Darkness.
Not just darkness—
complete, utter darkness.
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Darkness swallowed everything.
Not sleep.
Not unconsciousness.
Something heavier.
Something deeper.
Like sinking into a bottomless ocean where even your thoughts begin to drown.
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Then—
A sensation.
Faint.
Distant.
A hand.
Shaking my shoulder.
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"Hey! Wake up!"
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Gasp—
"Haa… haa… haa…"
My eyes snapped open.
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Cold air tore into my lungs.
I coughed, my chest tightening as if I had forgotten how to breathe.
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Stone.
Hard. Freezing.
My fingers twitched against the rough surface beneath me.
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Iron bars.
Right in front of me.
Thick. Rusted.
Unmistakably real.
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My vision blurred, then slowly focused.
Stone walls.
Dark.
Damp.
Heavy.
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For a moment—
my mind refused to process it.
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Wait…
Where am I…?
_________________________________
Voices.
Others.
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"I'm Leona… from the magic continent Aorashi…"
"My name is Luo Bing, from the continent called Xian Chao…"
"My name is Derrick. Where I'm from… is none of your business."
"I am Yovnie, from the Harian Empire…"
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Different accents.
Different tones.
Different worlds.
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My heartbeat quickened.
This wasn't normal.
None of this was normal.
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Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
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A sound cut through the air.
Metal.
Keys.
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A guard stepped into view beyond the bars.
His eyes scanned us—
not like people.
Like livestock.
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He opened the small hatch in the cell door and looked inside.
Calm.
Casual.
Detached.
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"You're all awake. Good."
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No one responded.
No one moved.
_________________________________
A faint smile formed on his lips.
Cold.
Wrong.
_________________________________
"You'll need your strength."
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A chill ran down my spine.
_________________________________
"For what…?" a girl asked quietly.
_________________________________
The guard's gaze moved across us one by one.
Slow.
Deliberate.
As if memorizing our faces.
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Then—
he spoke.
_________________________________
"You have all been sentenced to death."
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Silence.
_________________________________
"…What?"
_________________________________
My mind froze.
No—
that's impossible.
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This has to be a dream.
A nightmare.
Something.
_________________________________
I clenched my fists.
No pain.
No waking up.
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Then—
a thought struck me like lightning.
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Wait…
No way…
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"I'm not dreaming…"
My voice trembled.
_________________________________
"I got reincarnated… into the novel world my sister reads…"
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My throat went dry.
_________________________________
What do I do…?
I don't even know the full story…
_________________________________
Panic spread through my chest.
Breathing became harder.
Faster.
Sharper.
_________________________________
Around me, the others began to murmur.
Fear.
Confusion.
Desperation.
_________________________________
No one understood.
No one was prepared.
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Then suddenly—
someone shouted:
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"Everyone… let's run away…!"
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The words echoed through the cell.
Fragile.
Desperate.
Almost meaningless.
_________________________________
Because deep down—
we all understood.
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This wasn't a place you could escape from.