Looking up, the snow continued to fall, with no sign of ending. Huno was cold. Behind him was the cave he just walked out from. The cave was not deep and its mouth was at the bottom of a small mountain. Ahead and in all directions, only snow could be seen.

 

  Huno decided and turned back to the cave only to gasp. Something stood behind him, right beside the cave entrance.

 

  Standing to the right, ten feet away from the entrance, was a four-legged animal. It seems to look like a jaguar but it had three tails and it was about five feet tall.

 

  The animal straightened up and roared. It wanted to catch its prey by surprise but unfortunately it was caught in the act. Huno panted, his thought stagnated for a while and when he came back to his senses he heard a rumbling sound.

As if replying to the animal's roar, the small mountain growled slightly. Both Huno and the animal stared up and realized something was running down at a fast speed.

 

  ~Avalanche!!~

  Huno wanted to rush to the cave but seeing the animal rushing to it, he turned right and rushed away as fast as his leg could take him.

 

  'Slow! Too slow, come on!! Ah!' Huno yelled in pain as he dragged his body as fast as he could. But it wasn't fast enough in a few minutes the avalanche will be over him but even though he kept going.

 

  He tripped and fell to the ground. He stood up and kept running. After taking four steps, Huno fell into a pit that was covered in snow. When his body hit the ground, Huno felt an enormous amount of pain all over his body. He struggled up to his knees and crawled, and after crawling for a while, he fell unconscious.

 

            ★★★

  After an unknown amount of time, Huno woke up and the first thing to hit him was the strong pain he felt all over his body. Huno looked around and saw he was in an enormous cave. It was quite cold and there was a hill of snow in it and lots of shining rocks with different colors that brightened the supposed dark cave. 'Ahhh!!! I should be happy I'm alive, right?' Huno growled and shouted. His voice echoed in the cave severally seeming to mock him. Huno kept quiet and tried to get up when a hoarse voice came,

 

  'Is someone there?'

 

  Startled by the voice, Huno quickly got up and looked around but found nothing.

 

  'Is anyone there?' the voice came again. Huno looked around and still saw no one around.

 

  'I guess not, I must've been hearing things again!' the voice said to itself.

 

  'Yes, there's someone here,' Huno said and asked, 'Where are you? Can you show yourself?'.

 

  'I don't know where I am? It's quite dark here. I can't see anything,' the voice said.

 

  'How long have you been there?' Huno asked.

 

  'I don't remember. It has been very long,' the voice said.

 

  'What's your name?'.

 

  'I don't know,'.

 

  'This is quite troublesome,' Huno said and scratched his head with his left hand. 'Alright, I'll try to find you just keep shouting ahh lowly,' he said after thinking for a while. And added immediately, 'don't have any hope yet though, I may not be able to help even if I find where you are, I'm in a terrible state right now,'.

 

  'Oh, what happened to you?' the voice asked. 'I had an accident and afterwards, my experience has been quite bumpy,' Huno replied. 'What's bumpy?' the voice asked. 'Um... I don't know how to explain it, let's just say it means unsteady,' Huno replied. 'Oh I see, sorry about that,' the voice said. 'Yeah, alright start shouting as low as possible, if it's too loud it will echo and I won't be able to find you,' Huno said. 'okay what's echo?' the voice said lowly. 'I don't know how to explain,' Huno said and stopped talking. He listened quietly and dragged his body, following the sound. He went around the snow hill and arrived at an area where the colored stones were a lot more than any other area in the cave.

 

  On the wall behind the densely packed colored stones, there seems to be a rectangle with a strange pattern in it. And at the center of the rectangle was a circle with a line vertically crossing it and dividing it. At a closer look, the line seems to be in the middle of both the circle and the rectangle. And the whole thing seems to be a gate merged into the wall.

 

  'Hey, how loud is my voice now?' Huno asked. 'Quite louder than before, I can hear it clearly at least,' the voice said. 'Alright you can stop shouting I've found where you at, there seems to be a strange gate here,' Huno said. 'What's a gate?' the voice asked. 'I find it weird how you understand some things and don't understand some others,' Huno said. 'I'm sorry, I have been here so long I have forgotten a lot,' the voice said. 'Why were you placed here, then? It seems it was meant to lock you in,' Huno questioned. 'I don't remember why I was placed here. I didn't even know I was locked up here. I don't even know where here is. Everything around me is black,' the voice said.

  'Ah! This is a pain in the ass. It's not that I don't want to, but what would happen if I help you out?' Huno asked. 'How do I know you won't kill me or wreak havoc?' he added. 'What's wreak havoc?' the voice asked.

