Minutes passed, and no matter how far they walked, the situation became worse with his instincts screaming at him to think of something, but no matter how hard he analysed the situation, everything remained just as hopeless.
Lefu turned to face Lain, who had been gazing at him since they started their, "Leisurely walk".
She made her way to take his hand, and she hasn't shuddered or showed any signs of fear or nervousness. This proved beyond a shadow of a doubt in his mind that this is not Lain. He knew her all too well.
『It can literally bend reality. The moment I let it see my suspicion I'll be caught. I should at least find out what happened with the real Lain』
He ended up breaking the silence on the matter after realising that it was no longer going to be resolved on its own and that he would be at the mercy of time at this rate, and thought of probing, for information about Lain.
"Doesn't this worry you?"
In return, the fake Lain replied in a monotone voice.
"Do you feel fear?"
She glanced at him trying to distinguish between subtle differences in his emotions.
『Is that supposed to be a trick question?』
"Of course I do, but right now, your safety is important, so I'd really appreciate your help".
Lain's expression didn't change.
"I see"
She replied, and continued walking.
『Nothing comes to mind』
He felt a sense of unease as he spoke to himself. He was aware that something was wrong with the way he responded somehow, but he also felt that it was too late to retract it.
It started already walking ahead, her eyes scanning the streets for any signs of life, as if to find an answer. It was clearly feigning curiosity.
He didn't know what was truly going on, but he was sure that it wasn't safe to be near it, or even away from it, and actively trying to escape is likely to be even more dangerous.
『What should I fucking do? I can't kill it, run, get away, defend, or even think of a way to figure out what happened to Lain. She's probably dead anyway. Giving it's methods so far, Lain likely faced a death similar to one he's about to face or perhaps even more horrifying…』
As he realized the awful demise of the girl he had known and loved, cold perspiration trickled down his face and he felt tremendous grief. However, it is still possible she is alive, but if he's going to die...
『I don't want her to live..』
"Lain!", he said, his voice scarcely trembling. It turned to face him. Looking, at him, then grabbed him. It's grip on his arm was so firm that he felt some discomfort, but he fought the urge to pull away from her. He kept it hidden to increase his chances of survival.
『It's gripping harder, which should mean it's still not a good judge of things...perhaps that can give me a window』
The pain grew greater and then he felt a vibration in his hoodie pocket and pulled out his phone, He came upon the same old, same old No Caller ID. He didn't dare to sigh as he swallowed in terror. He had the impression that something is really wrong with her right now, as if she had become even more sinister. Just as he was about to stall for even more time.
『Shit』
When she squeezed tighter, the pain in his arm became near intolerable, therefore he chose to stop giving a shit about its plot. In any case, there is no hope of survival anyways.
The street was filled with his resonant shouts of pain as finally the pain got to Lefu who could bear it anymore.
Seconds passed, and then seventeen-year-old Lefu Myers clicked the green button on his phone screen that had just lit up, and its grip gradually relaxed. He had realized it wanted him to get up this time, so he did so instinctively, thinking that it would bring him one step closer to survival.
He paused for a time before saying, "Hello?", and a lights on the street had suddenly gone out.
For a brief moment, the other end of the line was silence, and then a sweet girlish voice, just like Lain's, whispered incomprehensibly. He did not understand what it was trying to say to him and after five reiterations it grew frustrated with him.
In the distance, he heard a tremendous smashing sound, the sounds of streetlights bursting, and noticed Lain had disappeared. Fear gripped him, and he began racing down the road to keep up with the fading light source in the dark area around him, behind him, he heard footsteps as if someone was chasing after him, in the ever expanding darkness behind him.
He was overcome by panic and internal struggle. He collapsed to the ground as the final streetlight went out, blackness covering his entire body as if holding him down omnipotently and he lost all sight of his surroundings. Even the formerly concrete floor seemed dramatically different and considerably smoother. The blackness had engulfed him.
Just the odd heartbeat in his chest could be heard over the white noise. While he knelt there, shaking and trying to be as silent as possible, he heard a voice. He turned towards it, his heart in his throat, but the nothingness that around him did not change. He was relieved for just three brief moments as his life sped before his eyes, and he tried everything he could to think of a way out what, but nothing came of it.
The phone in his pocket began to vibrate, as if to frighten and show him his powerlessness, as the vibrations alone disoriented him and he felt himself slip in and out of consciousness.
He took out his phone and clicked the green bottom, hopefully for the last time.
"Lefu"
This time, he had heard Lain's precise voice, complete with her specific idiosyncrasies in the way she modulated her voice as she spoke. He was about to hang up the phone when she then implored him and called out to him with such sincerity in her voice that he was taken aback. As he was enchanted by her boundless splendour just as it had captivated him the first time he met her.
They chatted for a minute, and he felt as though the thing was providing him with his last solace with his lover. He seemingly manifested her, and with her lovely words, he gave in to it, having previously established various hypotheses as to why he was permitted to meet the girl he loved again only to live with the dread.
He felt bliss and even began to accept his death as to die by her side is a heavenly way to die, and as he opened his eyes saw an eldritch entity with its eyes looking back at him. Its eyes immobilized him with unadulterated primal fear, rendering him unable to move or even scream. An awful sensation of absolute fear gripped him.
He could feel himself being sucked into a vortex ceaselessly, choking from sheer dread and fear. He began to think haphazardly, as if his mind was splitting, as voices within his thoughts talked, yet the voices were not confined to within his mind. He was filled with dread since each of the voices were merely bits of his mind separating endlessly.
His perception dominated by total horror and his second worth of suffering in each fragment finally combined all into one in the split moment as life faded from his eyes for an unfathomable amount of horror. The voices gradually quieted as he lost consciousness, until life drained from his eyes in the most horrible way imaginable, confronting endless terror in an instant.