After a few minutes, Kieran was sitting on one of the chairs while Aria wrapped his bleeding forehead with white medical bandages after punching him.
"You didn't have to hit me that hard. I think you broke a rib," said Kieran, pretending to be annoyed to make Aria feel guilty.
"I'll break another one if you want," Aria threatened Kieran with a warning tone, completely unapologetic.
"O-okay…" Kieran replied, genuinely worried for himself this time, and silently noted to never ignore Aria again.
"Anyway, what are all these files? What exactly are you looking for?" Aria asked curiously as she wrapped the last medical bandage around Kieran's forehead.
"Umm... files about a student named Sirius Soren and some of his companions," Kieran answered, his voice filled with hesitation, unsure whether he should tell Aria everything especially about what had happened between him and Sirius last night.
"Sirius Soren? I don't know him. Why are you looking for him? Is there something suspicious about him?" Aria asked, curious and slightly cautious.
"...He… beat me up last night," Kieran admitted, deciding to tell Aria what had happened.
"What?! You got beaten by that guy?! How did that happen?!" Aria asked, shocked by this new revelation. Her alarm was completely justified, Kieran was ranked among the top 15 strongest students in the university, and among that list, no one by the name Sirius Soren existed.
"…He was too fast for my eyes to follow… his attacks were quick but heavy, and it felt like he was holding back…" Kieran confessed, his pupils dilating, life draining from his eyes, showing just how truly shocked he was.
"Holding back?… H-how did you escape, then?" Aria asked nervously, cold sweat dripping slowly down her cheeks.
"If one of his friends hadn't intervened, I wouldn't have been able to escape… no… if they hadn't stepped in… I'd be dead right now… He was going to kill me… He was going to kill me, Aria! I was really going to die this time!" Kieran said as he hugged his body, which felt cold. Both his hands and body trembled, and his shaking eyes reflected the terror and fear he felt.
"C-calm down a little, he wouldn't have killed you—" Aria tried to soothe him, patting his shoulder.
But Kieran suddenly grabbed Aria by the collar of her uniform tightly, making her eyes widen in shock.
"W-what are you doing?!" Aria exclaimed, trying to free herself from Kieran's grip, but despite his shaking body, his hold was firm.
"You don't understand… I was going to die! That killer was going to kill me! Every strike carried murderous intent! Every single one came from a true killer! He must've killed others before me! He must be the killer we've been looking for! Aria, it's him! Without a doubt! That bastard should be thrown in prison! He was going to kill me! I was going to die! I was going to die!" Kieran shouted, his voice ugly and desperate, justifying himself, and with every word that left his mouth, his grip on Aria's collar tightened until it started to hurt and choke her.
"K-Kie… stop…" Aria gently grabbed Kieran's hand on her collar, and because of its warmth, it snapped him out of his vile emotions. He slowly and gently let go of Aria's collar.
"I-I'm sorry… A-are you okay?" Kieran asked, concerned about Aria, trying to examine and touch her, but Aria stepped back slightly, coughing.
"Aria… I-I'll go to the bathroom!" Kieran said and left the room, heading for the bathroom, leaving Aria behind.
Her collar was crumpled, and saliva trailed from her mouth. She wiped it away and looked toward the door Kieran had exited.
"…Kie…" Aria whispered gently, worried for the first time about Kieran.
Near the men's restroom, Kieran reached the bathroom, stumbling and bumping into the doorframe. He entered, stood in front of the mirror, turned on the tap, and washed his face with cold water until he calmed down.
"What the hell was I doing? I hurt Aria… because I was scared… But… she doesn't understand. That boy… his intent to kill wasn't ordinary… It was an intense, overwhelming desire held back for so long, just begging to be unleashed… He looked… sexually euphoric… He's a killer without a doubt! He's a psychopath! He must be the reason behind this series of murders!" Kieran thought to himself as he lifted his wet face to the mirror, only to see Sirius's reflection beside him, smiling and laughing.
It was just a hallucination. Kieran then punched the mirror, shattering it into pieces, each fragment reflecting an image of Sirius laughing with that euphoric smile.
"I have to prove it… I'm the only one who survived seeing that monster in such an ugly form… That means I have to do something! Staying silent after seeing that abomination would be a crime!"
———————
In Sector 11, in the room shared by Sirius, Neriah, and Enel, Enel woke up, blinking slowly. His vision was a bit blurry. He rubbed his eyes and got up. He noticed that both Sirius and Neriah were still asleep in their usual bizarre positions—Sirius sleeping upside-down, and Neriah using books as a blanket, while his actual blanket was with Sirius.
