[If you keep going along the wall, you will definitely find an exit.]
In other words, unless this place is a maze, an exit is bound to appear. It's a bit of a problem that I haven't found an exit all the way here... but since I had no other option but to keep moving, I kept moving. Up until then, the only sound here was the sound of my own footsteps.
It was time to slowly adjust to the darkness, but strangely, all I could see was the unchanging darkness, and the occasional long poles bumping into my body. At this point, I almost felt like I was dreaming. I walked and walked, but with no exit, not even the slightest opening, my mental strength gradually weakened.
"Are things going well?"
'What if we're moving further away from the exit?'
As anxious thoughts arose, I shook my head forcefully. Despair was a distant memory, escape was the priority. Even if I escaped, I doubted what I could accomplish. At the very least, I hoped things would be a little better than they were now.
Thump-
Something's wrong.
A fine, yet sharp gap stretched between my fingers. I moved my arm up and down, following the gap, and concluded that it stretched all the way to the ceiling. In other words,doorIt is highly likely that it will be close to that. As I was so happy to find an oasis in the desert that I ran in blindly and pushed away what I didn't know was a door or a wall, I realized something else. There was one more thing I foolishly didn't realize.
This one has no handle.
'...Should I push it?'
No, maybe it wasn't the door. It could have been a scratch on the building itself, or a crack caused by an accident. The number of possible scenarios was tens of thousands. But the number of possible alternatives was so limited that I had no choice but to cling to a thin hope and struggle.
"Euuugh...!!! Haa...!"
"Ugh... Ugh...!!!"
I pulled, using every ounce of strength I had. Little by little, very little, with a subtle vibration, the door began to move. Oxygen gradually filled the stiff frame, and soon, perhaps because I was using too much force, my hands slipped and I fell.
"Ahh... sigh..."
I clutched my butt, which was incredibly cold, and frowned. I'd fallen so hard that if I were with friends, I'd have jokingly said, "This is really broken." But before I could even speak, my mouth snapped shut, making me pause. In any case, now was not the time to dwell on loneliness or self-pity. Not far away, a faint light seeped through an exit. Without regard for water or fire, I ran, following my instincts, my body's lead.