Knnight slowly opened his eyes. His breath was heavy, as if he'd just been pulled out of an abyss.
There was a strange pause—as if the universe itself needed a moment to rearrange its breath.
Lily watched him from a distance. Her face a mix of concern... and fear.
"Wow. You're alive." Her tone was flat, but clearly—a blend of relief and caution.
Knnight simply stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then slowly sat up. His movements trembled.
"I... dreamed of it again. But this time... I don't think I was alone."
Lily nodded slightly, unconsciously stepping back an inch or two. Her eyes stayed locked on Knnight's face.
"Okay. That's good, I guess. But... who's the 'not alone' you're talking about? Because just now you passed out while mumbling... like, Latin mixed with possession. Honestly, I almost called an exorcist."
Knnight stayed silent. His gaze was empty but peaceful, like someone who had just encountered something... vast.
Lily blinked, then added softly, "You need a drink? A blanket? Or... a therapist?"
---
The wind creaked through the window. The old iron on the roof sounded like it couldn't decide whether to collapse or not.
Knnight fully returned to reality. The cold floor pressed against his skin, anchoring him to the fact that this was neither a dream—nor entirely real.
Lily sat slumped against the wall, hugging her small bag like it contained sacred relics. Her eyes were a blend of confusion, suspicion... and a touch of trauma.
"So..." she said quietly, like interrogating a possessed suspect, "you had seizures, heavy breathing, and... you talked to yourself. In Latin?"
Knnight nodded slightly. His breathing was still shaky.
"It... happens. Sometimes it just slips out. When my heart... remembers too much—"
He stopped.
"... when it remembers too much."
"Yup. Sleep-talking. Clearly." Lily nodded, one eyebrow raised.
She stood up slowly, still ready to bolt, and began walking toward the door. But her eyes never left Knnight.
"Okay. I'm not gonna ask more. But listen, if you start floating or speaking in two voices at once, I'm jumping out that window. Seriously."
Knnight blinked. "You can jump?"
"If the alternative is watching you turn into some ghost or whatever... yeah, broken bones sound better than mental scars," Lily said, glancing at the half-broken window.
Knnight fell silent. Then, strangely enough... he nodded slightly, as if agreeing with the absurdity.
"I won't turn into a ghost or demon."
"Good," muttered Lily. "I was about to throw garlic at you."
Knnight turned. "That's... for vampires, not?"
"Yeah, yeah. But still good for dramatic effect."
Lily sat down again but kept her distance. She glanced toward the corner of the room.
"Is there water here? I'm thirsty. This place feels like surviving a national exam."
Knnight pointed toward a bucket in the corner.
Lily looked at the bucket, then back at Knnight. "Seriously?"
"It's rainwater. Clean. Honest sky."
Lily gave a lopsided grin. "The sky can lie too, you know."
Still, she approached and sipped a bit of water with her hand. Then returned to sit.
"I don't know who you are, Knnight. But this place is weird. And you... you're even weirder. And I... maybe I'm weird too now."
Silence fell. But it wasn't awkward. More like... a quiet that understood absurdity and didn't mind it.
Knnight stared at the empty wall, still feeling the faint remnants of 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 quietly, "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 gave a small smile. "I'm not crazy. I just... woke up in the wrong world."
Lily shrugged. "Same."
And in that crumbling, empty building, two broken, strange people sat together in a silence that needed no explanation.
Absurd. But enough.
---
Lily sighed deeply again. "You know, I didn't expect today to go 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 slowly. There was a calmness in his eyes, like someone used to facing broken realities.
"I can... go inside," he said softly.
Lily stared at him. "Inside where? Please don't say somewhere weird. I've had enough horror for today."
Knnight shook his head. "Not like that. I mean... I can enter people's inner spaces. Sometimes. When their wounds... are deep and dark enough."
Lily froze for a moment, then slowly leaned back against the wall as if trying to distance herself without being obvious. "Okay. So you're not just fainting while chanting Latin. You can also sneak into people's minds?"
"Not minds," Knnight corrected. "More like... emotional dimensions. A dark space where buried bad memories hide. I call it Remnanctum."
Lily blinked. "Sounds like a Japanese horror movie title."
"Or a nightmare played on repeat," Knnight said quietly.
Lily stared at him for a long moment. "Okay... I have to ask. Are you a shaman? A psychic? Or... an alien?"
Knnight looked at her, then smiled faintly. "Not a shaman. Not a certified psychiatrist. An alien? I hope not."
Lily immediately dug into her small bag, pulling out a lip balm, a charger, and something that looked like a metal coin.
"What's that?" Knnight asked, puzzled.
"This? This... is for warding off bad luck. Or if that fails, I can throw it at your face if you start turning into something creepy," Lily replied.
