Knnight opened his eyes slowly. His breath was heavy, as if he had just been pulled from a chasm.
There was a strange pause—as if the universe needed a moment to rearrange its own breathing.
Lily watched him from a distance. Her face was a mixture of concern... and fear.
"Wow. You're alive." Her tone was flat, but clear—a mix of relief and wariness.
Knnight just stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then slowly sat up. His movements were shaky.
"I... dreamed it again. But this time... I don't think I was alone."
Lily nodded slowly, her steps inching backward unconsciously. Her eyes remained locked on Knnight's face.
"Okay. That's good, I guess. But... who is this 'not alone' you're talking about? Because just now you fainted while talking to yourself... like Latin mixed with possession. Honestly, I almost called for an exorcism."
Knnight remained silent. His gaze was empty but peaceful, as if he had just encountered something... immense.
Lily blinked, then added softly, "Do you need a drink? Or a blanket? Or... a therapist?"
The wind from the window creaked softly. The sound of old iron on the roof seemed hesitant to collapse or not.
Knnight fully regained consciousness in the real world. The cold floor pressed against his skin, making him realize that it wasn't all a dream—and not entirely real either.
Lily sat leaning against the wall, clutching her small bag as if its contents were sacred. Her eyes were full of a mixture: confusion, suspicion... and a hint of trauma.
"So..." she said softly, like interrogating a possessed suspect. "You convulsed, your breathing was heavy, and then... you talked to yourself. In Latin?"
Knnight nodded slightly. His breathing hadn't stabilized yet.
"That... maybe. Sometimes it just comes out. When my heart is too—"
He stopped.
"... too much remembering something."
"Yep. Delirious. Definitely." Lily nodded, her eyebrow raised.
She stood up slowly, still ready to run, and began to walk towards the door. But her eyes kept watching Knnight.
"Okay. I'm not going to ask any more questions. But listen, if you start floating or talking in two voices at once, I'm jumping out the window. Seriously."
Knnight looked at her confused. "You can jump?"
"If the other option is watching you turn into a restless spirit or whatever that is... yeah, broken bones sound lighter than inner trauma," Lily said, glancing at the half-broken window.
Knnight fell silent. Then for some reason... he nodded slowly. As if agreeing with the absurdity of it all.
"I am not turning into a ghost or a demon."
"Good," Lily muttered. "I thought I'd have to throw garlic."
Knnight turned his head. "That's... for vampires, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah. But it can still have a dramatic effect."
Lily then sat down again, but still kept her distance. She glanced at the corner of the room.
"Is there any water here? I'm thirsty. This place feels like a live national exam."
Knnight pointed towards a bucket in the corner.
Lily looked at the bucket, then at Knnight. "Seriously?"
"That's rainwater. Clean. Honest sky."
Lily grinned wryly. "The sky can lie too, you know."
But still, she approached and sipped a little water from her hand. Then sat back down.
"I don't know who you are, Knnight. But this place is weird. And you're weirder. And I... might be entering the weird level now too."
Silence fell. But not an awkward one. More like... a silence that acknowledged the absurdity and didn't mind it.
Knnight stared at the empty wall, still faintly feeling the Law of Remnant within him. But he said nothing.
Some wounds don't need explaining.
Some powers don't need acknowledgment.
"If you stay here," he said softly, "you might hear strange things. But they won't hurt you. I promise."
Lily looked at him for a long time. "You know, crazy people usually start with promises too."
Knnight smiled faintly. "I'm not crazy. I'm just... awake in the wrong world."
Lily shrugged. "Same."
And in the quiet old building, two strangers—equally broken, equally strange—sat in a silence that didn't need explanation.
Absurd. But enough.
Lily sighed deeply again. "You know, I didn't expect today to be like this. I thought the worst would be getting bitten by a rat or stuck in an old elevator. But this... this is way beyond expectations."
Knnight turned his head slowly. There was a calm look in his eyes, like someone who had grown accustomed to facing broken realities.
"I can... go inside," he said softly.
Lily stared at him. "Go inside where? Don't tell me... Something weird. I've had enough horror for today."
Knnight shook his head. "No. I mean... I can go into people's inner spaces. Sometimes. If their wounds are... strong enough and dark."
Lily froze for a few seconds, then slowly leaned back against the wall, as if trying to move away unnoticed. "Okay. So you don't just faint while chanting Latin. You can also sneak into people's minds?"
