"Emma, I’m sorry, but we’ll have to postpone our conversation."

  Before I could react, Neight grabbed my hand and pulled me along as he dashed toward the ship. We ran so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath, let alone say anything. My mind raced with questions.

  Have our enemies found us? Are we in danger? Can we handle this?

  Despite the panic, a small part of me felt a gentle thrill from Neight holding my hand. Even though my confession had failed this time, I could at least savor this small comfort. It was the only thing keeping me grounded, preventing fear from overwhelming me again.

  When we finally reached the ship and had a brief moment to catch our breath in the airlock, I couldn't hold back my questions any longer.

  "Neight, do you know whose ship that was? What’s going on?" My voice trembled with anxiety.

  His expression darkened—never a good sign.

  "I can’t say for certain who’s aboard that ship, but one thing is clear—they’re a threat to us."

  A chill ran down my spine.

  "W-wait, how can you be so sure? What if they’re just like us—fellow escapees?"

  "No," he interrupted firmly. "They wouldn’t make the same mistake twice."

  "You mean… digitized humans?" I whispered, afraid that speaking louder might somehow summon them.

  At the mention of those words, Neight’s face froze in fear. He stood motionless, as if he had stopped breathing, his gaze distant. I could only imagine the terrifying images running through his mind. For the first time, I realized just how much he feared them. The realization made my own fear swell. Neight wasn’t afraid of wild animals, giant water worms, hidden dangers on this unknown planet, or even the prospect of starving to death. But they paralyzed him with terror. What horrors had he endured to make him react like this?

  "Yes," he finally responded, snapping out of his trance. "I mean the digitized humans."

  "So… what do we do now? Do you have a plan?" I asked desperately.

  He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly, blowing out a hissing stream of air. When he was finished, his eyes cleared and he looked calm and confident again. This was the Neight I knew—the one I would follow into fire or water.

  "Yes. We need to confront our uninvited guests before they capture us."

  At that moment, the airlock doors groaned open. Neight handed me his heavy energy rifle.

  "Go to storage and grab some light pistols. Leave this one behind. I’ll head to the cockpit."

  The sudden weight of the rifle nearly knocked me over, but I managed to stay on my feet. My own weapon was already weighing me down, making it even harder to move.

  "Wait! Why are you going there?" I asked anxiously as Neight started toward the staircase leading to the second floor.

  "We’ll need the navigation system to track them," he replied before disappearing up the stairs.

  I heard the beeps of the control panel authenticating his access, followed by the creak of a door and his footsteps echoing in the cockpit. I stood there, staring after him, feeling a growing sense of unease.

  "But… won’t that give us away?" I mumbled to myself.

  Still, I knew standing around wouldn’t help. I decided to trust Neight, as I always did. He had pulled us through tough situations before and clearly knew more than I did.

  Neight knows what he’s doing.

  That thought gave me a small boost of confidence. I rushed to the storage room, opened locker G3, and hastily shoved the two heavy rifles inside. There was no time to be careful. I grabbed two pistols from the neighboring G2 locker and headed back toward the cockpit.

  But a dark thought crept into my mind, wrapping around my heart and soul like a suffocating shadow.

  Will I have to shoot a human?

  It was as if I were bound in chains, frozen in place, unable to move as I stared at the gun in my hand. It seemed as if I was not even looking at it, but through it, and as if I felt how fear was filling me, turning into a bottomless emptiness of despair. It seemed to grow, spreading like a plague throughout my entire body. There was no longer a single thought, no emotion. Nothing. In that moment, it was as if the entire world around me dissolved and disappeared... Along with my inner self. But suddenly, like a spark igniting in the dark, something flickered within me, pulling me back to reality. I gasped, horrified, and glanced at my trembling hands, realizing how labored my breathing had become. Beads of sweat trickled down my face.

  Damn it! Neight better have a solid plan, or else... I’ll have to stain my hands with blood...

  I tried to calm down, forcing myself to take slow, measured steps toward the exit of the storage room. My legs were shaking, barely able to support me.

  Ugh, Emma, we haven’t even faced the enemy yet, and you’re already weak in the knees.

  When I finally reached the closed door, I leaned against it, hoping to catch my breath and stop the trembling.

  Inhale. Exhale.

  I have to go. Whatever happens, happens!

