The sun had already begun setting, casting 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 a hell of anger.
'That fucker 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 a hand over his face.
"I'd rather die than be stuck in this boring place forever," Code muttered, clenching his fist as he rolled onto the bed.
"All this snapping and running around has gotten me tired," he murmured, his eyes already forming weary bags.
His gaze fixed on the setting sun as he did 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.
Blue hair. Deep black eyes. Clad in white pajamas laced with moonlight designs.
It was him.
The same person Code had seen, maybe minutes or hours ago, the one who had been 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 emotion, and he looked at Code with what one would call utter disdain.
He took a slow and steady step forward, then stretched out his hand toward 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.
An 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, the 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, his 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 as before.
"Arrgh, no getting out of here, is there?" Code sighed in defeat as he got down from the bed.
He walked to the door.
Strangely, a part of him believed something had somehow changed, even though he couldn't pinpoint what.
"I might as well get used to this place, and maybe build me a haven," Code said, trying to cheer himself up.
'At least there's day and night here,' he thought, stretching his hand to the doorknob.
It felt cold.
'Strange.'
Code opened the door, and as he took a step out, his eyes widened.
"Uh?" he muttered, pausing.
He turned back into the room, closed the door, took a deep breath, and turned again to open it.
"Ok, here I go," he whispered, opening the door once more, 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 forever.
He turned left, and a little distance away stood a metal door at the end of the corridor. On his right, the corridor seemed to lead to a broader space.
There was no illusion or endless hallway 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 toward the sound.
Laughter and bickering echoed as he drew closer.
The corridor widened, opening out into a spacious room.
Code stepped inside, blinking at the chaos.
His eyes slowly moved.
A dining table sat at the center, with chairs surrounding it, and a girl, probably his age, was halfway across the table.
Code's eyes instantly dilated. His mouth fell open in awe.
Beautiful was an understatement.
Her eyes were deep black, and her silky hair fell over her face. She had an athletic, refined build that most girls could only pray for, and her outfit, a black hoodie over jumpers, only added sugar to the tea.
Then Code's eyes moved again. She was reaching for something: a boy's hand buried in a sugar packet.
The boy, who looked around the same age, had deep red hair held together by a black bandana above his forehead. A silvery glow caught Code's eye from the boy's right ear.
Judging from the voices 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 budging 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 rightward, 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 an ordinary one.
"What the fuck?" Code muttered, staring at the half-naked model smiling at him for some reason.
Van Ackerman was flipping through a porn magazine.
'How's he so focused, and on a porn magazine at that?' Code thought to himself, amid the banter between the girl and Nara.
"Uh?" Code didn't even know when he exclaimed out loud.
He instantly raised his hand to cover his mouth, realizing they had noticed him.
The girl froze mid-lunge. Nara halted, his hand hovering over the sugar. Van slowly looked up from the magazine.
Their eyes widened altogether.
They looked like they had seen a ghost.
"What?!" the three exclaimed in unison.
...
To Be Continued...