"How many times has it gone wrong?" Anik asked, his voice unusually serious.
"Twice," I answered, pausing before adding, "Once just now... and once in my future premonition."
"That premonition thing—another skill of yours?"
"Yeah," I said, but deep down, I wasn't so sure anymore.
Anik looked thoughtful, his brows furrowing slightly. What he wasn't saying was that he knew—premonition wasn't even supposed to be her skill. It belonged to the demon whose powers she somehow kept using without understanding.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my reflection in the mirror across from the bed. My cheek was swollen, bruised a deep angry red.
"WTF—you hit me!" I blurted out. "Don't you know it's unethical to hit a girl?"
"Don't you know it's illegal to strangle someone?" he shot back, utterly unfazed.
"..." Well, I walked into that one.
"But seriously," I muttered, leaning closer to the mirror, "how many times did you hit me? It looks awful."
"And you said I have multiple personality disorder," he said with a low chuckle.
I whipped my head around. "YOU! You smiled?? You actually smiled? Holy shit, that's rare. You look... kinda handsome, bro." I couldn't help but grin, the tension breaking for a moment. "Good thing you're alive though. You know, you died in my previous premonition... Man, it shook the earth below my feet—"
I caught myself rambling and stopped. Ashleen, get a grip.
I sneaked a glance at him. He was still smiling, and honestly? That was suspicious as hell. But seeing him alive and well was all that mattered right now.
Anik, meanwhile, was feeling a bit conflicted. He was standing here, talking to his teenage crush. In the real world, he had grown up waiting for updates on the obscure webnovel she starred in. Chapters were short, updates were irregular but she was in it. Long story short: she wasn't supposed to be this alive, this emotional mess, this... human.
"By the way," I said, eyeing the blood dripping steadily down his arm, "shouldn't you treat that first?"
"Yeah, well... your nails were sharper than any blade I've ever seen."
"My nails??" I raised my hand and examined them. They looked perfectly normal—short, clean, not demon-like at all.
"Yeah. You looked like a real demon just now."
I frowned. Whatever. First things first: his wound needed care. But as I tried to call out to the healer lady, a sharp pounding sensation hit me straight in the abdomen. I doubled over instinctively.
"My wound reopened," I muttered, gritting my teeth.
Anik was already moving. "Healer!" he called, his voice sharper than usual.
I stumbled backward toward the bed, hoping to make it before I crashed.
The door slammed open, and Akansha burst in. "What the hell were you two doing?!" she demanded, her eyes wide with shock.
I couldn't even begin to explain, so I just smiled weakly. Before I could say another word, everything went black.
I didn't know how long I was out this time, but when I finally opened my eyes, I could tell immediately: I was somewhere else. Not the same room, not the same ceiling, and thankfully, no weird kid hanging from the ceiling like Spider-Man.
I rubbed my eyes and tried sitting up.
"Aeeshh! You gave me a heart attack!"
That same little kid was glaring at me like he was guarding a treasure chest.
"Who are you though?" I asked groggily.
"He's useful," Anik answered from across the room, deadpan.
"Man, I didn't ask if he's useful or not," I grumbled. "I meant who is he."
Anik hesitated, like he almost forgot she wasn't the version of Ashleen who turns demon cold later. Not someone who lets people live depending on whether that person is useful or not.
"Big bro saved me!" the little guy chirped proudly.
"Saved you?" I echoed, blinking slowly.
"Yeah! I accidentally wandered into the orcs' area there-"
"...Orcs?"
"Big bro ran so fast I got dizzy!"
"...Orcs?" I repeated, brain lagging.
"Are you glitching or something?" the kid asked, leaning suspiciously close. "Hey, stay away from big bro! If you hurt him again, I'll beat you up."
"You... Anik, you went into the orcs' area?" I asked, my voice finally catching up.
"You know about that?" he asked back, surprised.
"Kid, can you go outside?" I said sharply.
"Why should I?"
"Just get the hell out, okay?" I snapped.
"Go on," Anik added gently. "It's okay."
The kid huffed dramatically but shuffled out, muttering something about crazy women and awesome big bros.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I rounded on Anik. "You went into the orcs' territory?"
"I didn't know it was their territory," he said. "I was about to leave when I heard him shouting for help."
"And you just decided to become a real-life Jesus and save him?" I rubbed my temples. "What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you?"
I felt the familiar exhaustion creep in again. This endless back-and-forth was suffocating. Maybe I needed to show him. Maybe... maybe then he'd understand.
"Is there a way to share memories?" I asked quietly.
He tilted his head, studying me. "It's possible between partners. You want my memories?"
"No... I want to show you mine."
He blinked in surprise. In the Webnovel, Ashleen never shared her mere thooughts. She kept everything bottled up until it exploded. But here I was..
He walked over and extended his hand. "Give me your hands and focus on the part you want to share."
I hesitated only for a second before taking his hand.
I didn't know how long we stayed like that. When I finally pulled away, Anik was wiping blood from under his nose.
"What... was that?" he croaked.
I sat back heavily. "My premonition."
He was silent for a long time, processing.
"Your imagination... it's overbearing," he finally said.
"Imagination?" I frowned.
"What exactly were you trying to show me?"
"The orc area..."
"You ended up showing me everything. Since you arrived here." He looked slightly dazed. "And for the record, I'm not that kind of psychopath you thought I was. It's just my face, alright?"
I blinked at him.
Back in the selection zone, the system based its evaluations on people's calmness and confidence. Anik's silence wasn't coldness—it was survival.
He wasn't the psychopath.
Maybe I am the Psychopath. Thought Ashleen.
As I sat there, chewing over everything, I saw Anik's eyes roll back. He slumped sideways, passing out.
"Huh?!" I jumped up. "Healer lady!!"
She came running in, muttering under her breath.
"What are you kids up to now? One gets up from bed just to make room for the other to pass out!"
I gave her a sheepish grin.
"He's alright," she said after a quick checkup. "Showing symptoms similar to yours, but nothing serious. He'll be up in about an hour."
I let out a long breath.
"Thanks, ma'am."
I glanced at Anik, peaceful for once.
Maybe... just maybe... I wasn't alone in this after all.