Enel washed his face and dressed smartly: a white shirt, a black blazer, and loose black pants. He took his bag from the wardrobe and left the room, heading toward the southern train station and on to Sector 1.
When he arrived in front of the university building, he noticed the black luxury cars were still there, unmoved. He ignored them again and headed to the labs behind the building. When he reached one of the lab doors, he noticed it was slightly open, allowing light to spill through.
"She must be here," Enel thought, realizing who was inside. He pushed the door open and entered the lab.
He spotted Violet with her silky hair and pristine white lab coat, sitting at a table working on her computer beside the axolotl's cage. She noticed him from the corner of her eye and stood up quickly, startled.
"H-hello, Mr. Hale…" Violet greeted Enel, her tone tense, though noticeably less so than before, laced with some ease.
"Hello, Violet," Enel greeted back with a friendly smile, closed the door behind him, and walked over to a coat rack holding clean, shining white lab coats. He put one on.
"What are you working on?" Enel asked curiously while donning the lab coat.
"B-because you left the sample with me last time, I decided to try a few different things," Violet replied, looking down nervously, twisting her fingers in a circular motion.
"Like what?" Enel asked as he walked to stand beside her and looked at the computer, filled with notes, visualizations, and data networks.
"Since the sample isn't in pure form, but its regeneration ability rivals or even exceeds the pure version, I took a risk last night and crushed its brain. After 3 minutes, it fully regenerated. But during the time it had no brain, it behaved strangely. That's when I noticed it was moving according to a certain pattern," Violet said, now speaking with a bit more confidence.
"Pattern?" Enel asked, glancing sideways at Violet.
"Yes. As you know, cloned or mutated animals like this sample follow their instincts. But by destroying its brain, we also destroyed its limbic system. It no longer had instincts to follow. That's when I discovered something new, another factor. Not from the heart, or senses, or any other organ. Something invisible and intangible, operating somewhere else instead of the brain. And that reminded me of something. Do you know about the theory of dualism, Mr. Hale?" Violet asked, finally looking him in the eyes.
"Isn't that the theory that consciousness is separate from the body? As far as I remember, science rejected it because of its immateriality and the difficulty of proving it," Enel replied, slightly nervous due to the sudden eye contact, but he held his ground.
"Yes. But what if consciousness really is separate and wasn't destroyed along with the brain? That's why the sample moved according to a pattern that should've been instinctual or a self-preservation mechanism. Like… when you log out of a game and wonder what happens in the world and what your character does. The expected answer is: nothing, because no one is controlling that character. But if we apply the same scenario to a creature capable of regeneration and near-immortality… then what we saw was the answer!" Violet explained with some excitement in her voice and a soft smile forming on her lips.
"That's… amazing!" Enel exclaimed in awe, his excitement matching hers, and he couldn't help but smile too.
"I can't believe she figured all that out… just from one experiment! That depth of thought, the speed, and the logic behind it… she's… better than me…", Enel thought to himself, feeling a flicker of envy toward Violet's abilities—but it quickly faded.
"This experiment might prove that dualism is real... but... it made me think of something else..." Violet said, her voice lowering into a whisper.
"There's more?!" Enel thought in surprise, a flicker of excitement flashing within him.
"What is it? What are you thinking about?" he asked, a hopeful smile spreading across his face.
"...Whether it's a sample, an animal, a monster, or whatever it may be... we all share one thing— a physical body and a soul. We possess consciousness too, Enel... so what if...? What if...?" Violet hesitated, unable to finish her thought. That's when Enel understood, and his eyes widened in shock. He stood up straight, silent, as if the breath had been stolen from his lungs.
"...What if... we're all the game... and there's someone outside, controlling us?..." Enel whispered slowly, a shiver crawling down his spine.
Both Enel and Violet froze where they stood, as though time itself had stopped around them. The words Enel had spoken echoed in their ears. Just thinking about it was truly terrifying. They stood still for so long they forgot the world around them. Then, slowly, they raised their heads from the floor and looked at each other, their eyes wide with stunned disbelief.
"L-Let's forget about that and focus on the sample's healing properties..." Enel said, his eyes empty, not looking at Violet, but staring into nothingness.
"Y-Yeah... You're right..." Violet replied, agreeing to avoid and dismiss the subject.
Both of them clung to the belief that they were young and inexperienced, surely, they must have missed something, something that would disprove this terrifying idea. After all, truth is hard to accept, and many would rather live in lies than face a harsh reality. After all, what are humans but pitiful creatures who understand neither truth nor the unknown? Such a discovery might be profound but in the same time, it's terrifying like.... a Kiss Of Death.