Unravelling

Hey would you look at that? Chat's moving again!

"WHAT DID YOU DO YOU DUMBFUCK?"
"She deserves better than you bro"
"Can you be mine instead Chisaki"
"Goslingcore stream"

Aarg, not now! Why are you looking at chat when you should be hiding, Hinata?

"Behind you, Chisaki!"
"No no, to the left!"
"He's hiding in the boxes!"

Oh, that's why.

"Found you." Chisaki says. There is no classic Chisaki smile. Chisaki for once, looks dead serious.

"Uh...hey!" I give her a sheepish grin and a gentle wave.

She waves back, and for a moment, there is a brief smile on her face.

I scramble out of the box and begin to run for my life as Chisaki casually trails behind me. She seems completely unconcerned about the fact that she is about to skewer me alive once more.

Why does it always end this way? Oh, because you're an idiot Hinata, that's why.

"Think you can get away this time? Because I let you go last time, dearie?" Chisaki sings out, her tone filled with tranquil fury. Despite her voice coming out from behind me, the moment I burst open the kitchen door, she's standing right in front of me. I quickly pivot and turn back towards the door, but when I do, she's right there as well.

"Wha-what..." I am not able to say much before she grabs me by the throat and lifts me up into the air. "Gak!" I try to breathe. Despite her shorter height, she's easily able to lift me up, and I struggle to keep my consciousness.

"Maybe you need another lesson. As much as I'd like to just..." Chisaki raises up a knife, but then shakes her head. "Nevermind."

"Chisaki, please..."

"Goodbye, Hinata. Maybe...maybe this is for the best."

I did not realize it, but as it turns out, the kitchen has transformed into a metal railing atop a cloudy mountainside now. I notice beneath my feet is a dark unrendered zone, pitch black

"Ch-gh, Chisaki, wait..."

She ignores me, and gives me a brief, almost sorrowful smile, before she drops me. As Chisaki tosses me down the chasm, I am reminded once more of the fact that my chat is still running.

"Someone should make a Hinata getting dropped compilation, this is getting ridiculous"

Yeah, I agree.

***

The room I land in is completely different from what I've seen before. A massive library, with no ground floor. Staircases go up and downward in fractal patterns. There's an eerie green light that permeates the place that gives it an almost dreamlike quality.

I'm on a platform of some kind. Fortunately, I seem to have my weapons still. Six rounds for the revolver, and no rounds for the submachine gun. Well, at least it's a good flashlight. And the sword.

I look around the platform. It's almost a small slice of normal library, albeit a suspended balcony in a seemingly infinite fractal tower. When I look down, I notice several other balconies, identical to mine both above and below me.

I approach the bookcase to try and read one of the books. Maybe it'll help. Yet, as I reach for it, the book disappears. I reach for another, and that too, disappears, just as the first one re-appears.

Lovely.

It's only when I reach for a book that appears to be partially sticking out already that the bookshelf decides it's enough hiding information from me. I take the book and open it up. Inside is a coin. The pages are written, but the text physically hurts to look at. The letters are a jumble, constantly shifting and turning, as if it doesn't know what it wants to say.

I look away.

There is a synopsis and a title. "Read Her Heart", it says.

Well, isn't that a bit on the nose?

I now proceed to look at the back of the book. "When faced with a momentous task, the hero must learn to jump."

Please don't tell me that means what I think it means.

I take another look at the coin. It has no features on it whatsoever.

I've gamed long enough to know random stuff like this can be useful. If I run out of inventory, I'll probably just throw it out, right?

I spend the next few minutes descending the stairs. I go down, down and down. First platform. Second platform. Third platform. I'm wiped. I check chat.

"JUST JUMP YOU FUCKING CHICKEN"

Yet, every human instinct in my body says no.

Should I have gone up instead? Logically, I know that that would do nothing, and I'd be in the same situation. But I really, really, really don't want to jump...

And yet, I know there's one way forward.

I climb onto the railings, and look down. The library tower looks infinite.

God fucking dammit. I don't want to do this. I know I'll probably be okay but...

But...

After much deliberating, I finally manage to jump.

***

Holy shit, that could have been bad!

I've fallen onto a pile of books, but lying here, besides me, is a metal spike.

I look closer. That's no metal spike. I pick it up, and it enters my inventory. "Sculpting chisel", it says.

I get up off the pile of books. I'm in an atrium of some kind. There is a grand baroque door, presumably the way out. After looking around the room, I try to push the door open.

It refuses to budge.

After a few more attempts, I notice a small hole in the wall. It's not some hole from a break - there is brass gilding around it, almost as if it was built into the building intentionally.

I try sticking the chisel in, and I hear a click. I turn the chisel.

Dammit, there's some kind of gear in there, but the chisel slid off!

No, there has to be another way. Maybe there's a crank of some kind in here.

I spend more time wandering around the room, checking every nook and cranny, until I finally manage to come across something interesting. A crank of some kind. I pick it up and head for the door, when I am struck with a sudden realization.

The door is open. Wait, was it always open? Or am I forgetting?

I must be stupid or something. I check chat.

"He didn't check lul"
"Uh...I'm pretty sure he did"
"Rewound the clip, wtf?"

