The moment the drop of blood touched the surface of the sphere, I felt something change.
It was a faint sensation, as if something had slipped inside me…
Then the sounds around me disappeared.
No—
they didn't vanish all at once.
They faded gradually, as if someone were slowly lowering the volume.
I tried to move, but my body didn't respond.
I didn't feel panic—only the realization that I was no longer where I had been.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing on a smooth surface,
one that reflected my shape faintly.
I lifted my head and saw a thick gray fog drifting slowly, without any clear direction.
And when I focused my gaze toward the center of the fog,
I saw a figure sitting on a chair, looking straight at me.
The moment our eyes met,
it felt as if time itself had frozen.
My mind stopped completely.
I thought I was ready…
or at least, that's what I believed.
But the instant I looked at that creature sitting there arrogantly,
visions of death began repeating in my mind over and over again.
I have to run.
I kept repeating the thought without stopping.
I knew it instinctively.
And yet…
I couldn't move from where I stood.
What is this…?
What is standing in front of me?
There was no way I could talk to this thing.
That was what I tried to convince myself of,
but my eyes refused to look away.
It was watching me from within the fog.
Its eyes were terrifyingly clear—
the gaze of someone who knew exactly where I was…
and knew that I had no choice.
And it was smiling.
Not a friendly smile,
but the smile of someone enjoying the situation.
Then it spoke calmly:
"It seems I have a small guest."
When it finished speaking, it looked at me with its crimson eyes from head to toe, as if examining me carefully.
It wasn't an ordinary look—
it made me deeply uneasy, as if it could see things I couldn't.
The longer its eyes remained fixed on me,
the more the fear inside me grew.
It didn't show on my face,
but I felt it creeping into my chest, pressing down slowly, making my body stiff.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.
Haaah…
But my breathing came out heavy and uneven,
as if my chest were too tight to allow proper air in.
This is just an illusion.
I kept repeating that in my mind, trying to convince myself.
I'm not experiencing anything real…
this is just instinctive fear—the kind you feel when standing before a killer.
And if I thought about it rationally,
the being in front of me was nothing more than a disembodied will,
an existence without a body or emotions.
And yet,
its mere presence was enough to shatter every attempt I made to stay calm.
It was as if my mind understood the truth…
but at the same time forced itself to deny it.
When it looked at me again, it was obvious that my condition amused it.
Its lips curved into a faint smile as it said calmly,
"How adorable."
Its crimson eyes were locked onto me directly—
no hesitation, no blinking.
I felt as if its gaze didn't stop at my appearance,
but went beyond that… as if it were piercing straight through me.
Stop…
I tried to look away, but my body wouldn't respond.
Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over me.
As if all my thoughts—everything I had hidden deep inside—
had been laid bare in a single moment.
I felt as though it was examining them one by one,
without permission, without effort.
There was nothing I could hide from those intrusive eyes.
Suddenly, the space around us began to shake.
A faint tremor at first,
then a little stronger, until I felt the ground beneath my feet move.
I froze in place, my heart rising to my throat.
It paused as well,
as if it sensed it at the exact same moment I did.
Its smile vanished.
It lifted its head slightly and said in a dry, calm voice:
"It seems we don't have much time for chatting…"
After a brief pause, it added in a less mocking tone,
"We'll talk later."
Then it simply looked away,
as if I was no longer worth its attention.
And the moment that crimson gaze left me,
something inside me collapsed.
My consciousness returned all at once.
My entire body was shaking uncontrollably,
a clear tremor I couldn't stop, as if I had just awakened from a long nightmare.
Cold sweat gathered on my forehead,
then slowly slid down the sides of my face.
My breathing was fast and shallow,
every breath difficult, as if the air itself had grown heavy.
Then I heard Rina's voice behind me:
"Are you okay?"
I turned toward her slowly,
my body still feeling unbearably heavy.
I nodded slightly—
just enough to give her an answer, even though I knew it was a lie.
How could I be okay in this state?
My body was still trembling, my heart still racing,
but I couldn't say that out loud.
The words wouldn't come out,
as if something was stopping them.
Rina looked at me for a moment, then said seriously,
"Your body has been shaking since the moment you entered.
That's why I intervened… and forced your consciousness to return."
She paused briefly before asking,
"What happened there?"
I stayed silent.
My mind was a mess—I couldn't remember anything clearly.
Then I felt a faint itch on my wrist.
A strange sensation,
as if something had appeared out of nowhere.
I looked down at my hand… and froze.
There was a bracelet wrapped around my wrist.
I couldn't remember when it was put there,
or how it appeared.
Rina noticed it immediately and said calmly,
"It seems you managed to convince him."
Convince him?
The word echoed in my mind.
How did I do that?
I tried to remember what happened there,
but every time I did, it felt like my head was about to explode.