Was it just a paranoid figment of her imagination, or was the bed itself actually tugging at her very being, gripping each organ by its blood vessels, as if it was pulling her somewhere? Could it be just the warm comforts itself, and it felt like she was being dragged under just because of how terrible the rest of the sleeping conditions have been the entirety of her life? It was the same draw the basket exerted on her, just multitudes stronger. Did that mean the bed could also be one of these armaments that she could claim for herself? Regardless of her instincts screaming at her that something was off, she drifted into sleep all the same. At this point, Kanashima was used to the drama queen her brain loved to be, but it didn't make it any easier to sleep at night. Despite any differences in the past, slumber welcomed her with open arms this evening. Her body gave in to the sweet promises of the dreamworld.
Falling into a light slumber, her body began to twist and contort in every which way. Needles pierced through the fabrics of her own personal reality and wove into her, dragging her biological composition down by the electronic addendums the virus so graciously attached to her own conductive nervous system. It was a wholly unpleasant and painful experience, amplified immensely by the fact that she didn't get to sleep a lick.
Thrusted through the tangible portions of the virus' world as she knew it, the simulated environment warped around her, breaking solid pieces off of the previous environment. Bending the terrain, the AI continued to generate the ever enlarging hole inside of its own simulacrum, plunging her into its depths. Her eyes could barely process everything surrounding her, all of the images of tumbling earth and wood merging together with a scarlet hue, definitely from the luminescence that the virus loved to augment its electronic charges with.
If she was sleepy before, that state of being had completely been turned on its head with the coursing pain dancing throughout her entire corporeal being. Having an electronic surge invade the very fibers of her nervous system blasted the hanging eyelids paired with the droopy corners of her mouth far and away. Her visage transformed into a state of widened eyes and disoriented alertness as she tried to locate the bottom of the seemingly never ending abyss. Flailing her thin arms around the dark purple hole, a scream pierced through the nether itself, leaving behind sound waves as she traveled through the tunnel. Any attempts to slow her fall were futile, like even air particles were repelled from her body.
As always in the real world, and thus, in the simulacrum, what comes up must come down. Even though Kanashima never physically went up, at least relatively, she was still far above, and therefore up from wherever the enigmatic tunnel led. After what felt like two hours and a short break, she finally flew out of the confined space and into a huge, expansive domain blanketed in a wide range of violet hues. Through the lack of any sort of visible light source in the air, her grey eyes were still able to perceive the bountiful rolling hills, the deep dark depths sprinkled in some of the valleys, and the light amaranthine sky itself. The increased visibility was welcome, but it didn't change her current predicament at all. With a shriek, her fragile arms formed into a protective hold in a desperate attempt to brace for impact.
Her vision flashed through various shades of black and grey once she finally met the solid indigo earth below, face to turf. By some sort of intervention by the system, or maybe even the way it dragged her into a literal nether rather than leaving her to plummet alone, she miraculously didn't sustain any physical injuries. All of the pain exploding from the points of contact were indicative of a fall, so was all the pain just phantom? Why would the system generate pain for her but wouldn't injure her? Maybe it wasn't so unfair after all.
A couple minutes were spent writhing on the cool obsidian-like surface before Kanashima made any sort of attempt at picking herself up. There were no immediate dangers that she could perceive, and her body pleaded with her to take her time, allow some rest, and it was important to listen to one's body in dire times. Sitting up on the small elevated surface, the pain transformed from the harsh stings and needles to a dull throb as she rubbed her face with her marred hands.
The surroundings were breathtaking to say the least. Rolling hills as far as the eye can see, interrupted by what she could only assume were depths of some unknown liquid. If she was lucky, it would be water, but after all the events the simulation had created for her, there's no way her luck would play any favors. Unlike the forest, there wasn't any treasure trove in the shape of a hut in her field of view.
I'm still alive though… I guess that's my luck? My dumb, rotten luck? Ah… maybe it would be easier if I was completely unlucky.
She rocked her head back and forth, attempting to physically dismiss such an obstructive thought. Figuring out how to survive the barren… whatever this place was should be her number one priority. Her mother and Morgan would've wanted her to persevere through these tribulations and live. Even her father too, from the accounts and stories she had been graced with throughout her childhood.
Ah… I wish I could've met him, or even know his name. Morgan, are you with him now? Mom? I hope you guys are well, fishing and eating real food together.
She herself was on top of a higher elevation that towered over anywhere else she could see at the moment, the violet haze obscuring the view even further out. Under her feet was a small plateau, a dozen square meters in surface area at most. Luckily, the mountain didn't get much taller than the final landing, offering her all it could in terms of vantage points. Trying her best to survey the range, she crawled towards the cliffside, legs in too much pain to stand.
It was really the perfect location and height for some much needed surveillance. At just the right height to see a few kilometers from each side, and not too tall that she could make out all the seemingly random features of the terrain itself. A few parts of the generated environment were accentuated with lighter hues than their surroundings. Sometimes it formed a crescent around one of the many dunes, other times it made it look like a ravine filled with some liquid drug Kanashima saw all too much in the slums. Was there some sort of pattern to the madness, or was it some pseudorandom generated process by the no doubt complex algorithm?
Maybe somebody a little more intelligent and knowledgeable about computers, software, and the overall virus would have the answer to such a question. Perhaps she would ask Cipher when she gets out of this vile constructed hell and subsequent trials that no doubt await her return.
I've decided to get out of here alive after all, huh? Next time I see Cipher?
