"I wonder how he'll deal with my other self," Falina voiced, watching the portal close before her.

  The one still impaled by the tendrils burst into a pool of blood. The substance fizzled before fading into the air.

  Elaine was still wrapped around the ethereal cord, still frozen as if trapped in the passage of time.

  "She's human, but I sense no Abna Energy within her. Just like Irva." She grinned. "You sure have discovered interesting acquaintances, Hezekiah."

  It was her hope for Hezekiah to awaken as an Abna one day. Putting him under extreme pressure with the Organization's missions was to aid the process.

  Although he proved to be more formidable than she expected, the issue still remained: he's not Awakening.

  Did I waste my time on a dud? Even when I pretended to be killed nothing happened. Not a single trace of Abna Energy to be noticed. Or maybe... he's just like the other two.

  A human possessing supernatural abilities should be impossible without Abna Energy. So there must be a piece of the puzzle that's missing.

  "In either case." She summoned another portal and sent Elaine through it. "I'm sure the story between the two of you will be fun to listen to."

  Their bickering from earlier holds a grander story, and that's where she would find her answer.

  Walking to the elevator, a wave of fatigue engulfed her. The room turned; weakness ate through her bones. She collapsed to a knee, perplexed. She knew summoning portals could cost quite a bit of energy, but it had never worn her out before.

  "Something's not right..." she whispered. She started coughing, each one like a shot to the throat.

  "I'm coughing blood? Am I sick?" Sweat cruised down her cheeks as sprinkles of blood stained the carpet.

  She used the wall for support as she tried to stand. Both her hands immediately vanished, causing her to stumble.

  More of her essence rushed out her stumps.

  "Damnit! What the hell!?" She immediately began regenerating; packs of coughs assaulted her again, staining her clothes.

  She grimaced. She was fine up until a few moments ago, but something had changed within that time. Her regeneration made it impossible to get sick, yet something was clearly wrong with her.

  Her nails cut into her palms. "How am I supposed to fight the Inner Circle in this state? And why did my hands suddenly vanish?"

  Her steps were heavy as she struggled her way to the stairwell door.

  It kicked open from the other side.

  "Secure Hezekiah! Once we—" a voice paused, evidently shocked to have found someone else.

  "Isn't this neat? It's been a while, my fellow Black Flowers." Falina waved, straightening herself. "Hope there's no bad blood between us."

  Three Black Flower members stood on the other side.

  "That... isn't who I think it is, is it?" a short man spoke.

  "She was alive this whole time!? I knew it, I knew something was off!" another added.

  Another figure shuffled his way past the other two. "Well what do we have here, color me surprised. Your brother was onto something after all," Agnas spoke.

  "He told you I was alive? Such pure idealism." She chuckled. "Anyway, I take it you're hunting him?"

  "He's a traitor like yourself, what do you expect?" a woman responded. She withdrew her pistol from her holster and aimed it at Falina.

  She's sweating and somewhat out of breath. There's no reason for her to be exhausted yet. What's with her? Falina thought.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "What are you doing, Westly!? This is our perfect chance to find out why she's alive!" The short man protested before turning toward Agnas for confirmation.

  Footsteps echoed from above. "Look, it sucks. But does it really matter what I think at this point, Marvis?" Agnas replied as he faced the incoming members. "Her survival depends on how the majority feels."

  "Isn't that the truth? But I'm afraid their opinions won't matter," Falina voiced.

  "Out of the way if you're just going to sit there!" One of the members shoved his way through the three; the rest followed suit.

  Finally noticing Falina, he paused. "Aren't you—"

  Cords of light wrapped around his figure, along with the others that followed. It was as quick as lightning, electricity streamed down the cords, electrifying them all until their skin turned black.

  Cooked flesh ascended up the other three's nostrils. Words failed to form what they saw, incapable of describing what they witnessed.

  The ethereal cords were wrapped securely in her hand before retracting back into her skin.

  "I only need one of you. So who's willing to sacrifice themselves first?"

  Westly trembled, struggling to keep her gun straight. She couldn't see any Huska Tools on her, but would a Huska Tool be capable of something like this anyway?

  "Starting to see why you weren't killed," Agnas reasoned, refraining from making any sudden movements.

  "Don't tell me you always thought of me as being frail? That's a little insulting, you know."

