It had all been a dream.
Takakai finally understood what had happened.
He had never left the [Blood Vessels].
After discovering the fork in the path and failing to retreat immediately, he'd been seized by the core grudge within the [Blood Vessels] and dragged into the side passage.
From that moment on, he'd been trapped in this inescapable deathtrap.
His subsequent actions—climbing out of the [Blood Vessels], traversing the [Great Cliff] and [Great Slide] with Chika, even reaching what seemed like the cave's exit and successfully sending the others out—all happened because he'd been dreaming.
A dream.
Takakai had deciphered this core grudge's ability—the entity lurking in the [Blood Vessels].
It would drag rule-breaking players who entered the [Blood Vessels] into itself, but...it wouldn't kill them. After pulling players into immobile positions within the rock, it wouldn't kill them there. Instead, it would give them a dream. In this dream, players would safely exit the [Blood Vessels] and continue their journey. As long as they remained within Nutty Putty Cave's boundaries and weren't killed by other entities, the dream wouldn't end. Dreaming players could use their cursed tools and items normally—though these would draw from their actual inventories, not create new ones.
However, if these dreaming players truly reached the exit—if they reached a point where they could escape Nutty Putty Cave—the dream would end. They would return to these cramped tunnels, back to being hopelessly trapped.
Just like now. Just like what Takakai was experiencing.
"Ugh..."
Breathing was difficult.
His chest was compressed from front, back, left and right.
The intense pain made every breath agony. Takakai could feel at least four broken ribs—the space was so narrow it had crushed his bones directly. The fractured ribs further compressed his lungs, turning each breath into torture.
His arms could barely move—his upper arms pinned by the low ceiling, leaving only his forearms with any mobility.
He could tilt his head slightly, but it was mostly immobilized too, with a rock pressing against his throat, further restricting his breathing.
"Ugh...hah..."
His chest and abdomen were completely pinned. He couldn't move an inch.
His legs were similarly trapped by stone.
This cavern might as well have been a custom-made coffin for Takakai, imprisoning him so thoroughly he couldn't budge.
In the endless darkness, all he could hear was his own labored breathing.
And that soft, dripping sound.
Drip—
Another foul-smelling liquid landed on his head.
With great effort, Takakai looked up.
He saw nothing in the darkness.
But he knew something was there.
In this place where he was pinned head-up, above him, something waited silently. Something that had been right in front of him this whole time.
He stretched his barely mobile arm forward.
His fingers touched dry skin and sticky fluid.
A nose...a mouth...eyes...hair...
A person.
Someone else pinned head-down in the cave, just like him.
No...that wasn't right...
His blessing responded in that moment.
That wasn't a person.
It was an entity.
Moreover, it was the core grudge—the second one in Nutty Putty Cave, existing alongside the bloodstained white dress.
This thing was right in front of him now, less than half a meter away.
What the hell is this situation?
Takakai froze for a long moment, even quickly adjusting his mindset and preparing to be killed in some new, grotesque way.
But nothing happened.
He waited and waited, yet nothing occurred.
The dungeon's core grudge, Nutty Putty Cave's most terrifying entity, now lay as motionless as a real corpse. No matter how Takakai poked its face, it didn't react at all—completely lacking the ferocity expected of a core grudge.
So what was going on?
Takakai couldn't understand this thing's deal.
Regardless, Maki and the others had escaped successfully.
Now he was alone here.
He needed to figure out how to get free.
Takakai took a deep breath and tried moving, but found himself completely immobilized, thoroughly pinned in place.
Was this entity's killing method simply trapping people here until they died of thirst or starvation?
The thought sent chills down his spine.
No, he had to do something.
"Hah..."
Amidst his strained breathing, Takakai retrieved the surgical knife from his watch.
The blade that could supposedly cut through anything—it should be able to slice through these rocks.
Clang!
The clear sound of metal striking stone. The knife bounced off.
It couldn't cut through? Why not?
Was this cavern formed by the entity's power?
Takakai began feeling uneasy.