'Um... To cause destruction, who knows if I let you out, will you go on a killing spree?' Huno replied and asked. 'What's a killing spree?' the voice asked. 'Ha! Killing many people,' Huno replied. 'Oh, I understand. I don't even know if I'll do that. Do you think that's why I was locked up?' the voice said. 'I don't know. I can't tell,' Huno said.

 

  'It's likely, right?' the voice said. 'Even you think so?' Huno asked. 'Well, who knows, besides I'm not sure I can even open it. There are strange complicated things on it,' he added.

 

  'I understand, but please, can you do me a favor?' the voice asked.

 

  'Let's hear it out first,' Huno replied. 'Please even if you don't let me out can you stay for a while, it's quite lonely here,' the voice said and added quickly, 'it's not like I'm saying you should stay forever just stay for a little while,'.

 

  'When last did you talk with someone else?' Huno asked. 'As far as I can remember, never,' the voice said. 'That's strange and depressing. Well sure, it's not like I can leave here in my current condition,' Huno said. 'Your condition isn't good?' the voice asked. 'Yeah, it isn't? I'm quite hurt pretty bad,' Huno said. 'I'm so sorry, I wish I could help, but even if I could I don't even know what I can do,' the voice became sad. 'It's alright, it's not life-threatening yet,' Huno said and sat down. 'I feel... I don't know what this feeling is,' the voice said. 'What do you mean? Describe it,' Huno said. 'Whats describe?' the voice asked. Huno felt like choking. He got his chest and said, 'forget that, just say how you feel,'. 'Okay, well, how do I explain? The first person I ever encountered, I'm unable to offer any help. Doesn't that make me useless? yeah that's it. I feel useless right now,' the voice said.

'Oh well, you don't have to feel that way. I don't know you and you don't know me. We aren't entitled to help one another,' Huno said. 'What's entitled?' the voice asked. Huno couldn't help but laugh out, 'I don't know how to explain, just forget about it,'. 'Okay,' the voice said.

 

  Huno stared at his body and after a while, he stared at the hill of snow that was bigger than before. He thought for some time, wondering if he was ever going to leave in place. 'What if I can't leave? Will I stay here forever? If so, how long will I last here? It's quite cold and getting colder,' he muttered to himself. 'Funny how I survived, only to end up going to die because of the cold,' he muttered quietly.

 

  'Hello, are you still there?' the voice asked, dragging Huno's consciousness back. 'Did you go already?' the voice asked again quietly, seeming to talk to itself. 'Did you leave already?' the voice asked again. This time Huno could feel the despair and loneliness in that question. A low sob sound came into his ears as the voice said, 'please come back... Please don't leave me,'.

 

  Huno looked at the wall, not saying anything. 'what am I afraid of?' he thought. 'I'll probably die here anyway,'. He stood and, seeming to hear Huno's footstep, the voice stopped sobbing and listened quietly. 'Stop crying. I'm still here,' Huno said and walked up to the wall. 'You didn't leave?' the voice asked happily. 'No, I was thinking of something,' Huno replied and stood right in front of the wall. 'Okay, sorry, what's the meaning of crying?' the voice asked. Huno wanted to choke. 'what you were doing, that's crying, you can also call it sobbing,'. 'So...bbing,' the voice repeated.

 

  'Yeah, it usually occurs when one is in pain,' Huno said. 'I wish I knew what these patterns are. Maybe I can remove the gate from the wall if I did,' Huno added.

  'Gate? Patterns?'.

  'A gate is like a door, but sometimes bigger and stronger, a pattern well you can say it's a strange symbol or drawing,' Huno explained.

  'Oh okay,' the voice said. 'You want to let me out?'

  'Yeah, but I don't think I can. I don't even understand what I am seeing,'.

 

  'Sorry,' Huno apologized. 'It's okay, at least you're still here. I have to thank you for that,' the voice replied. 'You shouldn't, if I could leave I would have. I'm here because I don't have a choice,' Huno said. 'Oh, well, even though thank you,' the voice said. 'Whatever,' Huno said and laugh.

 

  He continued to stare at the pattern and said, 'try to remember, maybe you know something,'. 'I wish I did. The only thing I remember is complete darkness, nothing else. I don't know if it's because I've been here for too long,' the voice replied. 'Alright,'.

