"...And what is going to happen to everyone here? Are they all going to die?" the grey-haired girl asked, her voice carrying a sombre edge.
Kyle clicked his tongue, answering the rhetorical question with dry sarcasm:
"Is it not obvious?"
Orion stepped closer, his usual clownish façade stripped away, and a defeated expression weighing upon his features.
His eyes burned as they fixed first on Na-Ri, then shifted towards Kyle.
"So what are we going to do? Let us be honest. We can all see that the settlement's leaders are doing nothing. I say we leave the perimeter before it happens."
The grey-haired girl's eyes flared with anger at his words.
She raised her hand and gestured towards the empty area, where the residents had already withdrawn into their rooms.
"You want us to save ourselves and abandon all these innocent people to their doom? Excellent idea, Orion. You are always the same. Forget the mask, you are an utter bastard!" she blurted out, directing her glare at Orion.
The three of them were silenced by her sudden outburst, though Na-Ri and Orion in particular seemed most affected.
It was evidently the first time she had displayed such fury, and the first time she had resorted to profanity.
Kyle, however, was merely bewildered by her naïveté, as he often was with nearly everyone here.
In his view, this was hardly the moment to posture as a heroine or indulge in sentimental ideals about saving every soul.
These damned people, if given the chance to escape after becoming aware of the truth, would seize it without hesitation and would likely harm her if it increased their own chance of survival.
She appeared utterly oblivious to that reality.
This, too, was precisely why Kyle knew that the more individuals who became aware of the situation, the harder it would become to formulate any coherent plan.
Greater awareness would bring panic, endless disputes, competing viewpoints, and inevitable betrayals.
'...These fools will all be dead before the Trial Zone Breakout occurs. They hardly even grasp what is happening beyond these walls, ' Kyle thought with disdain, his gaze meeting Na-Ri's eyes with a trace of disgust.
She immediately grasped the hand of the enraged girl and, with a calm yet utterly flat tone, declared:
"Whether you wish to save them or not does not rest entirely on our decision. They are all going to die, and that is the reality, Adela."
'Fuck! She is diabolically blunt...'
Kyle and Orion's eyes widened simultaneously, stunned by the sheer deadpan manner in which she delivered such a statement, bereft of the slightest attempt to soften it.
She had revealed the harshest side of her cold nature at precisely the wrong moment, when a measure of explanation might have tempered the impact of her pronouncement.
Even Kyle acknowledged that he himself could never be so mercilessly direct.
She had spoken with absolute detachment, entirely without emotion, as if human sentiment were irrelevant.
He had never encountered such a dangerous person in his life!
Adela, which seemed to be the girl's name, was so stunned that she could not utter a word.
Instead, she lowered her head, shaken by the severity of such words from the person she cherished most.
"...Why did you say that, Lee?" she asked, crestfallen, her anger dissolving as swiftly as it had erupted.
Kyle blinked twice, dragging himself out of his daze before interjecting with his own point.
He was exasperated by the incessant eruptions of emotion and felt compelled at last to intervene.
"She said it because it is the blunt truth. We are like caged birds. Escaping, whether with everyone or alone, will still end in death. The settlement may indeed possess the means to break free, but the cost will be measured in countless lives. Moreover, no one here would actually have the courage to leave, even if they were told of the impending catastrophe. They would dismiss it as a fabrication, and assume the so-called runners were simply trying to drive them out after all they have paid... the essence cores." His tone was solemn, the words striking Adela's fragile state with the precision of two blades driven into her heart.
In truth, people had always been that way.
Even when the walls split and smoke rose high enough to stain the clouds, most would still cling to the delusion that matters could be salvaged.
Survival had never been determined by courage but by denial, and generation after generation had proved it.
People would sooner brand the truth a deception than confront it directly, even when the evidence wrapped cold fingers around their throats.
It was easier to sit still, to pay, and to wait for the earth to consume them than to take one reckless step into the unknown.
That, however, was precisely what Kyle had done throughout his life.
From his words alone, Orion and Na-Ri could only begin to infer the kind of existence he had endured.
Orion moved to the girl's side, intent on closing the emotional display and, now that Kyle had set the direction, steering matters towards decision-making.
They needed to accept the hard truth without delay.
Whether they ran or remained, if the runners took no action, they would all perish.
The only advantage lay in moving before the inevitable collapse.
"First, I want to apologise. Next, I will be direct. As both Kyle and Lee have said, whichever course we choose ends in death. The only realistic step is to become stronger and prepare. Yet no one can ever be fully prepared, for we do not know what to expect. In conclusion, our focus must be on strength, and time is no longer on our side."
Kyle quickly agreed inwardly with Orion's words.
For the first time since meeting him, he realised that this clown actually had some brain cells up there.
The only obstacle in their fragile alliance was Adela, from whom he expected nothing more than the naïve foolishness of an adolescent clutching a teddy bear in a world this merciless, which in her case actually looked rather... uhh... unsettling.
Na-Ri cast her gaze over the group, then pressed a hand to her temple, her expression as indifferent as ever.
She spoke curtly:
"Just so you are all aware, winter will begin in three days. That is when the emergence of the Trial Zone truly intensifies, should you not already know."
Kyle's mind tightened with unease as he processed the revelation.
The supposed five days might be overly optimistic if the Breakout accelerated under the cold of winter, the falling temperature increasing the pressure and further weakening cultivators at Stage One like himself.
Fortunately for him, he no longer needed to inquire about how to meet the absurd requirements, since the two individuals who had already achieved them were standing here with him.
The thought of another forced alliance, however, much like the one he had previously endured with Na-Ri, was the only blade cutting into his preference for isolation and his lone-wolf existence.
On reflection, the guard's earlier piece of advice seemed to be coming into effect now. Yet trusting them was entirely out of the question.
"Well, if both of you are actually ready to break through into Stage Two, we can assist you right now. It is truly not as frightening as it might sound... In fact, it's too easy." Orion interjected, his attention settling on Kyle, whose eyes glimmered faintly with satisfaction.
'This one seems to be adapting quickly in the midst of terror... suits me, I suppose. Now I wonder what exactly this so-called "easy" method entails...'