Sometime Later

  On the Second Floor

  Still in the Corridor

  After leaving his classroom with the teacher's permission, Harry walked toward the drinking fountain on the first floor.

  As he moved down the corridor he tried not to think about matters involving the Oculi, but his subconscious pushed the subject into his mind anyway — it was one of the most important and most pressing things at that moment.

  [Serious, Echoing Voices of Past Reporters] — ...In total now there are more than fifteen people who have been killed under strange circumstances in our town; the vast majority are adolescents and preadolescents... [A slight, deep sigh] —

  As Harry walked, the voices of students inside the classrooms around him gradually faded from his focus. The corridor, which had been alive with conversations — teachers, students — gave way to a quieter atmosphere that felt heavy in the air.

  [Serious, Echoing Voices of Past Reporters] — Police and investigators are searching for the culprit, but so far authorities have provided no additional information to the press... [A slight, deep sigh] —

  At first Harry did not notice, but as he calmly made his way toward the stairs his skin began to prickle; something further ahead sent an instinctive warning that something was wrong in that place.

  Just as Harry reached the stairs down to the first floor, a strange sound — like the snap of a finger reverberating through the whole area — occurred.

  [(Harry — confused, incredulous) This feeling is the same one I had before I found that Oculi three years ago, wait... (a failed, breathless sigh)]

  The sound made him lose his balance slightly, and he instinctively gripped the metal handrail at the side of the stairs.

  Lost in thought, he noticed the colors around him had grown duller through his eyes.

  He was about to continue walking when a scream from one of the students rang out, raw with fear, echoing down the long corridor to the left — the corridor Harry would enter after descending the stairs.

  [Desperate, Choking Scream]

  At the sound of the new scream from the corridor ahead, Harry moved forward immediately. He did not hesitate; the tone of the scream was far too intense to be a joke.

  He descended the last step and finally reached the first floor. When he stepped into the corridor after leaving the stairs, he noticed the world looked drained of color to his left.

  His eyes widened in terror as he saw several drops of red splattered along the wall of the corridor ahead.

  [Harry — whispering, breathless, slightly trembling and incredulous] This can't be — anything but this... [a shaky breath] —

  At the end of the corridor, several meters away and before it turned into another hallway on the same floor, Harry saw a creature with a humanlike body but three heads growing from its neck.

  [Humanoid Creature] — [Chattering teeth in a random, disordered rhythm]

  The three humanoid heads shared the same neck; the flesh was twisted and there were open wounds revealing something black and faintly smoky inside instead of red.

  [Humanoid Creature] — [Chattering teeth in a random, disordered rhythm]

  The hands of the creature displayed joints impossible for a human being — fingers twisted like those of a spider — and that was not the only oddity making the sight utterly bizarre to Harry. He stood completely paralyzed by fear.

  [Student — desperate, choking voice] ...Please, give me more time. I swear I'll find "her"! [dry cough, gasping for air] —

  [Humanoid Creature] — [Teeth clatter harder, showing anger]

  In the midst of this disturbing scene, the humanoid creature gripped the neck of a student from Harry's year but from a different classroom.

  The entity forced the boy against the wall with his back while the student begged for help, desperately trying to buy himself another chance.

  [Student — desperate, choking voice] I'm absolutely sure! Give me more time to investigate! [dry cough, gasping] —

  [Humanoid Creature] — [Teeth clatter much harder now, in a furious pattern]

  [Student — desperate, choking voice] From my investigations, I can say it's among the students! [dry cough] —

  Before Harry could even consider helping the student who struggled not to be suffocated by the creature, he noticed that his vision—initially blurred by the shock—began to clear as his body slowly calmed down in the face of the terrifying scene before him.

  [Harry – Trembling, Fractured Whisper, Frightened] Shit... [Breathing Slightly Unsteady & Faltering] -

  At the exact moment his sight became perfectly sharp, Harry realized that the three-headed humanoid creature had no eyes in any of its faces.

  Instead, there were wounds—brutal, torn-open cavities where the eyes had been ripped out by force, with grotesquely stitched eyelids sealing the empty sockets.

