"W-where am I?"
[Insanity level increased by 15%]
[Insanity meter indicator: green]
Shaan snapped back to awareness, finding himself seated on one of the train's benches. Honestly, he was quite shocked at first—why was he still in the human world when he had passed through the Midnight Gate?
"Wait, as far as I remember, I never boarded any train," Shaan frowned, trying to recall the last thing he remembered. "No… no, something strange has happened. I need to check what's outside this train first," he muttered, slowly walking toward a window conveniently near him.
"Oh my God. What the...?"
Shaan's face instantly turned pale as he realized the train was positioned right above a destroyed track. Worse still, the carriage behind him had partially collapsed and was tilting dangerously over a pool of water directly below.
The color of the water was also black, and it was so dark that Shaan couldn't see the bottom clearly at all. Only small air bubbles rose to the surface, indicating that there must be something terrible in the water.
"Oh, damn. I—I need to get out of here, fast."
At first, Shaan had planned to exit the train through a nearby window. However, he realized the surroundings were nothing but cliffs—there wasn't a single stable foothold that looked safe enough to step on. The only viable exit was the door leading to the front carriage. He slowly walked towards the door, but sadly, it wouldn't open at all.
"Oh, no. Why...why doesn't the door open at all? " Shaan pulled the door with all his might, until his face began to turn red. "Argh, damn. It seems like the door is stuck, and I need Robin Hood's help now."
Shaan slowly closed his eyes and began to focus his mind on summoning Robin Hood. In just a matter of minutes, a spell symbol in the shape of a scale appeared near where Shaan was standing, and the figure of Robin Hood appeared before Shaan.
[Shaan, what's wrong?]
"Robin Hood, I need your help. This door is stuck and I need your power to open it."
Hearing Shaan's words, Robin Hood nodded his head. [Of course. I'll help you. It's an easy thing to do.]
Together, the two of them slid the door with all their might until finally the carriage door slowly opened little by little. Good, it seems that if they push it even harder, this door will be able to open completely.
"Come on, just a bit more, just a bit more, and this door will—Ah, finally."Shaan quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead as the carriage door finally creaked open." Thank goodness. At least now, the door is—"
[Shaan, look out!]
Robin Hood pushed Shaan's body to the side just before the pile of objects in the front carriage fell on Shaan. Damn. Thankfully, Robin Hood had protected Shaan in time. Had Robin Hood been a little late, the pile of objects would have slammed into Shaan and pushed him into the horrible black pool below.
"I owe you, Robin Hood. You saved me just in time."
[Hey, never mind. Now we'd better get out of here before this train falls to the bottom of the black pool."]
"Yeah, you're right."
As Shaan stepped into the next carriage, the sound of cracking glass echoed behind him. He froze. Slowly, he turned his head and saw small fractures spreading across the rear window of the carriage. Unfortunately, the cracks began to spread rapidly, and within seconds, the glass shattered completely. Everything that had been resting above the window immediately fell into the pool below, causing the entire carriage to tilt further toward the black water.
"Oh no, the carriage is going to fall and I must have to——"
Shaan lost his balance and was pushed down. He quickly grabbed onto one of the poles in the train carriage tightly. "Ugh, crap. That was close."
[Shaan, hang on.] Robin Hood, who was in the front carriage, extended his hand to help Shaan. [Damn it! You're too far away and I can't reach your hand at all. I need something to help you.] Robin Hood glanced around, then suddenly saw something around him [Ah, there it is. Maybe I can use that,] said Robin Hood in panic. [Shaan, hang on. Just stay there and I'll help you soon.]
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up."
Shaan's heartbeat accelerated as his grip began to weaken, his palms getting wet. Damn it. It's been almost a few minutes, but Robin Hood hasn't come back yet. Damn it, why is Robin Hood taking so long? What on earth was he thinking?
Not long after, Robin Hood finally appeared with a golf club in his hand. He slowly thrust the golf club towards Shaan quickly. [Shaan, quickly grab this golf club, and I'll pull you up.]
"Seriously? A golf club?" Shaan furrowed his brow. "Don't you have anything else that can be used to pull me up? Are you capable enough to pull my body up using that?"
[Hey, my body is small, but my strength is much stronger than yours.] Robin Hood looked annoyed. [After all, this is all I got to pull you up, and it seems like this golf club is strong enough,] Robin Hood said confidently. [Your body isn't big anyway, so it should work. Just trust me, okay.]
Shaan could only shake his head when he heard Robin Hood's words. The truth is, he was quite skeptical that this idea would work, given that the golf club would not be able to withstand the weight of a human body, as it would certainly bend and possibly break. However, if he didn't try at all and let his body continue to rely solely on the door handle, sooner or later, he would fall into the black water.
[Hey, Shaan. What are you thinking?] Robin Hood frowned. [Hurry up! My arms are getting tired, and the longer you take, the weaker I get pulling you up.]
"Yeah, yeah, alright." Shaan exhaled deeply before starting to move. "I'm ready. Let's do this."
Shaan then grabbed hold of the golf club, and Robin Hood pulled with all his strength. Slowly but surely, Shaan's body began to rise, inching closer to Robin Hood. Surprisingly, Robin Hood's seemingly ridiculous idea was working.
[See? I told you it would work!] Robin Hood grinned proudly. [You should've trusted me from the beginning.] He gave another hard pull. [Just a little more and you'll be up here.]
"Alright, alright. I admit—your idea was pretty brilliant for—"
'Ccrracck…'
"…What was that sound?"
[Oh, crap. The golf club is starting to crack—it's about to break!]
"Wait, w-what?" Shaan's face immediately paled.
[Shaan, listen to me. I'm going to count to three. On the count of three, I'm going to pull you straight up. Okay?]
"Alright. I understand." Shaan nodded his head. "Hurry up, just do it—before the club snaps."
[Okay, get ready. 1...2....]
"Brak!"