Previously on Captivity....

Time was running out as Lumin and Awandea desperately tried to secure the forest princess's crown. Despite their efforts, the princess remained unyielding, her refusal firm behind a delicate smile. Lumin's frustration boiled over as other teams swarmed the chaotic garden, all vying for the prize. Finally losing his patience, Lumin grabbed Awandea and dragged her away, leaving the crown behind.

Awandea, confused and angry, demanded answers as Lumin led her back to their base. But Lumin stayed silent, his focus locked on a new plan. Back in their quarters, tensions flared as Awandea stormed off, only to find Lumin calmly preparing potions and weapons. His sudden detachment and cold demeanor unnerved her as the reality of their failed mission sank in. The level had ended, and they hadn't secured the crown. The ominous consequences of their failure loomed over them.

Meanwhile, in the garden, chaos unfolded. Hinata, recognizing Nia's potential, pushed her to approach the forest princess, hoping her innocence could succeed where others had failed. But Nia hesitated, fear clouding her thoughts as the overwhelming presence of the princess kept her rooted in place.

As the final bell rang, the players were transported to the dreaded Adrena Halls. Tension filled the air as the teams stood together, awaiting their fate. Adrena, with a predatory smile, greeted them with chilling anticipation. Now, with failure behind them, all the players could do was brace for whatever came next.

FORSAKEN
ESCAPE THE HALL LV.2

Round One
Level Two
Preliminary Rounds
Target: Win a rose crown
Time remaining: 0
Obstacle: Your team
Reward: Coins, a dozen healing potions
Penalty: Suspension of status until the next quest

The tension in the air was palpable as Adrena, floating with an air of dominance, surveyed the exhausted players below. Her black hair shimmered under the lights of the arena, eyes gleaming with mischief as she began to speak.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the team who won this level," her voice rang through the hall, laced with both praise and menace. She gestured grandly toward the winning group. "Please give a good round of applause for Team C!"

The sound of half-hearted clapping filled the room. It was reluctant and lacked any real enthusiasm. The players, still reeling from their efforts, couldn't bring themselves to genuinely celebrate another team's victory. Deep down, they all knew the stakes-only one team could win, and the failure of the others came at a severe price. Their future in the game now hung by a thread.

Adrena's grin widened as she floated gracefully back to the ground, her boots touching down with a soft thud. Her eyes flicked across the room, landing momentarily on each of the teams, most of whom looked either defeated or on the brink of panic. The gravity of their failure was sinking in.

"And now, for all of you who didn't make it," she continued, her tone darkening. A collective shiver ran through the crowd as her voice dipped ominously. "Your status will be retained until the next round starts." She snapped her fingers with a flourish, and in that instant, each player's screen flashed before them, listing their stats, skills, and items.

Anex stared at her screen, eyes narrowing in frustration. Her player status was there, but something was off. The bold font that had once proudly displayed her as a Type E player was now faded, barely legible. It was a subtle change, but the implications were anything but. "I think we can't use our defense shields anymore," she muttered darkly. "The item given to E-type players..." Her voice trailed off, fear beginning to creep in.

Beside her, Caleb glanced at his own screen and gave a resigned sigh. "Or the coin shop," he pointed out. "It looks like we need to maintain our status to use it. No status, no shop. Without items, we're sitting ducks in this game." His screen blinked off just as Anex's had, leaving them both staring blankly at each other, the weight of their predicament settling in.

"This is ridiculous," Anex hissed, her fists clenched at her sides. "We'll be dead long before the next round even starts!"

While despair consumed most of the teams, Team C radiated a starkly different energy. They had won, and the relief was visible on every member's face. Wei grinned widely as she clapped Nia on the back, her eyes shining with satisfaction. "Thanks to Nia, we won this level of round one," she declared. Her tone carried an air of triumph, but also quiet amazement at their unexpected victory.

Hinata crouched down to Nia's height, his usual guarded expression softening as he smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, Nia," he said quietly. "We couldn't have done it without you."

