"You've got to be kidding me, right?" All I did, after a long and exhausting walk, was to return to where I started.

"Don't give me this crap, just kill me already!" I yelled in frustration. My eyes welled up, but no tears flowed. I was becoming accustomed to the situation, which was... frightening to me. I'm not sure how many days or months I'd been in this forsaken hell, but I was losing my emotions. Even if hope disappears, all I feel these days is nothing but rage.

Even if I made it out of this hell, I'd never be the same Axel I was before... If I escape, that is.

I went to the pond, drank some water, and tossed the ball I was holding into it. The light it emitted got brighter as it absorbed the energy from the pond and the water drops that landed on it.

I'll search the tunnel more thoroughly tomorrow... or the next time I wake up. Because of exhaustion, I may have overlooked certain details. I went back to sleep after checking the grain in my pocket.

"Ah?!" I awoke abruptly from my dream. "What a strange dream," I thought.

I couldn't see any water inside the pond when my gaze fell on it. I stood up to have a better look. As I got closer to the pond, I was taken aback by what I saw. There were only two cups of water left, which would suffice for a day.

"Even here, my numbered days are ending." I reflected, a smidgeon of amusement escaping from my words. After the countless days of torment that I endured, I am no longer afraid of death. It felt more like a blessing, and the sooner it came, the better.

"Wouldn't everyone die someday? I'll just die sooner, that’s all. " In this eternal abyss, I developed this kind of mindset.

I went into the pond, which was now little more than a muddy hole, and gulped down a handful of water. I had to do it twice more to get a mouthful. What happened to the water in here? I was curious. Even if it was disappearing quickly, this was far too fast. Or did I sleep for more than just a day? I'd have no idea because there was no concept of time here.

I retrieved the light-emitting ball from the muck. The light was dimming day by day, and there was no longer any source of energy to keep it going. I need to get out of this cave as soon as possible.

Holding the golden ball... which had turned grey... I moved closer to the cave tunnel. It was the same as before. I entered the tunnel and walked until I spotted an exit. This time, I paid close attention to my surroundings to ensure that I missed nothing, and the result was... "Ha..." I sighed to myself, expecting to find something exceptional the second time around. In the end, all I did was squander more of my energy trying to get to this futile destination.

I reasoned inwardly that the only thing left to do was die. I went to the pond to quench my thirst, again... "Wait, what the hell?"

The once-almost-empty pond had suddenly filled with enough water to submerge my entire foot.

"What's going on here?" My thoughts were loud, expressing my astonishment even as I lay dying.

Is it anything to do with the... tunnel? There were no other possibilities to consider. The transformation occurred only when I entered the tunnel and returned from the cave entrance. It must have happened the first time as well, but the water in the pond was full enough at the time to observe that little difference, even if it was raised by a small amount. However, now that there is little left in the pond, even a cup amount of increase would be easily discernible. I concluded this after considering other options... Rather, it is an unproven theory.

But now I know what I need to do. All I have to do now is make a couple more round trips from the tunnel to here. I wasted no more time and drank some water to fill my stomach before heading right into the tunnel with my newfound zeal.

Even though I tried everything to avoid missing anything along the tunnel, I couldn't find any cave openings or alternative routes to get out of this cave. Not only that, but I couldn't locate anything related to life. Nothing... not a plant, nor an animal, not a sound, nor a fragrance... nothing at all. Nonetheless, I pushed forward till I reached the point where I began... again.

The water in the pond rose another level, dipping just below my knees, as I had predicted. My lips curled into a crescent grin, partially from astonishment and half from an unknown emotion. I went and sat along the pond, muttering to myself, "What's the deal with this place? I discovered a cave, this miraculous liquid, then a tunnel appeared out of nowhere, and now this strange phenomenon that I can't explain. "

Even if something like this were to happen, what good would it be for me to get outside? I contemplated this thought for a while, till exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep.

"What am I doing?" I questioned myself, feeling uneasy. "This is far too strange. I could see hazy images left behind me as I moved my body forward. " I could move every part of my body, but it didn't feel like it belonged to me. It felt numb, as if every atom in my body was vibrating... or resonating with something.

One thing I'm certain of is that... this was all a dream... And I can tell the difference between reality and the dream I'm having right now... That's what's strange here. In this dream, I'm in a dark, narrow lane with a sole street light blinking at regular intervals.

‘Ting.’ The sound of a bell could be heard at the far end of the alleyway. When I looked back, all I saw was more darkness, so I walked towards the source of the sound.

'Ting... ting,' It rang a few more times, louder this time. I was getting closer. 'Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting,' I tried to grab something in front of me as I was practically a breath away from the source... My hand, however, was met with nothing but empty air.