Next, he tried cutting his own clothes to disrupt his [Explorer] identity, hoping this might change things. After some struggle, he managed to slice one sleeve, but remained pinned in place. Nothing changed.
Takakai was starting to realize this situation might be even worse than he'd anticipated.
He put away the surgical knife and took out the blood scissors, attempting again to break the rock walls. Failure.
Trying to damage the entity pinned above him with both blades also failed—the weapons felt like they were cutting into slime, just bouncing off the rubbery surface.
After brief hesitation, Takakai tried retrieving the faceless head to end this loop, but couldn't—the space was too narrow to accommodate it. This was the first time he'd discovered his damn watch would refuse to retrieve items if the environment couldn't physically contain them.
This piece of junk actually has collision detection?!
The last attempt was the rescue team's badge. Takakai couldn't wear it on his chest right now, so he tried attaching it to his sleeve—but no effect was triggered. In desperation, he stabbed the pin through his own flesh on his wrist. This time, it worked: the rescue team's uniform materialized, but even with his enhanced physical abilities, Takakai remained utterly immobilized, unable to break free from his predicament. Worse, he realized he couldn't summon a rescue team member—likely because the previous one had been destroyed and needed time to regenerate.
Too bad. The last rescue member hadn't even made it to the gentle slope before being intercepted. And now, due to [Dream Awakening], Takakai had ended up here, with no chance for another attempt.
Drip—
Takakai blinked, barely managing to tilt his head, but the liquid still landed on his forehead, leaving another wet patch.
It seemed to be blood.
Blood dripping from whatever was lodged above him.
I have to do something.
I can't stay trapped like this.
Takakai struggled again, but no matter how hard he strained, he couldn't move even a millimeter.
"Hah… ugh…"
Another wave of dizziness, stars swimming in his vision.
Takakai knew he was slipping into oxygen deprivation again, but he couldn't afford to care. The situation had made him realize a horrifying possibility, and even if it killed him, he had to escape.
But it was useless.
His desperate thrashing changed nothing.
After pushing himself to the brink of suffocation, Takakai blacked out. Hours later—he couldn't tell how many—he woke up again, disoriented, only to confirm he was still stuck in the same position.
His stomach growled with hunger.
He had no idea how long it had been since he last ate, but the intense struggle had clearly drained his stamina, leaving him ravenous.
Yet in this state, eating was impossible. He couldn't even retrieve food if he had any.
His throat burned with thirst.
The prolonged strain had left him dehydrated.
But just like with food, there was no way to replenish fluids.
All he could do was endure the hunger and thirst, racking his brain for an escape plan.
The conclusion? There was none.
He was completely, irreversibly stuck. Alone, with no hope of breaking free.
None of his Obsessions could help him now. Even the rescue badge, his last viable option, had failed.
Maybe… the only way out is suicide.
The thought filled Takakai with bitter resignation.
Biting off my tongue? But that wouldn't kill him—it'd just drown him in his own blood, a slow, agonizing death by suffocation. He wasn't a masochist; he'd endure if he had to, but he'd rather not.
Yelling "I'm human!" was equally unappealing. The white-dress girl should have appeared to execute him, but now, even under her gaze, she refused to act. As if the rules had glitched.
Something's wrong.
A deep, foreboding dread settled in his chest.
Gritting his teeth, Takakai bit down hard, nearly severing his tongue.
Blood flooded his mouth.
He forced himself to inhale, choking as it poured into his lungs.
The pain was unbearable.
He couldn't breathe.
Yet—
He didn't die.
"Cough… ugh…!"
Even after ten minutes of suffocation.
Even with his lungs drowning in blood.
Takakai still didn't die.
He finally understood this entity's true power.
It wasn't about killing or torture.
Its power was preservation.
Trapping victims in this narrow crevice…
And making sure they never died.
Drip—
Another foul droplet landed on Takakai's forehead, mixing with the sweat and blood from his ordeal.
The corpse above him remained silent.
As it always had.
As it always would.