, you know.