The final echo of the guard's running boots still drifted through the cell.
Lane, his neck tilted, was staring at that square opening in the wall.
Through which the guard had just vanished.
There was no wooden panel, no curtain—
Just an empty square passage leading into the dark, cold corridor outside.
Lane's eyes widened in wonder.
"Luka... why was that guard so scared?" he whispered softly.
"His hands were shaking. Did he see a ghost out there?"
Luka didn't answer.
His gaze, too, was fixed on that empty and silent path.
The frantic way the guard had dropped the food and run had filled Luka with restlessness.
Yuki, too, sat frozen like stone.
He wondered why the guard, who always yelled at these children, had such terror in his own eyes today.
Had something very bad happened outside?
Suddenly, Lane began to stand up with excitement.
"Luka! Look, there's no one there to stop us."
"The path is completely empty."
"Can I just peek outside once?"
"I just want to see why he ran so fast. Please?"
The old spark of wanting to explore the dark world outside had returned to Lane's eyes.
Luka immediately grabbed Lane's hand and pulled him back down.
Saying with a bit of firmness, "No, Lane! Absolutely not."
"You can't go out right now."
Luka's grip was firm, and an unknown fear lingered in his voice.
To him, that empty passage felt like a dark trap.
Lane pouted and looked back at that empty square opening.
But now, his curiosity had only grown stronger.
Lane tugged at the corner of Luka's tunic, making his voice even softer and sweeter.
"But Luka... I went out before too."
"You saw, didn't you?"
"Nothing happened to me, and I came back perfectly fine."
He looked up at Luka with wide, innocent eyes.
As if trying to prove how brave he was.
But this innocence had no effect on Luka.
Instead, Luka's face flushed with anger.
He widened his eyes and made his voice as stern as possible.
"Lane!"
The sharpness in his voice startled Lane.
Luka pointed toward the red wound on Lane's foot, which was still fresh and vivid.
"You went out, and look what you brought back!"
"You came back with such a deep injury that hasn't even healed yet, and you still want to go outside?"
Luka gripped Lane's hand a little tighter.
His eyes reflecting a mix of anger and fear.
"Stop this stubbornness, Lane!"
"Until I say so, you won't take a single step out of this cell. Do you understand?"
Lane slowly lowered his gaze.
The bitterness in Luka's scolding was actually the fear of seeing that injury happen all over again.
In the quiet of the cell, Luka's breathing remained heavy.
As if he were trying to build a wall of protection around Lane with his words.
In the heavy silence of the cell, Yuki stood up slowly.
Aya had fully awakened too, watching everyone with blurry eyes.
Yuki looked toward the empty passage in the wall and said in a grave voice.
"I'll go see what happened outside."
"The way that guard ran... it wasn't normal. I'll be right back."
But Lane was now deathly silent.
He had lowered his head, fixing his gaze firmly on the floor.
He gripped his shirt so tightly with both hands that his tiny knuckles turned white.
Luka's anger had wounded his little heart.
Luka saw Lane's state, but his mind didn't change.
He looked at Yuki and said firmly, "No, I will go."
"You take care of Lane."
"I'll see what's out there that made the guard run in such a fright."
Yuki's face hardened.
He made his voice heavy as he said, "Luka, you are still a child too."
"You cannot go out. There's no need to take this risk."
But there was a strange stubbornness on Luka's face.
He kept his voice low so as not to upset Lane further.
"You just make sure he doesn't try to move from here."
"I'll just take one look and come back."
Aya, who had been standing silently staring at the empty square passage, whispered softly.
"Don't go, Luka... it's too dark out there."
Luka looked at her and said with a faint smile.
"Nothing will happen, Aya. I'll be back before you know it."
Aya said nothing; she simply lowered her head and stood there in dejected silence.
Her quietness held an unknown fear that began to fill the entire cell.
Luka stepped out through the empty square passage.
His shadow stretching long under the artificial lights before vanishing into the field.
Yuki immediately moved and stood beside Lane.
Aya, too, sat back down in her place without a word.
Staring at the empty opening with hollow eyes.
A strange silence fell over the cell, as if someone had stolen everyone's voices.
On the other side, the boy Yuki had noticed earlier moved toward another corner of the cell with some food.
He was about Yuki's age, but there was no kindness on his face.
Two other children sat there, frozen like stone statues with their faces hidden against their knees.
The boy stopped beside them.
He pulled out pieces of bread and some water pouches from his bag.
As soon as those silent children heard him, they slowly lifted their heads.
Their eyes held a mixture of terror and hunger.
The boy looked at them and said in a very dry, harsh voice, "Eat."
With that, without a hint of sympathy, he tossed the two pieces of bread down in front of them.
The children looked at the food with trembling hands, but the boy didn't stay a second longer.
He left the food there as if throwing fodder to an animal.
Yuki watched all this from a distance—
He realized that in this place, it wasn't just the walls that were made of stone;
The hearts of some who lived here had turned to stone as well.
Yuki couldn't bear to see the children in such a state.
He stepped forward and stood before the other boy, his eyes flashing with anger.
"You shouldn't behave like this," Yuki said in a low voice.
"If you were going to give them food this way, it would have been better if you had just stayed in that corner."
But Yuki's words had no effect on the boy.
It was as if the words hadn't even reached his ears.
He cast a cold glance at Yuki and then, with total indifference, stood there calmly chewing his piece of bread.
He looked at Yuki once more, as if to show he didn't care.
And then silently lowered his gaze, focusing back on his meal.
Yuki let out a cold sigh and sat down beside the frightened children.
"Don't be afraid," he said with great gentleness, "Go ahead and eat this."
The two of them—a small boy and a tiny girl—looked at Yuki with trembling eyes.
Yuki gently ran his hand over their heads.
Feeling the warmth of his touch, the tension on the children's faces softened slightly.
"That's it, eat your food," Yuki said again, encouraging them.
Yuki's motherly touch reassured the children that even in this strange place, there was someone who saw them as human.
Meanwhile, the other boy continued to eat his bread, lost in his own world.
As if his feelings had long since died.