As I opened my eyes, an empty void greeted me. The void was so incredibly vast, that I couldn't even see the end. Although the void was black, I could see. There wasn't any notable source of light but yet there was light. It was bizarre.
I strolled onwards being met with nothing but absolute blackness. I felt my mind intact but my thoughts were in disarray.
I wondered where I was and then sighted an object in the distance.
It was a door.
A door in the void.
It had no room behind it but I could feel something behind the door.
It was calling out to me, telling me to reach out for the door and step in. Following the temptation, I approached the door; reaching out for it but just as I was about to open it...I heard a voice.
That is the abyss. There is nothing there, those who step in will become nothing as well.
What?! Who are you?!
I turned around to find the source of the voice.
In the distance, I saw a black silhouette; it seemed like a man but that was it, I couldn't make out anything else.
Do not be afraid. I mean no harm, Iguro Byakuya. I am simply advising you to not go there.
Where am I?
Oh...this is a dream; close your eyes and you'll wake up.
He said and turned to walk away but I called out to him.
Wait...! Who are you?
Oh...I am Null Void.
After that, I woke up in a white room, to the sound of a beeping light. I stared at the ceiling.
Where am I?
I tried moving my body but it hurt. I was hurting everywhere.
Agh!
An oxygen-breathing mask was on my face and my brown hair clouded my vision. I slowly turned my head to the side and saw medical apparatus.
Apparently am in the hospital....
Then I realized something, how did I know the room was white?
Colors?!
I saw everything with its normal colors. I wasn't colorblind. I tried to force myself to seat up but I felt my body shake, I fell back to the bed and screamed.
"ARGH!!!"
I was in so much pain.
What happened to me?
Instantly as if answering my call, memories of the previous events begun to rush into my head.
Amanai! Yu!! Guillotine!!! Charlatan!!!!
Wait...am I forgetting someone...?
Ignoring the pain, Iguro forced himself up and tried to stand but fell immediately, "AAAHHH!"
As I was grimacing in pain, I heard the door click and open. I raised my head to see who had entered the room and the moment I laid my eyes on them, I shook.
"Yo~"
Charlatan!
"Good morning."
Guillotine!
And... who?!
I saw Charlatan, Guillotine and a woman beside them. She looked a little disappointed when she saw me. Ignoring the whole bizarre situation, she was really pretty, so having her look at me like that made me feel pretty upset.
"Oh...are you feeling down because a pretty lady saw you as trash~?", Charlatan cut in to the silence as he stared at me teasingly.
I looked down, having no objections...but several questions.
"Where am I?", I croaked.
"Woah...he spoke.", the woman said in surprise.
"Oh...you're in a hospital.", Charlatan said.
What a blatant lie.
"Charlatan, remember he's a Hybrid, he can tell you're lying just from looking at you.", Guillotine cut in.
"Ah! That's right...fine then I'll tell you, you're in the DarkMatter Group's base!"
My eyes widened in surprise but then I finally remembered what I had forgotten. With all my strength, ignoring the pain, I rose.
I turned to Guillotine and Charlatan, "You monsters! You killed her! You killed Honami!"
The three of them stared at me in surprise but then Charlatan burst out laughing.
"You're seriously worried about her? Have you even taken a look at yourself, in fact it's a miracle you're even alive."
I turned back to look at a mirror behind and gasped. From head to toe, I was covered in bandages.
"What...?", as I said that I fell, the moment I hit the floor I realized that my whole body was at the brink of death and tears strolled out of my eyes.
-+-
I woke up in a dark room, apparently, I was on a bed. Rather strapped to a bed or...rather on a bed in a tube lying horizontally.
I looked through the glass and saw the dark ceiling. My hands were bound by metal and so were my legs. I was locked in the tube.
What happened...?
Oh...that's right...I was captured by....
My face became downcast as I muttered out the word, "DedSect..."
Immediately after I spoke, a robotic voice from the tube said,
"Subject-666 is active."
Less than two seconds later, a loud blaring sound accompanied by a red flashing light could be heard and seen. I sighed.
A few seconds later, several men clad in white lab coats waltzed in. I felt the tube I was in, rising; it readjusted to a slanted vertical position. I stared at them from the glass, each of them had stern expressions...except one.
"Subject-666! Woohoo! Yes! You've finally come home!", a slender man with long disheveled red hair and a transparent pair of glasses, jubilated.
Amidst, the several scientists standing before me, he was the only one who was overjoyed at my return but I wasn't the least bit happy. I glared at him but he shrugged it off as he said, "Oh come now, don't look at me like that. Am really glad you're back."
He said somewhat sincerely which made me feel nauseous. The way he could effortlessly manipulate his emotions was terrifying and how he could be so sincere while lying straight to your face was toxic. If he were an Occlude, he would have been a serious menace but fortunately he's just an Observer.
Correction, a fake Observer...
"Oh...I can see it...you're analyzing me in your head, aren't you?", he said as he peered at me with scrutinizing eyes, a smile curved his lips. He stared at me, reading me like I were a book. This man understood humans better than anyone, his name was...
"Dr. Xalen Darkly!"
Dr. Xalen Darkly!
We said it simultaneously, or rather, he...read my thoughts and spoke faster than I could think.
"Hahahahaha! Reading people is always so much fun... but say...", Xalen trailed off as he walked towards the tube, I was in. He tapped a few buttons on it.
Some of the scientists shook up and said, "Hey! Sir! What are you doing?!"
"Huh...? Are you talking to me inferior creature?", Xalen said as he glared at the scientist who froze and cowed in fear.
His pressure was immense that simply glaring at people could cause their survival instincts to kick in. He turned away and tapped one more button. A few seconds later, the tube I was in began to come loose slowly before popping open but when the gas that was released from the opening door of the tube dispersed, I was already on the loose.
Faster than the eye could see, I smashed through the huge metal door of the room and made my escape.
Behind me, I heard Dr. Xalen shout, "Impressive! You haven't wavered a bit! Subject-666!"
I began to hear alarm blares as I dashed through the vestibules of the facility at subsonic speeds.
As I moved across the hallway, getting through the several low-level personnel who couldn't observe me. They turned around when they felt a gush of wind but by that time I was already gone. I blasted gusts of air to disorient them on my position.
That's strange.... why aren't security personnel coming after me...and why do I feel like I'm going around in circles...?
I thought as I noticed how I passed an employee who I had previously ran into before, she got shaken like I hadn't passed by her before.
A loop?
Instantly, after that thought, I ran into a dead end.
Huh?! That's impossible! I know this facility like the back of my hand!
Then I heard footsteps. When I turned around, I saw the door that I had previously bashed through and Dr. Xalen walking towards me.
"How...?"
"Think of it as my anti-Subject-666 invention, I call it Tears.", he said as he smiled at me.
I didn't even know what to say, just like before I couldn't even react, even when I heard footsteps behind me.
I let it happen as I was knocked out again.