Life in Death (2)

The MC hovered above them, his eyes fixed on the small girl below, still determinedly throwing pebbles at Rade, trying with all the strength her little hands could muster to wake him up. For a moment, he felt a twinge of admiration for her persistence. But then, as minutes passed and she kept throwing, his patience began to wear thin.

"Ahhh," the MC groaned to himself, his voice echoing in the empty cell. "This is taking too damn long."

Annoyed, he floated down toward Rade, his invisible presence looming over him. "Hey! Wake up!" the MC yelled. "How much longer are you gonna sleep, huh? Wake up!"

He kept shouting, but Rade remained motionless, his body limp on the cold stone floor. The MC was growing increasingly frustrated when suddenly, something strange happened—a faint shimmer in the air. A system screen appeared before him, glowing softly.

Thought-sharing ability activated: You can implement your thoughts into the other person's mind as if they were thinking them, or share your own thoughts with them.

A grin crept onto the MC's face. "Well, about time." He took a deep breath and concentrated, focusing all his energy on Rade.

"Wake up… wake up… wake up!" he shouted, this time sending the thought directly into Rade's mind.

After a long moment of silence, Rade's body twitched. His eyelids fluttered, his vision blurry as he slowly began to regain consciousness. The MC sighed in relief, shaking his head. "Damn, finally."

Rade groaned, rubbing his eyes as he struggled to sit up, his head pounding. "Where… where am I?" His voice was weak, barely above a whisper. His body felt heavy, drained of energy.

Just then, a pebble struck him square in the forehead. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, wincing as he looked around, confused. "What's happening?"

As his vision cleared, he saw her—a beautiful, tiny girl crouched near the bars of her cell. She was throwing pebbles at him, her eyes wide and gleaming with excitement. Rade, still dazed, crawled closer to the bars, drawn to the strange brightness that radiated from her in this dark, desolate place.

The girl let out a breath of relief, her voice lively and cheerful as if completely oblivious to the horrors surrounding them. "Finally! You woke up!" she said, her words bubbling with energy.

Rade blinked, trying to process the situation. She was so full of life—so out of place in this nightmarish dungeon. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, his stomach let out a loud growl. He hadn't eaten in days. The sound echoed through the cell, loud enough to reach the girl.

She frowned, her worried expression genuine. "Oh, you must be starving!" she said, her little voice filled with concern. "Wait just a minute—I've got something for you!"

She reached into the folds of her ragged clothes and pulled out a small piece of bread. It was rock-hard, almost unrecognizable as food, but she smiled as if it were a treasure. Rade stared at her, stunned. This little girl was offering him food—her food.

The MC watched from above, equally stunned. This girl was an anomaly. Kindness? Here? It was impossible, unimaginable in this place of suffering. And yet, there she was, holding out that tiny, pitiful piece of bread like it was the most valuable thing in the world.

Rade hesitated, his fingers twitching as he reached for the bread. He had always survived by stealing or fighting for food, never once receiving it as a gift. The concept of someone giving something so precious to him, especially in a place like this, was foreign. He didn't understand what it meant to receive kindness.

But the girl pushed the bread into his hands, her expression insistent. "Here, take it," she said, smiling brightly. "Come on take it!! ."

Rade held the bread in his trembling hands, staring at it for a moment. He was starving. His body screamed for nourishment. But something made him pause, made him look back at her. His voice was low, almost faint. "What about you?"

The girl waved her hand dismissively, her smile never faltering. "I don't need it. Go on, eat."

Without another word, Rade shoved the bread into his mouth. It was hard, dry, and tasteless, but to him, it was the best thing he'd ever eaten. He chewed quickly, savoring every bite as if it were some kind of delicacy. He didn't care how rough it was. He was too hungry to think about anything else.

As he ate, the girl sat across from him, her legs tucked under her as she watched him with a gentle smile. She rested her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkling with a mix of joy and relief. There was a quiet comfort in the way she watched him, as though the simple act of giving him food was enough to make her happy.

The MC, floating above, felt a pang of something he couldn't quite describe. It wasn't anger or sadness—it was something deeper. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. This girl, with her bright eyes and gentle spirit, didn't belong here. She was life in a place where life didn't exist. She was hope in the middle of hell.

And for the first time in a long while, the MC felt something stir within him. Something he thought he had lost.

"Who are you?" Rade asked after he swallowed the last bite, his voice still weak but curious.

The girl's eyes lit up. "I'm Sophia!" she said cheerfully, her smile beaming as if they were meeting in a café, not a prison of misery. "And you?"

Rade stared at her, the warmth of her voice almost shocking. "Rade," he whispered.

Sophia grinned, her whole face lighting up. "Nice to meet you, Rade!" she said, her voice filled with an energy that didn't belong in this place.

The MC hovered there, silent, watching them. This girl… she's more than what she seems. And for the first time, he felt that maybe, just maybe, there was something left in this broken world worth saving.

Rade stared at Sophia, still trying to wrap his mind around her brightness in such a place. He couldn't understand how she could smile like that, like they were just two friends meeting on a street corner. There was something surreal about her presence. She was out of place, almost too real for the nightmare he had been trapped in.

