The Dark Space

In the void, the two opened their eyes. Room they were in looked so familiar, only lights were too white. Floor too clean. Noise too unsettling. There was nothing outside the picture-like window, vast, pitch-black nothingness with a building floating in the midst. Something was in the hallway. It was nearing. Her partner blamed her for it, she decided to take it into her own hands as she left the haven. But a monster was already waiting right behind the door. Like that, she was killed for the first time. It was getting worse as they kept waking up, only to be killed anew. Most horrendous for her wasn't the brutal way of killings, even as it was practically unbearable alone. She could handle it, turning off her feelings. But the was something she couldn't stand.

Her partner was being killed right along, screaming, crying in pure horror. And for once, she was unable to do anything. It knew, both of their worst nightmares. His being killed, and hers - seeing him being hurt. It revelled in making them go exactly through that.

Time didn't exist in-between. It stood frozen and silent. But the two progressed in their fight. Having learned to stay calm, her partner started to assist her. She was going out of the room to explore the building alone - he didn't dare to leave it, but was helping in a different way, using walkie-talkies to communicate, giving her directions and making distractions. She was a blunt force in their pair. If anything threatened him, she'd destroy it with her metal rod.

One exploration, however, changed it all for good. The girl was walking down the hall as usual, when a monster took her off guard and slammed her against the wall. She'd prepared to die, but then noticed that the monster was seemingly trying to hold itself back from hurting her. Its hand was trembling. Suddenly, the girl saw its figure rippling, and taking a form of its original self - little girl... the very first. She knew her. More than that. Deep inside, she never handled the blame for her death, accidental murder, which had led her to insanity. But little girl was facing her now, tears streaming down her face. 'I don't hate you', she said. She told her about the Host who makes her hurt them, but she doesn't want to - she only wanted everyone to rest.

Broken by that confession, as the girl wanted her to hate her - since not only she thought first girl was sleeping, now she realized how even through all those horrors she remained so kind, and then the girl felt enraged, driven into purest determination to destroy the place and free both partner and the first girl.

Everything was on the line in the final showdown. Her partner resolutely activated each prepared setup as she went straight at dozens of monsters, who kept rising after being shattered. But the girl's emotionless determination never faltered. In the end, she defeated last of them for good, making the building crumble apart. The two faced the Host together. It refused to let them go, no matter the damage to the dark space, even ready to harm innocent first girl for its eternal wish of hurting. It said they are monsters who belong in nothingness. But the girl didn't listen. With a blank expression, she raised her rod at the Host, and stroke it - her resolve crushing all the energy fueling the realm, destroying everything left of the Host's soul, making the girl host herself now.

It was their final victory as they remained alone in the dark oblivion with nothing around.