I kick the door open, and wave my revolver around. Shit! I'm not safe here, am I?

I charge out, waving my revolver around. The area is wide open, and has good sightlanes for shooting. Not entirely convinced of safety, I pull out my sword. If they manage to get past my revolver, then I'll have a backup to rely on.

...

When the panic passes, I gradually begin to move forward.

There is another door up ahead. There's a holographic panel next to it, saying "MAINTENANCE CORRIDOR ACCESS LOCKED". Underneath it, it says "AUTHORIZED STAFF ONLY".

But this is the only other way out! Also, who the hell would be authorized staff anyways?

I look around. There's but one computer in this entire room.

Should I?

The computer table is clean and spotless. There's an apple on the table, and a small ticket of some kind sitting on it.

"Idol Sale Ticket!" the first one reads.

Uh...huh.

The apple is a fairly plain apple, but there is a small tag tied to the stem. "Please don't eat me, I am useful in other ways!" it says.

Well alright then. I'm not sure if the apple is poisoned or something, but I do know that I'm not hungry anyways.

The computer has a bunch of programs opened on it. Bunch of financial software, a model viewport, a chatlog...

Ngh, nothing useful...

I check chat. Despite my hatred of backseat gamers, it's surprising how much I depend on them sometimes.
"THE CHAT LOG THE CHAT LOG"

Oh?

"WARNING: CHARACTER ROUTE DATA INCOMPLETE" is all it says, over and over and over again.

God dammit.

In my attempt to play around with it, I accidentally close out the window.

Oops.

"WARNING: ASSET DEPENDENCY FAILURE" the next line reads. "WARNING: BUILD FAILURE."

"Yeah yeah, I get it." I say.

I click around the program a little.

Oh silly me, there's a door program over here in the chatlog. I click into that.

"PLAY ACCESS EVENT" the topmost button reads. I click it.

The door unlocks, and I hear an audible 'clunk' noise as the door's lock undoes itself. I look back at the computer an minimize all the panels. The wallpaper has five girls on it. That's...Chisaki, second from the left.

Whatever.

On the holographic panel, there is a new text, surrounded by a button.

"OVERRIDE" it reads. I hover my finger over it.

The door opens to a creepy dark corridor. Despite my fear, I manage to wander into the deep, dark, creepy room.

"BRO IS OPENING THE HORROR DOOR" a superchat reads.

"What, don't you want to see me scared?" I tease back at the chat.

Wait, hang on!

Something darts away from me. Taking out my revolver, I decide to give chase. I don't know if it's a trap, but the light makes me less afraid.

I hope this isn't overconfidence.

I walk down the creepy corridor, trying not to get ganked from the side, but as the corridor winds onwards, it gets darker and darker. Just as I contemplate going back, a door I didn't even know existed shuts on me.

Shit.

I run back to the door, and I'm almost tempted to bang on it to get back to safety. And yet, that's what the little baby Hinata would have done, just cower in the safety of the room. I won't do that. Sometimes, the safest way is towards the danger, forwards.

Is what I'm putting into practice, but frankly, I am genuinely terrified. Up ahead is a bending cross. Even in this darkness, I can see that.

Should I pull up my submachine gun for a flashlight? No, the sword is better. After all, I can still see, and I might need a close quarters weapon-

There's a rustling and creaking, from somewhere.

Something is definitely looking at me! I swear, there was something peering out of the corner there.

Mustering up my courage, I gradually begin to walk forward again, towards it, when I stumble across a final peculiar object. Circling around to ensure that I don't get pounced on, I rapidly walk over and give it a brief look. A giant wind up key - the size of a dinner plate - sits on the table.

By now, I think I have enough information on what this could be. I put my hands on it, and it enters my inventory.

Yes!

But I'm still alone and being spied on. And yet, it's not some terrifying presence like back in the tunnel, or even the various other places of abject terror I've been, but...uncertainty?

I switch one hand to my submachine gun, and activate the flashlight. It's getting darker and darker. And yet ahead, I can see a light. A green, eerie, pale light, like the one I spawned in on when I first got to the fractal library, but still a light.

I slowly inch forwards, before realizing that the corridor I've been walking through is gradually widening. Soon, the corridor is a long room. And yet, I can see humanoid figures slowly but surely, beginning to dot the room. The further into the room I go, the more there are.

But I can't stop - up ahead looks like safety!

...right?

There's a creaking noise from somewhere in the room. I pull out and turn the submachine gun towards one of the mannequins.

Calling them "mannequins" is hardly a fair descriptor. They are closer to test dummies, but even more sophisticated. The mannequins have articulated mouths and even fingers. In any other scenario, I could even make the argument that they're a bit endearing.

I peek at chat. "Creepy" and "scary" and "I am pissing my pants" seems to be the prevailing sentiment.

Me too. But I push onwards anyways, trying to make as little noise as possible.

One step...two step...almost...

As I leave the room and enter into the light, I can feel a wave of relief wash over me. With my back now turned to the green light, I look back at the mannequins, and grin.

And just then, I hear that creaking noise right from behind me. I turn around.

One of the mannequins, which wasn't there before, stands right there, staring right into my eyes. It opens it's mouth.

"Ha-a."