Sophia leaned closer, resting her arms through the bars of her cell, completely at ease as if the darkness around them didn't exist. "So, how did you end up here?" she asked, as if they were simply sharing stories over tea.

Rade, still processing everything, hesitated. He glanced around the dungeon, the cold, harsh reality of it crashing back over him. The bruises on his body throbbed, the hunger in his gut only dulled by the rock-hard bread he had just eaten. Memories of what happened flashed through his mind—the men, the capture, his sister… his sister. His chest tightened, but before he could say anything, Sophia interrupted his thoughts.

"It's okay," she said softly, as if sensing his discomfort. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.."

The MC, hovering above, watched their exchange with a strange mix of emotions. He hadn't expected this. He expected suffering, despair, and misery—those were constants in this twisted world. But this girl, Sophia, was a crack in the darkness. She didn't just live through it—she fought it, in her own small way. And that unsettled him. He didn't understand how someone like her existed here, much less thrived.

Rade, unsure how to respond, simply nodded. He wasn't used to kindness. His life had been a constant battle for survival. He wasn't sure what to make of this strange, glowing girl who seemed to see past everything—the chains, the bruises, the fear—and treated him like a normal person.

The MC felt a strange pang in his chest as he watched them.

He couldn't help but feel anger bubbling beneath his surface again. Anger at this place, anger at the men who tortured and broke these girls, anger at the system that seemed determined to grind every last bit of hope into dust. And now, anger at himself, for caring. This girl doesn't know the hell she's in, he thought bitterly. She has no idea what's coming.

As Rade looked at Sophia, something shifted in his heart. Her innocence, her strength—it was infectious. For the first time since he had been thrown into this living nightmare, he felt something other than fear. It wasn't quite hope, but it was close. It was the idea that maybe—just maybe—he wasn't as alone as he thought.

After Rade finished eating the rock-hard bread, he leaned back, his stomach no longer growling but still far from satisfied. He watched the girl, Sophia, as she smiled at him expectantly, her bright eyes gleaming with a strange kind of joy. She tilted her head and asked in her playful tone, "Did you finish it?"

Rade, still skeptical of her, nodded slowly. He couldn't figure her out. How could she be so lively in this place? How could she smile like that when everything around them was misery? He didn't trust her—not fully. "Yeah," he muttered, his voice low.

Without missing a beat, Sophia's face lit up with excitement, and she leaned forward, practically bouncing on her feet. "Then quickly! Call me Big Sis now!" she exclaimed, her tone overflowing with glee.

Rade's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Why would I?"

Sophia pouted immediately, her lips forming a childish frown. "How mean! I'm older than you, and I even gave you my bread! So c'mon, call me Big Sis!"

Rade rolled his eyes, more irritated by how direct and insistent she was. "Not a chance."

Sophia crossed her arms, turning her head away from him in an exaggerated huff. "You… you big meanie! I'm not going to talk to you anymore!" She turned her back to him, her small body radiating mock anger. Her pout was so over-the-top, it almost looked like they were two children bickering in a kindergarten playground, completely out of place in the dark, filthy cell.

The MC, hovering above them, watched their interaction with an odd mix of amusement and disbelief. Is the author of this nightmare a madman? he thought to himself. How could anyone place something this beautiful, this innocent, in such a hellish world?

Sophia kept her back turned, refusing to even glance at Rade, still pouting with her arms crossed. "Hmmph! I'm not talking to you!" she declared in her childish defiance.

For a moment, the dungeon was filled with nothing but the sound of her sulking. But then, a soft metallic cling interrupted the quiet—a faint sound of chains creaking. Sophia's curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly turned her head back, peeking over her shoulder to see what Rade was doing.

To her surprise, Rade was standing, pulling at the heavy chains attached to the wall with all the strength he could muster. His face was tense, his muscles straining as he yanked on the metal links. The chains clattered against the stone, but they didn't budge. Rade was giving it everything he had, trying to free himself, but the shackles held firm.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of struggling, Rade stopped, panting with exhaustion, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. But even in his frustration, he didn't give up. His hands were back on the chains, ready to pull again.

Sophia, who had been watching with a mix of surprise and amusement, giggled softly. She approached the bars on the left side of Rade's cell, leaning close. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice playful, yet filled with genuine curiosity.

Rade let out a frustrated grunt, yanking on the chains again. "What do you think? I'm trying to break these damn chains!"

Sophia couldn't help but laugh at his stubbornness. "You dummy," she giggled, covering her mouth. "Do you really think you can break those chains with your strength alone?"

As soon as she said the word "strength," the MC, still floating above them, froze for a moment. Wait a minute… he thought, a realization clicking in his mind. What day is it?

He shot up, drifting above the dungeon walls until he reached the small window where the moonlight was filtering through. His eyes widened as he looked out at the night sky. There, hanging high above the world, was the full moon—larger and brighter than ever, casting its pale light over everything below.

A grin spread across the MC's face, growing wider by the second. "Hahaha… haha… HAHAHA!" He let out a loud, manic laugh that echoed throughout the dungeon. The sound reverberated off the walls, filling the space with a sense of twisted excitement.

"Here we go again!" he shouted, his laughter ringing in the still air.

The MC grinned, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. The full moon... he thought to himself, his excitement growing. This is going to get interesting.