Splash! Nioma felt a cold feeling that sank through her skin, her eyes slowly opene, as she tried to take a view of where she was, placing the shadows together. She felt the same ache she had experienced earlier, but this time, it felt heavier.
"Aah!" she screamed out loud, her voice resonating back to her.
Nioma was in a room, an empty one at that. Who was he? she could only wonder in her thought—the same stranger that had made his way into her apartment. The way he moved, her eyes couldn't keep up. Or could she just have mis-seen it all? But in everything she could deny, there was one truth that remained glaring at her—she had massacred those people.
It was no dream.
"Wh…a…what is going on…" Nioma whispered, lost in more confusion, tears streaming down her eyes. How did she end up in such a situation? But just in those moments of recalling her very monstrous action, Nioma heard the sound of footsteps approaching, one that grew louder by the second. Her eyes fixed at the door, continuously awaiting who was going to make his way in.
Could it be the same stranger? she wondered. The same one who had knocked her out in a split second? Maybe they had the answers to what had happened to her.
Nioma could feel it—she truly died that night. She shouldn't be alive, not unless something had happened, something she couldn't put in place. But maybe, just maybe, they would know—at least that was the slightest possibility she could put out in those moments.
But just then, the footsteps suddenly stopped at the doorstep.
"What happened?" she murmured, trying to tell why he had stopped approaching.
"Seems you're already awake. Why don't we start this off with some questions first…" Nioma heard a man's voice, one that came from behind her. She froze, completely paralyzed in that state as her shaky head slowly turned, trying to take in the sight of the stranger. A man dressed in a rather fashionable coat, with a hat half covering his face.
She could feel the fear seething through every fibre of her. He was dangerous—too dangerous. More importantly, how did he suddenly appear at her back?
"W-who… who exactly are you?" she stammered, trying to question, but the stranger left no reply to that.
"I should be the one doing the questioning here," he simply said as their eyes met.
Nioma felt her heart pounding, blood boiling, as she looked away. For a moment, in those tiny blinked seconds, she felt like she was being sucked into a nightmare—one filled with all the bloody memories she had tried to flee from.
Just a sight of him, and sweat beads began forming on her skin. Her eyes downcast, she couldn't stop shivering for a bit.
The stranger dragged a chair and sat comfortably in front of Nioma, legs crossed, with his hands clasped together. She could feel his narrowed gaze on her even without looking.
"I'm sure you must have many questions, but first, I need to confirm if you are good enough to join the organization," he said.
But Nioma couldn't grasp a bit of what he was saying. "What organization…? Could it be the same as those thugs who attacked me?" she thought. Yet the fear remained—one that rendered her unable to let out a single word throughout the conversation.
"I must admit, the bloodline is strong. It's hard to see someone strong enough to handle the transformation in the night of their death…" the Stranger stated, his words only leaving Nioma confused. "But even so, that alone doesn't prove the sustenance of your power enough to work for us."
He continued, only to take on his feet after, kicking the chair aside to a distance with his legs as he took some steps back.
"I will be giving you two options here, Miss Nioma…" the man said. His mention of Nioma name left her in a shocked state.
How—just how did he know her name? She could not tell. Were they really from the same organization with those thugs?
The stranger snapped his finger, and in a blink, the chains tying her to the chair snapped broken. But still, she couldn't move—Nioma couldn't even stand. The chains weren't the only thing holding her down.
"Take this as part of the evaluation," the stranger said. "Come at me with your full force."
A word that sent shivers to her. No—she didn't want to. What were they planning? Did they just want to kill her? She could already tell he was stronger than her.
"You have the bloodline in you, I admit, but that alone isn't enough. I must confirm if you will be of help to the organization or a threat that needs to be eliminated immediately. The choice is yours," he said.
Nioma could tell he meant every last word of it. But no—even though she had died and shouldn't be alive now, she possibly didn't want to die again. Somehow, she felt it. There was something she needed to do, but she still couldn't recall much about herself.
Her brother? What happened to him? Was he truly dead? And how did she survive death itself? What had happened to her? So many things…
"Die now, or fight your way through…" the stranger said.
She stood up, her feet still shaky, but even still, she wasn't ready to just give up like that. No—she couldn't lose everything again, not until she found out the reason she didn't die the same night she was murdered. The reason she was still alive.
