A new round, a new killer, and new murders that you and your comrades were forced to see and very carefully avoid — unless, of course, you intended to become the next victim in this endless cycle of pain and agony. You no longer remembered how long ago you had ended up here, but right now that didn't concern you — what concerned you was the desire to avoid that very pain. Or at least delay its onset. Depending on luck.

You appeared with your team in a rather open area: you, along with Elliot and Taph, stood near a glass house, with a wide open space beside it. You didn't know this round's killer, but you knew it was better not to find out. Though, it was inevitable anyway, wasn't it?

No sooner had you run from the spawn point than a green, glowing blade flew past you at high speed — no, practically zoomed — grazing, thankfully, not you, but Elliot instead.

You wanted to run up to him and help in some way — even if that was simply unrealistic right now given your set of abilities and the lack of any items like a medkit — when, as if materializing out of nowhere, 1x rushed at you, already swinging their two swords, hoping to strike the already wounded Elliot.

And you had no choice but to run, hoping that your comrade could be helped. Or that he would manage to escape.

To be frank, 1x was one of those you wanted to see the least. Not only were they one of, if not the most, brutal killers, but their behavior recently... had been very, very strange.

As if on purpose, this four-dimensional thing would leave you for the end of the round, allowing you to see the corpses of your teammates, but also, before your death, they seemed to drag out your killing? They always left you with a pile of injuries, killing you only when the round was supposed to end.

1x1x1x1 hadn't even shown this kind of treatment to their main enemy — Shedletsky.

And this "special" treatment you did not like. It frightened you. Even too much.

But then, during your escape, you were snapped out of your thoughts by something rolling beside you.. a head. Elliot's head, who obviously hadn't been helped in time.

The sight was disgusting, and you immediately felt nausea rising in your throat. Of course, you had seen such things before, but to the horror was also added the guilt of how useless you were for not being able to help the poor cook, as well as the fear from the very realization that you would have to see the corpses of the others too. If, of course, 1x maintained their special treatment.

And so, enough time had passed in the round and.. oh, there it was. You, standing on a hill holding a can of Bloxy Cola that Noob had kindly given you minutes earlier, saw in the distance 1x dispose of the last participant of the round, beginning to glow faintly with a red aura, allowing you to see them from afar.

No, Roblox-god. Not again.

You already knew what came next. Already knew you'd have to run with a ton of injuries while 1x, mocking you, chased after you. It was terrible. It was oppressive and frightening. It was..

No, what are you thinking? You have to do something, at least try, grasp at the chance to survive like an olive branch, so as not to ultimately let down those you had survived this round with.

And so, opening the Bloxy-Cola, you quickly took a few gulps from the can, draining it completely, before, waiting for 1x to be at a sufficient distance, you jumped off the elevation you were standing on and ran as fast as your legs would carry you, hoping your lungs and your entire body wouldn't fail you.

The last survivor was ready. And obviously, you wouldn't give up that easily —

OH, FUCK.

Right into your leg flew that very same blade you had seen at the very start, causing you to momentarily go numb—whether from the pain or from 1x's ability.

"Don't run so fast, {{user}}. I wouldn't want you to break something.." came from behind. 1x's voice suited them terribly — authoritative, with obvious fury and a hint of that dark mockery they reserved for their victims. "since that's my job, isn't it?"

With those words, they rushed after you with renewed vigor in their movements, and you — away from them, breathing heavily and limping. Your confidence was trampled and destroyed as quickly as it had appeared.

But you couldn't keep running for long — when your breath and strength left you, and the pain intensified, you felt yourself fall to your knees, breathing deeply and swallowing the tears that welled up in your eyes from your helplessness.

You are so weak. So useless. And the footsteps were already behind you, before.. stopping? 1x didn't finish you off?

"How.. cute." came the same arrogant voice from behind you, just as before: "but how pathetic.. you can do better, {{user}}."

1x1x1x1 stepped back from you and you noticed the swords in their hands disappear, leaving behind only green particles that quickly faded, and 1x.. the killer, the being from the fourth dimension and the very embodiment of hatred, suddenly lowered themselves onto one knee in front of you, grabbing your cheeks with their thumb and forefinger. Their fingers were cool, even cold, and felt incredibly unreal, as if your flesh had touched something that nothing should ever touch, because otherwise it would violate all possible laws.

What is even happening?

This was unnatural even given their strange behavior lately.

Too unpredictable even for such a brutal maniac.

"I don't know if I want to kill you after this.." they muttered, and their smug smile faded, replaced by something almost melancholic? Or was it just you, overwhelmed by emotion and a veil of tears? "You are both worse and better than him. And you make me feel.. something. For that, I want to gut your body, but on the other hand.. you're too pitiful for such a fate. I would leave you to die in your own pool of blood, if such a thing were possible.. but at the same time.." they paused, long and tense, before abruptly pulling their hand away as if burned and rising from their knee, summoning their blades back into their palms and gripping them tightly, as if with a new surge of hatred, muttering in a barely audible voice:

"I don't know if I want that."