CHAPTER 22 – The Divide
The hallway was colder than usual that night. Dust clung to the cracked tiles, and the dim overhead light flickered like it, too, had grown weary of what the building held within. The players — no, survivors — had gathered in silence. No one said it, but they all knew: the third game was coming.
And it felt final.
They sat scattered across the corridor floor, backs against the wall or hugging their knees, the weight of exhaustion heavier than the chill in the air. No one wanted to sleep. Sleep made them vulnerable. Vulnerability could be fatal.
Tatsuya sat cross-legged, hands resting neatly in his lap, staring at nothing. He hadn't spoken in a while — not since the last judgment. His face was unreadable as ever. Calm. Controlled. Cold.
Then, breaking the silence like a needle to glass, he spoke.
> "I think this is the last game."
His voice wasn't dramatic. It was a quiet fact, delivered like a weather report.
Shun turned toward him, eyebrows raised. "Huh? What? Why do you say that?"
Tatsuya didn't blink. "Because most of us only have one life left. And in the third game… maybe only one person survives."
The words sank like a stone in a pond. The silence that followed was even deeper than before.
Aoi stared down at her boots. Shun clenched his fists. Mei's eyes were wide with worry. Ren looked thoughtful, as if trying to calculate odds no longer based on logic, but luck.
Tatsuya continued, still calm.
> "So maybe… before that happens, we should share something. Like a secret."
Ren raised an eyebrow, leaning back lazily. "Wait. A secret? Why?"
Tatsuya turned to look at him — just barely. "Because we've been together for a while now. Fighting. Dying. But we still don't know each other. We act like strangers."
He let the words hang a moment.
> "If we die tomorrow, at least let someone remember who we really were."
Aoi let out a dry snort. "That's a lot coming from the guy who has no emotions."
Tatsuya didn't respond. He never did to that kind of thing.
Aoi nudged Ren with her elbow. "Okay then, let's start with the chillest guy here. Ren. Why are you always so calm, even when people are dying around you? You're kinda… scary."
Shun chuckled uneasily. "Yeah, even when the second game was wiping people out, you just sat there like you were waiting for a train."
Ren held up his hands, confused. "Whoa, whoa, why is everyone looking at me all of a sudden?"
Tatsuya answered quietly. "Because you act like nothing touches you. And if this is the last game… we should know the truth."
Ren sighed. He looked around at the others, all watching him. For once, his usual calm had a crack in it — not fear, exactly, but uncertainty.
"…Man. Do I really have to?"
Aoi gave him a small grin. "Yes."
Tatsuya added, "You might be the only one who survives."
That shut him up.
For a moment, Ren stared into the distance. The air around him seemed to freeze, like the universe itself had paused. And in that silence, he heard something bizarre.
> "Hey, Ren. Sup. It's me — the writer."
> "HUH?!"
> "Yeah. Thought I'd check in. You thought you were the main character, didn't you?"
> "…I mean, kinda?"
> "Nah. You're comic relief. It's Tatsuya's story."
> "WHAT?!"
> "You want to die next chapter?"
> "…No?"
> "Good. Then shut up and vibe. Background legend energy only."
> "…Copy that."
Time unfroze. Ren blinked.
"…Fine," he muttered. "You wanna know why I'm always calm? Here's why."
Everyone leaned in.
> "I have a disorder. OMID. One Mood Input Disorder. Since birth, my brain only lets me feel one emotion."
Aoi stared. "Wait. For real?"
Ren nodded. "Yup. Some people with OMID get fear. Others, joy. Anger. Me? I got stuck with chill."
Shun tilted his head. "So… you don't feel scared? Or sad? Or… happy?"
Ren shrugged. "Nope. Didn't cry when my grandma died. Didn't panic during a robbery at my dad's clinic. Didn't even smile when I passed the entrance exam I studied for all summer. Just… chill. That's it. Always calm."
Aoi's voice softened. "Damn. That's kinda… dark."
Ren offered a half-smile. "Yeah. People called me cold. Heartless. Thought I was a psycho. Only my parents believed me. They're both doctors, so they understood."
He paused. The group was listening, not mocking. Really listening.
> "So now you know. I'm not brave. Not fearless. I just… don't feel fear. Or much of anything."
The group sat quietly, digesting his words.
Then Tatsuya said, his tone as flat as ever, "…Thanks for telling us."
Ren looked at him in surprise. "You're not gonna joke or roll your eyes?"
Tatsuya shook his head. "No. I understand. I don't feel much either. But mine's not a disorder. It's just… how I am."
And for the first time, Ren saw something flicker behind Tatsuya's icy exterior — not emotion, exactly, but depth. A weight. A quiet storm buried beneath layers of control.
No one else offered their secrets that night.
They didn't need to.
The hallway grew quiet again, but it wasn't the silence of fear. It was something else — unspoken, fragile, almost human. For just a moment, beneath the games, betrayals, and strategy… they were just people. Lost, scared, broken people, huddled on a cold floor, waiting for the world to end.
Tomorrow, the third game would begin.
But tonight — tonight, they remembered who they were.
Even if it was just for one more night.
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TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 23:SHADOWS OF THE MIND