3: Humming

Among cold rocks and dampness, I regain consciousness feeling strangely relaxed—so much so that I allow myself a private joke.

"How many times has it been now? Three, four? It's becoming a habit."

A faint, silent smile is lost in my thoughts.

"How much time has passed?"

"Is it day or night?"

—...

"Right, I was about to graduate! What are those guys doing now? I heard getting a job as a fresh graduate is tough."

"I suppose they're struggling."

The somber sound of the wind blows through the cave walls, breaking against the stalactites. The oppressive humidity lingers, along with the ever-present sensation that I'll die the moment I stand up.

"Well, surely better than me. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

—...

{At school, they always say that what we learn is useful in the real world.}

{I wonder how I should solve for x in this situation. If I explain what a polynomial is to the monsters, will they leave me alone? Maybe I can hit them with Algebra de Valdor, ha, ha, ha.}

—...

"I guess this isn't what they meant."

"Honestly, I hope they're doing well. In the end, we studied the same thing. If they're doing poorly, that means I'd be doomed too, right?"

—I hope that...

Just before I feel calm enough to speak aloud, a lonely humming pulls me out of my trance, reminding me of my situation.

Instead of feeling alarmed, I remain serene, letting my thoughts fade as I focus on the melody.

—♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪

It feels like a little leap of joy. [I smile slightly.]

—♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

The leap ends, and the melancholy returns.

—♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩

The humming breaks its melancholy to introduce a marked violence, causing a sense of unease.

—♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♪ ♩

And then, it returns to melancholy.

—♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

And back to the beginning... After a while, listening to the melody, I realize my eyes are closed. I slowly open them and find the source of the simple yet intriguing tune.

—...

I see the specter, sitting on a rock, tapping its small feet in rhythm with the song it hums—a sight both irrational and unsettling.

—You're awake. Are you calm now?

I answer instinctively, as if it were something I'd done before, unbothered by my surroundings.

—Yes.

—Then let's go.

I respond naturally again.

—Alright.

The eerie being hops off the rock, turns, and begins walking away. I watch as it lifts its upper body off the ground and sits for a moment.

Noticing I'm still seated, it tilts its head.

—Noah?

—I'm coming.

I stand up and start walking in the same direction.

"For now, I'll go with the flow."

We walk along the cavern's winding paths until reaching a broader area, just as dark as the rest.

"It seems like this cave connects here. It's a labyrinth."

After walking for a while, the echoes of those beings' melodies accompany us constantly. The path is filled with more of them—some sitting, some walking, others conversing. Still, we continue moving until a group quickly approaches us.

And they start talking.

—Hey, Noah, still alive?

—How are you two doing?

—What's on your forehead? What did they do to you?

—What's wrong with you? Was the poor guy scared or something?

The young man, who has been experiencing constant distress, hasn't had time to consider these details.

For the first time since arriving, he lowers his head and examines his hands. He realizes they are too small, with a grayish hue.

Shocked, he falls onto his back. As he gets up, he checks his feet, his body. He touches his face, feeling the engraved letters on his skin. He realizes he is nothing like he remembered.

He quickly runs to a nearby puddle. The cave's dim light is just enough for the water's reflection to reveal a face that matches the beings surrounding him.

As he looks around, the dark eyes of a small crowd of those creatures fixate on him.

The fear and distress that had seemed to vanish when he woke up return stronger than ever. The cold, the rain, and the sound become present again. His expression twists once more, and...

Before his mind can process what is happening, an enormous rock crashes down in front of him, crushing those within its reach. In an instant, a rain of stones massacres countless beings.

When he looks back, he sees an enormous hole filled with roots and flowers, as if that part of the cave had suddenly exploded. The roots begin to move violently, lashing out at the shattered remains of bodies. Before he realizes it, more roots emerge from the corpses, along with flowers blooming between them.

The young man feels a sting in his leg and collapses. When he tries to get up, he discovers he cannot move. Inspecting his leg, he sees it completely entangled in roots that pierce his flesh—yet he feels nothing.

In his desperation, he clings to the jagged floor with all his strength, struggling forward despite his trembling limbs. He continues like this until he reaches one of the cave's passageways, where he finds a sharp stone. He uses it to cut the roots that have already taken over half of his body.

Even so, he cannot stand. He drags himself to an isolated part of the cave, a dead end, where he settles in, waiting for everything to end.

(For those wondering what humming sounds like, I'll leave this for you)

♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

A G F E D C B A G F E D C B A G

♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪

C D E F G A B C

♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

A G F E D C B A

♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩

F G F G A G F G F G A G F G E

♩ ♪ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♪ ♩

C D E D C B A G

♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

A G F E D C B A G F E D C B A G