Blood pooled beneath him. Hezekiah tried to speak but only coughed blood instead.

  I don't understand... How did she survive? How could this have happened... What rule have I broken?

  "Silence is deceitful, only leaving ambiguity in its path. But you, Hezekiah, my dear Master. Disregard such things."

  Her fist withdrew from his stomach, leaving a gaping hole behind. Blood dripped from her skin-tight glove as its scent corrupted the air.

  Hezekiah fell forward and collapsed to the floor. The coldness was indescribable. His expression darkened as he watched the nurse with cautious eyes. Her twisted smile was borderline nefarious, harboring unspeakable intentions.

  Her form flickered, now standing directly above him.

  "And now you lay between the crossroads of life and death, while your essence wanes each passing moment."

  Hezekiah extended his hand with straining effort, forcefully keeping his breath steady. With a flick of a wrist, the pen appeared.

  "Really, this again?" she sighed. "Even if by some miracle I perish by your pitiful flames, what then? Death will claim you too."

  Hezekiah paused. Her words lingered in his mind. He gritted his teeth as curses bathed at the tip of his tongue.

  This b*tch! This damn creation. Just you wait, I'll—

  "You'll what? Cry about it?" She shook her head. "It's funny, really. You're the Master, but you lie at my feet."

  He nearly shouted a retort, but forced himself to to resist the sting.

  "Still refusing to speak, even at death's doorstep? Do you not understand that your life is no longer in your hands?" She crouched before him. "How about a proposition: say something entertaining, and I'll make this all go away."

  Hezekiah narrowed his sights on her, weighing if the risk is worth considering.

  Why am I being punished? Does she really have the authority to do this whatever she wills? Even if you don't speak to her? Is there any point in following the rule?

  His thoughts continued to fog as the coldness sank into the skin. He replayed the moments when she first appeared, to her apparent death, wrestling to remember where he may have made a mistake.

  Did I speak to her at one point without even realizing it? Was me commenting about her death the trigger? But I wasn't particularly speaking to anybody.

  The nurse rested her hand on his cheek, gently caressing it.

  "Don't bother, my dear. You won't find anything. Your lack of understanding of the rules is what brought you here. You comprehend only a figment, and nothing more than a human who got lucky with this power."

  Hezekiah bit his lip, his thoughts growing more astray.

  The nurse raised her eyebrows when his pen disappeared. Seeing his gaze empty, a tingling sensation sparked within her.

  The thought of breaking her Master's mind was thrilling. It was an exhilaration she never thought was possible, that even she herself felt weak.

  Seeing him completely at her mercy felt good— too good. It was an oddly satisfying defiance. A toy she could freely play with, a limited edition only exclusive to herself.

  No, it's not time yet. I need to thoroughly dismantle him. To enslave him entirely. A little push, just one more is all I need.

  She peered into his thoughts once more, seeking to further dissolve his state of mind—to finally posses the soughted prize.

  "Pfft."

  Her expression shifted. A wafty saliva scent tickled her nose.

  Hezekiah licked the remnant of blood and spit off his lips. A half-smile curving at its cut corner.

  Do your worst, you hag.

  The nurse raised her chin, still trying to process what he just did.

  Did he just spit on me? On Me?

  She began chuckling when she finally understood. "How daring! You've may have waken yourself a bit with that bite, but that wasn't enough for you, and now you're full of yourself." The more she read his thoughts, the stronger her excitement ravished her. "So that's your plan. Hehe... So unnecessary it's vain— but that's okay Master, I'll teach you your mistakes.

  A syringe manifested millimeters above his eye, it contained a thick green liquid, hosting worm-like organisms that swam in the midst.

  "They're very fertile, all they need is a place to hatch their young and feed, you don't mind do you?"

  His pupils dialated, he tried to close his eyes, but they forcefully remained open. He curled his fingers against the floor.

  "Do you now understand"

  She wanted to test him—take things to the extreme—To erase that cocky look off his face. The pain and agony she could inflict on him thumped her heart,

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  But something was left unfulfilled, restricting her her full might, and her time was dwindling.

  "You'd rather remain silent and gamble your life? What about your sister, don't you have to save her? But yet here you are, fighting to protect your bruised ego"

  Hezekiah didn't respond. His fingers trembled, but a smile persisted. Like there wasn't a care in the world.

  A heat of irritation arose. She needed to do more to him, to get revenge for his disrespect, but she felt a pull, a sign that her moment has expired.

  Her form began to fade to clearness, gradually dissipating into the air. But before she could disappear, an erraticism crossed her expression. But something else lurked beneath.

  "You got lucky. If we cross paths again, I'll make sure to savor every moment. I better not find your corpse.

  She vanished. In that same instance, the gaping hole was no more, like it never existed in the first place.

  Hezekiah let out a deep breath, feeling the shivers leave his body. But he didn't move, letting his sensations return to him.

  I really survived...

  He slowly lifted himself up off the ground without any issues, only further confirming what he thought moments prior.

