Irene regained consciousness abruptly. The sudden shift from unaware to fully aware jarred her, causing her head to spin and her stomach to churn. She noticed that even in the breathable bodysuit she wore, the temperature was almost unbearable. Her legs were sore, and she was being carried on the back of what felt like a very uncomfortable horse. She opened her eyes to realize that it was BP. Although his steps were relatively smooth and lent to very little jostling, his body was still made of a very hard alloy. She turned back to see Wendy, Seulgi, Joy, and Yerim, faces dripping with sweat, trudging their way up the steep incline behind the robot. Seulgi was the first to notice her awakening.

“Irene!” she said, and the group halted. BP allowed the Irene to slide down from his back, but kept his hands on her wrists to ensure that she was stable enough to stand.

Yerim’s expression shifted from exhausted to happy to a final, indiscernible expression that Irene would almost describe as guilty. Nonetheless, the younger girl ran up to her and embraced her. Irene hugged her back, and despite the high temperature, she felt like she never wanted to let go.

“Where’s everyone else?”

The mood among the remaining girls immediately became somber. No one seemed to want to answer; even Yerim remained silent, pressing the side of her face to Irene’s chest and looking off into the distance.

“A rising tide of mist-like creatures were closing in on us,” BP explained, “Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé, and Dalgom’s pack stayed behind to hold them off.”

“Oh.” was all Irene was able to say before breaking down, crying into Yerim’s hair as a wave of sadness overcame her. Rosé, Jennie, Lisa, and Jisoo. Dead. Just like that. One second, she’d been fighting and traveling right alongside them. The next, they were gone. Irene found her mind filling with regret and rage-ridden excuses; had she been awake, would have been able to stop them? Why didn’t the other girls try harder to stop them from staying back? And why did she feel so guilty about it, as if their sacrifice could have been avoided if it wasn’t for her?

“I know it’s sad, Irene,” Joy said in a melancholy tone, “But we have to keep going. It’s the reason they stayed behind in the first place.”

“Right.” Irene sniffled, wiping her eyes, “Let’s go, then.”

She took Yerim’s hand and the group continued on their way once more.

They were significantly higher up the mountain than they had previously been. In fact, the crater was almost in view now. A blinding glow and an increasing wall of heat aded the area so that it was impossible to look directly at the peak. There was a constant, intensifying rumble coming from below them; the mountain’s final protests. The path had gone from rocky, disorganized coal-black to an angelic white with long lines of gold that ran horizontally from the center of the path to its peripheries. The sides of the path were lined with oddly-shaped runes and drawings. It looked as if it had been previously been paved over, and despite the damage it had sustained from the heat and geological activity, it was apparent that it had had a beautiful design.

In any other circumstance, it would have been a pleasure to walk through the ruins, inspecting each facet of the once-great work of architecture. However, with a volcanic eruption of global proportions imminent, the girls ignored it all and focused on making time. Despite the heat and exhaustion, they soldiered on, taking only short, silent breaks for quick drinks of water before continuing.

Irene, being the least tired, was the first to reach the top. Somehow, the heat seemed to taper down here; there was actually a cool breeze moving over the area. The spiral of clouds in the sky released bursts of lightning that targeted only the crater, producing a constant bluish-yellow glow. The blinding light from the crater was almost nonexistent here, although the lava still possessed an odd white hue that it seemed to lose as soon as it spilled out of the bowl-like dent. The outer rim of the crater took up most of the surface of the peak; it must have been at least a mile in circumference. The crater itself was overflowing in every direction except the direction of the path, as if it were being directed by some unseen force to flow over the edge of the mountain and avoid the “face”.

There was a large set of porcelain-colored obelisks located ahead of the girls. They were arranged at the end of an unmarred path, all turned to face a raised slab in the center. Irene’s hand went to the crystal at her belt. She could feel a different force calling her now, a much kinder one, softly letting her know that the slab was where the crystal needed to be. This force was so minute that the black-haired girl might have chalked it up to her imagination, yet she felt it was correct. There was a certain frequency emanating from that slab that was unmistakable.

“Be careful,” Wendy said, placing a hand on Irene’s shoulder, “This is the home stretch, but we can’t get complacent now.”

“Right.” Irene said, squeezing her friend’s hand. Then, they began to march forward.

It was surreal to be approaching the end like this. It felt no different than walking through the park on a hot day with her friends. In another universe, this scene could have been different. They could have all been relaxed, laughing amongst themselves and enjoying ice cream or some other dessert. The sun could have been shining over an azure, cloudless sky. If there was one thing Irene truly missed from her world, it was the sky; if there was one wish she had, regardless of how this all went, it was that she could get at least one glimpse of the sky without the shroud of darkness over it. She wondered how this world’s sky would look compared to her own.

Three loud crackling noises accompanied by a deep scraping noise broke her out of her daydream. The rock formations that surrounded the slab were shifting, shrinking in size and becoming blurred at their edges, sliding over the ground and coming together at each of their points. Light began to emanate from the center of their meeting, springing outward rapidly and causing the girls to halt their movements and shield their eyes. Irene used her free hand to draw one of her laser pistols, preparing for the worst.

The light was just beginning to recede when something whistled through the air, missing Irene’s face by inches. There was a loud crack followed by a scream, and Irene spun around to see a thankfully intact Wendy lying on the ground next to BP’s bisected upper body. The robot appeared to still be functional, and was firing its weapon in the direction of the light. The older girl turned back to see that the light was faded now, revealing a human-sized creature made entirely of the same material as the obelisks had been. Its body was similar in shape to the obsidian monsters from before, except it was much slimmer and covered in shifting blue runes. It raised one of its arms and fired a burst of light forward. The girls scattered and ducked out of the way, Yerim barely avoiding the blast as it impacted on the path behind her. The monster then began to sprint forward toward the girls.

