"Earth is spinning, the sky has fallen! Woah! We're falling! What's happening? Ugh! I feel like throwing up...," Maria exclaimed while lying down in the back of the vehicle.
The jolts caused by their moving vehicle made her feel even more nauseous.
"It's your own fault for sleeping outside. What's actually on your minds?" Alice said as she drove.
"We were too engrossed in our conversation until we fell asleep. The night weather is very cold, even this military uniform is not enough to keep it at bay. Hehe...," Joe Walker replied.
"Ugh!..." Maria vomited, luckily managing to aim her mouth towards the edge of the vehicle. Maria almost vomited inside the vehicle.
"Just let it all out, don't hold it in! You'll feel better afterwards," Joe Walker said, helping Maria.
"No... Yesterday's chicken soup seems to have come out! What a waste!" Maria shed a few tears of sadness.
Joe Walker touched Maria's forehead and was surprised by the heat, "Oh! The fever is really bad!"
"Hold on a little longer, we're almost at the tower," Alice said, still driving calmly.
Alice continued her journey. While maria continued to complain about her illness, Joe Walker tried to calm and comfort Maria.
A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the large tower they had been aiming for all this time.
"Wow! It's so huge up close," Joe Walker exclaimed in amazement after seeing the circular tower that rose high above, its top unseen.
"You're right, this seems to be the largest and tallest building I've ever seen. But, where is the entrance? Shouldn't it lead us to the next level?" Alice replied.
"The next level? I'm not aware of that."
"We are currently on the ground floor, which is floor 0. Didn't you wonder what's up there?"
"So, the one above is the next level? Do you mean there's a city or something up there?"
"Yes, even up there has real land."
"Huh? How do they do it?"
"I don't know, but what I know about this is that this tower is not the only access that can be used to reach the next level."
"Are you sure this can take us up?"
"Yes, I'm sure, there should be an entrance around this tower."
"Hmm," Joe Walker began to ponder.
While Alice continued her journey to find the entrance, Maria still couldn't move, she chose to lie down, using Joe Walker's thigh as a pillow.
A few minutes passed, and they finally found the entrance. They began to enter the tower through the very large entrance.
They started to ascend, the circular path leading them higher and higher. The continuous circular path made their vehicle climb higher.
After a few minutes, Maria began to feel nauseous again, "Ugh! Spinning! I... Circle!"
"Close your eyes, don't look at anything for now. It will only make your head ache more! So, close your eyes and if you can, try to sleep," Joe Walker said, covering Maria's eyes.
"I can't sleep! I slept almost all day yesterday!"
"In that case, just close your eyes."
"Alright..."
Joe Walker glanced at Alice and felt worried. He asked, "Alice, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, no problem."
"Good to hear that."
"...," Alice smiled happily feeling cared for.
Suddenly, Maria said, "spinning, spinning, keep spinning! This circle, I can't stand seeing the same thing over and over again!"
"Are you okay, Maria?" Joe asked.
"What do you mean, am I okay? It's clear that I'm sick right now!"
"I mean, are you feeling a bit better?"
"Yes, kind of, a little."
"That's good then."
"By the way, why was this place built in a circular shape like this? It's making me even more nauseous!"
"I don't know, maybe to save space?"
"Those stingy people! I'm disappointed in our ancestors!"
Joe Walker smiled, "Yes, I'm also disappointed in them. Advancing technology only for war. And the result is this, their actions are very disappointing. Why do humans choose to wage war on each other?"
Alice, who heard that, replied, "There are many reasons, such as territory, food, resources, even technology itself. Humans fight for their own interests. There is no other choice, we are born in this world, in this era, at this time when the world has become silent."
"Do you regret being born in this world, at this time, in this era, alice?" Joe asked.
Alice was surprised by the question. She wanted to answer briefly but hesitated. She looked back and saw Joe Walker smiling at her. Maria waved her hand to Alice.
Then Alice looked ahead, thinking for a moment. Afterward, she answered, "No... I don't regret it."
"Why?" Joe asked.
"Do you think if I were born in a different world, in a different era, and at a different time, I would still be me?"
"No one knows..."
"I don't know for sure, but I believe that I wouldn't be me anymore if that happened. 'Knowing' and 'believing' are two different things, I know that. But I'm also aware that I know myself much better than I thought. What about you, Joe?"
"Me?"
"Yes, if you were born in another world, do you confidently believe that you would still be like yourself right now?"
"That's quite heavy to answer that, hahaha. But if the memories in this world are still with me, maybe I can be sure that I will still be myself even in another world."
"Hmm, memories... you're right. What shapes us now is the past, everything that happened in the past shapes us into who we are now. And all those past experiences can be stored as memories. I agree with you on this. Maybe if we were born in another world with our memories, we might still be our current selves."
Joe Walker fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Alice, you said you Dont regret being born in this world, right?"
"Yes, what wrong about it?"
"You don't regret it because you like yourself right now?"
"Yes, I am proud of myself. And also, if I were born in another world, I might not have met Maria."
