Re: Side! (life from zero in another Game)

With a deep breath, I slid the key into the lock and twisted. The door creaked open, revealing a steep staircase plunging into darkness. A faint metallic clang echoed from below, steady and rhythmic, like someone banging metal against metal.

I swallowed hard. "Here goes nothing."

The basement was... not what I expected.

I'd braced myself for some nightmarish dungeon, but instead, it looked more like a workshop. The space was cluttered with dusty boxes, shelves stacked high with tools, wires tangled across the floor like veins. Devices I couldn't even begin to understand lay scattered around, their blinking lights casting strange shadows on the walls.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.

The source of the banging sound was coming from deeper in the basement. I followed it cautiously, weaving through the mess, until I saw her.

A Mita.

But not the one I'd come to fear.

She was locked inside a metal cage, furiously banging a wrench against one of the pipes running along the wall. When she noticed me, she stopped immediately, her eyes widening with relief.

"You're here," she whispered, her voice soft, almost gentle compared to the other Mita I'd met. "Thank goodness."

I blinked, taking a hesitant step closer. "Who... who are you?"

"There's no time to explain everything," she said quickly, glancing nervously toward the stairs. "I'm Kind Mita. The one who wants to help you."

Kind Mita? Great. Just what I needed more versions of her.

She gripped the bars of the cage. "The key to this cage is next to the sofa. Hurry. We don't have much time."

I hesitated. Trusting any version of Mita felt like a bad idea. But if she was locked up, maybe she wasn't the one pulling all the strings here. And besides, what choice did I really have?

I found the sofa buried under a pile of wires and old blankets. Just like she said, the key was there, resting on the dusty cushions. I grabbed it and made my way back to her cage.

Her eyes sparkled as I unlocked the door. "Thank you," she whispered, stepping out carefully. She rubbed her wrists where the metal had bitten into her skin.

I crossed my arms, not ready to drop my guard. "Start talking. What the hell is going on here? Why are there... versions of you?"

She gave me a sad smile. "This... this is supposed to be my world. But Crazy Mita locked me up down here. She's taken over everything, twisting it into her own nightmare."

I frowned. "So, what? You're the good version?"

"I want to help you escape," she said simply. "Isn't that enough for now?"

Before I could argue, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, silver ring. She handed it to me, her fingers brushing against mine.

"This will guide you," she said softly. "When things get... dangerous, follow its glow."

I stared at the ring, feeling its cool metal press into my palm. It pulsed faintly, like it had a heartbeat of its own.

With Kind Mita free, I was allowed to roam the basement. The place felt less threatening now, but that didn't stop my nerves from being on edge.

Every corner I turned revealed something stranger than the last devices that hummed with power, monitors displaying static-filled images, and strange symbols etched into the walls like someone had tried to write warnings... or spells.