Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 555: Limbo [1]

”Squad Leader! Squad Leader!!!”

”...Shit!!”

”Fuck! What the hell happened?!”

It all happened so fast that none of them was able to react. In one moment, they had finally managed to get out, and in the next moment, when they were about to pull the Squad Leader up, something grabbed him and pulled him back.

”Damn it!! I’ll... go!”

Nora reached down and prepared to go down, but right before she could do that, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and stopped her.

”Fuck, damn it! What are you doing?!”

It was Niel.

His expression was just as serious as hers, but looking down beneath, and spotting only darkness, Niel pursed his lips together.

”...Wait.”

”What do you mean, wait?!”

Nora shouted.

”The Squad Leader just got taken away because he was trying to buy time for us! You saw it, I saw it, she saw it.” Stopping, Nora pointed at the camera strapped to her chest, ”The entire world saw it!”

Her words bellowed throughout the surroundings.

”He sacrificed himself to buy us time! To... buy us, the team that everyone called useless, time! If we don’t do anything, then we’ll just prove everyone right! And above all, we’ll be... we’ll be...”

”I know.”

Niel calmly replied, taking a deep breath while taking off his glasses and brushing his hair back.

”Trust me, I also want to go down there to look for the Squad Leader, but don’t lose your cool just yet. If we go down there, then there’s no guarantee that we might be able to come back. In fact, we might even hold the Squad Leader back.”

”What...? What are you even saying?”

Nora frowned while looking at Niel.

Feeling her glare, Niel put his glasses back on as he looked back down.

”...The Squad Leader isn’t dead. If you take a moment to calm yourself, you can feel that our connection is still there.”

Nora’s lips parted, but nothing came out. She wanted to refute him, but Niel was right. She could still feel the connection that she had with him due to Ariel’s abilities.

In that case...

”That’s even more reason for why we should go! If he’s still fine, then...!”

”As I said, we might hold the Squad Leader back if we all go. Let’s wait for Ariel and the others to come back before going all in. We’ll be less of a liability, and we’ll be able to actually be of help to him instead of carelessly going there with no plan.”

”That’s granted that he’ll make it! What if... What if...!”

”What if what?”

Mia suddenly spoke, her face looking rather serious as she looked at Nora.

”What?”

Such a gaze caused Nora to be at a loss.

Mia continued, ”The Squad Leader is someone who managed to defeat the Malovia Gate and rank first in the First Trial. If there’s anybody who needs to be worried about him, it isn’t us. I agree with Niel, we should go back and wait for Ariel and the others to come to us before looking for him. Ariel might be able to communicate with him.”

”Ah, ugh...” Nora’s face changed several times, her hands reaching for her hair as she shouted, ”Agh, fine!”

Alternating her gaze between the two and then the darkness within the trapdoor, she glared at the two.

”...I’ll trust the two of you once. But if something happens to—”

”It won’t.”

Mia cut Nora off before she could finish her sentence, already turning to head to the main building.

”Nothing will happen to him.”

Mia continued to walk, not looking back as Niel followed her from behind.

”...I’m sure of it.”

***

The darkness came first.

It embraced me from all sides, brushing against my skin and making every hair on my body rise from the cold.

Then, I was pulled.

Dragged into the darkness as I tried to fight against it.

But it was no use.

The more I struggled, the more the darkness pulled.

It felt as if I had been dropped into the ocean.

Not the surface, not where light still touched the water, but somewhere far below. Somewhere incredibly dark. The pressure built around my body, squeezing tighter and tighter, making it harder to breathe, harder to think.

The surface felt impossibly far away.

And I was still sinking.

And soon—

Thump!

”Ukhg!”

My back hit the floor hard.

Pain shot up my spine as the impact rattled through me, forcing a sharp gasp from my throat. The air was knocked clean out of my lungs, leaving me momentarily stunned, vision flashing as I struggled to draw breath.

”Cough! Cough—!”

I coughed violently, dragging in rough breaths as I clutched at my chest. My other hand scraped against the ground, fingers digging into the coarse surface beneath me, causing me to momentarily pause.

’Soil? Is this soil?’

Slowly, my vision began to clear.

The darkness faded, replaced by towering silhouettes all around me.

Dark trees.

They rose high and uneven, their trunks thick and twisted, branches tangling together above me. A dense fog wrapped around the forest, swallowing everything in the vicinity as the air felt especially dense.

”Where... where the hell am I?”

This was too different compared to the research facility that I had just been in a moment prior. Taking several deep breaths to calm myself down, I eventually turned my head to stare at the figure standing by one of the trees, looking at me with a smile.

I clenched my teeth.

”You...”

”This place is interesting, don’t you think?”

The Conductor looked completely unfazed by my anger as it looked around, seemingly intrigued by everything that was around us. I really felt like giving it a beating at the moment, but held back when I knew that I was not its match.

”Why did you do that?”

Instead, I asked the obvious.

”Why did you drag me here? What if I had died? Our lives are tied together. If I die, then you...”

”I, what?”

The Conductor tilted his head, looking at me with the same smile.

”Whether I live or die, it matters little to me. My ambitions lie elsewhere, and if you die, while it might be a pity, it just means that I was never meant to fulfill my ambitions. Of course, since you’re alive, it’s all good, no?”

I really felt like beating the Conductor.

”Still, this place is quite interesting.”

The Conductor brought this place up again, its hand remaining crossed as it looked around. I did too, trying my best to figure out where I was.

Did I get kicked out of the research facility and back to the Eastern Side of Point Z?

’No, the threes feel different. In fact, even the air feels different.’

Something about this place felt extremely unsettling. Especially when I looked at the trees.

Just what sort of place—

”Limbo.”

The Conductor eventually spoke, clapping his hands in understanding.

”We’re in the Limbo.”

”.....”

Blinking slowly, I looked back at the Conductor. Limbo? What the hell was he talking about? What was this Limbo?

As if understanding my confusion, the Conductor’s lips twisted sinisterly as its voice reached my ears.

”It’s no surprise that you’re not aware, but we’re in the Limbo.”

With a pause, its voice turned into a soft whisper.

”The first layer of hell.”