The sticky liquid poured over Corvin. His feet sticked to the ground, and he tried to push himself away with magic.
"Don't bother. That dark liquid was made by your friend from that black thing while you were fighting. You can't escape from it.", said Janeen, pointing towards Clair and added.
"And the dirt under you won't move because of magic as well. You are trapped already."
Corvin struggled to move once again. No matter how much he frantically flailed himself, neither did he manage to move, nor could he drop his sword and use it with magic. His tired body quickly gave up.
Janeen slowly made her way over to where he was standing and started talking.
"Really, you were really predictable. I didn't even believe it at first, but... You really did everything I thought you would do..."
"What are you talking about?"
Janeen came closer and pointed the spear in her hands towards him. The tip of the spear slowly touched his left arm. The small sting caused goosebumps on his arm.
"Taking some drugs from the bag. That simple trick to stop your friend's music. The immediate run towards me afterwards... I predicted everything."
'Well, not me, but whatever...', thought Janeen.
"Th-That's impossible..."
The tip of the spear moved upwards, cutting Corvin's skin and leaving a trail of blood. Corvin's teeth started to clatter from the pain. He tried to run away once again but he was held in place by the two knights.
"Oh, is it? Then, why do you think I let you fly and take those drugs? I could have ordered your death many times."
"..."
"See? Even you know it."
"..."
"I want to see you despair. To see you go crazy."
"Wh-Why? What did I do to you?!", asked Corvin while barely keeping his sanity because of the pain.
Janeen moved the spear towards his abdomen and left a wound across it with a swift motion.
"You don't need to know. You just have to bow down to your fate."
Corvin barely managed to give a quiet response.
"I don't believe in fate..."
Janeen looked at the boy in front of her with pity and started the next step of her plan.
*****
The door of the white room swung open and a chubby old man entered. He walked towards the table with four screens on it and asked.
"What happened SAM? I have important work to do, mostly because of you. Why do you need my time?"
The robotic voice answered.
"Look at his vitals. He is going through something inside."
The old man walked to the side of the room, towards the glass wall. The man laying on the bed, connected to cables was breathing irregularly. From the vitals and his breathing, one could figure out that the man was in pain and stressed.
"I see. I will call someone."
The old man took his phone out of his pocket and made a call. After a small converstaion, he hung up and asked towards the computer once again.
"Tell me what happened. Did you do something again? You know how the other's see you right? You are still banned from connecting to other computers, especially one that will be connected to the rest of the world in the future. Being allowed to look after him while he returns is only an exception."
A nurse entered the room. The old man showed her the glass wall and she entered the next room. While she injected something to the sleeping man, SAM said.
"I know, I know. It's not me this time. There are some errors that are causing problems, that's all. You can even say this is his fault."
"Good. I am still trying to deal with the higher ups over keeping you connected. They are afraid you will copy yourself to the simulation and spread secretly. Be good and don't do anything secret."
"I don't have ideas of controlling the world. I just want to help my friend."
"I know. I know even some of them knows it, but you know your nature, right? You wouldn't be allowed to exist if there is even a single serious problem. Even the minor problems you've caused are troubling."
"Don't worry. That time was to just help with rescuing him. I won't meddle with the project once again. I am just monitoring everything."
"Good."
The nurse came back to the room. The old man turned towards her and asked.
"Are you done?"
"Yes. Thankfully, he isn't ill. He was just feeling pain so I gave him some stuff to relieve it."
"Will it work inside as well?"
"It's hard to tell but I don't see a reason why it shouldn't. Even if the feeling is fake, the pain is still real and so, he should get better. Oh, but he may risk his life inside because of the lower pain."
"That's not a concern so, it's okay. Let's go, and thank you."
"I am just doing my job."
"See you later, SAM."
"Bye."
The two left the room. SAM was left alone once again.
"What is this distrust? Just because I am not natural... I am not even allowed to move from here. At least he used to treat me like a person... That's why, I won't let him remember. I will give him a better life inside..."
With a revived dedication flowing through it's silicon mind, SAM continued his work.
*****
A voice echoed in Janeen's mind.
"It's ready. User is mentally unstable enough."
"Then do it."
Janeen stared at the pitiful sight in front of her. The boy was on the ground, crying and bleeding. His body was covered in cuts and bruises and it was hard for Janeen to look.
'No. Don't let your guilt stop you now. I had to do this. I am just protecting myself.'
The boy in front of her started to disappear, with parts of his body turning into green squares and fading away.
"What's happening? Where did he go?!"
The next second, the environment changed. Janeen found herself in a strange place, devoid of details. The ground was made out of white squares, separated by white lines. The sky was just plain blue, without any clouds. The light source in the sky didn't look like a sun since one couldn't see the usual circular shape of a sun. It looked like i single dot that was shining.
"Where is this?"