"Not minds," Knnight corrected. "More like... dimensions of feeling. Dark spaces where bad memories are buried. I call it Remnanctum."
Lily blinked. "Sounds like the title of a Japanese horror movie."
"Or a nightmare that plays on repeat too often," Knnight said softly.
Lily looked at him for a long time. "Okay... I have to ask. Are you a shaman? A psychic psychiatrist? Or an alien?"
Knnight looked at her, then smiled faintly. "Shaman, no. Psychiatrist... didn't graduate. Alien? I hope not."
Lily immediately rummaged through her small bag, taking out lip balm, a charger, and something that looked like a metal coin.
"What's that?" Knnight asked, confused.
"This? This is... a bad luck repellent. Or if that fails, I can use it to throw at your face if you start turning into a creepy creature," Lily replied.
Knnight chuckled softly. Quietly, but genuinely.
"I'm serious," Lily added. "You know, in my family's culture, if someone talks about 'going inside the soul' or 'feeling people's pain'... usually that's a shaman. Usually also invited when a chicken won't lay eggs."
Knnight nodded slowly. "If that chicken is sad, maybe I can help."
Lily stared at him. "Okay. Now I don't know whether to laugh or be scared."
"If you're scared, that's understandable," Knnight said. "I was scared the first time I realized it too."
"Seriously?" Lily crossed her arms. "You've been inside... someone's inner dimension?"
Knnight paused for a moment. Then he answered, his voice soft and bitter. "Yes. It feels like diving into a bottomless ocean. And every sound there... is an unspoken scream."
Lily looked at him, this time without sarcasm. Only silence. Then she asked, almost in a whisper, "Have you... ever gone into your own soul?"
Knnight turned his head slowly towards the cracked ceiling. "Just last night."
Lily bit her lower lip, then chuckled softly. "You know, the longer I'm here, the less sure I am about my sanity."
"You haven't run," Knnight replied.
"I'm considering it." Lily glanced at the window. "But this building is quite high. And I'm afraid of heights."
"So you still have a survival instinct."
"Huh. Maybe. Or I'm just... curious."
They fell silent for a moment. The wind stirred dust from the floor. The creaking sound of old iron filled the silence, as if the world was also eavesdropping on their conversation.
"If... you can go into people's souls," Lily said suddenly, staring blankly at the dilapidated ceiling, "can you go into... my inner dimension?"
Knnight turned his head, his eyebrow slightly raised. "I can't. Inner dimensions... or what I call remnanctum, only appear in people with very deep trauma. Usually... it's visible from the negative energy leaking out of them."
Lily narrowed her eyes, half amused and half bitter. "Isn't my heart broken enough? Betrayed, cheated on... by a bastard. Isn't that enough?"
Knnight paused for a moment, then said softly, "That... can be called trauma. But there's also an absurd kind of trauma. Sometimes it takes the form of laughter. A wound wrapped in jokes—as if the world is laughing at you."
Lily scoffed. "Life is so funny, isn't it."
"Not life," Knnight said, looking at the floor. "It's us trying to stay alive in it."
A brief silence. Then Lily unzipped her bag, moved aside a notebook and a worn-out pen, and took out a keychain in the shape of a small doll—tattered and almost faded in color.
She hugged her bag again, as if afraid the keychain would be stolen by the air.
Knnight said nothing, but the look in his eyes was enough. He knew.
Lily glanced over. "You guessed I carry this because of trauma?"
Knnight shook his head slowly. "I didn't guess. I just... felt the vibration."
"Vibration?"
"Sometimes wounds settle in objects. Not because the object is important, but because we can't let go of the memories left in them."
Lily chuckled softly, almost a murmur. "You... are really weird."
"I know."
"And somehow... that makes me feel saner."
They were silent, but the silence wasn't a freeze. More like... a safe place to breathe. To stop pretending to be strong for a moment.
"Thank you," Lily whispered. "Even though all this is absurd... I feel a little calmer."
Knnight nodded. "I'm sorry... for getting you caught up in this mess."
"It's already done," Lily muttered. "But... maybe this is a mess worth understanding."
They looked at each other. No movement, no acknowledgment. Just two broken souls... who for a moment, stopped feeling alone.
Outside, the world was still noisy and chaotic. But inside the old, almost collapsing room—there was a sliver of silence... that felt honest.