"Huaam....?!"
Amy was jolted awake, only to realize that she couldn't move.
Clang.. Clang..
Everytime she moved a limb, a clanging sound would echo.
She glanced down to trace the source of the sound.
But to her surprise...
It was dark.
"What...?"
She had realized something was wrong.
At that moment, she started to panic.
She couldn't move as if she was bound to something.
No, the clanging sound had given her a hint that she was indeed bound by chains.
By instinct, she tried to conjure up mana to break free from the chains.
However...
Nothing happened.
She couldn't feel any mana at all.
Once again, panic started to rise within her.
Drip... Drip...
Cold sweat protruded from her forehead and dripped down the side of her cheek.
The last thing she had remembered was fighting Raven inside the Virtual Simulation.
But in the middle of the fight, her vision suddenly turned dark.
'How did I end up here?'
She continued to panic.
Was it a prank?
It had to be.
She had never imagined that she would find herself in a situation like this.
"Brandon! Claire! Rachel! This isn't funny!"
But it seemed less likely for Claire and Rachel to do this.
"Brandon! Please!"
Yet there was no response.
Each of her screams reverberated the room. At that, she realized that the room was quite spacious.
"Someone! Please..."
Her eyes started to strain.
No, she could feel a wet sensation dripping down.
Of course, she knew Brandon wouldn't do such a thing.
She was just trying to ease herself.
She knew the situation she was in was dire.
Mana shackles weren't really an artifact that was released to the public.
Usually, the ones who had them would be the police, the government, or someone important.
She had concluded that someone who did this to her was the latter.
But who?
She had never crossed anyone, nor tried to get on their bad side.
Besides Brandon.
But he was a different case.
In the first place, Brandon wouldn't be able to do this since he was in the Virtual Simulation with her.
"Wait..."
She realized once again.
What if it was...
"...Moriarty."
Once again, panic started to rise within her.
Clang.. Clang...
Her hands started to tremble, and so did her legs.
She could feel that her arms were stretched wide apart, seemingly pulled by the chains.
Yet she couldn't see anything at all.
Sob. Sob.
Flick—
But at that moment, a flicking sound echoed, and light had finally entered her vision.
But due to the shift from darkness to light, it was quite overwhelming, as she turned to the side and closed her eyes.
It was then when an eerie voice reached her ears, a baritone, a man's voice.
"I see you've woken up."
"..."
Amy gradually opened her eyes, and traced the source of the voice.
A figure stood not far from her, a man with blue hair and black eyes.
Though she had never seen the man before, he looked quite familiar.
She just couldn't put a finger on it.
Step–
The man walked towards her.
Clang– Clang– Clang—
At that, Amy started to panic again. She trembled and the chains continued to echo a clanging sound.
Her tears continued to flow down her cheek as she feared for what was next to come.
Her head turned sideways as she closed her eyes, continuing to shake.
"...P-Please, don't kill me."
"I won't."
The voice reached her. It was close.
She realized the man was already a few inches from her.
The man leaned closer to whisper in her ear.
"As long as you cooperate."
"..."
'What does he want from me?'
'Of all people, why me?'
'I've never done anything wrong.'
'Why am I the only one here?'
'Someone... save me.'
These kinds of thoughts piled up in her head. But she knew it was futile.
There was no one there to save her.
She didn't even know where she was. So how could other people find her?
Scanning the room, her hunch was correct and the room was quite spacious.
From what she could see, she had concluded that she was inside a room.
To her right was a window that was sealed off by blinders.
To her left was...
Nothing.
The room was painted entirely white for some reason.
She then noticed that there were chains protruding from the wall, clinging onto her.
The dark purple color of the chain confirmed her suspicions that it was indeed mana shackles.
The man then walked towards the window. He lifted up the blinders, and it was then Amy realized where she was–or what kind of place it was.
The room seemed to be situated high up, as she could see the rooftops of several buildings.
And it was already dark.
So how long was she out?
From what she remembered, the Battle Royale would last for five hours.
It started at 2:00 PM. Which meant the whole session would end at 6:00 PM.
The countdown on the timer she had last remembered was 29 Minutes left.
Which meant that before she was left unconscious, it should've been 5:31 PM.
Yet it was already dark.
As if her thoughts were seemingly read, the man shifted his gaze from the window to her and spoke up,
"It's 1:00 AM."
"...!"
She started trembling once again.
Eight hours had already passed since then. Yet no one had found her yet.
The realization dawned upon her.
Sob... Sob...
There was no one to save her.
There was no one looking for her.
She was all alone.
It was unfair.
She had never done anything wrong.
She relentlessly kept her grades up.
She meticulously kept her performance up.
She was also one of the top five students within the first years.
Yet all of this happened anyway.
Why?
'Why... me?'
Sob... Sob...
Unfair.
What was even the point of doing all that?
She should have spent her last days with her mother and sister instead.
The man's voice reached her once again.
"Tell me. Who killed my son?"
"...?"
What was he talking about?
Was he blaming her?
She had never killed anyone.
"I know you're the only witness. It would've been impossible for you to make it inside the alleyway if you weren't following someone."
'What?'
Alleyway...?
It was then when she realized.
Scanning his figure, he really was indeed familiar.
'This man...'
Was Felix Osborn's father.
She'd seen him a couple of times in the news. Especially when he was interviewed after his son's death.
"Tell me, who killed my son?"
"...I don't know."
"Lies."
She knew, but at the same time she didn't.
She never knew the identity of Moriarty.
The only lead she gave to the police was that there was a man with a mask, a white mask.
"..."
'So this entire thing...'
Was because she was there that night.
She was kidnapped because she was the only witness.
Because she had followed Brandon that night.
So was all of it Brandon's fault?
No.
In the first place, it was her own initiative to follow Brandon. She couldn't just throw him under the bus like that.
But... There was another person. The perpetrator...
Moriarty.
"...If I tell you, will you let me go?"
Of course he wouldn't, she knew that. She had to try anyway.
"That depends."
The man motioned to sit down on a sofa, facing directly at Amy.
"I don't know his real name. But..."
"That's fine. Just tell me what you know."
'Should I tell him?'
Of course she had to.
This was a matter of life and death.
In the first place, this was all Moriarty's fault. She just happened to be there, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But...
Conflicted.
If there was someone that should save her then it should be Moriarty.
Not that he should.
But she wanted it to be him.
But regardless, she had to answer the man.
Or else...
She would die.
She glanced up and met the man's cold black eyes.
Drip... Drip...
She pursed her lips as tears continued to flow down her cheek.
"On that night..."