Darkness engulfed the room as I sat there, catching my breath that had nearly left my body.
"Really... I almost saw death that time," I muttered.
After a few moments, light returned to the room, but this time it wasn’t the ominous green light—it was a pure white light.
Its source was Elliot, who formed a small sphere of light in his hand and walked toward the others to check on them. "Are you guys alright?" The exhaustion was clear in his voice.
Leona, who was lying on the ground, raised her hand. "We’re still alive, thank God... Damn it, in those final moments I felt like my life was leaving my body."
The others let out tired groans in agreement with her words. Only Kyle and the princess maintained some composure.
I pulled another essence stone from my ring and began replenishing my essence reserves. The others did the same.
After resting a little, I pushed myself up and headed toward the skeletons scattered on the ground.
I looked at the modern clothes covering the clean white bones... what remained of Helen’s missing residents... twenty-one people in total.
Even the bones of that small bird... In the end, I was right.
I scratched my head. "It’s not like it still matters."
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ellen. It seemed she had recovered enough strength to stand and walk toward one of the skeletons.
She remained there, staring at it in silence, until Izel arrived and stood beside her. "I suppose we solved the case."
Her words left a heavy feeling in the air.
I walked toward the group, specifically toward the blonde girl. "No... we didn’t solve the case. We became the case."
I said that as my eyes fell on Talia, who turned around in place... perhaps hoping we wouldn’t notice her presence.
But we did. "So, Talia... what explanation do you owe us?"
She swallowed nervously, looking around while avoiding my gaze before speaking. "I... I didn’t know this would happen... I’m sorry... Believe me."
I placed my hand on my temple and rubbed it. "Foolish girl."
I mean, what kind of lunatic reads ancient words while holding something strange like that sphere?... Don’t these main characters have any sense of safety?
Ellen approached her and asked, "Just tell us everything. How did that sphere end up in your hands?"
Talia spoke while everyone listened. "It’s just like I said before. I found an old man selling antique items in the market, and this sphere caught my interest... so I bought it. He was the one who told me those words... I truly didn’t mean for us to end up like this."
"An old man..." I muttered.
Izel stepped forward. "Then it seems that old man sold those items to all these people here." She said that while pointing at the skeletons.
"And after telling them those words, and repeating them later, they ended up here. And since they were ordinary humans, their lives were devoured by this room the moment they set foot here."
"No... it’s not like that," Kyle denied Izel’s guess before continuing, "If everyone bought those things from that old man, the police would have known. They’re not that stupid. Among all the victims’ files, only that girl was the one who went to that market."
Ellen intervened. "There’s another point as well. Why didn’t anyone say those words in front of the old man and disappear immediately before people? And why didn’t the old man himself disappear in that case? Though the latter could be explained by no one holding those spheres and speaking the words."
Elliot continued, "There’s also the old man in the hospital. How did that thing reach him? And even if we assume one of his sons brought it to him, why didn’t it happen to his son? Was he lucky enough not to activate it?"
Leona stepped forward. "Maybe the old man was selling those spheres in different places each time, making it difficult for the police to track him."
Kyle shook his head. "No... that wouldn’t be possible unless the security forces were a bunch of idiots... or they’re deliberately covering it up."
Elliot raised an eyebrow. "And why would they do that? Do they want citizens to end up in this place?"
Kyle shrugged, indicating he didn’t know, while Ellen added, "That remains just a possibility, nothing more, nothing less."
I ignored them as I walked around the room and activated my ability.
What’s the point of thinking about how those people ended up here while we’re trapped in this unknown place?
Especially when everything seems wrong and illogical.
Besides, I’m not even sure we’re still in Helen or anywhere nearby.
I moved close to the walls while my senses spread behind them, feeling what lay beyond... and well, all there was was more thick wall stretching for several hundred meters. Or it was as if this room was buried underground.
It seemed Elliot had stopped theorizing and approached me. "What are you doing?"
"Just touching these beautiful walls that almost killed us and turned us into skeletons a moment ago... Do you know how scared I was when that happened? After all, I still haven’t achieved my most important dreams."
"And what are your important dreams?"
"Cleaning some scum from the world... then marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman and living a simple life... with lots of money."
Elliot looked at me in silence before saying, "What’s wrong with you? Why are you talking like that?"
"And why are you asking something so obvious? Isn’t it clear I’m trying to find a way out of this place?"
Elliot sighed. "And did you find it?"
"Of course."
Before he could ask where it was, I walked to the center of the place and pointed at a square pattern on the ceiling.
"That’s the exit. Or at least there’s an empty space behind it."
Looking at it, it was a square drawn on the ceiling, but it didn’t seem like a separate piece from it.
Elliot moved and created a staircase of ice as he climbed toward it. The ceiling wasn’t very high—about three meters only.
Within moments, Elliot reached it and tried pushing and striking it to open it, but nothing worked.
He sighed and said, "I think this door opens from the outside."
Ellen approached us. "So, what should we do now?"
Without thinking, I answered.
"Dig."