  Before I could act, the door suddenly slid open, causing me to lose my balance. Letting out a startled yelp, I fell backward. The ceiling, the doorframe—they blurred past as I tumbled, until everything halted, and Neight’s surprised face appeared above me. He had caught me. For a moment, I blinked up at him, mouth agape in shock, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. When I finally realized how awkward this position was, I scrambled to get out of his arms and back on my feet.

  Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!

  Neight, however, didn’t seem fazed by my clumsiness. His worried gaze lingered on me.

  "You shouldn’t lean on doors; it’s dangerous," he chided.

  Really? That’s what bothered you? I thought but kept quiet.

  "You took longer than expected, and I started to worry," he added. "Emma, are you okay?"

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  Emotions surged within me. The past few days had been overwhelming, draining me bit by bit. Now, with a tangible threat looming, it was all too much. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Meeting Neight’s gaze, I let it all out.

  "I’m scared, Neight. No, I’m terrified! I don’t know what’s waiting for us out there. Can we even handle it? What are our chances? It’s just the two of us, and I don’t even know if I can do anything useful!"

  "Emma…" he pronounced my name with deep, genuine sympathy, and meanwhile I continued my outburst of emotions, unable to stop.

  "What if this is the end? What if they kill us? And I just wanted to tell you that I… Ah!"

  Before I could finish, Neight closed the distance between us and pulled me into a warm, secure embrace. He moved so fast I didn’t have time to react. I fell silent, stunned. His hand gently stroked my head as he whispered, "It’ll be okay. Everything will be okay." He repeated the words like a soothing mantra. I buried my face in his chest, letting go of all thoughts. His breathing was steady, calming me, making me feel safe. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the comfort of someone’s embrace. Now that I had it, it felt almost unbearably good. My heart raced—not from fear, but from something warm and tender. The panic evaporated, replaced by a pleasant, fluttering sensation. For the first time in days, I felt truly at peace. Maybe even happy.

  Too bad this moment can’t last forever.

  When I finally calmed down, Neight released me.

  "Feeling better?" he asked gently.

  "Y-yeah," I mumbled, embarrassed, feeling my cheeks heat up.

  "Good." He smiled, but then his expression turned serious. "Listen, the situation is tough, but I believe we have a chance. Before we go, there’s something I need to tell you."

  He hesitated, looking away as if searching for the right words. I felt a pang of nervous anticipation.

  Could it be? Are my feelings mutual? Is he going to open up to me? I held my breath.

  "Well… Whatever happens, they won’t harm you. They might threaten or intimidate you, but they won’t touch you."

  "W-What? But why? How can you be so sure?" I asked, confused and disappointed. This wasn’t what I had expected.

  "Please, just trust me on this. I promise I’ll explain everything once we deal with the current threat. For now, take this as fact."

  I didn’t like that he was hiding the reason from me. Not one bit. It led to dark thoughts and made me doubt his intentions, whether I wanted to or not. On the very first day, he told me that I ended up here by chance, a fortunate coincidence, but now it was starting to feel like more than just that. What was my role in all this mess? What was my value? Was it because of my parents, or was there something else I didn’t even suspect?

  And he did say he wanted to confess something, something he thought might make me hate him, whispered an inner voice, like a devil on my shoulder.

  On the other hand, I wanted to believe him. It was terrifying to even consider that he might have been lying to me all this time. I had grown so attached to him. Could my feelings have blinded me? Besides, he promised to tell me everything later. So far, he had never let me down, taught me how to handle weapons, and provided extensive information on the ship and its systems. Why would he do that if he had some sinister agenda? That would only create more problems for him if he were exposed. No, he couldn’t possibly be a villain.

  I’m a hundred percent sure of him! I want to trust him.

  "Alright. I trust you, Neight, and I won’t ask unnecessary questions now. But later, you’ll tell me everything you promised."

  "Sure, I’ll tell you everything. But for now, we need to quickly discuss our plan and move out. Otherwise, we might lose our advantage."

  I nodded in agreement, ready to listen, completely unaware of what lay ahead.

  We moved carefully through the familiar forest, trying not to make any noise. Inside, fear and anxiety raged, my heart pounding as if it might burst out of my chest. Yet, the nature around us remained as calm and unshaken as ever. The star shone brightly in the sky, illuminating everything with its radiant beams. The treetops swayed gently, rustling their leaves in the cool breeze. The only difference was the silence. The birds, usually chattering in the distance, had fallen quiet.

