The lights turned on and the music rang into my ears, i felt a bit lightheaded...

I looked up a bit and saw four guards carrying a casket..?

I scratched my head in confusion...

I shot gi-hun a glance, he seemed just as concerned...

I glanced over to my left and... felt my heart stop for a second...

It was the number 069... he had hung himself...

I wanted to puke immediately, but somehow held it in...

Somehow the sight of seeing someone who had committed suicide was even worse than seeing someone shot...

"Player 69, eliminated"

'Holy shit...' i grabbed my forhead.

The price of his death got accumulated in the piggy bank as i glanced at the others...

They seemed to be in a bit of shock, i mean... no one would like to wake up to a sight like that...

"Attention all players, the fifth game will begin momentarily"

"All players, follow staffs instructions and proceed to the game hall"

Once again... we were led out of the dormitory, my mind still felt blank... my toughts were still fixed on the friends i lost the day before...

It was a blank room... the only sight that filled it were some dummys that wore some kind of vest and a few staircases...

"Welcome players to the fifth game"

"Before we begin, please choose one of the mannequins numbered from 1 to 16"

'Well... then lets go with number 1... cant be that bad..right?'

The first people started to walk forward to pick their numbers, i quietly just choose number one.

It was the same number grandpa had... maybe its good luck...

The process took everyone a while... the middle numbers were gone rather quickly, i seemed to gain some dissaproving stares for my choice...

Everyone was eventually able to choose one, gi-hun being the number 16...

"Players, please align in the order of the numbers you choose, and wait to be led into the gamehall"

I stood myself up at front and waited for the others to line up behind me...

Finally we were allowed to proceed, the set reminded me a bit of... the tug-of-war game...

"Players, welcome to the fifth game"

It looked a bit like a circus... there were big lights that alligned like a tent and a huge chandelier in the middle.

Everything was lit up colorfull, it looked like something i would have enjoyed if it wasnt in a killing game.

I shot my gaze at one of the guards but he just avoided it silently.

I shook it off as the lady explained the rules further over the speaker...

"The fifth game is Glass Stepping Stones"

I noticed there were glass plattforms in front of us...

"Each stepping stone is made of one of two types of glass, tempered glass and normal glass"

"Tempered glass can even withstand the weight of two players"

"But normal glass will shatter just with one person"

I gulped looking at the fall height...

"Players, you will decide which one of the two tiles is made of tempered glass, and step on those as you pass through 18 pairs of tiles"

"If you safely cross to the other side, you pass"

I felt my heartbeat rise but somehow my body didnt react accordingly... i felt like i shouldnt be this...calm?

"So the numbers we choose..." i looked at the square giard besides me.

"...Is the order in which you will cross the bridge"

'So what are the odds of me surviving... about 1 in... 262144...'

I was suprised at myself for actually doing the math this quickly...

My heart was pounding out of my chest but not my face nor my body would react to it... they acted natural... it almost terrified me a bit...

I glanced at the others behind me with an unreadable expression.

I slowly stepped forward, towards the bridge, my mind almost a bit fuzzy...

"For this game you will have 16 minutes" it echoed trough the tense room...

"Players must cross the bridge within 16 minutes"

"Then let the game begin, each player, take off your shoes and go up to the bridge in order"

I quickly slid off my shoes, as instructed and stepped forward a bit more, the timer starting to tick down...

I glanced left and right, inside i was probably having a panic attack but i felt like outside nothing would resemble it...

"Okay then... ill go... i dont want to waste everyones time..." i muttered to myself.

I took my first step...

'Left...'

The glass stayed put... i got it...

"Good job!" A player called out.

'Man... this really is high...'

But something just told me... that... that i wouldnt make it... the odds were basically impossible to be beaten...

I sighed slowly, my hands shivering a bit...

"Well then... take care everyone... perhaps well meet again... in another life..." i spoke out, forcing out a sad smile...

I didnt know of they heard it, nor did i really care...

I jumped forward... and just like that the glass shattered beneath me...

It sparked some light pain over my exposed skin as i felt like everything around me stopped...

I felt the air of the fall brush over me...

My heartbeat slowed down a bit... as i felt a tickling sensation in my chest...

'Damn this fall is high...'

It felt so slow... and so scary... falling to death... yeah i was gonna die...

I felt the air brush over me, twirling my hair around...

I felt my life flash before my eyes, my mom... my dad... my work... my friends...

Before i moved to korea.. from my old home, i could sometimes see people with parachutes... i always wondered what it felt like to go parachute jumping... escpecially the moment before you actually use the parachute...

'Hm... i wonder what ali is doing right now? Is he in heaven? Or... or maybe he already started a new life...'

'I hope the world wont be as mean to you again... you dont deserve that...'

I felt like the ground was approaching me more and more...

'Is this it then..?'

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Impact