The little girl beamed, clearly proud of herself. In her eyes, this was just a game-a fun one where she'd been recognized for her skills. She had no real understanding of the danger surrounding them, no grasp of the life-or-death stakes. To her, this was nothing more than an adventure, and she basked in the praise like a child being complimented for a well-done school project.

"You were great when you sympathized with the princess," Tao added with a smile, patting Nia's head affectionately. She giggled, thrilled by the attention.

As Hinata stood up, Botan pulled him aside, his face shadowed with concern. He glanced at Nia, who was still laughing with Tao and Wei, her joy untainted by the reality of their situation. "The little girl probably doesn't realize the kind of situation she's in," Botan whispered urgently. "She probably thinks this is all still a game." Hiroto, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah, dude. Botan's right," Hiroto said quietly, his eyes flicking toward the little girl. "She doesn't know."

Hinata's smile shifted into something far more unsettling-a grin that sent chills down both men's spines. His expression was calculated, dangerous. It was the same smile that had made him infamous among the players. "I know that," Hinata replied smoothly. "But she'll figure it out soon enough when she doesn't meet her parents." Without another word, he walked back over to Nia, his threatening aura fading as he slipped back into the role of a protective teammate. Botan scratched the back of his head, watching the scene with a heavy sigh.

"He's ruthless, all right," Botan muttered. Hiroto nodded silently, the two of them sharing an uneasy glance as Hinata rejoined the girls, the warmth in his voice a stark contrast to the cold calculation he'd just shown.

Awandea, on the other side of the room, watched the scene unfold with mixed emotions. She felt a surge of happiness for Nia, but it was quickly drowned by the deep sense of failure gnawing at her. If only Lumin had tried harder-or at the very least, let her try-she wouldn't have any regrets. Instead, they had walked away from the challenge without giving it their all.

Her anger bubbled to the surface, and she shot a sharp glare at Lumin, who stood beside her, still absorbed in his screen.

"We should have at least tried!" she snapped, her voice carrying over the chaotic noise of the other teams. Her outburst caught the attention of several players, who momentarily stopped their own lamentations to stare at the pair. Lumin's jaw tightened, and without a word, he grabbed her arm, dragging her away from the prying eyes of the others. His grip was firm but not painful, though the frustration radiating off him was palpable.

The other players quickly resumed their despair, their panic filling the air with cries and shouts, but one pair of eyes lingered on Awandea and Lumin as they moved away-Demnin, his gaze locked on them with quiet curiosity.

"Hey! Demnin!" Ahira's voice snapped in front of him, breaking his concentration. "Are you even listening? I asked what we're going to do now!"

Demnin blinked, finally tearing his gaze away from the distant figures. "Oh, right," he muttered. "We only have the jet packs we bought from the shop in the first level."

Ahira groaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "We're done for. How are we supposed to pass the next levels without any help?"

Li, standing beside them, looked on the verge of tears. "We're going to die here, aren't we?"

The air grew heavier as reality settled in, despair creeping over those who had failed. Time was no longer on their side, and as the next level loomed, the threat of what was to come weighed down on every heart in the room.

"Let go of me!" Awandea struggled in Lumin's grasp, her voice rising as her frustration boiled over. "Because of you, we can't access our status! No coin shops! No items! We're done for-"

Before she could finish yelling at him, a series of sharp notification sounds interrupted her tirade. Her head snapped to the side, her anger momentarily forgotten as she realized it was coming from her player screen. With a flick of her hand, the screen materialized before her. Her eyes widened as lines of messages from Lumin filled the display.

"What... what is all this?" she muttered, confusion threading through her voice. Healing potions, power boosters, shields, weapons-all sent from Lumin's inventory. He had even transferred access to his personal bike.

"Use your head, Awandea," Lumin said, his voice low but calm as he released her arm and plopped down into a nearby chair. He leaned back, his silver hair falling across his face, hiding his expression.

Awandea hesitated before taking the seat next to him, her anger momentarily tempered by confusion. "Use my head? Why did you send me all these items?" Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, trying to decipher his motivations.