 

  Huno stretched his left hand to touch the line on the wall, it seems to be a line on the wall but when he touched it; it was a crack. It wasn't too deep, and it wasn't wide either, just a narrow and shallow crack. 'Oh yeah, you asked what's my name,' the voice said and quickly continued, 'please don't be angry what's a name?'. 'Well it's what you are called or rather what you call yourself,' Huno replied. 'Oh, so what are you called?' the voice asked. 'Hunochiro, you can call me Huno or Hiro for short,' Huno replied. 'Hu...nochi...ro,' the voice said. 'Yeah, my friends usually call me Huno,' Huno said as he kept looking at the pattern on the wall. 'What's a friend?' the voice asked. 'Um... Someone who you are familiar with or close with, or someone who isn't a stranger,' Huno replied. 'Oh, I don't have one. Can you be my friend?' the voice asked. 'Sure, why not?' Huno replied and added, 'wait for a second,'.

 

Huno turn to look at his left hand immediately because felt something crawling on it. What he saw shocked him and frightened him. 'Okay, is something wrong?' the voice asked. 'Yeah I think so, stop talking for a moment,' Huno said and stared at his hand with a frightened expression on his face. Both his dried-up blood and the blood from his wound on his left hand flowed along his arm to the wall and into the pattern. What made him frightened was that no matter how he tried, he couldn't remove his hand from the wall. His hand seems to be glued permanently to the wall.

 

  'Not good, not good,' Huno yelled and kept on pulling his hand away. 'What's wrong?' the voice asked with a concerned tone. 'This gate won't let my hand go,' Huno replied. 'What? Why?' the voice asked again. 'I don't know,' Huno replied, still trying to get his hand off the wall.

 

  The patterns turned red as his blood flowed through them in every direction of the gate. 'Hey let go, I said let go,' Huno screamed angrily, not knowing what to do. 'I didn't have any bad intention, so I don't know why you want my blood, I just wanted to open you,' Huno yelled. 'Who are you talking to?' the voice asked. 'The gate!' Huno shouted and said, 'Don't mind me, when I'm really worried I talk to anything, it's a bad habit of mine,'. 'Oh, what you going to do now?' the voice asked. 'What can I do? Wait and see,' Huno said and stopped struggling. 'Let's see what happens, haha the worse is it will suck my blood dry and open or it won't open,' Huno said and watched his blood flow through the pattern. 'What's blood?' the voice asked. 'I'm not in the mood to explain well, so manage this. It's a very important liquid that flows through the body,' Huno replied. 'Oh, what happens if it gets dried up?' the voice asked. 'I'll probably die,' Huno replied. 'What does it mean to die?' the voice asked. 'Um... To stop living or to fall into a sleep where you can't wake up,' Huno replied. 'Oh, that's bad,' the voice said. Huno stared at the pattern, his blood just completely flowed into all of them. 'Yeah very,' Huno said. 'Too bad there's nothing I can do. It won't even come out,' he added.

 

  Almost immediately after he finished replying, the strange pattern buzzed and his blood flowed into his left hand. 'That's weird,' Huno said. 'What was that sound?' the voice asked. 'I don't know,'. As the blood flowed back, the pattern disappeared slowly. 'Hey, if things go well you may come out,' Huno said. 'But if not, haha, I'll be dead and you won't have anyone to talk to again,' he added.

 

  'Please don't die,'.

  'Even I don't want to die,'.

 

  When all the strange patterns outside the circle disappeared, the rectangle disappeared too and the colored stones began to shine brightly.

 

  'That doesn't look good,' Huno said.

  'What's wrong?' the voice asked. Almost immediately Huno's scream sounded and in seconds it became louder and louder.

 

...

 

  After what felt like forever, Huno's screaming came to a halt. 'Hey are you alright?' the voice asked. There was no reply, so the voice asked again and again and again, but still nothing.

 

The voice sobbed quietly and after an unknown amount of time Huno's voice came, 'I thought I said you should stop crying,'.

 

  'Are you alright?' the voice asked worriedly. 'I think so, I'm a little dizzy and my arm is numb,' Huno replied and added, 'you don't have to talk in my ear and shift back a little,'. 'What do you mean?' the voice asked. 'Stop talking in my ear and shift a... Huh? Where are you?' Huno asked, surprised. 'I'm still here. It's still the dark place,' the voice said. 'What? You didn't come out? Then why are you talking in my ear?' Huno asked. 'I don't know, what happened?' the voice said. 'The gate in the wall is gone, so you should be out. Why... Ooh!'. 'What?' the voice asked immediately. 'I'm not sure, it seems the gate moved to my body,' Huno replied. 'whoever locked you up never planned on giving you a chance out,'.

 

  'Oh, but are you alright? You aren't hurt, right?' the voice asked. 'I'm good don't bother about me,' Huno said. 'That's good,' the voice said.

 

  'I want to try something,' Huno said. 'Okay what?' the voice asked.

 

  Almost immediately Huno yelled 'Open'. In the dark place, there was a rumbling sound, something split up and from that opening, light shone through into the dark place.