#joulyny

### Episode 3: "The Broken Reality and the Cry in the Dark"

### [SCENE 1. THE UNDERGROUND BUNKER]

As soon as Solius opened his eyes and stood up, his voice glitched with pure urgency. There was no time to celebrate.

SOLIUS: We need to go back to my cabin immediately! There is a secret basement hidden underneath, and we must hide there right now. Listen to me carefully... whenever someone uses the Healing Stone, Hesbersk tracks the location where the code was activated. He always destroys everything in that sector... because if the Healing Stone is there, it means there is life!

We ran back to the cabin as fast as our legs could carry us. Once inside, Solius reached down toward the floorboards, gripping a hidden latch. Suddenly, a secret hatch swung open—a basement door that Joulyny and I had never noticed before because it was perfectly camouflaged to look exactly like the rest of the floor.

We began to descend deep underground, climbing down an ancient, rotting wooden ladder that could barely hold our weight. The deeper we went, the colder the air became. It felt incredibly chilling, damp, and humid.

Solius led us down to what felt like the minus-third floor. At the end of a dark corridor, he unlocked a heavy door, revealing a massive hidden room. To our shock, it was filled with stockpiles of food, water, and strange glowing plants. But most importantly, it looked like a real, cozy home. A warm light was burning inside, illuminating a sofa, a TV, rows of books, a soft carpet, beds, and thick blankets.

Solius turned to face us, his pixelated eyebrows strict and serious.

SOLIUS: Stay here. Do not go outside under any circumstances.

### [SCENE 2. THE END OF THE PARADISE]

After an hour of sitting there in absolute silence, the entire bunker suddenly shuddered violently. The ground shook so hard that pieces of plaster began to crumble and fall from our ceiling. Joulyny and I instantly tensed up, listening...

Through the thick walls, we could hear the enraged, booming voice of Hesbersk, accompanied by the deafening sound of hundreds of thousands of running feet—the Smileys were flooding the sector. We heard explosions, the horrific crunch of breaking trees, and the roar of fire. Suddenly... Hesbersk literally ripped our circus world out by its roots. The clock face on his body turned a violent, neon red, spinning frantically as he scanned the area, hunting for us.

Terrified, we bolted toward the emergency black exit and scrambled back up to the surface, immediately diving behind the thickest trees to hide. The sight was apocalyptic. Hesbersk had completely shattered the reality barrier, breaching the wall into this sector. He flew through the bloody sky, completely consumed by pure, unbridled rage, obliterating everything in his path. Down below, thousands of his Smiley minions were tearing the forest apart.

Right before my eyes, a swarm of Smileys slammed into the white-leaved tree. The massive, sharp-clawed Iron Triangle creature burst out to fight them, but even that monster couldn't stop the endless horde. The Smileys swarmed it, violently ripping it to pieces while the Triangle thrashed and screeched in absolute, agonizing terror...

We sat there, completely petrified, paralyzed by fear. We didn't dare to move even a single millimeter, terrified that they would hear us. Sweat was pouring down my face, freezing on my skin.

And then... a sharp, sickening crunch.

Solius, who was hiding behind a neighboring tree, accidentally stepped on a dry branch.

The sound ripped through the chaos. Hesbersk's head snapped instantly toward the noise. Clenching his massive fist, he activated his power, and Solius was violently dragged through the air toward him, flying like iron attracted to a powerful magnet. A sadistic, twisted smile spread across Hesbersk's face as he caught Solius by the throat.

HESBERSK (laughing darkly): Solius... Old friend. It's been a long time... Did you really think you won that time? Running away like a pathetic coward? The same old story... Ha-ha... This time, you will pay for what you did to me. And on top of that, you dared to create a world of your own?! AND WITHOUT ME?!

Hesbersk squeezed his fist tighter, and with that movement, Solius's mechanical neck began to crush and bend under the pressure. Then, with a brutal swing, Hesbersk threw him hard against a tree. In that exact fraction of a second, a heavy iron spear flew through the air, piercing with a disgusting crash straight into Solius's television head.

Solius's body twitched violently in absolute agony for a few seconds, his screen flickering with dying static, before he went completely limp, hanging there like a broken ragdoll.

With a sickening grin, Hesbersk carelessly tossed his lifeless, broken body straight into the waiting horde of Smileys. The creatures instantly swarmed him, tearing and ripping Solius's code into bloody shreds. Glitchy fluids and blood sprayed across the grey grass, while Hesbersk watched the slaughter, smiling with pure, sadistic pleasure...

### [SCENE 3. THE ESCAPE INTO THE SHADOWS]

After watching the horrific slaughter for a few more moments, Hesbersk slowly turned his head, scanned the ruins one last time, and flew away into the bleeding sky. We remained hidden behind the thick trees, completely frozen. We didn't move a muscle. We were barely breathing, our eyes wide with shock as we stared at the bloody patch of grass where Solius used to be...

Hours passed. Finally, the deep, heavy night fell over the ruined sector, and the terrifying sounds of the horde began to quiet down. Moving like ghosts, we crawled out of our hiding place. Our minds were racing, desperately trying to figure out where we could hide in this destroyed world. And then we remembered—the underground bunker! The entrance was buried under the debris of the cabin, but Hesbersk hadn't destroyed the deeper levels. It was our only chance.

We rushed toward the secret hatch, but suddenly, out of the dark fog, a lone Smiley spotted us and gave chase, screeching with digital madness. With no time to lose, we reached the hatch and violently jumped straight down into the black void of the basement, not even trying to use the rotting wooden ladder.

We hit the cold ground hard. But as we landed, a horrifying sound of cracking bone echoed through the dark. Joulyny screamed out in absolute agony, clutching her arm.

JOULYNY (crying out, writhing in pain): AAARGH! Sh*t! D*mn it... It hurts!

Pure adrenaline took over my body. I scooped her up into my arms in a split second, ignoring the pain in my own muscles, and sprinted deep into the bunker. I burst into the nearest concrete room and slammed the heavy iron door shut.

I stood then in complete panic, my back pressed hard against the freezing metal, my muscles straining as I held the door with all my strength. On the other side, the Smiley was violently throwing its body against the steel, screaming and furiously pounding its fists right against the surface. Down on the floor, Joulyny was curling into a ball, clutching her broken arm, her eyes filled with tears of agony as she stared at the shaking door.

After what felt like an eternity, the frantic scratching and screaming outside finally drifted away into the silent corridors. I stood frozen for a few more seconds, my heart hammering against my chest. Then, breathing heavily, I dragged a massive, heavy iron barrel across the floor, tightly barricading the door shut.

Completely exhausted, my body trembling from the terrifying ordeal, I collapsed onto the small bed right next to Joulyny. I pulled her close to my chest, shielding her from the cold, damp air of the bunker. Holding each other tightly in the pitch-black silence, we finally drifted into a heavy, restless sleep...