Instead, an unfamiliar smell teased my nose, prompting me to sniff more vigorously. This time, the smell was coming from the back of the alleyway where I had previously stood. I dashed towards the aroma, determined not to miss... whatever it was... this time. I collapsed to the ground on my chest as soon as I returned to where I came from. Some unseen force, similar to gravity, was bearing down on me, preventing me from even raising my head.

"You'll get used to it, sweetheart." Hearing a chilling voice near my heart made me tremble, but that's not the issue here. This peer pressure was crushing me to the ground.

I heard the icy voice again as I tried to get up. “Take the seed, my little comet, and grow up quickly. If you don't want to die a senseless death, you can't stay feeble like this any further,” it said after a brief pause. After hearing it again, I could tell the voice belonged to a woman. But I couldn't understand what she was saying.

"And keep in mind..." As she glided around me, the sound of a bell reached my ears, and the strange aroma tingled my senses once again. "It never hurts to be simple," she murmured as the sound of the bell became thinner and the pressure gradually dissipated. All I could see at the time was a small shadow disappearing into the dark lane beneath the dimly lit lamp post.

"Lavender!?" This was the first thing that came to me as I returned to reality.

The details of my dream began to fade as soon as I awoke from it. This was an entirely different dream than the others I'd had here.

"What exactly is that? Is it a nightmare? " In the end, it was merely a dream, but it felt so real, and a familiar sense that lingered till the end was bothering me mentally. Dreams are simply our imaginations during the day, developing into a scene for us to experience at night. Because all I've been thinking about for the past few days has been getting out of this place, my brain must be creating random answers for me, showing them to me as dreams.

Even if it is a dream, there is nothing wrong with carrying it out. I closed my eyes and took the grainy stone from my pocket. It was still pitch black. Based on what I remembered, this had to be the seed that the voice was referring to. Here, there is nothing else that could be labelled as one.

"I assumed I could take this when I would be in a worse situation than I am now... Well, well, there's nothing else to lose. " I swallowed the grain as fear grew in my heart.

"Should I have chewed it rather than directly swallowing it? It's already too late, anyway. " I closed my eyes and put both hands on my stomach, bracing myself for the onslaught of pain that could happen at any time.

"... Nothing?" I shook my belly to mix the grain inside my stomach, but... nothing happened.

"Perhaps I should give it a little time to digest? It was already too hard. A single day should suffice. " With nothing else to do and disappointment seeping through my words, I slept... once more... is what I like to say, but curiosity was burning me up... Why couldn't I sleep?

"What exactly is this now? Ahhhh... " I let out a frustrated scream and tried to adjust my position on the rocky surface to go back to sleep, but it was futile.

What I believed was excitement burning within me was actually my body temperature rising... at a rapid rate.

"Ugh?" As the temperature continued to rise, sweat beads appeared all over my body.

"Wait, what the hell...?" Cursing myself, I dashed towards the pool of water, which had shrunk to the size of a small pit.

I drank from the pit while immersing my face in it to cool down. I kept gulping down more and more down my throat. But…

"Ahhh..." I let out another scream. Instead of decreasing, the heat radiating from my body grew.

"Ah... aaaaah... " I felt my entire body burning from head to toe as screams of pain echoed in the hollow cave. My skin felt like it was splitting from the inside, but nothing apparent happened on the outside.... That was what frightened me the most.

I lost consciousness because I couldn't stand the pain of the fire burning sensation from the inside out.

When I woke up, the scorching sensation had gone away, and my body temperature had almost returned to normal. I was dripping wet and dizzy.

"My already frail physique shrank to the size of a twig... That comes as no surprise." I tried to stand up, but my legs gave out.

"Ugh!" I shrugged and pushed myself up with greater strength in my legs. They were trembling.

"Nothing to be surprised about here..." I was in the empty pond, and there was only a handful of water remaining. I drank every drop out of it, retrieved the dull ball from the muck, and headed to the front tunnel.

Now that my sole supplement is gone, I won't be able to go more than a half-day. All I could do, as I pondered this throughout the tunnel, was laugh at myself. There was nothing left for me to do, so I'll take whatever is thrown at me... even death.

I continued forward, my legs trembling and about to give out. The burning sensation returned, but this time it was only in my chest. In my fatigued state, I ignored the pain and took all the right turns that came in front of me.

"This is the life I've chosen... There is nothing to be proud of... " I conversed with myself as I moved forward. Even if I was by myself, I was there for myself... That should suffice for the time being.

"What's the difference between me and other people that died in front of me...? They just died a little sooner. My death, like theirs, has no purpose. " I tried to close my eyes... Forever, then a burst of light pierced through my eyelids and engulfed my entire body.

It appeared as if I were swimming in a vast ocean of light... with air to breathe.

"... air?" My consciousness left me with that final thought.