The sun had already begun setting, as it cast a crimson glow through the translucent glass onto Code's perplexed face.
He sat on the bed of a random room he had picked earlier, and stared into the horizon. No words came from his mouth...but his mind was an hell of anger.
'Whoever is the MF that cast this illusion, I'll make sure to skin him alive first, then, feed his flesh to street dogs.'
"Nah, before that, I'll make him beg for mercy while snapping his bones," he scowled, brows furrowing in a mix of rage and frustration.
"Then roast his skin..."
Strangely, Code began salivating at the thought of roast skin.
Then, he snapped out of it.
"Tch." He hissed, wiping his hand over his face.
"I'd rather die than be stuck in this boring place forever," Code clenched his fist, as he rolled onto the bed.
"All these snapping and running around has gotten me all tired," he muttered, his eyes already forming weary bags.
His gaze fixed on the setting sun, as he was doing all he could to keep his eyes open.
A soft breeze blew against his skin, and at the last moment before his eyes closed shut, he realized...
Something he barely ever paid attention to -
The sky was beautiful.
But just as soon as Code fell asleep, a figure materialized beside him.
White hair. Deep blue eyes. Clad in a white pyjamas laced with moonlight designs...
It was him.
The same person Code saw, maybe minutes or hours ago. The one who was sleeping in one of the rooms.
The figure looked like he was in his early teenage years, between thirteen and fifteen.
His face was blank and devoid of emotions, and he looked at Code with what one would call "utter disdain".
He took a slow and steady step forward, then stretched his hand to Code.
"Good grief," he spoke, almost like a sigh.
"Don't wander into my space again, I don't like visitors," he muttered, positioning his hand over Code's head.
A eerie ominous silence passed for a few seconds, as the boy stared intently at Code.
His eyes widened slightly for a second.
"Strange," He said, finally blinking.
Then, he took a deep breath. His eyes turned darker, and glowed ominously. A faint blue light shone from his hand.
His lips parted, and he spoke.
A gentle whisper that carried power.
"Singularity Null."
***
Everywhere instantly fell dark again, void and silence filling the space.
Then...
A gentle sound of a drop of liquid falling on the surface of the sea, and...
"Ugh!" Code's eyes snapped open, as he instantly sat up.
His breathing was ragged, eyes moving about frantically.
He was in the same room. Same bed, same window, and same door.
But this time, something was different.
The sun wasn't setting...it was rising.
Code's eyes widened slightly.
"Hnngh." A sharp pain coursed through his skull, and he held it, gritting his teeth.
"What the hell?" He wheezed in pain.
Then, the pain slowly disappeared.
He raised his head to the window. It was the same outside view just like before.
"Arrgh, no getting out of here, is there?" Code sighed in defeat, as he got down the bed.
He walked to the door.
Strangely, a part of him seemed to believe something had somehow changed, even though it couldn't pinpoint what.
"I might as well get used to this place, and maybe build me an haven," Code said, trying to cheer himself up.
'At least there's day and night here,' he thought to himself, stretching his hand to the doorknob.
It felt cold.
'Strange.'
Code opened the door, and as he took a step out, his eyes widened simultaneously.
"Uh?" Code muttered, pausing.
He turned back and entered the room, closed the door, took a deep breath, and turned back again to open it.
"Ok, here I go," he whispered, opening the door again, and lo and behold, it was the same.
He stepped out, there was a door opposite him, but this time, there were no rows of doors. No corridors that stretched on till forever.
He turned left, and a little distance away from him stood a metal door at the end of the corridor, and then, on his right, the corridor seemed to lead to a broader space.
There was no "motherfucking" illusion or doors any longer.
'What is this? A dream?' Code thought in disbelief.
Then, amidst his thoughts, a voice suddenly boomed.
"Nara! Don't eat the sugar cubes!"
"Uh?" Code paused. It came from his right.
Another voice replied, this time - masculine.
"Uhh! But I want it!"
"Are those voices I hear?" Code asked himself, as he cautiously took slow steps towards the sound.
Laughter and bickering could be heard, as he drew closer.
The corridor widened, as it opened out to a spacious room.
Code stepped into the room, blinking at the chaos.
His eyes slowly moved.
A dining table sat at the centre, with chairs sorrounding it, and a girl, probably his age, was halfway across the table.
Code's eyes instantly dilated. His mouth opened in awe.
Beautiful was an understatement.
Her eyes were deep black, and her beautiful black and long hair with crimson ends fell over her face and shoulder. She had an athletic and refined build that most girls could only pray for, and her dressing - a black hoodie and jumpers only added sugar to the tea.
Then, Code's eyes moved. She was reaching for something - a boy's hand, which was buried in a sugar packet.
The boy who also looked his age, had a deep-red hair which was held together with a black bandana placed slightly above his forehead. His eyes glowed with crimson, and a silvery glow caught Code's eye from the his right ear.
Judging from the noises he had heard earlier, the boy was probably Nara.
"Don't take it!!" The girl shouted, trying to snatch the sugar packet from Nara's hand, but Nara wasn't bulging either.
"Just one!" He wailed.
Code didn't know what to do at that moment, maybe laugh, or just shake his head.
Then finally, his gaze moved rightwards, and there he sat.
The masked man.
He was seated calmly beside them, sipping coffee, and reading through a magazine like none of it concerned him.
'That's him, Van Ackerman!' A part of Code screamed.
Then, Code's eyes caught it. The magazine.
It wasn't any ordinary magazine.
"What the fuck?" Code muttered, staring at the half-naked model that kept smiling at him for some reason.
Van Ackerman, apparently, was flipping through a porn magazine.
'How's he so focused?' Code thought to himself, amidst the banter between the girl and Nara.
"Uh?" Code didn't know when he exclaimed out loud.
He instantly raised his hand to close his mouth, as he realized that they had noticed him.
The girl froze mid-lunge. Nara halted, hand hovering over the sugar. Van slowly looked up from the "magazine".
And their eyes slowly widened altogether.
They looked like they had seen a ghost.
"What?!" The three exclaimed in unison.
***
To Be Continued...