Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

My gaze was drawn to it.

Bathed in the drizzling crystal rain, with the flames illuminating her profile, the girl murmured something that sounded like a monologue.

"...Cassan...Della?"

The girl's eyes were fixed on the sky, not on the things around her.

She gazes at somewhere beyond here, at some moment beyond the present, about to be guided by it.

"This is the moment of prophecy. This is the crossroads, the crossroads, the point where destiny diverges—"

Seeing the girl lost in a trance-like state, as if she had received a divine message, Daphne couldn't look away.

(The coffin is an omen of death. But the possibility of suffering means that the future of death is uncertain. Conversely, if I make a wrong judgment after suffering, the "prophecy" will consume my life.)

—As for Cassandra, she sank into her own heart.

A seventeen-line "prophecy" surfaced in my mind. A prayer called "Nightmare" shifted and changed in a dazzling manner, and the perceived time was extended to the limit.

In a world isolated from its surroundings, the tragic prophet becomes lost in the sea of ​​poetry, trying to grasp the true meaning of "prophecy".

(In other words, what is causing you suffering in this coffin now is actually "decision"?)

That was the action Cassandra should take; it represented the future of the squad.

It was precisely the conflicting opinions among teammates regarding the "two choices" of "staying" and "retreating" that led to the conflict.

Cassandra realized that this "choice" and "decision" would determine her own fate and that of everyone else.

—[Never forget. The light we seek lies only under the resurrected sun.]

— [Gather the fragments, offer the flame, and beg for the light of the sun].

—[Be careful. This is a feast of utter disaster—]

Judging from the situation, we have now entered the fourteenth line of the poem, which is implied by the word "coffin".

Therefore, the remaining "prophecy" consists of these three lines.

(The last seventeenth line is merely a summary of the prophecy and can therefore be removed. The remaining two lines are correct; they are simply "warnings" to avoid a devastating future!)

Articles that begin with "assembling fragments" clearly do not fit the current situation of choosing between the two, so they are also excluded.

The two points that need to be examined in detail are "the pursuit of light" and "the resurrection of the sun"!

(Is the light you seek—hope? The only option you can choose is related to the resurrected sun? But what is the sun? Where are the symbols of the sun? This underground labyrinth (dungeon) has no sun at all!!)

I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand!

What choice should Cassandra make, and who should guide her?

What do I (Cassandra) really want to do?

I don't want them to die.

I want to go to his side.

I hope to find the boy who was forced to confront "cruel reality" without sacrificing anyone.

A cry for emotion (noise) interferes with her thinking, forcing her to make a choice in a state of bewilderment.

"Retreat" or "Stay"?

Is it the 24th floor or the 26th floor?

Above or below?

Is it the cliff on the west side or the precipice on the east side?

"──────"

In an instant.

An electric current surged through Cassandra's entire body.

The pursuit of light – is it the only option for the prophet (Cassandra) and others to survive?

【Resurrected Sun】—This is a waterfront building; there is no symbol of the sun here?

In other words, it's not something visible to the naked eye? Not a person? Nor is it matter?

Hint, abstraction, allegory.

Metaphor.

(【Resurrected Sun】—The sun reappears after it has disappeared, "sunrise"—)

Cassandra turned her head as if she had been electrocuted and saw it.

I saw the passageway leading to the 26th floor in the southeast corner of the building.

The cave was originally damaged by the weight of tree roots.

The terrain there had been deformed by repeated impacts, creating new gaps between the tree roots and the ground that were barely passable for humans.

“—Ah.”

A sudden burst of light.

My vision flickered violently.

The sound of fragments of poetry called "Prophecy" connecting and combining resonated in my heart.

These hands received the light of "hope" that allowed them to avoid despair and destruction.

"—Eastward!!"

Then, Cassandra cried out.

"Huh...!?"

"Everyone head east!! To the 26th floor, hurry!!"

