The darkness stretched from all directions.

'What's... going on?'

Through the haze in his mind, Kyle could just barely keep himself conscious.

He could hardly recall what had happened. Despite this, in that hazy state he was in, bits and pieces of memory began to resurface in Kyle's mind.

Ah...

Memories of the last moments replayed in his mind.

Seth. The Jester.

And everything that came from his last moments. But such memories were hazy. He could just barely make sense of them. They felt more like hazy photographs than memories.

'...Did I... die?'

It felt like it.

The world around him felt incredibly cold, and he barely felt his own consciousness.

Barely...

Kyle could still feel something, albeit faintly. He couldn't quite make sense of what was happening, falling into this strange limbo as he sank further and further into the darkness.

It was cold.

So cold.

Time seemed to move to a crawl. Kyle lost complete track of it.

It felt as though he had been trapped within the darkness for days. Perhaps even longer.

He wasn't sure.

All he knew was that he was sinking deeper and deeper, with seemingly no way out. He felt completely lost, and as the darkness thickened, he began to lose sight of himself. Despite not being fully aware of himself, Kyle could feel it.

The slow and gradual fading of his mind.

He didn't have much time left.

'Am I...'

It was amidst such realization that Kyle finally spotted something within the darkness. It was faint, but he could see it.

A faint light.

Without a second thought, Kyle moved towards the light.

He didn't know what he was doing, nor did he know what the light was, but he understood that he needed to go to the light.

And so he did.

Even as the surroundings grew darker and darker, he continued to move towards the light.

The light grew brighter and brighter.

So bright that it almost felt blinding, but Kyle ignored the sensation as he finally started to feel a certain warmth covering his body. The more he basked in that warmth, the more he started to feel his mind clear, and that was also the moment he started to move faster.

'I need to... I have to...'

Eventually, the source of the light became clear to him.

It was a large white sphere.

One... that he felt was vaguely familiar.

Coming to a stop, Kyle stared at the orb in confusion as his thoughts became clearer and clearer until he finally figured out what the orb was.

'A... node?'

Swooosh!

Light blinded him from all sides.

He barely had any time to react before the light completely enveloped him.

"....!!"

By the time his vision returned, he found himself staring up at a pair of bright lights above. Alongside the light was a constant, yet repetitive, beeping sound.

Beeep! Beeep!

Blinking a few times, Kyle caught the sterile scent lingering in the air, and as it registered, he slowly turned his head.

"Ah..."

He finally realized where he was.

'Hospital?'

The memories that he had struggled so much to make sense of a moment prior finally sank back into his mind, and his previously calm expression started to change.

"That's... Ah, but... H-how could...?"

The Gate.

The Boss. The supervisor. Seth's strange movements.

The Gate explosion.

Memories...

His body getting taken over.

Everything finally sank back in his mind at once.

With the last memory being that of the Jester... grabbing onto him and shattering his node. Remembering those moments, Kyle's heart started to beat faster. But above all, and most importantly...

"It-s... all a fake. A ruse..."

Seth...

He was innocent.

He was definitely innocent!

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

The sudden spike in his heartbeat was immediately reflected on the electrocardiogram, the beeping growing faster and more erratic. The change didn't go unnoticed. Moments later, the door swung open, and several figures rushed in, their movements urgent.

Clank!

"What's going on?"

"I'm picking up an irregular pulse. What's go—"

The moment the figures came in and caught sight of the wide-awake Kyle, they all stopped.

"Patient is awake."

"N-nurse...!"

A moment after, they quickly realized what had happened as they moved closer to him and started to change his IV fluids while also detailing to him the situation.

"Please calm down."

"No, I can't. I need to... I need to—!"

"I can understand the confusion, but there's no need for you to be confused. We'll explain everything to you shortly. I've already called your colleagues. They will be with you shortly."

Sure enough, not even a moment later, several familiar figures appeared by the entrance of the room.

"Kyle...!"

"Looks like you're finally awake."

From Zoey to the Section Chief and even several other figures that Kyle didn't know too well. He saw at least a dozen people entering the room at once.

If not for the nurse stopping them, Kyle would've probably been overwhelmed.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, one of the nurses spoke up.

"He's just woken up! Please don't crowd around him like this! Give him some space to breathe. This situation isn't good for him. Let's have a visitor at a time, okay?"

The nurses' words brought everyone to a silence.

Eventually, everyone looked at one another before everyone's gaze settled on the Section Chief.

"...Let me have the first round. I'll fill him in on the situation."

"Okay."

"Yes."

Zoey hesitated, but she eventually nodded, leaving alongside everyone else as the Section Chief grabbed a chair and sat down. Or at least, he tried to. The moment everyone left, Kyle spoke up.

"S-section Chief...! About Seth, I think that—!"

"Alright, calm down."

The Section Chief pressed his hand against Kyle's head and pushed it down the pillow.

"I know what you want to say, but for now, calm down."

"No, but—"

"Relax. We are all aware. He is fine right now. Nothing has happened yet. Just relax for the moment and speak to me."

Kyle's lips trembled, but eventually, he calmed down.

The Section Chief finally smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"L-ike... I've been hit by a truck."

Kyle answered honestly. He felt like absolute shit at the moment. Although he didn't feel much pain, that was mostly because he was currently on several dozen painkillers.

"To be honest, getting hit by a truck would've probably been better."

"I know."

The Section Chief replied, massaging his face. Looking closely, Kyle finally took notice of the Section Chief's haggard expression. He looked like absolute shit. Even worse than usual. This also made him think about the current situation, and just as he was about to ask, the Section Chief grabbed a paper and began reading it to him.

"Cranial fracture present. Evidence of puncture trauma to the kidney and lung, accompanied by multiple rib fractures…"

Hearing the Section Chief's words, the smile on Kyle's face began to fade. Especially when he recalled the very last moments.

Although he wasn't quite conscious back then, as his body had been taken over, he could still recall most things.

That was also how he recalled the state of his node.

His heart sank.

Maybe, this was the end of his—

"Surprisingly, the only thing you've suffered is bodily injuries."

"Huh?"

The Section Chief placed the papers down, his brows furrowed as he scratched the back of his head.

"...There's been no reported fractures on your nodes. In fact, all of your nodes appear to be in great shape."

"What?"

Kyle blinked a couple of times, struggling to come to terms with what the Section Chief was saying. Although his memories weren't perfect, as his body had been taken over, he couldn't recall everything perfectly.

But at least...! In the very last moments, he could recall the Jester's hand reaching out for his head and his node shattering.

In that sense, how could...?

"How is it possible?"

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