Maria, upon hearing this, immediately said, "Ohoho, so that's how you feel about me? But we must not cross the line, okay? We're siblings, you know!"
Alice felt annoyed and shouted, "Who would cross the line! You are really!... I was just want to praise you!"
"Ahhh, don't do that! I might die of embarrassment! Cough... Cough...," Maria forced herself even though she was still coughing due to her illness.
Worried, Joe Walker stroked Maria's head and said, "Just stay quiet, you're sick right now, Maria!"
"Hehe, sorry... Sorry... Cough...," Maria smiled and then closed her eyes to cope with the fever she was experiencing.
Alice, still feeling annoyed, muttered, "Ugh, why is my sister always like this?..."
Joe Walker heard Alice's slight muttering. He chuckled a little, even if it was fake.
They seem to get along, right? They are siblings who get along... right?
They continued their journey towards the top of the tower where they were currently located. Continuously uphill with a circular route that looked the same at every turn. They kept on their journey, unaware that three hours had passed right now.
"Spinning! spinning! spinning! spinning! Keep doing the same thing, spinning! Oh yeah! Oh yeah? Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin!" Maria started singing strange things as usual.
Meanwhile, Joe Walker began to look upwards without any reason, feeling extreme boredom.
Alice's eyes started to spin, her head feeling slightly dizzy from continuously seeing the same thing for over 3 hours.
Suddenly, Joe Walker felt that the vehicle was moving unstably.
Huh? Why isn't Alice turning anymore? Is there a way out?
When checking on Alice, he found her in an unstable state, driving in an unusual manner. Looking straight ahead, Joe Walker realized that their vehicle would fall because there was a damaged road ahead.
"Alice! Stop now! Brake! Step on the brake!" Joe Walker shouted.
Oh no, what should I do? I don't know which brake to use, Alice can't hear me!
Oh right, I have to get them out of the vehicle first! Safety is the priority!
But what about the car? Can we continue the journey and survive without this vehicle?
Ah, forget it, safety is the most important thing!
Before Joe Walker could act, Maria stood up and forced herself to get up.
"M-Maria? What are you doing?"
Maria ignored what Joe Walker said. More accurately, she didn't hear him. Her condition was so severe that she couldn't hear anything.
But one thing she was sure of was that she had to step on the brake of the vehicle.
Maria tried to move forward, and Joe Walker, aware of what Maria intended to do, helped her.
Struggling, Maria tried to reach for the brake while also trying to support Alice's body, who was currently unstable.
Alice suddenly realized amidst the chaos. She looked around and saw Maria holding onto her leg.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Alice asked.
She looked ahead and saw the damaged road, immediately realizing what she was doing.
However, before she could act on her own, Maria forced Alice's foot to step on the brake.
Alice was slightly surprised and off balance, but she quickly adapted to the situation and tried to regain control of the vehicle.
Alice turned the steering wheel to the right to crash their vehicle into the wall to force it to stop.
But it was too late, the vehicle didn't have time to hit the wall on the right. Fortunately, it stopped just a few centimeters from the damaged road.
Alice and Maria were out of breath and starting to pant.
Maria, still ill, lay down again.
Joe Walker, who could only help hold Maria and Alice's bodies to prevent them from falling due to their unstable condition, didn't feel too tired. However, he felt a little guilty for not helping much.
Maria looked at Joe Walker while panting. Feeling they were making eye contact, Maria gave him a thumbs up.
Joe Walker, seeing that, smiled slightly.
Joe Walker saw that Alice and Maria looked exhausted. Feeling need to act, he said, "Let's rest for now."
"S-Sorry...," Alice said, looking guilty.
"It's okay, it's also my fault for not being able to take over the driving."
"N-No! It's my fault!"
"Alice, for now, let's rest. You must be too tired, which made you act strangely while driving this vehicle."
"...y-you're... right...," Alice couldn't say anything else.
While Alice and Maria rested, Joe Walker checked another path they could use.
The path seemed specially made due to the damaged road. It connected them to the other side of the damaged road.
However, the path was outside the tower. Feeling the need to investigate, Joe Walker did so.
It was made of iron, sturdy enough for humans to walk on. But, I doubt it can withstand the weight of three humans and a heavy vehicle.
From its size, it seems to be made for vehicles to pass through.
But... it's doubtful... it must be create by human.
Why did they make it outside? What were they thinking? They could have made it inside, right?
this is troublesome...
Suddenly, Alice shouted in anger.
Joe Walker peeked and saw Maria being scolded by Alice. Instead of intervening in their argument, Joe Walker just smiled.
Thankfully, Alice didn't seem to blame herself too much anymore. Maria, thank you, it's all thanks to you.
Joe Walker became serious again, thinking about how they could pass through the man-made road.
Joe Walker returned to where Alice and Maria were.
Alice, noticing Joe Walker's arrival, immediately asked, "Joe, how is it?"
Initially, Joe hesitated to say it, but eventually smiled and said, "It's fine, but as a precaution, I want us to follow my plan. Are you in?"
"Tell me your plan, joe," Alice responded to Joe Walker's statement.
After that, Joe Walker explained his plan to Alice and Maria.