  [Harry – Trembling, Fractured Whisper, Frightened] This has to be a joke... [Breathing Slightly Unsteady & Faltering] -

  The boy—lifted even higher against his will—screamed for help, still unaware of Harry's presence in the hallway.

  His attention was wholly consumed by the creature, leaving him blind to the left side near the staircase, where Harry, visibly terrified and breathless, took trembling steps as his strength faded.

  [Student – Desperate, Suffocated Voice] Please... [Unsteady & Faltering Breath] -

  It was unmistakable: the humanoid creature moved the two heads attached beside its central neck-face, tilting them outward as they advanced.

  Thick black slime dripped and splattered onto the floor, stretching the flesh of the neck in bizarre, unnatural ways.

  [Student – Desperate, Suffocated Voice] I swear on my life—and my complete loyalty to the Inanis faction! [Dry Cough] I'll find this "person"... [Unsteady & Faltering Breath] -

  As it did so, the head in the middle remained perfectly still, while the left and right heads—the ones flanking what should have been the main head—moved in the student's direction.

  [Creature – Left & Right Heads] - [Soft, Playfully Cheerful Laughter]

  Within seconds, the two grotesque heads positioned themselves on either side of the student's neck, each wearing a smile that was unmistakably sadistic—yet tinged with a twisted, almost playful sarcasm.

  [Creature – Central Head] - [Light, Erratic Teeth Clicking]

  Immediately, the head on the left did not click its teeth like the one in the center, as if deliberately responding in some strange, eerie form of communication.

  Harry began to take steps backwards, his eyes still locked on the scene unfolding several meters ahead.

  [Creature – Left Head, Serene & Playful Voice]

  You had almost five years to study these children in this school full of delicious meat, and... through all this time in this filthy, despicable place.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  [Gentle, Relaxed Sigh] - [Creature – Central Head]

  [Light, Erratic Teeth Clicking]

  Hearing those words, Harry instantly froze mid-step, recoiling with trembling disbelief. Only then did he realize that the boy—the same student he had spoken with normally for almost two years—was nothing less than an Oculi infiltrated in the school, secretly searching for something hidden and undetectable.

  [Creature – Right Head, Serious & Hollow Voice] You keep begging and begging for more chances, offering nothing but proof of her existence—and no identity for this "Eva." [Deep, Heavy Sigh] -

  The left and right heads opened their mouths simultaneously, their lips curling into a pleasure-filled grin.

  As time around him seemed to slow, Harry—staring forward—witnessed the moment that would etch itself into his memory forever.

  [Student – Desperate, Euphoric Screaming in Complete Panic]

  [Creature – Left & Right Heads] - [Playful, Pleasure-Filled Laughter]

  The scene continued with the advance of the two heads, biting into the student's left and right sides at the same time.

  He immediately screamed, his neck being torn apart by the simultaneous backward pull of both heads.

  They returned to their places beside the central head, chewing the student's blackened flesh as he screamed in agony and excruciating pain.

  [Pleasurable & Echoing Bite Sound]

  The student, facing that desperate moment, couldn't even defend himself with his arms or legs against the creature's assault.

  It became clear that his limbs had been broken moments before Harry arrived in that corridor, coming down the stairs.

  [Pleasurable & Echoing Swallowing Sound]

  As the entire scene unfolded, the student was still held by the neck by the humanoid creature. However, due to the severe wounds inflicted by the teeth of the two heads.

  The hand that held him against the wall now supported only the remaining portion of his neck, still attached to his head, intact.

  Amid the chaotic scene, the section of the neck that had been ferociously bitten simply detached, falling lifelessly to the floor after losing its connection to the head.

  A subtle, dense black smoke emanated from the now–severed and brutally mangled neck, without a single drop of liquid touching the ground—only the smoke.

  [Joyful Teeth Clattering & Deep, Pleasured Breathing]

  The head the creature still held was calmly crushed between its two hands, the fingers wrapping around it completely, making it burst into pieces.

  Some fragments stuck to the wall, yet no liquid was expelled—only flesh adhered to the surface.

