Reaching upon the doors of the elevator, there remained a faint blue light on the wall near the entrance, the keycard slot glowing slightly, inviting him to insert the card at the blinking green light.
With a deep breath, he inserted the said card into the slot, praying that it would work. The entrance creaked open slowly, filling the air with the sound of grinding metal.
Inside, it was small, barely enough room for two people, let alone one. It also looks very old and rusty, covered in dust, cobwebs, and a few dead insects.
However, what matters is that it's functional at least, so he didn't care about the mess. Stepping inside and pressing the button at the lowest floor, he watched as the doors started to close, the sound of the mechanism clicking into place, sealing him in.
Then it began to move, descending slowly. The unsteady movement of the elevator sent shivers down his spine as it creaked and groaned with the strain of its journey. With this opportunity to allow himself to temporarily gather his bearings, he let out a tired sigh before leaning his back against the wall.
Sliding down to the floor, he sat with the muffled noises outside of this box, his downcast head filled with regrets for putting himself above others for his selfish reasons in exploring the outside world.
Once he reaches the earth, it will be a matter of time before his family and new best friend get arrested for associating with him. The worst thing is not knowing what will happen to them. For one thing, there are things far worse than death, but his certainty won't go too far in actually harming them, right?
Fiddling with the keycard in his hands, the thought of the consequences of his actions weighed heavily on him. As the elevator continued to drop further down, he couldn't shake the feeling that this life he has will be permanently gone.
Forever destroyed, with no faint hope of ever returning to the way it was. Sunny knew there would be consequences, always finding a balance between the good and the bad, but he never imagined the cost would be this high of having to sacrifice the life he has now for a new one.
"Is all of this worth it?"
There was still doubt in the back of his mind, yet his perseverance in reaching his ambition far exceeded anything he had thought of.
"I'm sorry, everyone," he muttered under his breath, clenching the keycard in his hand with an apologetic tone of voice, the cold surface sending a shiver up his spine from its mere touch. "I need to find my own being," the young man vowed to the promise he had made for himself with eyes closed, trying to keep the tears from streaming down his face.
It will hurt a lot, tearing his old life completely apart, but he knows that it is necessary for him to grow as a person, to become more self-sufficient, and to learn the ways of what it means to be a real human being.
And by that statement, he carries within his heart that ever since he decided to do this dangerous mission, it is finally time to let go of the comforting familiarity that he knows and embrace the unknown of the future that awaits him. There will be many challenges on his path, but he is determined to overcome them and make his mark in the world.
With this newfound resolve, he cautiously inhaled, filling his lungs with the stale air, preparing himself for the new journey ahead. He may not be alone in this journey of his, but that doesn't mean he can't stand on his own two feet.
The elevator finally came to a shuddering halt, the doors creaking open, revealing an empty corridor. Exhaling slowly, he stepped out, taking in his new surroundings, the first step towards his new life within his very fingertips, as long as the drive to find his purpose remains strong.
Dropping his keycard on the floor, he stepped out of the elevator before closing it. From the sight of an empty corridor stretching out before him like a desolate wasteland, it was devoid of any signs of life or comfort.
Complete hallway of gray walls and dimly lit lights, casting eerie shadows across the cold, hard floors. The atmosphere was still and quiet aside from the loud noises emitting from the ceiling fixtures, reminding him how much mess they had gotten themselves into.
His first thought came in regards to this seemingly abandoned place by saying, "Has this place always been abandoned?" He whispered, making a mental note to keep his guard up at all times.
"It gives me the creeps of how lifeless finding this place is," he said, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "Where in the hell am I?" Sunny would have already guessed this is the lowest floor where the escape pod might be, but the other part of him tells him there is more finding here than just that.
Shaking away his time-consuming thoughts, he bravely took up the courage to take careful steps forward while keeping his eyes fixed on the path ahead, his pulse quickening as the sound of his footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.
Being careful not to make a single sound, he checked his surroundings, making sure he didn’t attract any unwanted attention. His senses were heightened; every noise, every shadow, and every movement caught his attention, as if danger was lurking behind the darkness.
Despite how immensely powerful and mysterious his Esper powers are, he won't let any of that get in his head, as there is always a bigger predator in life than the ones he can control. This is a common field sense that he has learned from his father, training his instincts to be sharp and humble.
Showing just how much respect he has for the old man. With this in mind, he continued moving forward, his eyes scanning for any sign of danger or potential routes that led him to his destination.
