THREE DAYS LATER
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The sound drilled through the darkness—distant at first, then insistent, relentless.
-Hmmmmmmmmp—
Nihil managed to produce, his mind swimming toward the surface through a thick soup of cotton and lead.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
-Agggg… my head is killing me—
He growled to himself, bringing a trembling hand to his forehead.His skull felt like it was being crushed in a vise.Each heartbeat was a hammer blow against his temples.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
-????… who the hell could that be?
He murmured, confused, his sense of time completely shattered.
-I only laid down for a moment…
With superhuman effort, he dragged himself out of bed.His bones creaked in protest.The world spun around him.
Groping his way forward, he reached the door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
-One moment!
Nihil managed to say, his voice hoarse and dry. When he opened the door, the hallway light punched straight into his eye sockets—but even so, he managed to make out two figures.
One was Vesna, the demon landlady, her smile a little tighter today.The other… was one of the bank employees.
An instant chill—different from the headache—ran down his spine.
The figure was unmistakable: short white hair, dark complexion, neutral expression, wearing an impeccable suit jacket.She wasn't the one from reception or the cubicle—the badge on her chest was different.
'What is someone like her doing here?'
But the question drowned in a sea of mental fog.
'Agggg… whatever,' Nihil thought, determined to get this over with as fast as possible.
-Hi, Nihil! Umm… this lady from the bank says she needs to talk to you.
Vesna said, her enthusiasm muted by a hint of concern.
Nihil turned his gaze to the bank employee.
-Okay. Let her in. And thanks, Vesna.
-No problem!
Vesna replied, and after one last quick, slightly nervous glance at the employee, she turned and left, leaving them alone.
Nihil stepped back to make space.
The bank employee crossed the threshold without a word. Her gaze swept over the messy room—the backpack on the floor, the tangled blankets, and Nihil himself—without her expression changing in the slightest.
-Go ahead, come in. Let's sit on the couch so we can talk comfortably.
Nihil said as he closed the door.
-OK.
She replied, her voice monotone and professional.
They sat facing each other as the afternoon light filtered through the dirty window, clearly illuminating the visitor's badge.
It didn't say "Reception" or "Customer Service."
It read: "Management, Payments, and Reports Department."And beneath the title, the number: 0604.
Nihil tensed. His still-sluggish mind reacted for a brief instant.
-Excuse me… but what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?
He asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding as worn out as he felt.
Employee 0604 looked at him. Her dark eyes—just as impersonal as her colleagues'—seemed to focus on him with slightly greater intensity.Not friendliness. Evaluation.
-We detected a charge on your card for a considerable amount, with a recurring monthly debit, which was not reported to us either before or after it was made.
A considerable amount… the room.
-…My apologies, but I was about to notify the bank. After all, only a few hours have passed since the transaction.
Nihil shot back, his mind still foggy and operating at half capacity.
He was lying.
Not only did he have no idea that he had to report expenses above a certain amount—he had just woken up from what he thought was a nap.
The lie was reflexive. A flimsy shield raised to make this badge-wearing shadow leave as soon as possible.
0604 simply remained silent.
It wasn't an empty silence, but a loaded one—like a machine processing inconsistent data.
She observed him for what felt like an eternity, her gaze scanning his skeletal face, his disheveled posture, the disorder of the room.
-Excuse me… but more than seventy-two hours have already passed since the transaction.
She finally said, breaking the ice with the delicacy of a hammer.
-…Huh?
The words didn't fit.
Seventy-two hours.
Three days.
The math was simple, but the reality it described was impossible.
-B-but only a few hours have passed since I left the bank.
Nihil stammered as a stab of genuine panic pierced his confusion.
-Sir, as I said, more than seventy-two hours have passed since the transaction.
She repeated, with the infinite patience of a user manual.
-But I only slept for a moment…
Nihil's protest sounded weak—childish, even to his own ears.
Then something extraordinary happened.
The neutral expression—the professional mask identical to all bank employees—cracked.
Not dramatically, but subtly: a brief blink, a tiny furrow between her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
Confusion.
Pure, genuine confusion—as if her processing system had encountered an unsolvable logic error: a client insisting on a physically impossible timeline.
-In any case, I'm only here to verify that it was indeed you who made the transaction.
She continued, regaining her composure with impressive speed.
Nihil lowered his gaze.
The battle was lost.
What did it matter if it had been three hours or three days? The contract was signed. The money spent.
-…Yes. I was the one who made it.
-Very well. Next time you plan to make a similar transaction, please call in advance so these kinds of… incidents don't occur.
-I understand…
He had no excuses.No energy.
All he could do was nod and wait for her to leave.
A sigh escaped 0604—a sound so subtle it almost went unnoticed, but coming from her, it felt like a major display of fatigue.
-Very well… that will be all on my end.
-Let me open the door for you.
As he turned and took his first step toward the door, a sharp, dry sound—like a thick branch snapping—rang through the room.
CRACK
It was instantly followed by a dull SMASH, the sound of something heavy hitting the linoleum floor.
-Eh????