Claous raised the hammer in his grip, eyes burning. Chiko and Heroca each readied their weapons — revolver and wrench — the silence between them heavy, trembling with everything they hadn't said.
Claous drew in a deep breath, voice hushed but steady.
"I'm gonna open it now."
The three leaned closer. The door creaked, hinges straining.
Claous yanked it open.
And froze.
Not a room. Not Deckfern. Not Ziva.
A void.
An endless black, stretching in every direction, stars blinking faintly in the distance like dying embers. The walls of reality bent and jittered, stuttering like broken film.
Heroca's jaw locked. He thumbed the revolver's hammer back, voice sharp with desperation.
"Enough of this. I swear, I'll blow my own—"
Claous cut him off. "Are you insane? Look closer! It's glitching."
Heroca blinked. And yes — the void wasn't smooth this time. Cracks of pale light pulsed across it like glass about to shatter.
Chiko's voice cut low. "He's right. Don't waste the bullets."
Claous slammed the door shut. The little window above the handle flickered — and Deckfern's stitched face appeared, grinning wide.
The doctor leaned close to the glass, mechanical eye flickering.
"Fascinating. You've made it this far. Impossible, really. No one leaves that room without my permission. Yet… look at you. Alive. Untouched. Not a scratch."
Claous bared his teeth. "We'll save our friends. And then we'll crack your skull open."
Deckfern chuckled. Low. Mocking.
"Oh, I know. I know, I know…" He turned back toward his table, humming as he mixed vials.
Heroca hissed. "What now?"
Chiko opened the door again.
The void pulsed back into existence — but now it twitched, rippling, unstable.
And then — a sound above. A rip in the ceiling.
Something fell.
A body slammed onto the floorboards with a heavy crack.
They staggered back, weapons raised. The figure twitched, groaning, hair matted. Clothes shredded but familiar.
Heroca's breath caught. His voice broke.
"…Lila."
Her head jerked up. Half her skin was gone. Her stomach gaped open. Blood leaked from both eyes in sluggish streams.
Deckfern's voice slithered from the ceiling speaker.
"Your friend. She couldn't handle my dose. A shame, really. But look — she moves still. Isn't it beautiful? Even in death, I gave her purpose."
Claous's face twisted. "You bastard."
Lila pushed herself upright, bracing on a chair, swaying like a marionette tangled in its own strings. A rasp slipped from her throat.
Heroca whispered, almost to himself. "We can't save her…"
Claous growled. "She's not Lila anymore. Hand me the gun."
Heroca's grip faltered. His hand shook on the revolver — then, slowly, he passed it over.
Claous raised it, voice hard.
"I'll make it quick."
The gun cracked. The shot tore through her skull.
She kept moving.
Her head snapped back, then rolled forward, and her body lurched closer.
Claous's breath caught. "She took that in the head and she's still—"
She staggered toward him, arms reaching.
Claous backed into the doorframe. The void pulsed behind him, its cracks glowing brighter. Fury carved his features into stone.
"You're not her. Not anymore."
As she lunged, he twisted aside, hooking the hammer across her chest. He roared, shoving with all his weight — and hurled her into the void.
Her body vanished into black.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then the void convulsed. Fragments of reality shattered like glass, sparks raining around them. The endless dark peeled away, chunk by chunk, until the room beneath returned.
The void was gone.
And at the far end — Deckfern stood.
He clapped once, slowly, smiling.
"Congratulations. You've broken my seal. But don't get comfortable. This was only the beginning."
Ziva rose at his side. Her eyes were open — but blank, unfocused.
Deckfern pulled a small metal box from the table. With a snap, he locked it around her head, covering her eyes completely.
"She doesn't need sight," he murmured. "She can sense you."
Claous didn't hesitate. He raised the revolver and fired straight into Deckfern's forehead.
The doctor collapsed.
Heroca froze. Could it really—?
Claous stormed closer and fired again into his chest.
The smoke cleared.
Deckfern stood.
The wounds sealed shut, sizzling with a mix of flesh and metal. His grin widened.
Claous whispered, "Oh, shit."
Deckfern didn't speak. He lunged. His massive mechanical arm smashed down where Claous had stood. Claous rolled aside just in time, the hammer clattering from his grip.
The blow cracked the floor.
Claous swung his axe up in desperation — sparks skittered across Deckfern's coat, leaving no mark. Deckfern shoved him aside with one massive sweep, slamming him into Chiko and Heroca. The three of them tumbled across the ground.
Claous coughed, clutching his ribs, face pale.
Deckfern opened a door behind him, silent, and stepped through.
Heroca staggered up, revolver raised. "Wait—!"
But Ziva blocked the doorway.
A blade slid out from her arm with a metallic snap.
She lunged.
Steel punched into Heroca's stomach. His gasp tore the air as fire spread through him. She shoved him back, blood splattering across the floor.
Chiko screamed his name, but Claous yanked her back before she could rush forward.
Heroca hit his knees, clutching the wound. And then — his flesh began to knit, skin crawling shut around the gash.
Chiko's eyes widened in horror. "Heroca… you're not—are you even still human?"
Heroca grit his teeth, refusing to answer.
Claous dragged himself up, fury in his eyes. "I'll kill her."
Heroca's voice ripped out, raw but sharp. "No. If you fight her, you'll die. Let me handle it."
Claous glared, but something in Heroca's eyes — the faint glow of the cursed ring — made him pause. Finally, he spat, "…One chance."
The duel began.
Ziva moved like a machine. Blade flashing in arcs too precise, too fast. Heroca ducked, blocked with his wrench, sparks bursting. Steel cut his arm, then his chest. Each wound sealed seconds later, pain burning fresh each time.
He slammed her into a wall — she twisted free, carving across his shoulder. He gasped, kicked her back, but she advanced again, relentless.
Claous shifted forward — Heroca barked, "Stay back!"
The duel dragged on. Slash, heal. Slash, heal. Heroca's body screamed with every cut. Sweat blurred his vision. He couldn't match her. She was cleaner. Faster. Stronger.
Then—
"Stop."
The voice in his skull. The one bound to the ring.
Heroca froze for a heartbeat, chest heaving.
"Bare hand. The ring must touch her."
Panic flashed. I can't even land a hit. She's too fast.
Silence.
No answer.
Heroca's breath shook. His jaw set.
"Chiko. Claous. Help me."
They didn't hesitate.
Heroca charged first. Ziva stabbed into his stomach again. Blood poured. But this time, he clamped both hands on her wrists, refusing to fall.
"Now!"
Chiko and Claous slammed into her, pinning her arms back, straining against her unnatural strength.
Heroca yanked the blade out of himself with a ragged cry. He raised it high.
The voice whispered again.
"Use it."
Heroca slashed the blade across her neck, then pressed his cursed hand against her chest.
The ring pulsed.
Ziva convulsed. Her scream cracked the air as her body blistered, blackened, and crumbled into ash. She scattered like smoke, gone in an instant.
Silence.
The three of them staggered back, gasping.
Chiko covered her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Ziva…"
Claous turned away, fists clenched until blood seeped from his palms. His voice rasped low.
"She's gone. And he made us do it."
Heroca collapsed to his knees, blood pooling hot beneath him. His wound sealed, but his nerves still screamed like fire.
He lifted his head, eyes faintly glowing with cursed light.
"No… This isn't over. Not until I burn him out of this world."
The ring pulsed once. Black light flared against the walls — then faded.
Heroca slumped sideways, unconscious.
And from somewhere deep in the facility, Deckfern's laughter drifted back.
Low. Mocking.
As if daring them to try again.