When he moved deeper, his surroundings slowly changed. The cold, sterile corridors gave way to a different environment.
A warmer, more vibrant area, filled with a lively atmosphere compared to the previous grim aura. While still empty, the lights were filled with a warm, inviting glow, and the walls were adorned with colorful flowers and plants as if nature finally took over and reclaimed its place, making it an oasis in the midst of the bleak place. But despite the comforting scenery, the air of dread still lingered within place.
White steel doors were present on every side of the wall, with neon signs flashing above them, indicating the names of various rooms, similar to being in an enclosed mall. Each door leads to a new place and a new experience. Curiosity flickering in his eye, he couldn't help but wonder what lies beyond each door.
"Maybe I can find something useful here, like a map or a radio," he murmured, wondering if any of this is worth exploring. "Won't hurt to try," Sunny convinced himself to find a way out, even if it meant checking places he shouldn't be in.
Randomly picking a random door, he walked towards it with interest in his eyes. "Huh?" Looking at the neon sign more clearly, it didn't outright have a name, but a Schrodinger equation was written on it.
"Quantum mechanics, hmm?" He muttered, and the irony of the situation didn't go unnoticed. "Why does it have an equation in place like this?" Weird to think about it, he nonetheless finds some humor in his current situation: "Reminds me back in school when the professor taught us about physics and what not."
Either way, it's not going to stop him from checking what's inside.
Opening the door slowly, he peeked his head inside the supposed room and said, "Hello?!" Sunny called out, taking in the sight of what he thought to be just an ordinary room.
"Wha—" He didn't have the time to describe what he saw other than just closing the damn door immediately as his own heart beat wildly in his chest, fear crawling up his spine before stepping back and falling down on his buttocks.
"What was that?!" Fear drenched his voice, and the young man trembled, trying to catch his breath after witnessing something he never thought possible.
His brain couldn't process what he had seen, the reality of the situation too horrifying to comprehend. "It can't be... it can't be real," he said, clenching his fists until they turned white, his entire body shaking. "I feel sick; I need to get out of here."
Not wanting to detail the horror that had awaited for him, he stood up and walked away as far from this far-out nightmare as he could, his heart pounding in his chest and his stomach in knots. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving," he repeated under his breath, his voice cracking with fear.
"I can't think about it anymore," Sunny confessed, unable to even find the words to describe the trauma that had just occurred. "It's like some experiment went wrong, but..." His face turned blue, feeling the vomit fill his throat.
"Dammit! I need to focus on finding out where that escape pod is." He told himself, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to move forward, pushing the terrifying image away from his mind, "Come on, Sunny! Just keep moving and don't stop," he motivated himself, his steps growing heavier with each word, pushing himself through while refusing to let fear control him.
The rest of his journey was a blur of movement and emotion. His psyche felt the urge to look behind, to turn around, to go back and confront the terror that haunted him.
But his logic and reason overrides any action; he kept moving forward, his eyes trained on the path ahead, his ears straining to hear any sound that might give him a clue to the escape pod.
He was determined to not stop, no matter what disturbed him to his core. However, the image will still flash in his mind every now and then; each time, it makes his blood run cold and his fingers crawl.
But he won't let fear stop him. He will keep moving; he will keep searching. Once he reached his escape, he could allow himself a moment of thought and find peace.
For now, his only goal is to stay alive and find the escape pod, as his very heart is still filled with dread, but he is not broken.
He will persevere; he will conquer his fears. It is how finding his purpose begins. With a deep breath, he continued moving without stopping forward, and ultimately, Sunny finally reached his destination.
At the very end of the hallways, he is led to a large metallic door. "Woah," the height of it is enormous, towering the size of a skyscraper. "How do I even get in?" Walking towards it, he instinctively touched it with his open palm before suddenly opening wide-eyed, "Is this the place I am supposed to go?"
Little did he know, beyond the gargantuan threshold lay an abandoned boarding hangar, a ghostly remnant of a bygone era, frozen in time.
The boarding shuttle was a sight to behold, enveloped in silence and darkness. Its once vibrant exterior rusted and pitted, and the paint peeled away, revealing the metal skeleton beneath as the shuttle itself seemed to have been left untouched for decades, the passage of time etching its mark upon the vessel. Along of the air within the cavernous hangar was heavy with the scent of dampness and decay.
What remained was an empty place, save for a few steel doors still present, leading to various parts of this place. "I need to find the escape pod," he murmured, taking a deep breath once more before steeling his resolve.
