My world right now consists of nothing but pressure, friction, and the stench of ancient mold searing my throat. To strip Dante of his ultimate authority—the right to watch me—I have entombed myself in a temporary grave. The thick cotton stuffed into my ears has severed my connection to the outside world like a blade; but the true liberation is this tight bandage over my eyes, soaked in a chemical solution.
The "Premium" screen through which Vivaricus broadcasts my life in real-time is now nothing but a pitch-black void. I have blinded my master, even if the price was the darkening of my own world.
As I crawl on my knees in these damp tunnels six levels deep, my palms are shredded by century-old rusted rails. The navigation system inside my brain is flashing its final warnings like a dying animal, struggling against the underground radioactive interference and Dante's severed access:
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: Video and Audio Sync Lost. Critical Error!]
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: User Biometric Data Unreadable. Restart?]
"F-ck off, you piece of shot system..." I think to myself.
See me, Dante, but see nothing. Touch me, but never know where I am.
In this absolute desolation, a familiar scent strikes my skin. My friends are here. I can't see them, but I recognize them like a beast: the throat-searing smell of the soot-stained stove they burn for warmth, and the sharp, merciless winter chill clinging to their clothes. I can sense them approaching by the rhythmic clicking of their boots against the rusted metal.
Then, the muffled, coded whispers begin—words I can barely catch through the cotton in my ears, yet they etch themselves directly into my soul.
"The Raven has cast its shadow," Joseph's voice rasps. It is as cold as a grave. "Silver ashes will not wait for the dawn." Adalin replies.
It's a code. They're saying the defense lines of the Obsidian Building have collapsed; the operation has begun. A piece of stiff, rough paper is shoved between my trembling fingers. I trace my fingertips over the primitive alphabet formed by pinpricks.
"WE BURN THE OBSIDIAN BUILDING TONIGHT."
My heart hammers against my ribs. I reach out to reply, but my fingers only catch the icy air. The interaction I expected doesn't come. Instead, I feel a sudden, searing weight around my neck. Dante's famous "Premium" gift...
The golden chain with the crimson eye motif suddenly tightens. It feels as if an invisible hand is yanking on my leash.
Did Dante find me? Or is this the system's "connection lost" failsafe?
My breath hitches as the golden rings sink into my windpipe, and a harsh hand on my shoulder shoves me ruthlessly to the ground. My face slams into the wet, muddy concrete, and I recoil at the taste of rust in my mouth. Instead of picking me up, my friends grab my arms like trash bags and begin to drag me. I am being pulled along like a sacrificial lamb heading into the unknown darkness.
No voice, no explanation...
When I frantically tear off the blindfold, my vision is still blurred by the chemicals, but the sight before me is more horrific than Dante's hell. The underground canals, silent for centuries, have burst; a vast sea is flooding the subway tunnels like a tsunami. The water pounds against the concrete walls, climbing up to my chin.
My feet get stuck between the rusted subway rails, the coldness of the metal searing into my bone like a seal. There is no escape. When I see the helpless horror in my friends' eyes, my voice comes out as a whisper, but as hard as a headsman's axe.
"Go..." I groan in pain. "Go and..."
I hesitate. I remember the ears of Vivaricus listening through every wall, Dante's phantom fingers following me through that red-eyed leash around my neck. I swallow the rest of the plan.
"Do what you must."
With Joseph's rough shove, they flee toward the tunnel exit—toward that fake light above—without looking back. I am left alone in the middle of the rising water, on the rails, a leashed dead-man-walking. That golden chain burns like a coal even underwater. I call out to that imaginary listener in my mind, that eternal being living in golden shackles:
"Master Dante..." I say with a bloody, sarcastic smirk on my lips.
"You blinded me, you silenced me, but I wouldn't want you to miss this performance. Look... This is the final show of a pathetic human wearing your precious golden leash like an ornament. I possess a luxury you will never have....To die honorably, once... You, however, have only a parasitic life that lasts forever, devoid of honor. Bon appétit."
As if preparing for my own funeral, I cover my eyes with my hands again. As the water reaches my nose, I think only one thing.
A premium death is always better than a cheap life. As I sink into the darkness, that golden leash around my neck becomes my heaviest tombstone.