She urged the astonished squad to take action.

Lily and the others were terrified when they heard the girl shouting loudly without regard for anything else.

"Cassandra!? What are you saying?!"

Daphne's expression changed drastically as she tried to stop the girl from losing control, however...

"No, Daphne! I'm mistaken!! The 'prophecy' symbolizes neither 'people' nor 'time'!"

「!?」

"The resurrected sun symbolizes 'direction'! I've been misunderstanding it all along!"

The tragic prophet mentioned the content of the "precognitive dream," refuting Daphne's voice.

Cassandra did some reasoning on the 21st floor.

At the time, she thought the warning might be related to items associated with the sun god (Apollo), or that the "sun" might be a reference to "time" during the daytime.

However, she was wrong.

【The Resurrected Sun】In other words, it is a metaphorical representation of the "sunrise" that disappears at night and reappears with the arrival of morning. What the "prophecy" truly symbolizes is actually "the direction in which the sun rises".

"This floor has transformed from a 'cage of despair' into a 'coffin'! To escape the omen of death, the only way is to head to the 'Sun of Rebirth,' which is the 'East'!"

It's that simple.

Influenced by her birthplace, Cassandra associated herself with things related to the sun god, narrowing her thinking. She could have thought of things more simply.

However, she wouldn't have known this if she hadn't been forced into this "building collapse" situation.

She was only able to solve the puzzle when presented with the two "options" of the eastern and western paths.

"I don't know what the 'Light of the Sun' is! I don't know what the remaining clues—the pieced-together fragments or the offered flames—represent! But we can only head 'east'! Hurry to the 26th floor!!"

Cassandra finally got the answer, but...

"What nonsense are you spouting! At a time like this!"

Daphne roared in response, not believing what she was saying.

"Stop talking nonsense! What time is it? Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"

The way her friend glared back at her broke Cassandra's heart.

Cassandra's grievances were nothing but nonsense to Daphne and the others.

It's just incoherent, meaningless rambling. It's a "curse" that can't convince anyone.

This is the inevitable fate of the "tragedy prophet".

His companions, who were surrounding him, looked on with confusion.

The world distorted and twisted in response, loudly mocking Cassandra.

His eyes, brimming with tears, seemed about to shatter and scatter, and his knees threatened to give way and cause him to collapse at any moment.

(It's always like this.)

It doesn't matter what you do.

No one listens to anything I say.

No one listens to my complaints.

It's always been like this.

The world always tramples on her efforts.

The world always mocks her tragedy.

No matter how hard she struggled or how desperately she cried out, it always forced her to confront the unreasonable situation.

The moment when the desperately shouted warnings came to nothing.

The moment when resolve crumbles like a sandcastle.

She had experienced these moments countless times.

Time and again, she was pushed off the cliff into the dark valley below.

She must be cursed, that's why she had no choice.

Yes, there's nothing we can do, nothing we can do... nothing we can do.

……Really?

She didn't know when it started, but those words slowly eroded her heart.

When did she start deceiving herself, saying that deep down she had already given up hope?

When do we stop fighting against adversity?

When did I start to distrust everything, even myself, and lose hope?

When did I start looking away, refusing to meet the eyes of the girl I liked the most?

(—It's always Daphne who makes me submit.)

then……

Don't let despair defeat you!

"—Looking to the future! Facing adversity head-on!"

(—Daphne's words always gave me courage!)

The altar in his chest was lit.

Cassandra no longer avoids her friend's sharp gaze, keeps her words to herself, and stands up to face the world that mocks her.

Cassandra clenched her fists and shouted:

"Listen to me, Daphne!"

"!!"

She leaned forward, facing Daphne, whose eyes were wide open.

Cassandra stared at her alone, her throat trembling as she spoke:

"I've given up hope! I'm convinced that no one is willing to believe me, and no one will ever believe me again!"

She pressed her right hand to her chest, revealing her true feelings.