  [(Harry – Whispering, Shocked and Terrified) No... (Shaky, Ragged Breathing)]

  Harry brought both hands to his mouth, horrified, feeling his stomach twist like a raging ocean.

  The reaction was immediate, forcing him to fall to his knees and vomit on the floor as the overwhelming fear triggered by the horrendous sight unfolded before his eyes.

  [(Harry – Whispering, Shocked and Terrified) My God... (Shaky, Ragged Breathing)]

  The sound echoed through the corridor, reaching the humanoid creature that stood near the end ahead of Harry.

  Even from several meters away, the creature began moving toward him, its three heads simultaneously forming a joyful, entertained smile across their lips.

  [Deep, Cheerful, Echoing Sigh]

  From the sensations radiating off Harry's body—completely soaked in fervent fear—the humanoid creatures detected the latent aroma, finding it so intense and pleasurable that one of them began to lick its teeth while still holding pieces of the student's neck between its sharp jaws, one piece on each side.

  Harry, unable to face the situation, was vomiting as the silence was filled only by the heavy footsteps of the creature approaching.

  It did not advance toward him; instead, it simply slowed its stride each time Harry retched again, still kneeling, staring at the floor, supported by his hands.

  Before Harry could gather enough courage to lift his gaze, he was met by the creature's two heads, whose bodies stood almost 15 meters away, motionless.

  The heads were stretched toward him, fixing their penetrating eyes on him. Instinctively, Harry began to cry, his breathing quickening.

  The two heads, smiling in a cheerful and playful manner, spoke to him in a tone that was almost childish, yet hollow.

  [Creature's Left Head – Serene & Playful Voice] I don't know you, young boy, but... [Soft, Serene Sigh] -

  [Harry – Trembling Whisper & Unresponsive] Please... [Broken, Shaky Breathing] —

  [Creature's Right Head – Serious & Empty Voice] By being here, in this moment, able to move normally, I deduce that you are different from the other people around us. Interesting... [Serene Sigh] —

  The perspective shifts through every room of the school, revealing that the world and its people seem frozen in time, as if the temporal flow had shifted from seconds to microseconds in that place for some unknown reason.

  [Creature's Central Head] – [Playful Teeth Chattering]

  The world is so slow that Harry, and everything happening around him, exist outside any range of hearing, reaction, or even help, since everyone else continues within normal temporal flow.

  Meanwhile, Harry and the humanoid creature are immersed in a different temporal stream, where microseconds replace seconds, allowing them to walk and speak normally.

  [Creature's Right Head – Serious & Empty Voice] ...You, with that uniquely distinct scent coming from your body, had direct contact with an Oculi inside your mind some time ago, didn't you, young boy? [Deep Sigh] —

  [Creature's Central Head] – [Cheerful Teeth Chattering]

  Right before Harry's eyes, the two heads sit only a few centimeters from his face. The creature runs its tongue across its own teeth as the overwhelming smell of fear emanates from Harry's body at that moment.

  [Harry – Trembling & Frightened Whisper] Don't hurt me... [Broken, Rushed Breathing] —

  [Creature's Central Head] – [Excited Teeth Chattering]

  As Harry remembered the terrifying Oculi emerging from the shadows, the conversation he had in the hospital room nearly four years earlier resurfaced.

  The humanoid Oculi — strangely resembling a man — smiled again within the memory flashes that seemed to overlay reality in the school hallway.

  [Creature's Left Head – Serene & Playful Voice] I deduce that you are important to someone, still alive even after encountering an Oculi not too long ago. [Pleasured Sigh] —

  [Creature's Right Head – Serious & Empty Voice] However, I must admit that your fear has such a pleasant aroma that I find myself forced to restrain the desire to dismember you, boy... [Deep Sigh] —

  Returning to reality, his eyes seemed even wider than before, revealing an overwhelming emptiness within them.

  It looked as though Harry had experienced a mental collapse upon the flash of memories from that Oculi who had touched his body and claimed he would see him again.

