It was during these tough times that they wished to be back in their classes and workplaces, which they would otherwise consider boring, tiresome, and repetitive – but it was safe, and they had a home to return to, food to eat, a morning sky to look forward to. It was nothing like where they were now; it was nothing like a floating platform above an endless sea of waves, the water so eerily still and partially hiding away the piercing thorns, sharp and patiently waiting to kill.

“Everyone better stay away from the edges!”

“I can’t get my phone to turn on. There’s no way for us to reach someone…”

“We don’t even know how long we’ll be stuck in here, so let’s not get too excited nor too lazy, okay?”, asked Taehyun as he kneeled to the ground. He searched through his bag, taking out the contents and laying them all on the rough surface. He tried his best to organise his belongings into different categories even within the subtle darkness, moving his hands all over the items to identify what exactly he was holding.

His eyes were still adjusting to the dark lighting – or the lack of it.

With a quick gesture, he motioned the others over to where he was seated. Upon seeing the team gather around him, he asked them to put out all their items. Soon enough, there was a pile of phones and wallets, a neatly arranged stack of notebooks, a heap of small snacks in packages and boxes, bundles of tissues and sanitary items, some laptops and bottles of water and juice, loops of keys and cards, and a single gun from Yeosang.

Taehyun looked over the various arrays of items, before nodding profusely. “This will do. We’ll divide up all these things and split them into our bags. We don’t know how long we’re stuck in here, so let’s be wise and careful with the food and water.”

As the ones with bags and carriers of some sort began stuffing all the items in, the others began inspecting the large wall ahead of them. They grazed their fingertips along the surface, searching for any cracks and fissures that could potentially be struck against, but upon finding small fractures, they soon realised that there was nothing that they could use to hit the wall.

It was only fortunate that their bodies were starting to regain their lost strength, the throbbing headaches and aching limbs returning to normal.

Soobin groaned with disappointment, shaking his head as he leaned against the wall. “I wish I had that hammer with me. A torchlight would be nice too, because I don’t like this darkness at all. I mean, there’s no moon, but there seems to some sort of hidden source of light for us to at least be able to identify faces and objects. Either way, it’s pretty clear that the lighting in this world has no relation with the lighting in our world.”

“We can’t be so sure of that, at least not yet.”, added Yeosang. He pulled his pistol out of his pocket, aiming it at one of the small flaws on the wall. Pulling the trigger, he then stepped forward to see through the hole engraved on the surface. “, this is frustrating. I can’t see anything clearly. The bullet must be stuck within. All I know is that the walls are rather thick for the bullet to not be able to fully penetrate through.”

“Forget it! We’re all going to starve and die in here, so let’s just sit down and wait for our death!”

It was about time that Haseul expressed her desperate pleas of discomfort and misery. As she folded her arms across her chest and looked away, – although it was hard to see her frown in the darkness – she held back a cry at the realisation of just how defeated the entire team felt.

Still, everyone looked at her with pitiful eyes. They could understand why she was suddenly acting up. After all, she had just found out that one of her earliest friends had passed away three months ago.

She murmured, “I wish Jungeun were here. She wouldn’t react like me. She was always so patient about everything. She’d know what to do here.”

“She’d want us to practice our powers. Surely, we can get over the walls using our powers somehow, yeah?”

Everyone averted their attention towards Kai. With a nervous laugh, he added, “D-Don’t look at me like that! I’m just saying!” However, that was all that was needed for those with the tattoos to set to work.

Standing on the platform, some in groups and some hoping for some space, they began to test their powers, seeking for the dark room at the back of their minds, a sight beyond their vision.

“It’s not working.”

After one disappointing sigh came another, followed by low grunts and murmuring complaints. Neither of the tattooed members could get their powers to work, and they felt rather foolish and weak. All that they had left to do was sit together in a circle and come up with a plan.

“We don’t have any rope, no ladders, no torches, no powers to utilise. We’re basically useless for now…”, explained Yeosang as he took a small sip of water, perhaps the tiniest sip he would ever have to take. He feared that he would have to remain trapped here for more than just a couple of hours. “Any ideas?”

“How much ammo do you have, Yeosang?”, asked Haseul as she searched through one of the bags sitting within the pile. She hoped to find something sharp, something that would be useful, but all that she could find were packets and bottles. “Can you spare enough bullets to form a few cavities for us to climb with? Grooves for our hands and feet, I mean.”

The other shook his head rather slowly, starting to feel guilty for not having a fully reloaded gun with him. He had no idea that they would abruptly be teleported off to a world far from home, but he couldn’t help the self-blame.

“No can do. I don’t have extra ammunition, and there’s only nine bullets left. I can’t risk wasting any more just in case we need to fight against something.”

Disappointment immediately sank into their hearts; they wondered if they were running out of all options. Any previous feelings of hope all slowly diminished away.

“What if someone stands on my shoulders?”, suggested Taehyun. He got off the ground, brushing off the dirt stuck to his trousers. He then pointed towards the seemingly fifteen-feet wall, and only then did he realise that the slimes from three years ago were of the same height too. “It’s worth a shot.”

They all gathered in front of the wall, staring at its dull and dreadful surface. Whispers and murmurs of encouragement accompanied the duo – Taehyun and Wooyoung – as they stepped into their positions; Taehyun braced himself for the impact that was soon to be felt, squatting down to help Wo