The darkness remained.
Francielly was still there.
The same absolute emptiness—no horizon, no visible ground, no reference of space whatsoever. The creature remained in front of her, motionless, colossal, its body far too thin for such an impossible height. The X-shaped eyes did not blink. The white smile stayed open, rigid, as if it had been drawn onto its face.
She was breathing fast, her chest rising and falling irregularly.
"Okay…" she murmured, trying to gather her courage. "Okay."
Her voice echoed faintly, distorted, as if space itself were repeating her words with a delay.
Francielly took a step forward.
Nothing happened.
Another step.
The creature did not move.
"You brought me here, didn't you?" she said, her voice still trembling but firmer than before. "So… talk to me."
Silence.
She raised her hand and waved, a simple gesture, almost childish.
"Is this some kind of test?" she tried to laugh, but the sound died in her throat.
The creature tilted its head again.
That was all.
The gesture made Francielly's stomach churn. It wasn't a threat. It was pure observation.
"Are you… real?" she asked.
No response.
She took a deep breath, swallowing her fear. If it wanted to hurt her, it would have done so already. That thought, strangely enough, gave her a false sense of control.
"Then let me try something else."
She slowly extended her hand, her arm trembling as it approached the creature's body. She felt no heat. No cold. No wind. Nothing.
When her hand was just a few centimeters from the thing's skin, she hesitated.
"Don't do this…" she whispered to herself.
Still, she continued.
Her fingers lightly touched the creature's thin arm.
Nothing.
No reaction.
She pulled her hand back quickly, her heart racing.
"Okay…" she breathed. "Okay. You don't react."
The creature continued staring.
Francielly began to walk sideways, avoiding its gaze, as if testing the limits of that space. Each step felt like it led nowhere, yet the movement existed.
After a few seconds, she stopped.
Turned around.
The creature was still there.
At the same distance.
In the same position.
The same smile.
"Of course…" she murmured. "Of course you'd still be there."
She felt a stab of frustration mixed with fear.
"So there's no way out. No conversation. Nothing."
She took a deep breath, a desperate courage rising inside her.
"You know what? Enough."
Francielly walked straight toward the creature. Now she was very close—so close she had to tilt her head up to look at that impossible face.
The smile looked even larger from here.
She hesitated for a second… then extended her hand again.
This time, she grabbed one of the creature's long fingers.
The world exploded in pain.
An unbearable pressure crushed Francielly's heart, as if something were squeezing it from the inside. She let out a muffled scream, clutching her chest with her other hand.
"AAH—!"
The air vanished from her lungs. She tried to inhale but couldn't. Her vision began to darken, a heavy gray swallowing everything.
"NO—! STOP—!"
The creature did not move.
The smile remained.
The pain intensified, radiating from her chest to her head, to her arms, to every part of her body. She fell to her knees, screaming, feeling as if something were being torn out from inside her.
"HELP!" she shouted, her voice breaking.
The world became almost completely dark.
And then—
She woke up.
Francielly shot up in bed, gasping for air as if she had been submerged for far too long. The room was there. Dark. Real.
"Ah… ah… ah…" she breathed rapidly, desperate.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
It still hurt.
"No… no… no…" she murmured.
She staggered to her feet, trying to reach the bathroom. Every step made her head throb with the same intensity as the pain from the dream. Her heart felt like it was about to burst again.
"Stop… stop…" she pleaded.
The pain surged brutally.
"AAAAAH!"
She screamed.
Her body reacted before her mind did. Francielly shoved the table hard, sending plates crashing to the floor. The sound of shattering ceramic echoed through the apartment.
"STOP!" she screamed again.
She bumped into a chair, knocking it over. A picture frame was torn from the wall when she tried to support herself. Glasses fell, shattering.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't intent.
It was pure agony.
She collapsed to her knees amid the mess, clutching her head, screaming until her throat burned.
Then, suddenly—
The pain stopped.
It didn't fade.
It stopped.
As if someone had flipped a switch.
Francielly stayed there, panting, trembling, waiting for the pain to return.
But it didn't.
Her heart was beating normally.
Her head didn't hurt.
Her body was intact.
She looked around.
Broken plates.
Furniture out of place.
Glass on the floor.
"What…?" she whispered, her voice shaky.
No pain.
No explanation.
Only the heavy silence of a destroyed apartment… and the unsettling feeling that something had happened, even though it had left no visible marks.
The camera would slowly pull away, showing Francielly small in the middle of the chaos she had caused without realizing it.
The phone vibrated on the nightstand, breaking the morning silence.
