Mira POV

Mira ran through the endless halls of the library.

Her boots thudded softly against the floor.

The air felt heavy, pressing down like fog.

Ava was in her arms, carried in a princess hold, and James clung tightly to her back.

Holding them was the only way to move fast. If they walked as a group, they would be too slow.

Bookshelves stretched forever on both sides. The smell of paper and dust mixed with something metallic.

Then it hit her.

The mental connection with Alan vanished.

Her body froze mid-step.

She stopped running.

"Alan…" she whispered.

The word barely left her mouth.

Even the children sensed it.

Ava's small fingers dug into her clothes. James stiffened on her back.

James spoke, "Sister. Did brother Alan—"

"He's fine." Mira's voice came out sharper than she meant. "We need to focus on what we're doing."

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to move again.

The muscles in her jaw trembled with anger.

Alan… that childish, stubborn boy.

If he was dead—

No. She forced herself to think logically.

The Cursed Spirit wanted them alive since they were experiment subjects.

It should capture them, not kill them.

And if Alan had died, their group would have only two people left.

The Cursed Spirit should've come for Mira's group when that happened since they had larger number.

That was how the domain worked.

But it hadn't come.

So Alan was alive.

Still, a cold thought crept into her mind.

What if the Spirit counted Alan's corpse as part of his group?

Or maybe he was captured. That could explain why the mental link disappeared.

If he was caught, the Cursed Spirit would wait out the five-minute timer before chasing them again.

She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be bubbling with anger.

They had to find a way to escape.

"Wall ahead," James said suddenly.

Mira slowed.

To her, there was nothing but open space between two tall shelves.

But she had learned not to trust her eyes here.

"Alright," she said, changing direction without stopping. "Keep looking for clues."

Ava lifted a trembling hand and pointed. "T-There."

Mira followed her gaze.

Something was written on one of the wooden shelves.

"Can you read it, James?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, squinting.

"Good. That means it's visible to all of us. It could be another clue."

She stepped closer, holding Ava tighter as she leaned in.

The words were messy and uneven.

"'When @14@ were #41231 on us we were dream$^^%.'" James read out loud.

Mira frowned. "This is completely useless."

Half the words were gibberish, scratched in panic.

Whoever wrote it must've been terrified, rushing to leave a message before something found them.

She took a breath and reviewed what they'd found so far.

Five clues.

[It's impossible to escape this place! It's impossible! All of us failed!]

[The $%@ Institution was built on @#'s support.]

[The Institution is impossible to !$@!$ from.]

[I wish I never knew about this place. Maybe then we could escape.]

[when @14@ were #41231 on us we were dream$^^%.]

Each message felt like a cry for help.

The words were twisted, as if something didn't want them understood.

Only two were complete. The rest were half gone or hidden.

Mira felt she was close. Like a missing piece of a puzzle was right there, just out of reach.

She frowned and kept walking.

Soon they reached what looked like a counter area.

It was darker here.

The shelves curved, hiding what lay behind.

Then she saw it.

A door.

The first door she saw in this domain.

Her heart quickened.

"I can see a door."

James and Ava both nodded when she looked at them. They could see it too.

That meant it was real.

"Stay close," Mira said.

She pushed the door open.

The hinges creaked like a whisper.

Inside was a lab.

Rows of glass tubes lined the room, glowing faintly with pale light.

Each tube had something inside.

They had incomprehensible shapes.

Her head started to ache just from looking at them.

She turned her head, checking the place.

Then she saw one of the labels on a specific glass tube.

Subject: 06.

Her heart stopped.

"Zephan?" she whispered.

The thing inside the tube was her teammate.

…

Calliope POV

Calliope lay on the cold floor, her whole body aching.

Blood ran down her arm and every breath hurt, but she didn't heal herself.

She couldn't. If she did, the Cursed Spirit would kill her.

She could feel its eyes on her.

Her gaze shifted toward the syringe lying a few meters away.

Her mind screamed at her to move, but her body refused.

The pressure of the Cursed Spirit's presence was crushing.

It felt like being pinned under a mountain.

Each breath cut through her chest like a knife.

She could feel its eyes crawling over her skin.

Watching. Waiting.

It wanted her to move.

If she did, she would die.

From where she lay, she could see Lars fighting.

His movements were rough and desperate.

She couldn't see the version of the Cursed Spirit he was facing, but she could tell from his wounds that he was losing.

Without Alan, he wouldn't last long.

She couldn't watch for long.

Fear made her close her eyes.

'Move,' she told herself, clenching her fists, hating herself for how much of a coward she was.

'Move.'

She bit her lip until she tasted blood.

'Move!'

Her rational mind tried to argue that the Cursed Spirit wouldn't kill her.

It hadn't killed anyone yet.

It wanted them alive. The experiment subjects — them —probably had to captured alive due to the narrative.

But fear drowned reason.

'I need to help them,' she thought, tears slipping down her face.

She had once been a rising star, a healer every team wanted.

She could fight, use dozens null-element spells, and healing spells.

Now the only spell she could use a simple heal, and she was afraid to raise her fist.

Her trauma had taken everything else.

"Calliope!" Lars shouted between breaths. "I'll get captured! Use that chance to heal Alan when the Cursed Spirit leaves! It's not trying to kill me, this is the best—"

"No!"

Her voice came out louder than she expected.

Her eyes snapped open, and her body moved before her mind caught up.

But what she saw froze her again.

The Cursed Spirit's three faces hovered right in front of her. Its eyes stared straight into hers.

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