Chapter 14 - Feeling of Repulsion
How much time had passed—Noah wasn't sure. He found himself enveloped in impenetrable darkness, surrounded by strange, incommunicable shadows—occasionally, he could hear the sound of cracking or objects falling around him. Yet he couldn't speak or move—only think:
'If I get a second chance—or is it the third? Well, if I get another opportunity, I swear I won't be another idiot following that crazy system's ideas. For the sake of everything sacred, please, someone help me...!'
No one answered.
'...So, have I really died? Without pain or anything like that? Has my body simply disintegrated, leaving only my consciousness behind?'
"Boy! Hey, boy, are you alright?"
'Huh? Does death really have such a beautiful voice...? I guess this might not be so bad, after all.'
Noah found the sobbing strange, and especially odd was the fact that suddenly he felt an overwhelming pain all over—as if touching him had triggered a chain reaction. He wondered:
'So, I'm not dead yet...? Then, the one crying—could that be... the girl I helped?'
"Boy! (Sobbing) Wake up! (Sniffle) Please..."
'Huh? Her voice is so beautiful, and having someone so lovely cry over me makes me... strangely happy? It's a weird feeling, really. But isn't she overreacting a bit...? We don't even know each other.'
The sobs continued, as did the tears—Noah felt several of them falling onto his face, but it was anything but pleasant. On the contrary, every drop sent shockwaves through his nervous system, making his muscles contract and his bones shift—the pain was hellish.