  "It's funny you say that, considering you don't look well yourself right now," he observed.

  "You're free to test that if you like."

  "Can't you zip it for once, Agnas?" Marvis intervened. "What do you want with us?"

  "Some assistance with certain entryways would be nice. Every door being iris-scan is kinda inconvenient, and dead bodies won't make the cut."

  "Shouldn't you have access to that?" Marvis asked, skeptical why she couldn't do it herself.

  "They're not dumb enough to keep me in the system. Isn't that obvious?"

  Westly dropped to her palms, clutching her chest. "Not good, I'm at my limit." She coughed, her chest tightening as her arms began to shake.

  "Now's not the time for this! What's with you guys getting sick all of a sudden!?" Agnas said, keeping his sight on Falina.

  "You think I know the answer to that!?"

  Falina forced a steady breath, focusing on the collapsed girl before her. "You mean there are others like this? That's a real nasty cough you have. Are you coughing blood as well?"

  Westly eased herself to her knee. "I'm not that weak, unlike the others."

  Falina stressed a smile. "Well aren't you tough?" She shot forth her palm, a torrent of darkness raced toward Westly. The others jumped back instinctively, but she wasn't as quick.

  The rotten remains of their companion stayed behind, like all the blood was sucked from her skin.

  "Holy shit..." Agnas muttered, suppressing the shakiness in his voice.

  Marvis carefully turned back toward Falina, whose skin was a shade paler.

  "I don't know what you are, but if you'll let Agnas go, I'll do whatever you need me to, even help save Hezekiah."

  "Those terms would be nice if everything wasn't knocked off pace." A cloud of darkness manifested around her hand again. "But I already decided who I want."

  Marvis flinched as she aimed directly at him. "Wait! Hold on I can—"

  The same streak of darkness erupted again, consuming him down to the bones.

  Falina deeply sighed before resting her hand on her hip. "This isn't a problem, right, Agnas?"

  Agnas took a steady look at the other two, regretting following them in the first place.

  "You're really something else. Can't say I was particularly close to them, but that's to be expected, isn't it?"

  "Maybe, but not everything is as straightforward if you noticed." She walked past him, forcing herself to stay on her feet. "After we reach the Directors' floor I could care less what you do next. In the meantime, I'd love to know more about this sickness you guys mentioned earlier."

  Agnas thoughtfully examined her, assuring himself that something was definitely off. But for now, he followed right behind her.

  ***

  "Black Flowers slacking on the job today?" Falina jested, taking a step to their desired floor.

  Agnas stepped in front of her, facing the iris scanner. "More like they fear for their lives. As you already know, no one is able to leave this place and people are randomly getting sick."

  "You didn't have to respond seriously, you know?"

  The scanner beeped, followed by a clicking sound of the door.

  Agnas pushed the door open, leading to a hallway that led to large double-iron doors. "Can you blame me? If you saw someone's hands disappear for no explicit reason, wouldn't you be on edge?"

  "Hehe, can't say I relate." She made her way down the hall before stopping partway through. "Oops, I forgot to mention something." She smiled, opening her palm.

  "Figures." Agnas laughed dryly. "What would killing me even achieve? I'm not even down for the Organization like that."

  "That in of itself is somewhat of a bigger issue. Or more accurately, you being an undercover detective for the Micos Police Department can pose more inconveniences than I'd rather deal with."

  Agnas' chest stopped as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Is fabricating a fancy lie a lazy excuse to get rid of me? You really haven't changed at all."

  The double doors opened; a girl with a black mask stepped through, halting upon facing Falina.

  "It's... you?" Morianna whispered, already summoning wisps of smoke around her.

  Falina, upon hearing the creaking of the doors, turned. "Hey there! Glad I was saved the trouble of looking for you."

  Another Black Flower? Why haven't I seen her before? Agnas wondered. What’s even more perplexing is the tails of darkness encircling her. There's something more to this Organization than we realized. I have to slip away when the opportunity presents itself.

  Another woman came from behind. Falina narrowed her focus, recognizing the pink-haired girl before her.

  "If it isn't our only Huska Tool specialist. Didn't expect you to break free so soon."

  Falina inhaled a deep breath, ignoring the tiredness sitting behind her eyelids.

  "You'd be surprised how dice can fall sometimes. In fact, I'm sure you're about to get a sneak peek yourself, Artemis."