Vorn hadn't moved for hours, his body could move just fine, but his mind was completely fucked.
The countdown floated at the edge of his vision - faint enough to ignore if he tried, but never actually disappearing. It pulsed slow and steady like a heartbeat.
[11:39:06... 11:39:05...]
More patient than him, more patient than anything he'd ever known.
He sat on the edge of the hospital bed, arms resting on his knees, staring at the floor tiles like they might have answers hidden in their cracks. The thin white squares had these hairline fractures running through them like veins. He followed one with his eyes until it hit the metal leg of a medical tray.
The card was still there, silent, waiting.
He hadn't touched it since last night, not after what happened, not after that laugh.
'Seren's somewhere in this building, and she might not even be herself anymore.'
That thought hit him like a punch to the gut every time. This wasn't some nightmare he could wake up from. His sister was possessed by something ancient and malevolent, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
'I'm supposed to be her big brother. I'm supposed to protect her.'
He rubbed his arms, trying to chase away the cold, it didn't work, he chill was coming from inside.
Footsteps.
He looked up as the door opened with a metallic click. A man walked in - not the woman from before. This guy was taller, with messy hair and the kind of young face that screamed "don't trust me with important stuff."
"Yo," the guy said, chewing gum and flipping through a datapad. "Still alive, huh?"
Vorn didn't answer.
The guy shrugged and leaned against the wall. "Didn't expect you to be awake. Most people who go through what you did stay unconscious for at least a week. Some need trauma counseling for months. You're definitely weird."
Still no response.
The man clicked his tongue. "They told me not to ask you anything heavy. But I had to see Seren's brother for myself."
Vorn's fingers tightened into fists.
The agent glanced at him. "She's fine. Sort of. I mean, she's stable. But her vitals are completely screwed. Mana readings jump from zero to levels that fry our equipment. Never seen anything like it."
Vorn's throat felt like sandpaper.
"And then there's you, no aura, no signature. Yet you walked out of a dungeon alone without even being Awakened. You're a damn mystery, dude."
'I literally died many times over in the dungeon'
Vorn slowly turned to face him, voice barely a rasp. "You think this is some kind of game?"
The guy blinked. "What?"
"She was possessed. Something took control of her, and I watched it happen." Vorn's voice started shaking. "I couldn't do anything to stop it."
Awkward silence.
"So yeah, you want a mystery? Here it is - I was too weak to protect my own sister, I still am, and now she's paying for it."
The agent backed up a step, clearly out of his depth.
Vorn stood slowly. His legs felt steady now. He looked at the card, and it trembled slightly - like it could sense his pain.
Then a thin red line extended from its center, a thread no thicker than a hair. It reached for him and attached itself to his palm.
ZAP.
Vorn flinched, grabbing his hand, but the thread was already inside his skin.
[BLOOD MIRROR TRIAL: SYNCHRONIZATION INCREASING]
[TOUCH-BASED MATTER SENSITIVITY: UNLOCKED - 0.01%]
[DROP OF BLOOD REACTING...]
His fingers accidentally brushed the edge of the metal tray.
BEND.
It twisted like soft clay. Like it was made of putty instead of steel.
Vorn yanked his hand back, heart slamming against his ribs. "What the hell..."
He stared at his palm. Nothing looked different, but something definitely was. Then this humming started - not real humming, but inside his head. A girl's voice, soft and distant.
He looked up.
There was someone sitting on the other hospital bed. A girl about his age, bruised and beaten, swinging her legs like a child.
She looked directly at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand.
'Shhh.'
Then she mouthed a single word:
'Run.'
And vanished.
Just like that. Gone.
[WARNING: MEMORY OVERLAP EXPANDING]
[BLOOD MIRROR TRIAL STAGE 1 BEGINS IN: 10:48:00]
The mirror behind him flickered with dim red light.
"How many people signed that paper?" Vorn whispered to the empty room.
The card pulsed in his chest, and a voice that definitely wasn't his answered:
'"More than you'll ever meet."'
A pause.
'"Fewer will survive."'
The countdown continued. The Blood Mirror was slowly opening.
Hours crawled by.
A nurse came in, left food. He didn't touch it.
He tried to sleep, couldn't, every time he closed his eyes, that girl's face appeared, not Seren. The other one, the one who'd warned him.
'Run.'
Run from what? From himself?
What happened next didn't ask for permission.
He blinked once, The lights dimmed, the bed turned to rust. The walls started dripping something black and viscous.
Suddenly he was standing in a different room, a classroom.
Desks were overturned. Windows shattered. Blood on the whiteboard spelled out words in a language he didn't recognize. A figure stood near the front - a tall, thin boy with hollow, dead eyes.
"Why are we here?" Vorn asked.
The boy turned.
'"No one cared when I vanished."'
His face cracked. Literally cracked like dried paint peeling off a wall.
"You will."
Vorn stepped backward as the Blood Mirror pulsed again.
[FRAGMENT REPLAY: SECOND VICTIM - L-CLASS CONTRACTED]
'L-Class? What the hell is that?'
[WARNING: INTEGRITY DROPPING]
The ground split open beneath him. Vorn screamed, but only in his head.
He came to shaking, sheets tangled around his arms like restraints. The nurse was back, and she looked terrified.
"Are you okay?"
He couldn't answer. His voice was completely gone. He just nodded weakly.
She backed out slowly, clearly spooked.
The system responded with cold efficiency:
[DROP OF BLOOD - RANK: MINOR - STABILIZED]
[VEILED NOIR PATH INTEGRITY: 64%]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 1]
[EXP: 45/100]
[WARNING: FURTHER EXPOSURE MAY TRIGGER COMPLETE COLLAPSE]
Collapse of what? His mind? His soul?
He didn't ask. Just stared at the countdown timer.
[10:12:09]
The mirror waited patiently.
The game was just getting started.
And his descent into hell had officially begun.