The endless corridor stretched infinitely as they walked. Sometimes, they opened a door or two to check if anybody was inside, but there never was.
Yuki studied the screen in front of her. Azam had made an amazing discovery a couple of minutes prior: the system wasn't stuck on the quest screen but could be interacted with to display other things.
"It's a profile!" Azam had exclaimed. He had rushed to Yuki to inform her of his discovery. That was how they could now view their profiles.
The screen still displayed alien, runic language, but both of them could read the words perfectly.
[Name: Yuki
Rank: E (Soul Reaper)
Recollection: (Snow White) (Gray Sand)
Souls: 0]
[Name: Azam
Rank: E (Soul Reaper)
Recollection: (Boxer's Greed)
Souls: 0]
It was simple information. Yet it raised more questions than answers. What was a Recollection? What did "Souls" mean? What did "Rank" do?
It's good that there is some progress, I guess... Yuki sighed. But that guy... He just learned that he died and he seems too calm. He's adapting faster than even me.
Yuki let her thoughts run as she opened another door. Empty, again. But the more she opened, the stronger the feeling of deja vu in her gut became. It wasn't like she was reliving the moment, but more so...
Does this lead to the same room, or am I losing it? She could practically recall the similar creases and the familiar atmosphere of every room she had opened, including this one. And she had opened dozens of these damn white doors.
"Azam. I want to try something. Wait there." Her voice called out from across the corridor. Azam just nodded, ready to do anything she asked.
Yuki took off her tie and threw it into the room. The black tie plopped down neatly onto the white marble floor, like a puddle of pure darkness in the middle of a pearly white lake.
"Azam, open your door," she instructed. Azam immediately nodded and opened the door as told. They both looked inside and found nothing. It was just the same white room. A sigh of defeat escaped her lips.
"Well, it didn't work."
"What are you trying to do?" Azam finally asked. His mind must have been racing with questions.
"Just trying to see if all the doors lead to the same room." Her explanation was questionable at best, but Azam just stayed quiet; he had also given up on logic and reasoning after learning that he had actually died and not in a hospital.
"Well, it didn't. You can see there's nothing here," Azam said, entering the room to look for any changes. Suddenly, the door slammed shut. The noise echoed through the sterile corridor.
"Azam!" Yuki frantically opened the door. As it flung open, what met her wasn't Azam's figure, but the single black tie puddled in the middle of the floor.
"What?" Her voice was exasperated, filled with confusion.
"Sheesh, that startled me." A voice sounded from behind. It was Azam's. Her body instinctively turned around to see Azam emerging from a door just opposite hers. "Yuki? What's wrong?" His eyebrows raised as he saw her expression.
She was smiling. And it was quite scary.
"It worked."
———
They had done multiple experiments by now, and all of them proved a certain hypothesis.
"The door itself doesn't matter, because each person holds the key to only one room: their room," Yuki concluded. She reasoned that this room was the first one they had spawned in when they entered the Death Realm. That's why their first experiment had failed—because Azam had opened the second room instead of her.
But this meant they couldn't check if there was another person in a room unless that person decided to come out. Which meant the quest couldn't proceed.
So now, they were stuck in a standstill. Yuki went to her room to study it a bit more. She also paid close attention to the system and how it worked.
Right now, she could access three screens: the profile screen, the quest screen, and the welcome screen.
Staring at her profile, she concluded two things. "The rank means there's a hierarchy going on," and "The name only displays how we address ourselves, not our full name."
Azam had explained before that his name was longer than just "Azam," which meant that her name was too.
But trying to remember her name was futile; she had no memory of her life before death.
"Ah, yeah... One more thing."
Recollection. Azam had only one, while she had two. Why was that, and what did it do?
"Snow White?" She tried to read the word. Suddenly, a black mist formed in her hand. Gathering itself in her palm, it solidified into a blade. Just like that, an obsidian kitchen knife materialized in her hand. She stared at the knife in awe.
"What? This is what it does?" She jumped excitedly, dancing with the black knife in her hand. "It's a skill! I found the way to use a skill!"
———
A black stroke of mist drew itself in the air. The obsidian blade struck the door with Yuki's full strength. Unfortunately—
"Damn, this door is tough as fuck," she said, her words coming out in a tired breath.
"No mark, no chips. Yeah, this door is indestructible. Or, it needs something stronger. Can you pass me the knife?" Azam said, staring at the door they had just struck.
Yuki looked up, her gaze darting over the door's features. It was true; the door didn't budge, as if it were made of stone. But her knife was no less durable; she could tell it was still sharp even after the countless strikes she had landed on the door. She tossed her knife to Azam.
"Well, I'll try to use mine as well." He took a breath. "Boxer's Greed!" His chant echoed through the corridor. Yet nothing happen. "What?Where's my cool weapon?" Azam whined.
"Maybe it's a stat boost? Try to strike the door." Azam nodded before he raises the knife and deliver a clean slash towards the door.
"Nah, that doesn't work," Yuki said. "And your strike is weaker than mine. It seems only the user can use their skill effectively."
"Seriously, how do you get a knife and I get nothing? Even this skill I got is useless; I thought it was a buff or something, but it does absolute jackshit," Azam complained. Yuki just smiled.
"I guess I'm just that good?" she replied. But even then, only her "Snow White" Recollection could be used; the other one, "Gray Sand," didn't do anything either.
Don't tell me I have to go back to that damn desert to use this. The thought itself made her shiver. But an idea suddenly flooded her mind.
"Wait— What are you doing?!"
With the obsidian blade pressed against her neck, Yuki tried to force a smile.
"I think I figured out how to get out of here," she struggled to say through gritted teeth. The obsidian knife shook slightly with the tremor in her hand.
"You can't be serious! How can that let us out of here? We're dead, remember?"
"I came here because I died. That means that if I die here, too—"
An engine roar halted her speech. Both of their heads snapped toward the direction of the sound. On the horizon of the white corridor, a single black dot could be seen.
It was coming toward them.
Another reaper? Or something else? Yuki thought, her hand still holding the blade against her neck.
Eventually, the black dot grew larger and larger. The roar of the engine was also much closer than before. Yuki squinted her eyes, trying to see what was heading toward them.
"Is that.... A motorcycle?"
True to her words, it was a motorcycle heading toward them. As it got closer, the sleek design of the vehicle became clearer and clearer. Even Azam was surprised by its sudden appearance.
It's fast, faster than anything I'd have seen. Not that I remember how fast it should go though. Her mind reeled; she remembered the existence of that vehicle, which was why she was able to recognize it, but it wasn't supposed to be that fast, especially as it was approaching them.
"Wait— Fuck. Azam, get in!" Without any time for an answer, Yuki dragged Azam inside her room before shutting the door.
"What was that for?" Azam protested. Yuki just stared at the door, her hand gripping the hilt of her jet-black knife.
"I saved you, so shut up for a little while."
"From what? From the guy with the bike?"
"What else? Do you know if he's an enemy or an ally?" Azam just shrugged.
"I mean... You didn't know if I was an enemy."
"That's true. I'm still suspicious of you, you know."
"Hey! That's not nice," Azam shouted. "But... we're safe, right? I mean, they can't open the door."
That was what Yuki was planning to find out as well.