Chapter 1: The Choice Beneath the Rubble

While everyone was minding their own business, a massive earthquake suddenly shook the entire world.

The magnitude of the earthquake... was devastating...

So much so that buildings were turning into dust and smoke, and earthquakes were happening even in places where they shouldn't. Those standing in their homes were left under the rubble, and those on the streets couldn't stay on their feet.

I, too, was playing a game in my room.

Frankly, since it wasn't my first time experiencing an earthquake, I continued playing the game even when everything started to shake. Of course, it didn't take long for my mother to come.The building was shaking so fast that my mother had to use the walls, the door, and her surroundings for support just to stay on her feet.

While my stress level increased as the earthquake didn't pass, my mother started shouting before she could even reach me:

"GET DOWN!!"

Reflexively, I listened to her and got down on the floor. The earthquake, which I thought would stop in a few seconds, showed no signs of subsiding.

My belongings were being thrown around, and the display cabinets were toppling over. The cabinets on my right and left blocked both of my sides. I was trapped in my own room.

My room didn't actually belong just to me; there was a bed behind me, a desk right in front of the bed, a computer case, a monitor, and a few pieces of equipment, and two display cabinets on the right and left of the desk... One belonged to my mother and the other to my father.

However, since neither of the cabinets were secured, they toppled to my right and left, blocking all my paths. Since our house was built more than forty years ago, it couldn't really be said to be sturdy.

A bad feeling rose inside me, and I immediately reached out to my computer desk and started grabbing whatever I could.

My phone, plus the power bank I take with me when I go outside. My keys, the bracelet my mother gifted me, a fidget spinner, a flash drive, a hair tie? Toilet paper.

I pulled down to the floor whatever came into my hands.

A pair of batteries and a battery charger.

Then, an even louder rumble broke out. It was as if the ground was splitting open.As screams began to rise from within the rumble, sounds started coming from the building.

I leaned my back against the cabinet on my right and did that drop and cover thing, whatever it was. I protected my head with my hands and waited for the earthquake to end...

BOOM!!

Suddenly, a rumble came from the building, and the floor beneath me began to move.The ceiling above me collapsed on top of me...

Reflexively, I shut my eyes tight. When I opened my eyes after the movement passed, I saw right in front of me, right under my nose, a piece of wood, a pile of rubble, or a piece of the building?

 Whatever it was, it was right there.

The glass of the cabinet I had leaned my back against had shattered...

While breathing fast and rapidly... I slowly tried to grasp what had happened...

There was something in my hands... I slowly brought the hands I used to protect my head in front of my eyes.

Pieces of glass had cut my hands, and a few of them had pierced into them... Slowly, my back began to burn.

I don't know if it was because of the shock of the moment, but I started pulling out the pieces that had pierced my hands.

Strangely... very strangely, I thought about what time it was... Morning... Maybe noon...

Everything... became very quiet...

The pieces of glass piercing my back were hurting me more every second. I could feel the warmth of the blood trickling down my back...

After pulling the glass pieces out of my hands... ugh... What should I do?

What should I do now? Will I call the rescue team on the phone? What about my back?

How bad is my condition? How long can I hold on? Am I going to die from blood loss? Why is there no sound at all? Is there no one here? Is there cell service?

My mind was a complete mess. I took my phone; the battery was at 57. I called 112. There was a signal.

I suppose because we lived on the top floor, the pile of rubble on top of me wasn't that thick.

I waited a bit...

Then I waited a bit more...

And a bit more...

No one answered...

I called again... and again...

My neck started to hurt... But I had protected my neck with my hand... Why does it hurt?

Sigh...

Even though I've been emotional throughout my life, I always had to live by suppressing these emotions. I always tried to act logically.

My emotions wanted to cry, but my logic was telling me to look for a way out.

We lived at the very top of the building, so I started looking around, thinking maybe I could find a way out.

I looked above me... looked down... looked in front of me... behind me...

It's better if I don't turn around...