Somehow, in all of the insane and unprecedented turns, a small smile curled up from the corners of her lips, adding to the light pink dusting accentuating her cheeks. He was rather cute after all, why wouldn't she want to see such eye candy again? Him and his soft hands clasping her own as those thin effeminate lips made deliberate contact with hers. Pushing her down on the very same couch they met at…
What the hell am I thinking! I need to get out of here, I'm going insane! This is absolutely the virus and the simulation's fault.
Her hands made flat contact with both sides of her face simultaneously, performing some percussive maintenance on less than savory thoughts. With all she had been exposed to, it was sometimes hard to remember she was just a young, inexperienced teenager. One that had real desire, hope. The hope to get out of this place and keep on living for her fallen family. The hope to live a somewhat normal and reasonable life.
Okay, reset time.
All of her body seemed to function and respond normally to her rather rudimentary mental scan. She finished her tests off by attempting to summon the Bountiful Basket once again. Despite it being such a new concept, experience, and ability, she had already accepted it as one of her own functions. Once again, thin red wires danced across her fingertips, shooting out in front of her and constructing a rectangular prism. Once the outline was formed, the rest of the light particles coalesced in the center, expanding outward until the entire frame was filled out. Taking the top off of the container, she let out a soft sigh. Staring back at her was the same beautiful fruit that she had yet to get tired of, despite being her only source of sustenance.
Taking a bite out of the succulent drupe, her entire body managed to relax once more. The dull throbbing pain subsided significantly with the sweet sugars revitalizing her. In a blink of an eye, only two small inner cores remained inside the basket. Popping the lid back on, she dismissed it once again, smiling with a slight note of satisfaction. While only a small win, it still brought her a little bit of joy in the increasingly desperate position the simulation had put her in.
With no discernible way to descend from the plateau, Kanashima scratched her head as she stood mere centimeters away from the drop. It had to be at least three hundred meters down to the nearest platform, and she wasn't really interested in seeing what kinds of things that would do to her already frail and lacerated body. Nothing on her body could help with such a drastic drop either, and she definitely didn't want to test her luck after surviving the one that deposited her into this underworld.
The only other apparent option was an opening about three meters tall, half that wide behind her. Where it led was imperceivable, shadows blanketing everything past a couple steps deep. Unfortunately, the same blessings that allowed her to see through the sky didn't allow her to peer through the depths of this opening.
No no no, not another tunnel. There better not be spiders down there too.
It was near impossible to tell the time without a sun or any regularly changing environmental system, but as time crept on at whatever pace it decided to, she was getting more and more desperate. The cave started to look less of a dangerous spider trap and more of her only shot at getting off the barren mountain alive. It didn't make her want to challenge it any more.
At one point she managed to fall asleep, but that only served to remind her of the first evenings she spent in the simulacrum. Her dreams never allowed her to stay sound asleep, and tonight, or was it day already? It was no different, the nightmares screamed at her harder. The caves, the tunnels, and the looming promise that she was going to die in here just like Morgan did all those years ago. He would've known what to do here.
God, I'm such a failure.
Was it all because she refused to run down that godforsaken tunnel, or was she afraid of something more? Disappointing somebody? Who was there to disappoint, Morgan? He was dead, no matter how much she tried and wished and kept on living in the name of him, he was dead. She missed him so much, and cried even more. She kept on living because that's what he wanted her to do, but he wouldn't blame her. Morgan was too kind and understanding to blame her baby sister for trying her best. Wouldn't it be poetic if she died just the same way as her late brother? Maybe one of the bigshot corporate directors would stumble upon her family's history and bastardize it in a short film.
"Please come back alive."
The strange, tall, and usually aloof woman popped back into her mind. Her stone gaze, cigarette half out of her lips, staring back at her. The deep, raspy voice became so familiar over the past week, her presence was the only consistent one since Morgan. Somebody that remembered her name, graciously gave her food, and took her into her own home.
"It's okay, you're safe now. I ran them off."
"She really protected me?"
Her brother said that he wanted to protect her, and the boss herself clarified it, showing her the same kindness reminiscent of Morgan. What good would her efforts have done if she just threw it all away just because she was now afraid of caves? Now she would be disappointing two people, Morgan and Serafin.
She had to get out of here now, off of this plateau, out of whatever environment this detestable AI tossed her through, and out of the so-called fair simulacrum itself. She had to make good on her last words, her promise to Morgan, and be safe. His dear baby sister couldn't be very safe if she was dead.
"...We'll find them later."
A notion of vengeance was the last push Kanashima needed to blow open the roadblock standing between her and the opening in the mountain. The entire ordeal in the alley scared her, but more importantly, it really angered her. Powerless in the face of any actual danger. Was that how she wanted to live, just like her mother? At least Morgan was able to do something to get away from that. Does she want that too?
I don't just want that, I need that too. Just like Morgan. I'll do it for the both of us. I'll get strong enough.
Getting through the cave was physically easy, but mentally felt like rolling away a boulder. If this is what salvation took, she would do it though. She could barely see, but hadn't run into any walls yet. With her hand guiding her, she followed the curvature of the wall until she found the next opening in it. Stepping through, she recognized the same dozen or so square meters of surface.
Are you kidding me, I've been scared of a tiny alcove?
Spinning on her heel, she made her way directly through the middle of the cutout. About halfway through, her hand felt a new texture, one that she familiarized herself with just before falling through the rift. A couple splinters stuck in her hand later, she found another smooth surface. It was smooth and cool to the touch, but just didn't have that same rocky feel as the rest of the cave, so what was it? She ran her hand across the surface of it a little more, then using both of her hands, picked it up, straining her tiny biceps as much as she could. She turned around with the object, facing the light just in time to see something in the sky rapidly approaching. Grey eyes narrowed at the new black figure in the distance.
That can't be good. I hope it's not a flying spider.