"Did you forget what you had scheduled today?"
Just as Eternal Meteor was trying to distract Tokai Teio and steer her away from that whole mess, the voice of X suddenly cut in inside her head.
"…You win your revival match already?" Meteor shot back.
"Instead of running your mouth at me, check the time, and think properly—crybaby."
Meteor glanced at the wall clock.
Eight o'clock.
What could possibly—
Her face instantly twisted like she'd swallowed a mouthful of wasabi.
Teio jolted.
"Are you okay?! I'll go get a doctor!"
"No need. I just remembered something. Teio—help me handle discharge paperwork."
She started to hop out of bed on pure reflex—then caught herself mid-motion and carefully lowered herself down like an obedient patient for once.
"But your head wound—"
"It's fine. I bumped it a little. It's basically healed. Oh—take the medicine back too. It cost money, after all."
"Eh? Eh?!"
Teio completely froze.
Meteor ignored her, dug under the bed, found her running shoes—now a muddy brown instead of whatever color they used to be—jammed them on, and sprinted out.
"so you only remind me when it's almost too late, huh?!"
"I saw you crying so hard earlier. I didn't have the heart to call you."
"nmd, wsm?!" Meteor cursed, already running.
She argued with X in her head as she tore down the street—so focused on bickering that she didn't register what she looked like.
People stared. People gasped.
She stormed straight into the Trainer Training Center.
"What is that kid doing?! She's wearing a hospital gown!"
"I swear I saw blood on her face!"
"Should I call the police?!"
Meteor didn't even slow down. She shoved open the main doors and went up to the front desk.
"Hello. I'm Eternal Meteor. I'm here to take the exam."
"Okay… one moment while I verify…" The receptionist typed quickly. "Eternal Meteor… Eternal Meteor… found you. The exam starts in five minutes. Please go to room ten—"
She looked up.
And nearly folded herself into the wall.
"U-um… are you… okay?!"
And honestly? It wasn't an unreasonable question.
Right now, Meteor looked like she'd walked off a horror set:
hospital gown
bandages half-unwound and trailing
a streak of dried blood from the corner of her mouth down her neck
those bright, red, reflective eyes
At night she could've scared someone into wetting themselves.
"It's fine, it's fine. Which room again? Also—can I borrow a pen?"
Meteor scratched her head awkwardly. She'd run too fast and forgotten to bring one.
"R-room ten… right side… second floor… p-please…"
When she scratched her head, two more strips of bandage slid loose.
The receptionist's voice turned into a stutter. She shakily grabbed a pen from the cup by the computer and handed it over like she was feeding a tiger.
"Thanks. I'll return it after the exam."
"No! No need! Don't return it!"
The poor woman looked like she was about to cry. First day as an intern and she gets this.
Meteor, completely unaware she'd basically triggered a resignation letter, sprinted for the exam room.
Exam Room 10
"Everyone stay quiet. No whispering. No cheating. This exam is recorded; anyone who cheats—or helps someone cheat—will receive no score and a three-year ban."
The proctor read out the rules, scanned the room, and nodded, satisfied.
Then roll call started.
"Eternal Meteor. Eternal Meteor. Is Eternal Meteor here?"
No response.
The proctor was about to mark her absent—
BANG.
The classroom door slammed violently.
Every head turned.
"Come in," the proctor called, calm.
No answer.
Just another slam.
Then another.
The room went dead silent, the repeated impacts raising goosebumps all around.
"…TMD. Why is this a pull door? What kind of idiot—"
The door finally flew open.
Eternal Meteor walked in, muttering to herself.
Bandages. Hospital gown. Blood.
The entire room erupted into screaming—like someone had spawned a Left 4 Dead Witch in the hallway.
"Stop—stop—stop!"
Nobody listened.
Meteor stomped her right foot.
The horseshoe struck the floor with a sharp, violent clang—and the whole room instantly went quiet, because now the only sound left was the ringing impact still bouncing in their ears.
"I'm Eternal Meteor, here to take the exam. I'm not late, right?"
The proctor stared blankly, brain clearly rebooting.
Meteor walked up and tapped the lectern lightly with her knuckles to snap him out of it.
"N-no… you're not late. But we're starting soon. Be careful next time."
"No problem↗ By the way, which seat is mine?"
"Number eight."
Meteor disliked the number on principle, but she still walked to her desk under a roomful of terrified eyes.
Then X spoke again.
"Rudolf's started investigating your past. I'm going to add some evidence that you existed."
Meteor didn't even look up.
"Do whatever—as long as you don't mess with other people's memories."
"Oh?"
"One: I don't want to suddenly be 'recognized' by people. Two: they shouldn't have to carry memories that don't belong to them because of me."
"As you wish, morally upright crybaby."
And just like that, while she argued with X in her head, Eternal Meteor started the exam.
Meanwhile: The Real Horror Set Is Next Door
Meteor had no idea that, elsewhere, things were escalating.
In the student council office, Maruzensky slammed both hands on the desk, fury barely contained.
"So what exactly happened between you and Eternal Meteor? Do you know what I walked in on?!"
Symboli Rudolf had just ended a call and placed her phone down.
"We had… an argument."
"'Just' an argument?! She bit her lips half to pieces just to keep herself from crying! Do you understand that?!"
"What?!"
Rudolf shot to her feet so hard she knocked over a neatly stacked set of documents, papers scattering across the floor.
Maruzensky, ready to explode, happened to glance down—
and saw Eternal Meteor printed across the top of one file.
She bent down, picked it up, and stared.
"What is this?"
"…Eternal Meteor's past."
One of them read the file. The other thought about what to do next.
Neither noticed their phones vibrating like crazy.
Teio's Panic Spiral
Back at the hospital, Teio finished the discharge procedures, then looked down at the medical report—
and her face went white.
"Massive bleeding…"
"2 × 7 cm open wound…"
She stomped in anxiety.
"How are the President and Maruzensky not answering?!"
Meteor wasn't picking up either.
Teio's thoughts knotted into a mess of panic.
After firing off messages explaining the situation to both Rudolf and Maruzensky, she bolted out of the hospital and started asking passersby where Eternal Meteor had gone.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
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