“Oh ,” Joy said, “Shoot it!”

The combined fire from the girls engulfed the monster in white-hot energy. The thing ignored the bullets and continued its charge forward, its immaculate body unaffected by the plasma. As it was closing in on Irene, she felt the malicious voice returning to her head, pounding on her brain with its evil whisper and telling her that everything would be alright if she just slipped the necklace on. She gritted her teeth and fought the voice off just in time to dive out of the way of the monster’s next attack. She got to her feet immediately and began firing at the monster as well, crystal clutched in one hand, pistol in the other.

“It’s not dying!” Wendy yelled, ducking and rolling to dodge another blast.

“Irene!” Yerim called, causing the older girl to look over, “Go put the crystal in! We’ll hold it off!”

At the redhead’s words, the monster turned and looked right at Irene, its expressionless face glowing white as it charged some sort of beam. Irene broke into the fastest sprint she could, the beam tracing the path behind her, mere feet behind her hurried footsteps. The other girls fired their weapons futilely at the monster, trying to get its attention in any way possible, but failing. It was entirely focused on taking Irene out.

Just as the beam was about to reach the black-haired girl, it ceased. Irene turned to see BP’s upper half clinging onto the shoulders of the monster, one of his arms blocking the attack that was coming from its glowing face, the other anchored into the rock as the monster flailed.

“BP! What are you doing?!” Wendy yelled, running forward.

“Please stay back.” the robot said, and they were his final words.

The explosion that followed covered the head of the monster, disintegrating it entirely and sending all five of the girls flying backwards. The headless demon fell to its knees, not quite dead but certainly disoriented.

Irene tried to stand. Something was wrong with her left arm; it wouldn’t move the way she wanted it to. She was forced to rely on her right to get her to her feet. Her ears were ringing from the sound of the explosion, and she felt as if she was on the brink of collapsing. She looked around at her friends. Most were still recovering from the blast, except Yerim, who was stumbling towards her with an urgent expression on her face.

“RUN, UNNIE!”

Irene was returned to her senses by the sharp sound of Yerim’s voice, and began sprinting once again. Each step sent flares of pain jolting down her injured arm, which could hardly bend enough for her to run. She clutched the crystal in her opposite hand. Where was she supposed to put this, anyway? Was there a designated spot for it?

She closed in on the slab, arriving only seconds before Yerim and Seulgi. Wendy and Joy were still running her way, though they were making good time.

The surface of the raised tablet was completely blank save for one single slot at the very center. It was shaped exactly how the crystal was, and Irene lifted the jewel to put it in place, to end the nightmare.

As she did so, the voice returned, threatening to rip her brains from her skull. It attempted to seize control over her and she fell to the ground, clutching the crystal to her chest in order to prevent it from moving. She could hear Yerim’s and Seulgi’s panicked voices pleading with her now, but couldn’t make out the words. Everything was blurry. Her own thoughts were beginning to melt away, combining with the thoughts of the foreign presence that so badly wanted her to just put the necklace on and go home. She screamed in agony.

Visions of her friends and family back home flashed before her. Sunlight. Grassy fields. The smell of her mother’s cooking. Her warm bed. It could all be hers. But what about her friends? Easy. Just grab them and put the necklace on. This world is dead anyway. It doesn’t matter. It’s not your world. Your world is so much better, your world is so much safer. But she made a promise. People break promises all the time. Especially in these circumstances. If she went back now, all this pain would be over. Her arm would be fixed, the voices would be gone, and it would all be so serene. She and Yerim and Seulgi and Wendy and Joy could live their lives out happily. The other girls could be reunited with their families, too. They could all be friends, still. They’d be mad at her at first, of course, but they’d get over it. Once they saw that she’d saved them, they would-

Irene’s mind was suddenly completely cleared as a warm mist splashed her face. There were three screams of horror, followed by the sound of a revolver firing. Someone was yelling. Irene seized the opportunity and looked up.

Yerim was lying beside her, the young girl’s pale face framed perfectly by her red hair. Her tear-filled eyes were half-open, her delicate lips leaking a small trickle of blood, her breaths coming slow and labored. She’d been hit.

“Yeri… no.” Irene said, sitting up and reaching over to take Yerim’s face in her hands, “No, no, no…”

Yerim’s hand raised weakly and settled over Irene’s, causing the older girl to look down. There was a fist-sized hole in Yerim’s stomach. Blood blossomed out from the wound, gushing onto the ground and pooling beside her.

“Irene,” she whispered, reaching a shaky hand forward and resting her fingertips on the older girl’s face, “No matter what happens… no matter what you choose to do... I love you.”

As she finished her sentence, the remaining light left her chocolate-colored eyes, and her breathing stopped. Her small hand went limp, falling from Irene’s face and settling on the older girl’s lap.

A new resolve overcame Irene. It filled her bones, annihilating the force that was trying to work its way back into her brain again. She stood up, ignoring her ruined arm. A hysterical Seulgi was firing all of her bullets at the approaching monster. Wendy and Joy were firing as well, arranged in a protective formation around Yerim.

The headless demon sped up its charge - it knew exactly what was coming. Irene screamed, tears running down her cheeks, clouding her vision. She made sure she was staring right at the monster as she did it.

Irene pulled her arm back and slammed the crystal into place.

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Second-to-last update. Didn't want to make it any longer than it had to be.