  The scene became even more surreal with the presence of the two-headed humanoid creature, both faces wearing grotesque smiles on stretched lips, its stitched necks extending all the way toward where Harry stood, nearly fifteen meters away.

  [Creature's Right Head – Serious and Hollow Voice] I wonder if the Oculi who previously made contact with you and marked your essence... would he mind if I took a small piece of this wonderfully fragrant human appetizer? [Deep, Sadistic Breathing] —

  [Harry – Trembling, Broken, Gasping Breath]

  [Creature's Left Head – Serene and Playful Voice] It seems this appetizer is being aged like a gentle red wine, so that... [Pleasured Sigh] —

  Facing a slowed-down world with his once wide eyes, Harry felt them slowly shut. His body instinctively accepted that there was no way to run or react to the bizarre creature before him.

  The creature immediately withdrew both of its heads and the grotesquely stretched necks back toward its main body, which now stood nearly ten meters away.

  [Creature's Left & Right Heads – Playful, Pleasured Voice] ...The taste of your flesh will be the most exquisite when the time for your harvest arrives, by the hands of that lucky Oculi who spared your life—for reasons I cannot fathom, young human. [Deeply Provocative Breathing] —

  At the Same Time

  On the Secondary Staircase

  On the First Floor

  One can clearly see a person finally reaching the floor where Harry and the humanoid creature are at that exact moment, but this person seems to be on the second staircase, not the same one Harry had descended minutes earlier.

  [Echoing Voice of the Person From the Past] ...Humans and Oculi will never be alike!... You need to understand that, little brother! [Heavy & Angry Breathing] –

  [Echoing Voice of the Younger Brother From the Past] After meeting my best friend, I'll never look at all "of them" the same way you do, brother. [Deep & Slow Sigh] –

  As she begins walking through the hallway, she snaps the fingers of her left hand, causing one of the metal bars of the staircase to react and vibrate for some unknown reason.

  [Voice of the Person From the Past] You're blind! All because of that human — she's going to destroy you, can't you see that? [Heavy & Angry Breathing] –

  [Echoing Voice of the Younger Brother From the Past] If it weren't for my best friend, I would already be completely destroyed inside, just like you, brother. [Deep & Slow Sigh] –

  The person continues walking calmly past one of the classrooms that was supposed to be in the middle of a lesson, but sees nothing less than everyone inside — from the students to the teacher — frozen in a state of temporal deceleration.

  [Voice of the Person From the Past] ...You should be by my side. You should follow me, your older brother! They took our mother, and it seems you don't even care about seeking justice for her... [Deep & Painful Breathing] –

  [Echoing Voice of the Younger Brother From the Past] The hatred you feel for all of them now isn't something you were born with, brother. I'm angry at them too, but... [Deep & Slow Sigh] –

  [Voice of the Person From the Past] "But"...? [Heavy & Angry Breathing] –

  [Echoing Voice of the Younger Brother From the Past] But I would never choose to ally myself with the Inanis faction just to seek revenge for our mother at any cost, or to track down the one who killed her that day, brother... [Deep & Slow Sigh] –

  This makes it seem as if the people inside the classroom are frozen in time, but one can notice a paper ball thrown by one of the students slowly rising through the air.

  It moves within a very slow temporal flow toward another student inside the room — the intended target who would soon be struck by it.

  [(Person – Present Whisper, Serene & Hollow) Once I finish off this "idiot" creature who wishes to entertain itself in this school with one of the inexperienced agents of the Inanis faction, I... I will prove it to you from now on, little brother. (Deep Breath)]

  Still outside the classroom, the person who emerged from the staircase keeps walking, a smile forming on her lips.

  Her garments sway gently, indicating the presence of an invisible force emanating from her body, creating a subtle ripple effect around her.

  [Person – Serene & Hollow Whisper] That we are different from these humans in every possible way, and that they are nothing but a filthy, rotten race. [Deep, Vengeful Sigh] –

  [Person – Serene & Hollow Whisper] Destined to corrupt themselves, driven by nothing but greed and the craving for absolute power over their own kind. [Deep, Vengeful Sigh] –