The blood flowing to the floor was being absorbed by my clothes, and my body was getting wetter with every passing second.

It was autumn, a rainy season... If it rains on top of this... Maybe I'll die from blood loss before that...

I tapped the screen of the phone twice. The screen turned on...

The time is 18:00, meaning 6 in the afternoon. The sky is slowly starting to get dark...

For a moment, I started to wonder what would happen if I died. The life we had barely achieved was completely destroyed. It was leveled to the ground.

I guess... I have no reason to live anymore...

Suddenly, sleep descended upon my body... As my eyes slowly closed... I thought of my mother...I hope she is alive...

Sigh... I've always had a fondness for the dark...

I used to get annoyed by people who were afraid of the dark... I even hated them...

The dark is... magnificent... Seeing nothing is fun... Thinking that no one can see you... is wonderful...

Being invisible... unseen... unknown... is comforting...

Talking to people is so boring... They are all the same...

I couldn't be friends with anyone when I was a kid either. It's the same now that I'm older. I hate forming fake relationships with people. They only think about themselves. They are selfish and opportunistic.

They talk to whoever is useful to them and don't even look at the faces of those who aren't. It's very disgusting and sickening.

Lying as if it were the truth... I always wondered how they manage to be so comfortably two-faced without any shame.

When they enter a grocery store, they see secretly stealing a few pieces of gum as a profit. Yet, they make their character worth two cents.

I really hate people...

I was naive when I was a kid... I believed whatever anyone said... They called me an idiot or a sucker...

When someone wanted something, I gave it. Not because I was afraid or because I had to. Just because I thought they needed it.

When someone was happy, I was happy. But I didn't know they were actually laughing at my gullibility.

I realized this during middle school. All the good deeds I did were actually making me a sucker...

Wow... I had an epiphany... Being good means being a sucker, is that it?

I suddenly lost my hope in humanity...

I thought a few people were good during high school too... I was wrong...

I thought the same in college last year, I was wrong...

I donated for those in need... The donation I made...

Sigh... Sometimes I say it would have been better if I were stupid...

If I hadn't realized that people were this bad... I think it would have been better if I didn't hate them to death this much, if I didn't hold such a grudge...

I... want all of humanity to go extinct...

Ah... Of course... If I had never met a good person, I would say this... But... there are good ones too... Fortunately, they still exist...

However, I can't be good anymore... There is a grudge that has already darkened and keeps growing inside me...

I am a neutral person now. I don't do favors for anyone. I do good to those who do good to me, and evil to those who do evil to me.

In the past, if they asked for the clothes off my back, I would give them, but now, if they asked for my snot, I wouldn't give it...

Sigh... Fake loves... fake lives... fake smiles... fake...

Nothing is what it seems... Absolutely nothing...

Hmmm... Damn, aren't I dying, why didn't my life flash before my eyes? Anyway, it doesn't matter... I like the dark after all...

Sigh... It's a bit uncomfortable but... Hmmm... strange... I should have died from blood loss long ago...

Ugh, I wonder what time it is... Uhhh... it's dark... I guess I didn't die...

Sigh... Where is my phone... Hmm... here it is... Okay... The time... Arghh... My eyes...

Sigh... Damn, the screen brightness was at the lowest, who turned it up?

Ugh... My eyes burned... The time is 2 in the morning... Whoa... When was the last time? It was 6 in the afternoon.

I've been sleeping for almost 8 hours... And I didn't die from blood loss? Then my bleeding must have stopped...

Sigh... Is no one going to come for help?

Let me call again maybe...

Beep... beeeep... beeeeeep...

No. No one is here again... I am completely alone...

The moment I thought about this... a screen appeared before my eyes...

[Do You Want To Be A Player?]

[Yes] - [No]

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Hello everyone! After a long 2-year break, I'm finally back to writing, and this time, I'm here to stay. We are embarking on a brand new adventure together, and your support means everything to me. Please don't forget to share your thoughts on the chapter in the comments!