Episode 2: Dream of Grief

Akira drifted into a deep, silent sleep. In his dream, he found himself in a long, bleak corridor, its walls pulsing with dark shadows that writhed like living creatures.

From a distance, Kazuki's figure appeared. But his face was pale and his eyes vacant, as though caught between the realms of the living and the dead.

Kazuki (faint voice): "Akira... help me... this game... it's more than just a nightmare..."

Akira tried to approach, but his body felt heavy, held back by an unseen force. The harder he tried, the more the shadows blocked his path, silencing Kazuki's voice bit by bit.

Suddenly, a scream of agony echoed down the corridor, and Akira jolted awake, gasping for air, cold sweat clinging to his brow.

He sat up in bed, trembling and panting. The memories of the previous night and Kazuki's horrifying fate haunted him.

But he knew this was more than just imagination. The game was still waiting, and the real terror had just begun.

After waking from the nightmare, Akira remained gripped by a persistent anxiety. His body felt weak, but his mind was restless. Staying in his room would only deepen his fear.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to go outside for a while and headed to the nearest supermarket. Maybe some fresh air and a dose of normalcy would help ease his nerves.

As he stepped out of his apartment, the cold night air greeted him. The streets were empty, streetlights flickering in the distance, deepening the silence.

Inside the supermarket, the buzz of fluorescent lights and the quiet murmur of other shoppers provided a strange sense of comfort Akira desperately needed.

Still, shadows from the game and the memory of Kazuki continued to torment his thoughts, making true peace feel impossible.

He tried to calm himself, picking up a few basic items, hoping this brief escape would grant him the strength to face the growing darkness ahead.

Standing in the supermarket aisle, Akira froze for a moment. His gaze fell blankly on shelves filled with ordinary goods, but his thoughts were far away, trapped in a dark past.

Memories of the once cheerful Kazuki, now gone forever, surged through his mind like a relentless storm.

The pain of loss and deep sorrow weighed heavily on his chest, as if he might scream from the agony he could no longer contain.

Yet beneath the grief, a resolve began to form. Akira knew he had to move forward, confront the looming darkness, and seek the truth behind the "Doom Game."

With a heavy sigh, he wiped the tears forming in his eyes and stepped out of the supermarket, carrying the burden of memories and a flickering hope within him.

As Akira stood lost in thought in the supermarket aisle, something cold and dark flickered at the edge of his vision.

Kazuki's shadow appeared, his face ashen and his empty eyes fixed on Akira.

Akira's heart pounded so violently it rang in his ears. Panic and terror surged through him, and he let out a loud scream, startling nearby shoppers.

But when Akira quickly turned toward the shadow, it had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a chill that clung to the air.

His heart raced, and his thoughts spiraled. Was that really Kazuki? Or was his mind breaking under the weight of fear and pressure?

Still, the feeling that the game and Kazuki's death weren't mere coincidences continued to haunt him mercilessly.

As Akira struggled to collect himself, Kazuki's figure returned, clearer now, his eyes burning with rage.

Kazuki (shouting): "Continue the game! If you don't, I'll haunt you... until you go insane!"

The voice echoed through the now-silent supermarket, making Akira's whole body tremble. Fear mixed with sorrow overwhelmed him.

Akira realized the threat wasn't just a hallucination. Kazuki was no longer just his deceased friend; he was a vengeful spirit, pressing him toward madness.

With a trembling voice, Akira nodded slowly. He knew the only way to confront this nightmare was to continue the dangerous journey inside the game.

Heart pounding, Akira rushed out of the supermarket, desperate to escape the terrifying apparition of Kazuki.

His steps were fast and erratic, his thoughts chaotic, but instinct urged him forward through the empty streets.

Suddenly, as he crossed the road, a car swerved violently toward him, speeding out of control.

With quick reflexes, Akira jumped back, narrowly avoiding the skidding tires and the roar of the crashing vehicle.

He paused, his body shaking and drenched in sweat. He now understood the game wasn't the only threat. Even the real world had become perilous.

Gasping for breath, Akira continued cautiously, fully aware that danger now lurked everywhere.

Carefully, Akira approached the wrecked car. The area around it had gone eerily quiet, save for the low hum of the still-running engine.