Knnight chuckled softly. It was faint but genuine.
"I'm serious," Lily added. "You know, in my family's culture, when someone talks about 'entering the soul' or 'feeling people's pain'... that's usually a shaman. Usually called when chickens won't lay eggs."
Knnight nodded slowly. "If the chicken is sad, maybe I could help."
Lily looked at him. "Okay. Now I don't know if I should laugh or be scared."
"If you're scared, that's normal," Knnight said. "I was scared too when I first realized it."
"Seriously?" Lily crossed her arms. "You've actually entered... someone's emotional dimension?"
Knnight fell silent for a moment. Then he answered, his voice soft and bitter. "I have. It feels like diving into a bottomless ocean. And every sound there... is a scream never spoken."
Lily stared at him, this time without sarcasm. Only silence. She then asked, almost whispering, "Have you... ever entered your own soul?"
Knnight slowly turned his gaze to the cracked ceiling. "Just last night."
Lily bit her lower lip, then gave a small, bitter laugh. "You know, the longer I'm here, the less sure I am that I'm sane."
"You haven't run away," said Knnight.
"I'm considering it." Lily glanced at the window. "But this building's pretty tall. And I'm afraid of heights."
"That means you still have survival instincts."
"Hah. Maybe. Or maybe... I'm just curious."
They fell silent for a while. The wind stirred the dust from the floor. The creaking of old iron filled the quiet, as if the world itself was eavesdropping on their conversation.
---
"If... you can enter someone's soul," Lily suddenly said, staring blankly at the cracked ceiling, "can you enter... mine?"
Knnight turned, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I can't. The soul's dimension... or what I call the remnanctum, only appears in people with very deep trauma. Usually... you can see it leaking out as negative energy."
Lily squinted, half amused, half bitter. "Isn't my heart broken enough? Betrayed, replaced... by a jerk. Isn't that enough?"
Knnight paused, then spoke softly, "That... counts as trauma. But trauma can be absurd too. Sometimes it wraps itself in laughter—as if the world is mocking you."
Lily scoffed. "Life's real funny, huh."
"Not life," Knnight said, staring at the floor. "It's us... trying to stay alive in it."
There was a moment of silence. Then Lily unzipped her bag, moved aside a worn notebook and pen, and pulled out a small keychain—shaped like a faded, tattered doll.
She hugged her bag again, as if afraid the air would steal it.
Knnight said nothing, but the look in his eyes was enough. He understood.
Lily glanced at him. "You guessing I carry this because of trauma?"
Knnight shook his head slightly. "I'm not guessing. I can... feel its tremor."
"Tremor?"
"Sometimes wounds seep into objects. Not because the object is special, but because we can't let go of the memories tied to them."
Lily gave a small, almost whispering laugh. "You're... really weird."
"I know."
"And somehow... that makes me feel more sane."
They stayed silent again, but it wasn't cold silence. More like... a safe place to breathe. A place where they didn't have to pretend to be strong.
"Thank you," Lily whispered. "Even though all this is absurd... I feel a little calmer."
Knnight nodded. "Sorry... for trapping you in this chaos."
"Too late," Lily muttered. "But... maybe it's a chaos worth understanding."
They looked at each other. No movement, no declarations. Just two broken souls... that, for a moment, stopped feeling alone.
Outside, the world was still noisy and messy. But inside the crumbling room—there was a silence that felt... honest.
Yet peace is fragile.
Lily took a deep breath, then stood up hesitantly. Her gaze fell on the cracked, dusty floor. "I have to go."
Knnight turned slowly. "It's still late."
"I know." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. "But... if I stay here too long, I'm afraid I'll get comfortable... and that's not good."
She looked at Knnight. For the first time tonight, her eyes showed distance. Not hatred—fear.
"This place... you... everything's too weird," she continued. "And I... I'm not strong enough to handle this. At least, not yet. My parents might be worried."
Knnight remained silent. His gaze empty, yet deep—as if reading unspoken words.
"I don't know who you are, and you don't know me. But... I think we both know one thing."
"What?"
"We're both broken." Lily swallowed, her voice trembling slightly. "But you... you're more than just broken. I mean... how do you explain the hallucinations? Or maybe... maybe I'm just not sane anymore."
Her steps were heavy as she approached the door. Her fingers hovered over the knob, hesitating.
"I won't come back here," she said softly, without looking back.
Knnight nodded. "Walk safely."
No promises to meet again. No requests to stay. Only an old building that suddenly felt much emptier.
And as the door closed, Knnight remained still. Staring ahead with a hollow gaze—but with one realization:
Sometimes, a stranger can leave a mark... before you even know their full name.
---