Meaning

Mutze was on the ground—tired and dazed. His head rang like a cracked bell, smoke clouding everything around him. As he came to, he realized his hands were burning through the fire. With a jolt, he leaned away.

He looked at the broken gas mask. I can't move... what do I do? Hahh... what do I do...?He just lay there, staring up at the dark ceiling.

Is this where I die...?But there was something he had always wanted to do.Did I regret saving that kid?No... if I hadn't, we both would've died. I'm truly selfish, he thought, eyes on his trembling hands. I just want to live a bit longer...

Hallucinations began creeping in. His head felt like jelly, his brain sloshing like liquid. Carbon monoxide had overtaken his system. He was becoming delirious.

He felt like he was flying—soaring into the night sky, then rising toward the sun. Soon, he drifted into space, into an empty nothing, until he was suddenly transported into a colorful pink vacuum. Piñatas swayed like grass, strange monsters and odd creatures lurked. Toys—alive—stared at him. Black and red tentacles oozed from the ground.

Haha... I'm dying, he thought, as he spiraled into a whirlpool of brilliant colors.

Then—a slap.

Adam.

Adam slammed a new gas mask onto his face. Mutze coughed, nearly vomiting. "Hah...? Adam?! Why... why are you here?"

"Ugh... you shouldn't have come," Mutze rasped. "Now we're both gonna die."

Adam scowled. "Well, it was my choice—whether I help or not. But I did it because it was the right thing to do."

Mutze looked up at him, barely conscious. What does that mean? 'The right thing to do'?

Adam grasped his hand tightly and began dragging him toward a liminal steel staircase. It felt like they were moving in endless circles. Adam was breathing heavily.

What's happening...?

[Initiating max oxygen output to the brain.]

Adam's limbs stopped cooperating. Every movement required twice the effort. His legs and arms felt like dead weights.

"Huff—!"

Mutze was fading fast. His eyelids sagged. He was dizzy. They reached the staircase, but it collapsed beneath them. They fell hard, bruised and broken.

Adam held him up. Mutze couldn't move his legs—his bones had torn through muscle.

"Adam..." he coughed. Adam looked away.

"There are just choices... that you know you need to make," Adam said, smiling faintly. "Leave me. I wasn't trying to save you," tears welled in his eyes as they staggered forward.

"I wasn't..." cough "trying to save you," Mutze whispered, "I was trying to grasp you... because I thought I was going to fall. And it was actually you…"

Adam gritted his teeth. He grasped a rope—but it snapped, burned by the fire.

"Shut up! I didn't try to save you because you saved me!" he shouted, looking frantically for another way out. His skin was beginning to peel from the heat.

There—a water faucet.

[Don't, Adam. That's corrosive. Toxic. Acidic... No, that's sulfuric acid.]

"Damn it... but still—thanks for telling me that, Rehan."

Both Adam and Mutze gasped for air. The toxic fumes were intensifying.Why did it get destroyed...?Why didn't that damn AI warn me...?

Mutze coughed again. "I'm really stupid... I'm gonna die... and I haven't even told her... I liked her... for a very long time..." Mutze thoughts... I just wanna be like a kid again, not wanting to think anything... with my friends, my family... or my mother's armHis hand fell limp.

They pressed on, desperately searching for a way out.My lungs burn, Adam thought, steel pipes are battering my suit... Is Mutze still alive...?

Sigh... what am I doing? Am I lost...? Am I even alive right now...?

He blinked—suddenly white staircases spiraled before him.

[Adam, just follow me. Your brain is starting to delirialize... Keep climbing.]

He obeyed, climbing upward. He couldn't see anything—only colors, flowers, and twisting shapes...

[Left.]

[Right.]

Following Rehan's voice, Adam's mind went blank—then a tentacle appeared before him.

[Grab it.]

He grasped it—was yanked upward. His vision slowly returned to normal. The fire roared nearby. His clothes were partially scorched. Across the wreckage, he saw a lifeless artificial robot, dangling.

He realized—he had made it to the North Sector's main controls.

Following Rehan's instructions, he pushed forward manually. Water gushed through the system, flooding outward. The fire began to die down.

It was finally calming.

He looked at his hand. His flesh was melted... dangling on his arms 

His eyes widened in horror.

"AHHHHH! Why... why... WHY?! No, no, no!"

In his other hand— A lifeless corpse.

He held it close. Burst into tears... letting go and moving away

His heart trembled, felt crushed like an anvil. His skin was as if peeling like paper. Cold sweat soaked him.

[I'm sorry, Adam. There was no way a normal human could survive this level of heat and toxic exposure. The only chance was to neutralize the oxidation and manually prevent brain poisoning. Even with oxygen maximized... he was just human.]

How long will this go on...?How long must I continue to suffer...?

I'm so tired... im confused... - So confused

Adam stood—amid the ruins.

I hate this world... 

How was he supposed to explain this to his friends?

He felt sick. Not because he was heartless. Not because he was weak... Im only human

He just wanted to rest.

I hate this...

Is it my fault again...? someone...

As he was suffering alone