Lumin didn't look at her. He tilted his head back even farther, his neck resting on the chair's edge as he stared up at the ceiling. His voice was distant, detached, as if recounting something from long ago. "When I read the penalty for this level for the first time, I didn't fully understand it. So, like everyone else, I wandered around, trying to figure out where the Flower Princess could be."

Awandea blinked. This was only the second time she had heard Lumin speak this much. She leaned in slightly, waiting for him to continue.

"I tried my best too," he admitted, his voice softening. "I scoured the map, searching for anything unusual. Eventually, I noticed certain areas marked in a faint grey-it was subtle, hard to spot unless you were really focusing. One of those grey areas led me to the secret forest, the same place I took you to."

He paused, finally letting out a quiet sigh. "I guess Team C scrutinized the map too, and that's how they found the princess before us."

Awandea's hands balled into fists as she listened. Her frustration, which had simmered down momentarily, flared back up. "But we could have won!" she snapped, slamming her fists down on her thighs. "It could have been us if we had tried harder!"

Lumin's response came in the form of another sigh, but this one was laced with irritation. He still didn't bother looking at her, but she could sense the exasperation in his tone. "Miss Awandea," he said, his voice strained with patience, "only one team could win. Did you really think all of us were going to walk away with a victory? And what do you think suspension of status means? When I finally understood what the penalty entailed, I made sure to get us out of the crowd and started buying every single useful item I could afford."

He straightened slightly, his silver hair falling back to reveal his eyes-cold, calculating. "I bought everything so that we could survive the upcoming levels without any difficulty. It's called thinking ahead."

Awandea blinked, momentarily stunned by the foresight he had shown. Guilt crept into her chest, and her anger quickly dissolved into something more like shame. She shifted in her seat, her fingers twisting in her lap. "Oh... you thought so far ahead," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course." Lumin's tone was matter-of-fact, but his words carried a weight that made her stomach churn. "We might die here. Nothing should stop us from being prepared."

Awandea swallowed the lump in her throat. "You're right," she admitted, her voice small. "I'm sorry for blaming you when you were actually thinking about us."

Lumin remained silent, his head leaning back once more, his eyes closed as if shutting out the world. He didn't acknowledge her apology, didn't offer her any comfort. For a moment, the silence between them stretched, heavy and uncomfortable.

Awandea fidgeted, staring at the floor. "But... shouldn't we have told the others?" she asked hesitantly. "At least the ones we know? They could have bought something too, something to help them survive. It doesn't feel right, leaving them in the dark."

Lumin's eyes snapped open at her words, and in one fluid motion, he sat up straight, turning to face her with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. His gaze was sharp, unrelenting, and for a moment, Awandea regretted speaking at all.

"No, Miss Awandea," he said firmly, his voice carrying a cold edge. "Everyone here is either a predator or a prey. Look around you." He gestured broadly toward the other players in the room, most of whom were still wallowing in despair, too absorbed in their own fear to notice the exchange. "Everyone is thinking about one thing: survival. No one cares about anyone else. Even in the first level, teams were willing to trample over each other just to reach the exit first."

Awandea glanced around the room, watching the players who, mere hours ago, had fought beside each other. Now, they were all distant, lost in their own worlds of panic and desperation. Lumin's words stung because they rang with a cold truth she hadn't wanted to admit.

"Be reasonable, Awandea," Lumin said, his voice softer now, almost gentle. "We have to survive this."

With those final words, Lumin stood up, his decision clear in his posture.

"Wait!" Awandea shot to her feet, grabbing his right wrist before he could walk away. Her grip was firm but desperate, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked at his back. He didn't turn around, didn't move at all, waiting for her to speak.

"Will you abandon me too?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "When the time comes... will you leave me behind to save yourself?"

Lumin didn't hesitate. His voice was cold, emotionless, as he replied, "I wouldn't hesitate."

Awandea's grip on his wrist faltered, her hand slipping away as his words hit her like a physical blow. She stood there, frozen, as he walked away, leaving her alone in the silence.