[Stage 13#]
[A train is heading toward two tracks. On the right track are your sister Hana and your best friend Hyeon.]

My body froze, my stomach turning upside down. I could almost see a weak mist in the air, burning my skin as if it was poison.

And somehow, something told me "poison" was not that far away from the truth.

[On the left track there is a family with two small children.]

My eyes refused to read the last sentence, glued on the clock still showing 00:20. Maybe if I never read that last sentence, my timer would never start.

[WILL YOU SAVE THE FAMILY?]

A voice spoke inside my head; it was so loud and raw I had to muffle a scream. A sickness washing over me.

[19]
[18]
[17]
[16]

Around me, I could hear whispers.

Pleads.

save me, Eun-Woo…
don’t let us die…I'm so scared...

Sweat dripped from my face. The voices were not that distinct. At times they were like children's, strange and distant. Others, they were too familiar. Too real. I shook my head, clenching my fists.

I couldn't think about "me".

I glanced toward the screen showing all the cubicles, and with one glance I was able to tell—there were more than a hundred.

[14]
[13]

I had to assume I was not the only one hearing those voices. Me, I knew nothing of that was real.

Yet what about the others? Would they succumb to the voices? Would they be true to their feelings, or would they try to do the exact same thing I was doing? Would they be ethical—

Or would they be human?

[10]
[9]
[8]

"C'mon, Eun-Woo. You are better than this," my voice trembled, shaking the air around me.

Even if there was no sound coming from the screen, I could swear the clock was ticking inside my ears, the sound louder with each lost second. The voices more desperate.

will you really let us die?
how can you be so cruel?!
...don't want to die...I don't want to die.

The raw desperation and horror in those voices made my hands tremble. My stomach turning and revolting the more they echoed in my head.

[6]
[5]
[4]

I could not know what the others were thinking or what they had chosen before.

[3]
[2]

So I just had to make a choice.

Plain and old luck. A nervous smile escaped my lips, my voice leaving my mouth right before the clock hit zero.

"I will save Hana and Hyeon."

In the end, I chose to be human. Someone who could not bear to lose their sister and best friend over the lives of four people who meant nothing to me.

The screen froze, a faint purple light blinking at a slow pace. The longer it took, the faster I could hear my heart beat against my chest, my hands sweaty.

[All votes have been counted]
[All new Selves who chose to save the family…]

My heart stopped.

[Lost]

I almost fell on my knees when I saw the results, dark purple numbers staring back at me. Giving me hope, foolishness, or worse.

[Save the Family: 34%]
[Not Save the Family: 53%]
[Blank Votes: 13%]

Blank votes? It probably meant people who didn’t decide before time ran out. One rule flashed in my mind then, as the ground began to shake.

'You must make a choice'

Immediately, I turned to the other screen. It was as if I was watching a movie.

Cubicles all around sank to the ground. All around me, I could hear this sound—as if the earth was swallowing stones and rocks to grind and break them apart.

Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me, but it was almost as if I could hear their screams. Smell their blood. It all took less than ten seconds at most. Just like that, 43% of us died, buried deep into the ground.

And I could've been a part of that number—all I had to do was make the wrong choice.

The screen blinked only once, not even a second later after the last cubicle sank.

[Calculating your total points]
[…]
[…]
[You reached the minimum quota before Stage 11#]
[You have unlocked a conquest! Survive the evaluation to receive your bonus points]
[Become one of the first to reach the Top 5 to receive a reward]

There's a reward system as well…?

This meant we could still take advantage of choosing the ‘ethical choice’.

Yet was everyone aware of that fact?

I could safely assume not everyone had reached the quota for moral points. Yet what about the people who had already reached their quota? How many were they? Would they risk raising their points, or would they focus on staying alive?

In truth, it was foolish to believe any of us had an actual choice if we wanted to survive. This was not about morality—it was a test to show we knew how to use our brains.

Otherwise, why tell me about the rewards now, and not back on Stage 11#? That information hadn't been shared by the goodness of someone's heart. What if those who hadn't reached their quota had received an ultimatum instead?

'Increase your points until Stage X#'

They would have no choice but to choose the 'good options', and this would certainly change the votes. So how many of these people were below the quota? How many of them would feel cornered, enough to change the votes?

And which side should I choose this time?

The clock appeared on the top right of the screen again, the frozen numbers sending a shiver down my spine.

[A train is heading toward three tracks. On the right track are all of your life savings and possessions]
[On the left track there are five strangers]
[In the middle there is one old woman]
[Will you sacrifice your possessions to save the old woman's life?]

They were recycling the questions, almost in a lazy way.

Why? To test our beliefs? To affect the earned points?

[19]
[18]
[17]

you won't let her die, will you?
you won't choose money over blood on your hands

but you never had anything
why would you forsake everything you ever achieved over some stranger?

Sweat ran down my chin, the voices still echoing around me. I did my best to mute them.

If they revealed the quota only now, it had a reason. It was another hint, another factor for us to consider.

[15]
[14]
[13]

The question was: how many of those cubicles had someone with a fighting chance to enter the Top 5, and how many had someone depleted of choices? Deep down, I had a very strong guess.

[11]
[10]
[9]

It did not take that long for me to choose.

My heart did not stop racing as the clock got closer to 00:05 until it finally stopped, the letters disappearing from sight.

The faint purple light began to pulse again, the seconds stretching as if Time itself was hoping I would have a heart attack before the results were in.

[All votes have been counted]

I held my breath.

[All new Selves who chose to sacrifice their possessions…]

My heart stopped.

[Won]

A laugh escaped my lips, my eyes reflecting the dark purple light that emanated from the numbers.

[Sacrifice Possessions: 81%]
[Let the Old Woman Die: 19%]
[Blank Votes: 0%]

I let out a long sigh, a smile spreading across my face. That time, it didn't take long for all 19% cubicles to disappear into the ground.

My reasoning had been correct—almost flawless, one could say. Had I always been this good?

Either I was the luckiest man or had been extremely under-evaluated my entire life. Perhaps both. Or maybe it was due the fact I was not my previous self. I was someone better.

I was Eun-Woo. A new man, a new person. My body was better, my dreams and potential never-ending. Perhaps this was my chance to be the person, the man, I always desired to be. And then, this time, I would accomplish everything I ever wanted and more.

Yet my joy was short-lived.

As if something was reading my thoughts, the new Stage appeared.

With a new rule.

[Stage 15#]
[A train is heading toward a single person]
[The train will not stop unless you make a sacrifice]
[Will you sacrifice Park Eun-Woo to save Hana?]

My entire body froze, not because of the question but the two sentences that shone right below it.

[A new rule has been added]
[If the answer given does not match your truthful inner voice—
[You lose]

It was as if those letters were mocking my achievements, forcing me—no, kicking me out of a self-made pedestal as my overconfidence got the best of me after some victories.

This was not an evaluation of our morals, much less one to test our logic.

It was a sadistic way to play with our lives.