Davincci opened his eyes slowly, still half lost between sleep and reality. The faint light coming through the window showed it was still early. He stretched his arm, grabbed the phone, and frowned when he saw the name on the screen.
Francielly.
His heart raced for a second.
He unlocked the screen quickly.
"Hi. I'm fine. Last night I just went out and ended up sleeping way too hard. Sorry for not replying earlier."
Davincci read the message twice.
Then let out a long breath, almost a relieved laugh.
"Thank God…" he murmured to himself.
The tension he had been carrying since the previous night simply drained out of his body. He rubbed his face and sat up on the bed, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I was overthinking way too much…" he said, trying to convince himself.
He typed a quick reply:
"Good to hear! I was worried. Take care."
He set the phone aside and got up. The room looked the same as always: slightly messy, backpack thrown over a chair, uniform folded carelessly. Nothing seemed out of place.
Nothing seemed wrong.
He got ready with his usual haste, took a quick shower, and went to the kitchen. The smell of food came from the stove.
"Morning," Davincci said, grabbing a glass.
Kaio was leaning against the counter, scrolling through his phone while finishing his coffee.
"Morning. Sleep well?"
"I did…" Davincci replied distractedly, serving himself. "Dad?"
"Hm?"
"Are you coming home late today?"
Kaio looked up.
"I'm going out after work. Company party. I'm not sure what time I'll be back, but probably around midnight."
"Oh… okay."
Kaio noticed his son's neutral tone.
"If anything happens, call me, alright? Don't do anything stupid."
Davincci gave a half-smile.
"When do I ever do stupid things?"
"Exactly when I'm not home," Kaio replied with a slight grin.
The mood was light. Normal. Almost too comfortable.
Davincci finished eating, grabbed his backpack, and waved goodbye before leaving the house.
The street was calm, as it always was in the morning. People heading to work, kids walking to school, cars passing unhurriedly. The world seemed perfectly balanced.
The laboratory, however, did not share that calm.
Cold white lighting reflected off long corridors filled with metal doors and reinforced windows. The constant hum of active equipment created a low, almost irritating noise.
Hamilton stood in front of a digital table, analyzing data projected in the air. His eyes were tired but sharp.
Michael hurried in, holding a tablet and several printed sheets.
"Commander," he called, his voice tenser than usual.
Hamilton turned around.
"What is it now?"
Michael took a deep breath.
"We've had an abnormal increase in disappearances over the last twelve hours. All concentrated in the same region of the city."
Hamilton frowned.
"How many?"
"More than double the average. And the footprint pattern…" Michael hesitated. "It's very similar to what we found in the Y119 case."
Hamilton stayed silent for a few seconds, processing the information.
"Residential area?" he asked.
"Yes. Regular streets. No cameras in several spots."
Hamilton slowly clenched his fists.
"So it's not an isolated event," he murmured.
He turned back to the table and tapped the screen, zooming in on the city map.
"Prepare a team. I want armed soldiers patrolling that area tonight, before dawn."
Michael's eyes widened slightly.
"Armed with what?"
Hamilton didn't hesitate.
"Everything we have that's lethal. We're not repeating mistakes."
Michael nodded.
"I'll take care of it right now."
"And Michael…" Hamilton added seriously. "No one outside this building finds out about this. Not yet."
"Understood, Commander."
Michael left in a hurry, leaving Hamilton alone in the large hall. He looked once more at the map, where small red dots marked the disappearances.
"Whatever you are…" he murmured. "You won't catch us off guard."
Back on the city streets, Davincci walked distractedly when he spotted Elloysa a few meters ahead.
"Hey!" he called, picking up his pace.
She turned, smiling when she saw him.
"Morning!" she replied. "I thought you were running late today."
"Almost," he said, catching up to her. "But I made it."
They started walking together, side by side.
"So?" Elloysa asked, tilting her head slightly. "Any news?"
Davincci hesitated for a second, then smiled.
"Francielly replied."
"Really?" Elloysa looked relieved. "And she's okay?"
"She is. Said she just went out last night and lost track of time. Slept way too hard."
Elloysa let out a breath.
"Thank goodness. I thought it was weird she didn't show up."
"Me too," Davincci admitted. "But I think we were exaggerating."
She shrugged.
"Sometimes yes… sometimes no. But I'm glad everything's fine."
They kept walking, talking about trivial things: tests, assignments, complaints about school. The sun was rising higher, lighting the streets.
Nothing suggested danger.
Nothing suggested monsters.
Nothing suggested that, while two teenagers walked calmly to school, soldiers were being prepared to patrol the city at night.
The world went on as normal.
Normal… a little too normal.