(Viewpoint: Ji-Yunwoo)
Outside, the sun was still burning weakly.
I gripped the handle of my blade.
My face remained tense despite the artificial relief the pill had given me.
My fingers were cold and white and my heart was pounding against my chest, no doubt an effect of the tower.
I didn't know how to go about it.
Jun Ho was keeping a kind of fire going.
Yun Seo was still sitting against the wall.
I slipped back into my seat.
I lowered my gaze to the ground and remained motionless for a few seconds.
I'm doing it... I'm doing it... I'm doing it... I can't
My heart was beating even faster.
...
The minutes tick by, the cold seeps into my very core, I rub my hands together but my anxiety only increases.
Tac!
I raise my head, I do it every time she moves.
Even Jun Ho seemed to give up on starting a conversation.
The Tower of Endless Fall had brought us all back...
But she had left no one unscathed.
...
I glanced down at my watch again.
The black hourglass was still waiting for me.
I select the icon again.
The screen remains the same.
MISSION OF THE AVAILABLE SERVANT.
Once again the screen went completely black.
Then white letters slowly appeared.
As if someone were writing them right in front of me.
PROVE YOUR LOYALTY.
BRINGS THE HEART OF YUN SEO.
I was rereading it for the umpteenth time already.
I don't know
DEADLINE: 72 HOURS.
One last sentence made me think even more.
IN CASE OF REFUSAL... THE HEART OF THE ONE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WILL BE TAKEN.
I reopened it.
The same message.
Always.
I started again, he didn't even read mine since he disappears every time I send them.
Again.
Always .
No mistakes.
No possibility of cancellation.
…
– Ji-Yunwoo?
Jun Ho's voice abruptly brings me back to reality.
I raised my head towards him.
Everyone was looking at me.
– You're fine.
I shook my head slowly.
– It's nothing.
Jun Ho seemed to want to add something.
Then he gave up.
His attention naturally returned to Jae.
Like everyone else's.
…
Yun Seo takes it easy.
She came out of the cave.
I followed her with my eyes.
She looked exhausted.
His steps were slow.
Almost hesitant.
She stopped a few meters further on and glanced at me over her shoulder.
I felt a wave of palpitations rising within me.
My nails dug into my palm.
I can do it now.
NOW ?
Does she know?
Ah...
I found myself instinctively observing the distance that separated us.
One single movement will suffice; the deaths were a daily occurrence.
My breathing became irregular.
J'esita a me lever.
I almost went after him, but I changed my mind.
My hands were shaking too much.
I put a hand to my face, I was already thinking about everything I was going to lose.