  The sounds. That’s what had really changed. The silence made it feel as if Neight and I were the only living beings in the forest. But on the contrary, that very silence clearly signaled someone else’s presence nearby. Each step felt too loud. Even the faint crunch of twigs underfoot echoed in my ears. The atmosphere of danger and unpredictability pressed down on me. It felt as if we could come face to face with strangers at any moment. And then...

  Damn it, my hands are shaking.

  When we discussed the plan, Neight said there would likely be two of them: also a guy and a girl about our age. The problem was that both of them were supposed to be as skilled as Neight, which genuinely scared me. What made it worse was that, due to some “special status” I apparently had, I was supposed to act as bait, distracting them while Neight got to them unnoticed. When he first laid out the plan, I thought it was a bad joke. But seeing his serious expression, I almost collapsed on the spot. No matter how much I protested and tried to come up with an alternative, he was adamant.

  "This is our only chance to win," he had said, leaving me no choice but to agree.

  Now, I walked through the forest behind him, trembling with fear, aware of the inevitability of what was coming. Like a sacrificial lamb calmly walking to the altar. I kept turning my head, scanning every bush we passed, fearing they might already be waiting for us.

  What if they’re already here? What if they’re watching us?

  I was so focused on the bushes that I didn’t notice Neight stop abruptly and bumped into him. He staggered slightly, taking a step forward to regain balance before turning to me. He must have noticed how anxious I was. He took my hand.

  "Let’s sit and rest for a bit, okay?" he said softly, with a hint of care and sympathy.

  "B-but what about… the enemies?" I stammered, my voice trembling with fear more than I expected.

  Neight calmly pulled out an electronic pad and showed me the radar. Two dots appeared on the green screen in the lower right corner, marking our location.

  "There are no enemies nearby, so we have some time. Besides, we’re already where we need to be. We’ll wait for them here."

  "Are you sure our navigation will detect them?"

  "One hundred percent sure. Don’t worry about that," he replied confidently, which eased my mind slightly.

  I sat down under a tree, leaning my back against the trunk and tilting my head back. Neight sat down next to me. The fight hadn’t even started, and I already felt mentally drained. The waiting was just as agonizing and terrifying as the inevitable confrontation itself. The more I thought about it, the more I panicked, lost in my swirling thoughts, drowning in the ringing sound in my ears that grew louder by the second. At some point, it became hard to breathe, as if the air had run out. My chest tightened, like an invisible hand pressing down, and the world around me began to blur.

  Suddenly, I felt a light, gentle touch. Neight took my hand again and moved closer until we were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

  "Emma, I know you're scared, but you're going to be okay," he whispered softly, trying to comfort me.

  "How can you be so sure? What if you're wrong? I don’t understand what’s so special about me. Yes, you promised to explain everything later, but what if there is no 'later' at all?"

  "There aren’t many people like you left," he murmured quietly.

  I was surprised that he decided to share this, but it still didn’t make much sense.

  "What do you mean, people like me?"

  Neight didn’t answer right away.

  "Healthy in body and mind. That’s what makes you valuable. It’s why they won’t harm you. They need you intact for their experiments."

  I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or devastated. My life might not be in immediate danger, but the idea of being captured and used as a test subject for the rest of my days didn’t seem like much of a silver lining. As I processed his words, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

  "Wait, what about you? What will happen to you?" I asked, concern heavy in my voice as I tried to glimpse his face behind the dark visor of his helmet.

  "I…" He sighed. "I’m not like you, Emma. I think they’ll try to eliminate me at the first chance they get."

  He said it with such calm, as if the gravity of the situation didn’t faze him. Was he that fearless, or had he simply come to terms with his fate?

  "But… how can that be?!" I stammered, confused. "What makes us so different? You’re not any less worthy than I am, and you..."

  "There are many reasons," he interrupted gently but firmly. "One of them, though not the only one, is that I’m a threat. That’s all I can tell you for now. The rest will have to wait until we get through this."

  "Do you really think we can make it?" I asked hesitantly.

  "Yes," he replied with unwavering conviction. "I believe we have every chance."

  His words ignited a spark of hope within me. His courage and determination inspired me, filling me with newfound resolve. If he wasn’t afraid, despite being in a far more perilous situation, then I had no right to fall apart. The worst that could happen to me was being captured for experiments, but Neight faced the possibility of death. That’s when I made a silent promise to myself: I would give everything I had—not for me, but for him. Resting my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes, savoring the last few moments of peace.

  I won’t let you down!