Chapter 44: Snatched Hope

That was the final straw...

The bone mass had already taken quite the beating, both from the rough river and the two wayward hopefuls atop it.

A litany of cracking filled the air as bones split apart.

Then, blood once again stole Peace’s vision as the Skeletal Stalker drove him down.

Abandoning his fruitless attempt at biting it, Peace brought up his foot and tried to kick it away.

Only for a bony hand to snatch his ankle and hold him still.

’No! No, no, no!’

Thrashing, Peace fought as best he could, eventually managing to thrust his head above the blood.

Frantically looking around, he spotted Dita clinging to a piece of flotsam, looking back at him with a wistful expression. She lifelessly held up a glowing hand, ready to fire off another shot of wind.

But it was clear she’d never get the chance.

The Stalker yanked Peace back under.

’Let go!’

Planting his left foot on its bony thigh, he kicked up, once again managing to break the surface. Only to find Dita further downstream, her hand cast down, the glow fading.

She had lost even the sentiment of hope.

Just before the Stalker pulled him back under, he heard Dita scream:

"Help—!"

Though, even if anyone heard it, none would come.

Altruism had no place in the dungeon. A cry for help was no different from an omen to flee.

Blood once again consumed his vision as the Stalker tugged down on both his ankles.

’Is this really... is this really how I die?!’

He couldn’t even last one week in the dungeon?!

Peace began punching wildly, but each blow was softened by the viscous world of blood. Not that Peace’s punches would have accomplished much even if unfettered.

’It’s that damn ghostly fiend’s fault.’

If not for her, he would have escaped the Blood Plains before it even showed up!

Suddenly, the pressure on his ankles vanished.

He felt bony fingers clasp around his throat. The Stalker wasted no time squeezing.

Peace tried to peel its fingers away from his neck, but it was simply too strong. Try all he wanted, there was no overcoming the raw strength difference.

’What a shitty game.’

Make it fair at the very least!

He’d been doomed from the start in every situation he’d found himself in...

Peace dropped his arms to his sides as he felt the world begin closing in on him.

He’d done all he could.

At least....

At least he could say he tried.

’Mom... Sis... I miss you.’

Suddenly, the bony grasp released.

’huh—’

Peace didn’t even have a single moment to process his body’s sudden freedom before the bloody current began sweeping him along.

Kicking and throwing his arms, Peace once again broke the surface, gasping as he searched the area. Quickly, he found the back of the Stalker’s robe as it bounded downstream, leaving Peace behind.

’T-that idiot!’

Dita...

Dita had dissolved the party with Peace, causing the Stalker to completely lose interest in him.

In a world where every second counted, the few seconds she sacrificed to spare Peace might just have been her undoing.

’That skeletal freak!’

Peace began attempting to swim after them, but his body was already on the brink of collapse; what he needed more than anything was a respite.

Thrown around by the current, Peace fought the waves, spinning through barrel rolls and getting dragged beneath the surface at times.

But eventually, he managed to work his way toward the riverbank, where the current weakened and the blood grew shallow enough for his feet to scrape against the bones below.

Finding the bottom, he kicked through the submerged bones and scrambled forward until his hands finally caught the bank.

Peace hauled his upper body out of the River of Blood, then pulled the rest of himself onto solid ground, violently coughing.

"Ack!"

After his fit ended, his body in shambles, Peace threw his backpack aside and rolled onto his back. He gazed up at the red sky as he took ragged breaths.

’Hurts! Everything hurts!’

Being choked to death was something Peace didn’t want to ever experience again.

Writhing, Peace turned his head to the right. There, he saw the red-hued sky brightening.

’The Convergence Zone...’

It was by no means close, but it was no longer entirely out of reach. The dream of reaching it had twisted into a possibility.

’Dita... I better... meet you there.’

However...

That also meant Peace had to get there.

Knowing he couldn’t stay down for long, Peace slowly pushed his body upright, then to his feet.

It didn’t matter whether Dita died or escaped; the Stalker would find a new target — that being the next closest Diver. And this new target wouldn’t get the full 24 hours of leeway to run. It would get a set time based on distance.

’I just... want to sleep.’

Peace began shuffling his way up the bank of the river, climbing onto the flat level of the plains where he could see the world in panoramic view.

"Oh come the fuck on."

Left and right, bony beasts meandered across the plains. Peace had emerged in a spawning zone. The second most infamous spawning zone of the Bone Plains, just behind the Maw of Hell.

’Diver’s Graveyard...’

Where Skeletons walked around wearing gear from Divers who had died in the Bone Plains, some even wielding Resonances.

It was probably the best zone for farming early tier gear...

But it was also the most dangerous zone, as no two skeletons fought the same. Making planning and proaction, a Diver’s greatest advantage in the dungeon, matter little...

Getting through the place with a party of five was challenging enough.

To do it solo was nigh impossible.

Not to mention how vast it was. Even if he was in top condition, sprinting and hoping he could outrun them was a fool’s endeavor, as he’d eventually be caught by something or other.

Peace crumpled to his knees.

"This world... truly sucks."

For the first time, a part of Peace hoped that his hope really was as fleeting as it seemed. That his sister had nothing to do with this cruel, unforgiving world.

That the death she died on Earth was the only death she’d ever have to die.