[Subaru reaches. Subaru reaches and reaches and fights and grasps despite how futile it all is.]
Damn it…! Shit…!
[He bites down on his lip in frustration. He thrusts his arm forward once again, trying, desperately trying. Omori continues to stand there, telling him to pick a…letter, was it? The fact he doesn’t seem to grasp the situation is all the worse for Subaru.]
Now’s not the time for games! We need to get you out of that!
[The noose tightens, Omori's fingers pressing against his throat beneath the rope. The other hand still holds his knife, but he doesn't raise it - waves it at Subaru, face straining, voice strangled:]
Please...
[Two sets of five white lines appear above Omori's head in the darkness.]
[Omori's gaze becomes sharp, a glare. He isn't afraid. He points the knife at Subaru. Basil is near, and he's all on his own. Omori can't let that continue. He will not be hung at these thorny gallows. The rope constricts. It's different now - thinner, with plastic handles marking each end; a jump rope.
[Omori is lifted off the ground. A terrible sound comes from his throat, strangled. He kicks his legs, teeth gritting. It's difficult to speak.]
[Omori manages a breath. His feet dangle, legs continuing to shift and kick. One hand still has two fingers hooked between the rope and his throat, the other holding the knife.
[Omori manages another strangled breath. The knife lowers, his little body struggling, though his demeanor has evened back out into calm. The game is out of vowels now, so it will only get harder.]
[Omori is lifted another foot off the ground, the rope squeezing with how sharply it tightens. The hand the grips the knife drops it, arm falling down heavy and limp at Omori's side. He can't seem to move it at all. He struggles.]
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Damn it…! Shit…!
[He bites down on his lip in frustration. He thrusts his arm forward once again, trying, desperately trying. Omori continues to stand there, telling him to pick a…letter, was it? The fact he doesn’t seem to grasp the situation is all the worse for Subaru.]
Now’s not the time for games! We need to get you out of that!
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Please...
[Two sets of five white lines appear above Omori's head in the darkness.]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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But why does it look so real?
The lines appear, and he takes a step back.]
What…the…?
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[Omori is lifted off the ground. A terrible sound comes from his throat, strangled. He kicks his legs, teeth gritting. It's difficult to speak.]
You'll...kill...me...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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No…no…
[His voice trembles. He won’t, he can’t, he won’t let Omori die here.]
Fine, I’ll play your game! [He finds determination, anger.] A!
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_ _ A _ _ _ _ A _ _
[Omori manages a breath. His feet dangle, legs continuing to shift and kick. One hand still has two fingers hooked between the rope and his throat, the other holding the knife.
[He waves it, gesturing for Subaru to continue.]
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There really is no other option, is there…
[For a life to ride on a children’s game, that’s almost too much pressure. There are no repeats. Subaru feels out of his depth.]
E.
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[Omori manages another strangled breath. The knife lowers, his little body struggling, though his demeanor has evened back out into calm. The game is out of vowels now, so it will only get harder.]
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[No more vowels. It feels like grasping in the dark. Think, Subaru, think.]
R.
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_ _ A _ _ _ _ A _ E
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Please…
[He’s pleading to a dream; to nothing. No one will answer.
He hesitates on his next guess. Will it be his final one?]
B.
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[Omori's body eases with heavy breaths. His right arm still dangles, limp. He stares at Subaru, and his eyes are dark, dark, dark.
[The BlAck spAcE in the floor grows slowly wider, wider...]
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…C.
[It’s not the most tactical approach, but it’s better than picking at random. Maybe.]
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[Calm.]
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…hang on a minute. It’s a risk, but he wants this over with.]
Black space! It’s ‘black space’!
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[The floor cracks open into a black void. The rope around Omori's neck releases, and he and Subaru fall down, down, down.
[They hit the ground.
[And then, Subaru only has to watch until the dream ends.]
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[Subaru is speechless, horrified and unsettled. Just what did he watch?
Something he shouldn’t have. That much he knows.
He opens his mouth to speak again, words hoarse and frightened in his throat, but-
It’s time to wake up.]