Game Over?

Massive rocks began to rain down, crashing into the floor and shattering into dangerous shards. The ground trembled beneath us, each tremor more violent than the last.

“We'll meet again, Yuuki, Kamei! If you survive that is! Muahahahahahah!” He laughed out, fading into the shadows.

I turned to Kamei, grabbing her hand as another series of rocks plummeted around us, barely missing by inches.

“Come on, Kamei! We gotta get out of here, quick!”

“Ah!” she cried out, stumbling as she tried to keep up.

“Sorry! What’s wrong, Kamei?” I asked, alarmed.

Looking down, I noticed her leg was badly injured. She winced, her face pale.

“It’s… not your fault. I… I just can’t move…” she said, her voice tinged with frustration and sadness.

Damn it! Carrying myself is one thing, but now I got to carry Kamei too. And now’s definitely not the time to think about being heroic and carrying a girl like I'm some sort of prince charming. I'm just a regular guy from a regular city with no exceptional talents. And if I don't get the both of us out of here, we're done for good!

“Hang on, Kamei,” I said, scooping her up and maneuvering her onto my back, her arms wrapping instinctively around my shoulders.

“Y-Yuuki!?” she gasped, surprised.

“Hold tight! We’re making a run for it!”

Kamei seemed flustered for a moment but quickly nodded, her expression steeling. “Okay!”

“Let’s go! Full throttle!” I yelled, pushing every last bit of strength into my legs as we dashed through the collapsing cave.

Rocks continued to crash down with unrelenting intensity as the cave trembled violently. I pushed forward, avoiding each huge piece of debris that landed in our path, even though each impact seemed to shake the ground beneath my feet, making it harder to maintain balance. As we zigzagged, just avoiding a sudden cascade of stones that thundered to our left, I gasped for air.

“Hold on, Kamei!” I yelled as I leaped over a gaping crack that had split open in the floor.

I risked looking over my shoulder as a deep rumble came from behind and I saw the ceiling collapse in our trail, rapidly approaching.

“That could’ve been bad.”

We were hit by a shower of jagged stones as the cave shook with another tremor. I stooped to protect Kamei as best I could, squirming as a few jagged fragments hit my back and shoulders. The exit was so close— I could see the dim glimmer of dawn coming in through the opening.

But the exhaustion was setting in deep. I’d used up nearly everything fighting Specter, and honestly, I was still tired from…well…dying. My vision started to blur, and each step felt slower and heavier. And with Kamei on my back, it was like gravity itself was pulling me down even harder—not that she was heavy or anything. It was just…this was looking bad. Really bad.

I looked ahead, and my heart sank. The exit was still there, but the rocks were crashing down faster, closing off that last glimmer of light. It was fading, like it was just out of reach.

It’s too late. I’m so tired. I want to sleep. We’ll never make it.

I clenched my eyes shut, a sharp pang of regret hitting me in the chest. I’d just come back to life. I’d just found this power, this…chance. And now, after everything… I’m sorry, Mom, I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry, Kamei. I’m sorry, Inari…

Just as my legs gave out and I felt myself sinking down, I suddenly felt Kamei’s grip tighten around me, her own breaths quick and shallow.

“You can do this, Yuuki!” she whispered fiercely, almost to herself.

Her words somehow fueled me, and I pushed forward even harder, focusing only on the faint light of the cave entrance just up ahead.

“CHÆOKUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!”

I screamed, summoning everything I had left in me. The words felt like they were tearing through my throat, but my Chæoku answered.

As the power of the spirit surged through my body, a rush of dark, burning energy erupted around me, crackling with primal force. As the energy flowed through me, the limb ache and chest weight seemed to temporarily subside. As though calling to me, the light from the exit flickered in my view.

With one last burst, we cleared the final stretch, diving out of the cave entrance just as a massive boulder fell behind us, sealing the exit with a deafening crash. We tumbled onto the grass outside, and I collapsed, letting Kamei slide gently to the ground beside me.

For a moment, neither of us moved, simply staring back at the now-blocked cave, our breaths heavy and ragged.

That’s it. I’m finally done with this stupid tutorial.

It hadn’t really hit me at the time, but as I lay there, catching my breath and staring up at the sky, it finally started to sink in: I really came out of that mess alive.

Then, as the adrenaline faded, a wave of relief hit us, and I let out a shaky laugh.

“W-we did it… We did it, Kamei. We made it out alive.”

Kamei didn’t answer right away. She was staring up at the sky, drenched in sweat and dirt. Though, she wore a small smile. A smile that was the only blooming flower in this empty serene hill.

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“You did it. I didn’t do anything.”

Her words hit me in a strange way. For a moment, I just stood there, unsure of how to respond. I won’t lie—it felt good to finally get some recognition. I wasn’t exactly the kind of person who got praised much. Normally, I’d just get yelled at for being good at something. But hearing someone say it felt... Well, nice. But what kind of person would I be if I fully accepted a compliment like that?

“Oh, don’t say that,” I replied quickly. “Besides, I wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for you.”

She let out a soft laugh. “I guess you can say that. Hahaha.”

I chuckled too. “Hahahaha.”

For a brief period, the only sound in the silence was our laughter, interrupted only by the distant howling of the wind. The burden of everything we had gone through began to lessen.

The people Kamei and I were at the start of this journey had changed. Everything had changed, including the uncertainty, the anxiety, and the uncomfortable. The awkwardness, the fear—everything had changed. For better or worse, we’d both grown through the trials we faced.

We both knew, without expressing it out loud, that we had survived together, and I could sense that in the way we laughed. And that made all the difference.