“Haaa… Haa…”
My lungs were on fire.
I had no idea how long I’d been running. I just kept going, as fast and as far as my legs would carry me. The thought of that old woman chasing me pushed me forward, and I couldn’t stop. I didn’t even know where I was heading.
All I knew was that I had to get as far away as possible from the place.
‘Creepy. Too damn creepy!’
“Huuh!”
Eventually, my stamina gave out, and I stumbled to a stop beside a narrow alleyway.
It was dimly lit, the walls marked with scattered graffiti. Two large dumpsters sat off to the side, surrounded by torn, overstuffed garbage bags. The smell was tolerable. It was a lot better than that dumpster fire that was the old lady’s house.
“Haa.. I think.. haa… this should be good… enough.”
I moved by the wall and rested my back against it. I thought about sliding down in order to rest, but seeing how dirty the place was, I thought otherwise.
I wasn’t a clean freak or anything, but ever since I’d stepped into that old lady’s house, the sight of trash had started to make me feel nauseous.
Whatever the reason, right now I just needed to catch my breath. I took slow, steady inhales as I pulled out my phone and searched for the nearest flight back to Malovia Island.
It was time to go.
‘The quest should be completed too, right? I did manage to find some clues regarding the Twisted Man by finding the photographs. This should be enough. Please let this be enough…’
I could only hope and pray that I had met all the criteria for the quest to complete. But as the minutes dragged on, maybe half an hour or more, nothing happened. The quest window never appeared, and a sinking feeling settled in my chest.
‘It can usually take longer, but I’m afraid that… even if I wait a little longer, I’ll probably not receive a single thing.’
To make matters worse, when I checked the flights back to Malovia, the next one wasn’t until 8 a.m.
It was only 1 a.m.
I still had seven long hours to wait.
And even then…
Who was there to say nothing would happen at the airport? Something about this place. This city…
Something about it felt extremely off to me.
It was almost as if…
Everyone was in on it. As though the old woman’s influence ran deep within the place.
But maybe I was just overthinking. There was no real evidence to back up the thought, and it was entirely possible I was just being overly paranoid.
However, whatever the case was, I decided to trust my own gut feeling.
‘There’s nothing wrong with trusting my gut feeling, even if it’s wrong. The worst that can happen is that I waste seven hours. Either way, I’m stuck here until the next plane.’
“Haa…”
A deep and long sigh escaped my lips as I thought about my current situation. Given the likely chance that the quest had yet to be completed, I knew that there was still more for me to find.
‘Should I just quit and stay here while waiting for the next flight to arrive?’
This seemed like the most reasonable way to look at things. The situation felt genuinely dangerous, and it wasn’t as if the quest had been forced on me. I could back out at any time. The amount of SP offered wasn’t insignificant, but for now, it was something I could afford to ignore.
But at the same time…
‘Is it worth it to abandon the quest?’
The whole point of this quest was to help me develop my game. It was to add depth to it and make it better. Could I really give up a quest that would help me build a better game that could traumatize more people?
“….”
I held onto my chest.
Logic told me to just wait here and wait for the plane to arrive, but…
‘No, I can’t.’
It wasn’t just because I wanted to clear the quest, and I couldn’t afford to ignore the reward. It was more about the fact that I felt there was some sort of grand scheme behind this entire situation.
While the system had indeed assigned this quest to me, I had a feeling that it wasn’t just to help me develop the game.
There was definitely more to it.
I just needed to figure out what.
And the key to it all was the two photographs in my hand.
Staring at them, and alternating my gaze between the two, I grew more and more creeped out by how uncanny the two photos were. Despite being two different timelines, the photos were of the same quality, and the poses and expressions were exactly the same.
They both stood behind a certain train.
“Hmm.”
My eyes squinted as I looked at the train, a thought occurring to me. Could this be a clue? Could the train be where I had to go next to figure out the situation?
‘Why did she take a photo here? Where does the train lead? Why were they going on the train…?’
All sorts of questions crossed my mind as I stared at the image.
The more questions that arose in my mind, the more certain I was that the key to the situation was the train.
Hence, taking out my phone, I quickly researched all the nearby train stations.
I got the result not long after.
[Elderglen Junction]
“Alright, this should be my next stop.”
Putting my phone away, I pulled myself away from the wall and followed the directions from my phone.
*
The Elderglen Junction was located not far from the airport.
It was a thirty-minute walk from the heart of the city, tucked away near its edge. The street lamps flickered dimly, casting a faint glow over the cobblestone road as the night air sank into my bones, prickling my exposed skin from all directions.
The streets were dead silent.
Stopping beside a large metal fence, I switched on my flashlight and aimed it at the tracks ahead. In the distance, I could make out several trains and cargo cars scattered along the railway, some resting on the tracks, others off to the side.
Some sat slumped across the tracks, others leaned off to the side, like broken bones in a forgotten graveyard.
The place was quiet, and there didn’t seem to be anyone present.
I could make out the outlines of several trains in the distance, but the flashlight wasn’t strong enough for me to see clearly.
It didn’t matter.
“Hup!”
I jumped up, grabbed hold of the metal fence, and pulled myself up. With a bit of effort, I swung over and landed on the other side.
Thump!
I landed softly and kept my flashlight pointed ahead. A strong, iron scent filled my nose, prompting me to momentarily pause. For a moment, I almost thought it was blood. However, the smell was different.
It smelled a lot more rusty.
‘Fuck, has all the blood I’ve been seeing lately even made me tell if something is blood or not by the smell?’
My lip twitched.
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
The flashlight jittered in my grip, casting uneasy shadows that seemed to twitch along the walls. There wasn’t much to go off from the photo I had. The most noticeable feature was the large, old train, which stood out more than anything else.
That was my only lead.
But even after scanning the station, it was nowhere in sight.
‘Right, it would make sense if it’s gone. A lot of time must’ve passed. I’m sure that—’
Not even halfway through my thoughts, and a massive shadow loomed before me in the distance. By the time I managed to figure out what it was, my hand froze as I opened my mouth before closing it.
Staring at the all-too-familiar train, I pulled out one of the photos and held it up, shifting my gaze back and forth between the image and the real thing.
I eventually shook my head.
“…Hasn’t changed one bit.”
Not even one bit.