Even if there was no hope of winning, she couldn't die again. No… that was never going to happen now.
Nioma cared less about all what the stranger had been muttering. What was the thing about bloodline, and what did it have to do with her?
He also mentioned an organization. But there really was no time to be thinking about all those things now, was there?
"Now let's see how well you can control your blood," the stranger said in the very last second, as Nioma moved—or rather, every fibre of her body acted before she could even think. Her legs moved in quite an unnatural speed, faster than normal. Each attack she threw came with heavy force, but the stranger merely dodged them without even changing his stance from the start, standing straight with a face that didn't even take the fight seriously.
It was more like he was far more disappointed with the result.
"Weak…" he said bluntly, landing a blow on Nioma—one enough to blast her straight, her back hitting the wall as she coughed out blood, crumbling to her knees
Her vision suddenly grew blurry, her breath shaky. Her eyes that had once turned red during the fight suddenly returned back to their normal colour, but now it was almost like every part of her veins was going to pop out. Her lungs tightened as she grasped harder for air, almost crumbling completely to the ground.
She watched the stranger with faint vision as he slowly took some steps approaching her.
"The organization doesn't need someone this weak," he said. "You failed the test, so now die."
The stranger's hand moved in utmost swiftness, aiming to rip Nioma's heart out, but she moved, twisting her body enough for his attack not to meet any of her vital spots as the blow sent her back crashing through the rough floor. She found herself against the wall again, gushing more blood.
He didn't move. The stranger remained in his former spot, as Nioma tried crawling some distance away, hoping to leave the room.
"I… ca… can't… die yet," she whispered.
Her bloody hands reached for the door handle, only to slip, staining it as she lost consciousness.
Nioma felt like she was slowly fading away in a drifting nightmare. To think she had come back to life only to die back again without letting go of the regrets she felt in her heart. But the truth couldn't be denied—that she had no chance from the start. Maybe all this was for the best in the end, a lie that only made her laugh at herself.
"Nioma!" she could hear her name being called. "Come on out, Nioma, we are going to be late."
That voice—it was her brother's. Was it one of her memories? Or…
"Brother…" Nioma's voice came in a whisper.
"Brother!" she cried, running—or watching herself running. What was her brother like? The way he smiled in the picture… he must have been a cheerful one.
But the moment she opened the door, her smile completely wiped off by what awaited her.
The whole floor soaked with blood, her eyes landing on many mutilated corpses, some with their bodies from the middle to their legs cut off as they crawled through the ground, spilling out more blood.
"N… Nioma…" each one called her name in agony.
Her legs trembled as she stumbled to the ground.
"No… noo… stay away!" she yelled, her eyes closed shut, hands placed on her ears as she couldn't help but cry.
What was going on? Why was all this happening? Was this the hell she was meant to be in? It could only make her shiver, knowing even after death, only hell awaited her.
But then she heard the voice again, this time closer, calmer.
"Nioma," her brother's voice. "You're safe now, Nioma," it said, causing Nioma to slowly open her eyes—an action she should never have done.
Her eyes widened the moment she took in sight of her brother. Hands mutilated as he lay there on the ground.
A stranger crouched over him, blood dripping as he sunk deep into his flesh, ripping each part of her brother body apart.
Pure horror left Nioma shaking. It almost felt like her brain cracked in just the sight, as her brother's head fell off from its body, rolling to her side, his eyes meeting hers with a smile.
"Nioma…"
"Bro… bro… brother…" she gasped, her back meeting the wall. The moment her eyes went to the body, the monster feeding on it turned to her—one who was in the same image as her.
"Hello, Nioma," it smiled at her.
Nioma screamed, the terror eating right through her. Only for her to jolt up awake, her heart thudding faster, more—faster than ever. She was sweating from all over, her whole body wet.
"Bro… brother?" she panted, her breath harsh as she tried taking some.
Nioma eyes scanner her surroundings. "A nightmare?" She whispered, trying to recollect her thoughts. But wait—didn't i die? Wasn't i killed by the same stranger?
If so… Nioma wondered just how she ended up in this room.
What was really happening, and where exactly did she find herself trapped in…