Hikaru on page 4, Shiori on 7, Sakurai twins on 8, Raku on 9, Miyu on 10, Satoru on 11, Shu on 12, Rena and Nazuna on 13, Hiroyuki on 14, Reika on 16, Miharu on 17, Toru on 18, Usagi on 19

Entrance Hall

Yui: Hikaru, isn’t it the...entrance hall?

I ask seriously. In the wide, open space with high ceilings, a shut door looms large in front of us.

Hikaru: Yeah, looks like it.

Yui: And the entrance hall should have a---...

To my eyes, that door looks surprisingly thin, almost light, as if sunlight might slip through a single layer of wood from the outside.

Yui: a door leading outside, isn’t it? Could we escape through there...?

Startled by my words, Hikaru immediately starts to walk toward the door---but he stops with a tense look. He glares at it warily.

Hikaru: Do things really go that well? What if, I don’t know, there’s a freakin’ bomb or something?

A chuckle rings out from behind us.

???: You needn’t worry about that. I’ve already examined the door.

I turn around to see someone with a lustrous light-blue ponytail walking up to us. The delicate features resemble a girl’s, yet the voice is that of a boy. The long, dark lashes flutter once before forming a smile as a butterfly’s flap.

Hiroyuki: Good day. My name is Hiroyuki Mishina, but please, call me Mishina. Any will do for my pronouns. And, I’m a writer by trade. Pleased to meet you both.

They introduce themself in a gentle alto tone, smiling beautifully.

Yui: Okay, let’s go by they them. Anyway...did you say a writer?

Mishina: Yes. Lately, they call me the Dark Novelist or the Ultimate Novelist.

Yui: Wait, I’ve seen your book at a shop before!

Mishina: Oh, have you truly?

Their round sapphire eyes widen.

Yui: Yes, the title was like...‘Who Was a Tabula Rasa,’

Mishina: My, that’s my very first work. I wrote it when I was but fifteen, in my third year of the middle school course.

Yui: Fifteen?! That’s incredible! Ohh, I wish l had bought it back then.

Mishina: Hee-hee, your words alone are more than a great honor. Should you ever have the interest, they serve as cooling charms in summer and they can fill in for a firewood in winter because all my works are horror mystery. Tell me by the way, what sort of novels delight you both?

Hikaru: I don’t really read much. I spend lunch breaks playin’ soccer with my mates.

Yui: I like romance novels. They let me soak in sugary and bittersweet feelings. So good.

Mishina gives a twinkly chuckle.

Mishina: Splendid! Both are marvelous ways to spend your time.

As the conversation grows relaxed, Hikaru adjusts.

Hikaru: Yeah, nice talk ’n all, but I wanna focus on the problem for now ’cause we’re locked in here. Mishina, could ya get out through that door?

Mishina: That is...

They falter.

Mishina: ...Well, l could step outside...and yet, I could not.

Hikaru: ?? ...What, what does it mean?

They sorrowfully lower their lashes with only that enigmatic answer.

Mishina: See it with your own eyes. When I beheld it, words failed me. The contrivance is something that could only exist in Sci-Fi...or literature of the absurd itself.

A chill of foreboding runs through me. My gaze catches Hikaru’s and we share the same thought. They say they got outside, yet something kept them from escape? What does it mean...?

I edge closer to the front door, but my courage deserts me. Beyond this door that ought to be my hope...what’s waiting?

Hikaru: Yui, I’m here with you.

His blue eyes locks on mine straight. That’s right. No matter what lies ahead, the only way is forward.
I set my hand upon the door. Its chill bites into my skin as I push it open with all my strength.