Chapter 028 - Moonlit Mirage 15

  I forced myself deeper into the abyss, every muscle burning with the effort. The water pressed against me like a living thing, heavy and unrelenting. My lungs screamed for air, but I ignored them, reaching further into the darkness.

  Then—something brushed against my fingertips.

  Smooth. Delicate. Yet unyielding.

  The surface was impossibly slick, as if coated in oil, and ice-cold to the touch. It nearly slipped from my grasp, but I fought against the resistance, my fingers clawing for purchase.

  I was heading straight for the moon. Or what remained of it. Where a face should have been, there was only a gaping void—a hollow edge where the skin had been torn away.

  My pulse pounded in my ears as I latched onto the ragged perimeter of the human hide. I yanked hard. This time, I didn’t let go.

  A thunderous boom reverberated through the water. The sound was visceral, shaking me to my core.

  Yangjin was moving again.

  A cold shudder rippled through me. I clenched my fingers around the grotesque, leather-like flesh and yanked the rope tied around my waist—three sharp tugs.

  The signal was clear.

  Above, they responded instantly.

  They pulled.

  One hundred and fifteen people, dragging one man toward the light.

  All one hundred and sixteen of us, bound by a singular will, locked in a battle against an unseen force.

  The twin moons—one above, one below—remained our only beacons in the abyss. The water churned as the tension mounted, the shifting currents twisting in an unseen struggle. And then—something changed.

  The glow in the depths began to spread.

  It was as if the heavens had split open. A brilliance unlike anything I had ever known burst forth, flooding the water with piercing light.

  The rope bit into my waist, cutting into my flesh, but I barely registered the pain.

  Because something else was pulling back.

  At this point, I was no longer the one dragging the skin upward.

  The skin was dragging me.

  Exhaustion crashed over me like a tidal wave. My limbs felt leaden, my chest burning for breath. Worse still, the force resisting us was growing stronger.

  An invisible grip held firm, pitting itself against the might of one hundred and fifteen souls pulling from above.

  For a terrifying moment, the abyss held me captive, yanking me downward with merciless strength. The water thickened, tightening around me like an unholy embrace.

  Then, at last, the balance tipped.

  Slowly, agonizingly, the tide turned in our favor.

  The skin peeled away.

  Like an ancient mural crumbling from a forgotten wall, it unfurled, revealing its grotesque form.

  As I ascended, the mass of flesh shrank, curling in on itself, its edges folding inward like withered parchment. By the time I reached the surface, it was no larger than an ordinary human hide.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  A single piece of skin.

  Waterlogged and blackened, covered in fragmented, cryptic symbols.

  There was no time to decipher its meaning.

  The moment I broke through the surface, a chilling realization struck me.

  If we hadn’t distributed the leather skins in the second round…

  There wouldn’t have been enough hands left to pull me out.

  The thought barely had time to settle before a familiar sound echoed through the night.

  Thud. Thud.

  Yangjin’s footsteps.

  Shouts erupted from above.

  “Hurry! Faster! He’s almost up!”

  “Just a little more—pull him in!”

  I was nearly there. Just a breath away from the window—

  And then.

  Yangjin stopped.

  Her voice slithered through the air, soft and sickly sweet.

  “You all… wouldn’t happen to have seen my skin, would you?”

  I was so close. Just a few more seconds, and I would be safe.

  But some of them—startled by her voice—hesitated.

  The rope slackened.

  I lurched forward, reaching desperately for the window’s ledge, ready to claw my way inside.

  Then—a hand shot out from within the building.

  Without hesitation, I seized it.

  With one swift, powerful pull, I was yanked through the window.

  I landed hard, my knees buckling beneath me. The scent of damp wood and dust filled my lungs as I steadied myself.

  A firm clap on my shoulder. Elliot Vance.

  I exhaled sharply. “Appreciate it, man.”

  Then, I turned.

  Holding up the dripping, blackened human skin, I locked eyes with Yangjin.

  Her hollow gaze flickered with something unreadable.

  “Is this what you’re looking for?” I asked.

  She went utterly still.

  Then, with a single fluid motion, she leapt forward, landing right in front of me.

  Her head tilted ever so slightly. A silent question.

  She reached out, her fingers skimming over the wet, inky surface. Then, without hesitation, she took the skin from my hands.

  And before our very eyes—

  She draped it over her body.

  The hide molded to her form, sealing itself seamlessly against her flesh.

  Perfectly.

  Her lips parted, and a languid, satisfied hum escaped her.

  “Yes—”

  Outside, the world ignited.

  A blinding radiance tore through the darkness, as if the heavens themselves had opened.

  A sun—impossibly brilliant—rose high above.

  I turned toward the window.

  Sunlight streamed in, golden and pure, flooding the room with its warmth.

  The moment it touched Yangjin—

  She shattered.

  Her body fractured like glass, crumbling into countless fragments. Each piece dissolved, vanishing into nothingness, carried away by the light.

  A chime rang out—

  Clear. Resounding. Beautiful.

  And this time, it was the sweetest sound in the world.

  “Congratulations. All one hundred and sixteen contestants have successfully cleared Round Two.”

  — Moonlit Mirage: The End.