He opened the car door and gasped in horror.

Inside, the driver's body lay slumped headless. A torn, bloody neck and the stench of death filled the air.

Akira stumbled back, struggling to breathe, his entire body shaking. The weight of terror pressed down on him as the world seemed to freeze.

The horror was undeniable. This wasn't some random accident. Something darker was at work behind the scenes of his life.

Bowing his head, Akira fought to regain control and, with heavy steps, walked away from the scene carrying a mystery far more sinister than before.

Gripped by terror after seeing the headless driver, Akira ran back home, heart thundering, breath ragged in the cold night air.

Once at his apartment door, he locked it tight with trembling hands, twisting the knob again and again to ensure it was sealed.

Taking no chances, he rushed to his bedroom, the only place he felt even slightly safe. He gently closed the door, as if it were the final barrier between himself and the darkness outside.

But even that sense of safety felt fragile, as the shadows and whispers from the game lingered in his mind, waiting to strike again.

Still shaking from fear and exhaustion, Akira slowly lay on his bed. His eyes stared blankly at the dark ceiling, thoughts tangled between reality and nightmare.

But the silence didn't last.

Suddenly, his laptop sitting on the nearby table flickered to life, glowing with a dim, menacing red light.

Akira flinched, feeling an unnatural chill flow from the device. He held his breath, his heart pounding out of rhythm.

A pulsating message appeared on the screen in blood-red text:

"You cannot hide."

Fear surged through him once more. The boundary between the real world and the game was blurring. Akira was falling deeper into a darkness with no way out.

Akira stared at the screen, his face pale with fear and confusion. The red glow reflected his haunted expression.

With a hoarse, whispering voice, he muttered, "What should I do? I don't know where else to turn…"

Silent tears slipped down his cheeks, tracing the sorrow and despair that had rooted deep in his soul.

Yet somewhere in that broken heart, a flicker of resolve began to stir to find answers, to fight back against the unseen terror, and maybe… to escape this nightmare.

In the room's heavy silence, Akira closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift to the night Kazuki had appeared, face twisted with rage, voice full of threat.

He remembered the words clearly, echoing endlessly in his ears:

"Continue the game! If you don't, I'll haunt you... until you go insane!"

The memory sent chills down his spine.

But alongside the fear, a determination grew to survive, to face this twisted game, and to honor Kazuki and himself.

Akira opened his eyes, looked at the glowing laptop, and, with a deep breath, prepared to step back into the darkness.

Akira sat frozen in front of his laptop, mind clouded with shadows and dread.

Then, without him realizing, a severed thumb dropped softly onto the keyboard, pressing random keys as it landed.

The silence in the room grew oppressive, as though something unseen was watching from the darkness, waiting to make its next move.

Akira remained unaware of the presence now quietly influencing his fate within the "Doom Game."

His eyes fell on the tiny thumb resting on the keyboard. A piercing cold shot through his spine.

The image of the headless accident victim surged back to his mind with horrifying clarity. That body... it had been missing a thumb.

In that moment, Akira understood the severed thumb on his keyboard might belong to that very victim.

Fear and revulsion overwhelmed him. He backed away from the laptop, yet deep down, he knew there was no escape from the terror that was closing in.

Unnoticed by Akira, the thumb on the keyboard pressed the Enter key.

The laptop screen shifted, once again displaying the ominous game title:

"Doom Game."

Time seemed to freeze as Akira realized the game had never truly ended.

He stared wide-eyed at the screen, breath short, knowing that a new, darker chapter was about to begin.

The game had returned, and Akira had no choice but to enter the darkness once more.

With trembling hands, Akira stared at the glowing laptop. A chill wrapped around his body, as if the air itself had frozen.

In a near whisper, he muttered, "What should I do...?"

Anxiety and uncertainty consumed his thoughts, trapping him in a maze with no way out.

Yet even in the midst of fear, a fierce will to survive sparked within him to fight the shapeless darkness and find a way out of this nightmare.

"I don't want to die in this game."

"I still want to live."

"I don't want to die!"

Akira screamed in solitude, his voice cracking under the weight of terror and tension.

But within that fear, something grew: a burning will to survive and defy the darkness that threatened to consume everything.