A long, dark corridor greeted the mont the doors slid open. A wave of cool air drifted in, brushing against my skin and raising a faint chill as it passed. The dim lighting barely reached the far end, leaving most of the hallway swallowed in shadow.
I paused at the threshold, my eyes moving slowly to the right, then to the left, scanning the empty stretch as the silence settled in once more.
’Separating the group mbers and leaving them alone. Common scare tactic.’
A part of felt uneasy, but at the sa ti, I couldn’t help but analyze every little detail about the situation. Aware of the fact that this was an artificial gate, I didn’t feel very scared.
More than anything, I was curious.
’A learning opportunity.’
Yes, this was a good learning opportunity for .
Still new to this whole ’Gate Creation’ thing, I wanted to see how this ’fan’ of mine presented his Gate.
Step—!
Taking a step forward, the sound of my foot hitting the ground echoed sharply, bouncing off the walls and carrying farther than it should have. The noise lingered, repeating itself in faint layers as the dim lights above flickered, casting an unsteady glow over the corridor.
’...I still don’t feel any presence.’
Nevertheless, the goal was to escape.
I needed to find an exit.
Thankfully, I wasn’t at a complete loss as I reached forward as the Realmwalker’s hand appeared from beneath, handing a familiar compass.
Grasping the compass, I closed my eyes and muttered inside my mind, ’Help find the exit.’
When I opened my eyes again, the compass had already started to move. It spun around several tis before stopping right ahead.
’...So I just have to walk straight?’
I decided to follow the direction it was pointing at.
Of course, I made sure to stay cautious. I knew the compass wasn’t entirely reliable. Most of the ti, it pointed in the right direction, but there were monts when it didn’t, and I had to be ready for that.
Step. Step—!
The echo of my footsteps carried down the hallway, each step repeating and overlapping as it bounced off the walls. I kept moving through the long corridor, my eyes sweeping across the surroundings, lingering on every shadow and corner as I stayed on guard.
But despite walking like this for the next couple of minutes, nothing absurd occurred. The corridor just seed to stretch infinitely.
The more it was like this, the more my frown deepened.
Eventually, I ca to a stop.
’Is it just never going to stop? An infinite corridor of sorts?’
No...
That seed a little too simple.
There was certainly more to it, and as I continued to look around, I still found there to be nothing out of the ordinary.
’Hmm. So you’re stripping all semblance of control from and making move at your own rhythm... This is certainly sothing I should take note of when creating my own Gate.’
I was learning a lot.
Perhaps, this entire situation wasn’t too bad.
Keeping the compass in hand, I continued ahead.
The sound of my steps continued to bounce in all directions as I followed the compass, each echo layering over the last until it beca difficult to tell where the original sound ca from.
The corridor stretched endlessly ahead.
Ti began to blur, seconds slipping into minutes, the steady echo of my movent becoming almost rhythmic.
The longer I walked, the more it felt like the path had no end.
And just as I was about to stop again, sothing changed. With a sudden flick, the lights above flared to life, a harsh brightness flooding the corridor and blinding instantly.
My vision washed out to white, my eyes stinging as I instinctively narrowed them, trying to adjust. Before I could even make sense of what had just happened, the silence was shattered.
Nurous shouts rang out ahead, overlapping and sowhat urgent, followed by the frantic sound of footsteps rushing across the floor.
’What? What’s going on...?’
I tensed, getting ready for anything as I forced my eyes open.
But what greeted my sight was completely unexpected. Standing at the entrance of a large hall, I saw nurses moving in every direction, their voices sharp as they barked orders. Patients were being rushed across the space, so supported, others carried, as the entire area buzzed with frantic activity.
"I need help over here!"
"There’s a need for blood transfusion over here!"
"Quick! Quick! This patient needs so help!"
Looking around, I found myself at a loss, but soon I saw one of the nurses head in my direction as she shouted, "Doctor! Doctor!"
Her hands were dirtied with blood as she pointed towards a certain room.
"We need your help quickly!"
...?
I looked around before suddenly looking down.
The mont I did, my brow rose.
’When did my outfit change?’
Not only was I wearing a pair of latex gloves, but I was also wearing a blue surgeon’s outfit. Lifting my head to stare at the nurse again, I instantly understood.
The true scenario...
It had finally started.
"Doctor, let’s hurry!"
All of a sudden, the nurse grabbed firmly by the arm and dragged ahead. I didn’t resist her grip and followed her hastily into another room. It wasn’t because I wanted to, but when I looked down at the compass in my hand, it pointed in the direction of where the nurse was bringing .
’Is the key to the exit located there, or is this a trap?’
Honestly, I didn’t know, but I knew that I had to play along for now.
A sharp, tallic sll of blood hung in the air the mont I entered the room, mixed with the harsh scent of alcohol.
The mont I entered the room, several nurses greeted as rows of curtains ca into view, behind which I could hear faint moans and groans.
Swooosh—!
The mont the curtains were drawn, a patient appeared before my eyes, their face pale as blood seeped from every part of their body, and a lot of blood leaked from their stomach area.
"...He needs a blood transfusion. Quickly do it."
Before I knew it, the words flowed out of my mouth on their own.
At the sa ti, I sat down on the stool and started to examine the patient.
"Severe abdominal trauma... massive hemorrhaging. If we don’t stabilize him now, he won’t last five minutes."
Once again, I was left surprised by the words coming out of my mouth. It was as if I had suddenly beco a seasoned doctor, instantly knowing what the patient was experiencing.
Extending my hand, the nurse placed a scalpel into my palm.
I glanced down at it.
The tal was spotless, freshly sanitized, before raising it in front of . Its sharp edge glinted under the harsh lights above as I steadied my grip, then lowered my gaze to the patient lying below.
I still didn’t know what was going on, nor how this was related to leaving, but I remained in a detached state of observation as I lowered the scalpel and cut into the patient’s stomach.
Only that...
"———!"
The mont the scalpel touched the patient’s stomach, a sharp, almost unbearable pain flared at the exact point I had cut.
But... on my body.
The patient groaned, but when I looked down at my own body, my gaze fixed on the red spot blooming in the exact place I had cut on the patient.
’Oh...’
This wasn’t good.
"Doctor."
Suddenly, a hand clamped around my wrist. When I turned my head, I found nurous gazes fixed on , their wide, unmoving smiles enough to unsettle anyone, as one of the nurses slowly tilted their head, watching as the corner of their eyes squinted.
"...Please get on with the surgery. There’s not much ti left. If they bleed out, they’ll die."
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