  None of it was real. Or at the very least, what was happening to me wasn’t.

  Given how relentless she was, it was difficult to process the situation, or the nature of her abilities. But fortunately, he was able to discover enough through her actions. But even then, he still couldn't fully grasp her.

  There were various things like the disappearing door, her mind manipulation. But the biggest hints were her words and the live feed discrepancies.

  Back when she was mocking him, he manifested the live feed, and mentally traced back each action she did. He just couldn't fathom that she could do whatever she wanted if no rule was violated. And it made no sense to try to get him to respond if it was truly that irrelevant.

  Then he saw it. The live feed showed no hole in his stomach, no blood, and of course no nurse. It only showed him lying on the ground, struggling against nothing. And the final confirmation was him spitting on her.

  Although he saw his saliva stick to her cheek, on the live feed it didn't hit anything. It simply smacked against the floor.

  But even that doesn't technically make sense. Would she deliberately manipulate my perception to see my spit make contact with her? Why not make it that I missed?

  He pondered a bit, only to conclude he still doesn't understand her.

  To manipulate one's perception... On top of possessing other mind-affiliated abilities... That would explain why I always kept seeing something different than the live feed, or why my thoughts would wander by itself.

  "Ridiculous" he whispered. "If that's what she can do without any rule being broken, what would've happened if I spoke to her?"

  He shook the thoughts away, not wishing to think on such an outcome.

  Either way, he took the risk. Just like how one person violating a rule could affect everyone else, the nurse could've been the same. Someone could've broken the rule with her initially, which in turn could've made it irrelevant if her rule was followed or not afterwards. Similarly to the false authority figures. Though he still needs to confirm all this.

  if there's anything certain, she's definitely a liar, and pretends to know more than she lets on. There's a reason why she couldn't manipulate my perception on what I saw on the live feed. Otherwise It would've been game over if she could.

  No longer wishing to stay put, he began making his way towards Reed and Sally.

  Sure, there was a chance provoking her could've got me killed, maybe tortured even, but that b*tch deserved it. The overall evidence showed whatever I was experiencing wasn't real. I had to call her bluff about the rule being meaningless. Despite all the uncertainty that still surrounded her.

  He checked the live feed to observe their condition, hoping they hadn't encountered anything abnormal.

  But instead of displaying the two, an image of white torn fabric and sprinkles of blood took their place.

  He kept looking at the screen, scanning each inch of it. But nothing changed.

  "Oh... I see... Why did I expect anything different?"

  He didn't want to imagine their final moments. Dealing with his ordeals was already enough. But the distant ache still loomed over him.

  "I'll have to figure the extent of these rules on my own. I did all I could trying to save them."

  He finally reached the entrance. The strands of brown hair and yellow slime speckled the ground. The unsettling smell brought scenes he didn't wish to imagine.

  He withdrew the manifested copy of the rules from the gown's pockets.

  It was already updated. But that was the problem.

  6. If an Abna wields a rose-colored sword that is associated with blood, they must break it in pieces before leaving the hospital, or else they'll become an ordinary human.

  There's no reason for anyone to know this. Especially if I'm leaving Ayona alive. Some rules are better off not being known.

  He approached the front desk and found typical notebook paper and standardized pens.

  But before writing on it, he decided to add one more rule to the black notebook paper and looked over the list.

  1. If you see a nurse wearing yellow attire, do not speak to her or answer any of her questions.

  2. If the hospital loses power, remain calm and do not provide a light source, and ignore all calls for help.

  3. If you look into a mirror of any kind, and don't see your reflection, break the mirror and take the shards outside the building.

  4. Never dial for help of any kind.

  5. Only provide medication to those who've been at the hospital for a consecutive 30 days.

  6. If an Abna wields a rose-colored sword that is associated with blood, they must break it in pieces before leaving the hospital, or else they'll become an ordinary human.

  7. Any patient that has a daughter will lose all memories of familial ties with their spouse and daughter, as long as they stay within the hospital.

  8. Any patient that has a parent die in front of them will lose all memories of that parent.

  9. If any patient violates these rules, all surveillance cameras will permanently cease functionality, and all footage will be indefinitely erased.

  He wrote a copy of these rules on an ordinary blank sheet of paper, excluding rule number six and nine.

  No one has to know about me. I should probably write one more just to be sure.

  "Heh-choo!"

  Hezekiah swiveled his head to a locker, tensing his grip.

  A sneeze? There was someone else here!?

  Hezekiah remained still, contemplating his next step.

  Even if I were to ignore them and clear out the rubble, the flames will likely melt the locker, killing whoever is inside.

  Letting out a sigh, he approached the locker. The slits were pure darkness, but a very faint noise could be heard, a comparable to stifled sniffs.

  He utilized the live feed to peek inside the locker.

  His breath froze.

  She was shivering and crying, her curly brown hair was stained with blood while cuts carved her arms and legs.

  "Sally?"