A woman with dark hair that shone a tinge of rose and at medium length opened the glass doors of a local hospital heavily. Her hair bobbed gracefully as the doors shuddered slightly. Everyone at the lobby looked at her. Her imposing aura trailed behind heavy air. It must have come from her dark, top coat outfit, or the latent mix of charisma and shade in her face. She had normally peachy complexion, but along with the beauty mark on the side of her left eye, her face was mystifying beauty in itself. However, her rested, calm amber eyes put the ‘innocent’ in her ‘mysteriousness.’

She walked in a line towards the lobby desk, eyes trailing her from every person.

“M-may I ask your appointment, miss?” The clerk asked, though a slight hint of nervousness licked his tongue.

Reaching out to her suit pocket, she grabbed an ID and presented it to the counter.

‘Ability Apprehension Group. Designation Seven: Enna Celeste Grante.’

A simple introduction for Enna's part, but the people in front of her became warier and more nervous. To them, people like her have a penchant for trouble.

When Enna sensed this, she just chuckled.

“Why the long faces? My affiliates dropped a boy in here a few hours ago. Can’t it hurt to visit him?” Her slightly sultry voice did not help to ease their minds.

“Miss, please sign in here.”

They gave a log for Enna to write on. After filling out the blanks, she gave it back to them. A moment of checking, and they let her pass, but their eyes were still glued on to her. She noticed this and looked back at the desk, grinning ever so slightly, her amber eyes glistened from the wall light’s shine.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re making me uncomfortable.”

The people felt a twisted aura behind her, the last part of sentence was voiced out in a menacing tone that pierced their thoughts and unconsciously paralyzed their legs.

“Tch. They really can’t take me seriously, huh?” She silently cursed, snugging both of her hands into the side pockets of her coat as she trudged into the empty hospital hallway. Enna sees this matter to only be shrugged. The people’s opinionated stares do not faze her; she reacts willingly so as to attest her position to them. At the very least, she can throw curses here and there, but no ordinary man can manage to swoon Enna’s rigid attitude.

After landing a few steps and backtracking some, she finally got to the room where their patient was.

“Room 54, huh…” Enna softly rubbed her cheeks. They were cold.

The hallway was empty, some lights were flickering, and the howling breeze from the outside ever so slightly echoes along the sterilized walls.

She knocked on the door. No answer. She listened for people inside. Silent, only the humming ambience of the hospital was heard. With no choice left, she slowly opened the door. It was open. She felt the conditioned air waft through her face.

Enna was greeted by the peculiar hospital room: Monotone, yet sterile environment, with the smell of medicine in the air. To her left was the Mido survivor, breathing heavily in a bed with an IV to his arm, and two plates lined with pulsating light that were connected to the bed, hovering just above his chest where his lungs were. Supposedly, those devices were there to neutralize toxins from the outside.

With nothing to do, she sat in a chair beside him, opened up a book from her handbag, and started to read.

TIme passed...

Try as she might, but she could not read comfortably, as the constant beeping of the monitor disturbed her concentration.

"Ah! What am I doing!?” she groaned, slammed the book shut before she could finish a chapter, and placed it back into her bag.

What was she doing, really? Be a stand-by patron for their crippled ‘friend’ here? Or something important…

“Right. Investigate the survivor before he wakes up. Got it.”

It was to her own discretion. Enna was not asked to investigate the boy. She only managed to convince her colleagues that she’ll check on him, as they were too busy hauling goods from the marketplace they visited recently, before her detour.

The cat was curious, however, as she assured herself and slowly began to probe the boy.

“Hmm… They call you a ‘boy’, but shit, you’re a man. Age… somewhere around Wiz. And what is she, nineteen?”

Enna droned on his face. As her head was near to his. She can hear his breathing. It was crunchy, as if liquid was seeping through his lungs. He’s rapidly healing, however, as his state was noticeably better than mere hours ago. His recovery was unnatural, even for this hospital’s standards, but Enna did not care much…

“Minimal scarring, tattered hair, and oh! What brazen, amber eyes…” She smiled.

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“Just like mine…”

Realizing she’s going in too much, Enna snapped herself out, pressing her hands into her face. “Ah! I keep getting sidetracked!” Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. “Miss, is something wrong?” It kept knocking. She must have heard her exaggerated reactions. Slightly flustered, Enna rushed to the door and opened it.

A nurse.

“If you have any intentions on the patient miss—”

“It’s fine.” She retaliated, somewhat innocently.

“But miss, I heard some questionable voices—”

“I SAID IT’S FINE, DAMNIT.”

She suddenly released an aura of fear through her voice, waving through the nurse’s every strand of hair. Her vision narrowed down, as fear manifested in front of her eyes.

It was as if she’s saying something beneath her breath… Her visage manifested into which that innocent woman feared.

“Forget me. Now go.” The nurse, sweating and shivering, just nodded, and ran as fast as she could. When the coast was clear, she shut the door and sat again.

In a reaction unnatural of her, Enna whined. “Bullshit. Now I’m blown. Eh, no matter!”

Shrugging, Enna turned to the patient and looked intently. Where she was not focused moments ago, now she was concentrated on observing him.

“Boy… Who are you, really?”

Securing everything, Enna decided to delve deep into his consciousness. Though it was risky, and she may not be able use this ability again for a long, long while, she let her curiosity grab hold of her…

“O grantor, heed my call. Grant eyes that see the tones of the soul, and let my mind delve deep into another.”

Altering Feedback...

Touching a portion of his face, she was pulled into his consciousness.

----------------------------------------

'Hmm...'

It was pitch black. Only the warm light that seemed to glow innately from her shone. Enna tried to feel any sensation. Only her feet registered. She tried to walk, but it was like trudging through snow. She looked down. It was snow, but hot like charcoal. The sense of heat started to itch her skin. Enna had the sensation of being inside some sort of fever dream.

A small plume lit up in the distance. After a second, it exploded into a fiery cascade, consuming the darkness and surrounding Enna in a huge circular motion. The light gave way to a scenery: Destruction everywhere. Hollow screams she heard. Clashing of steel and the sound of sparks etching cracks on both bodies and bricks traversed the air. And then, she sensed something. An urge. A signal to find and locate. Without pause, she searched for the source. Plowing behind rubble and hiding from shadowed entities she cannot comprehend, she finally found herself in an open space. A small plaza, with an imposing building at the front.

Then she remembered.

The scenery clicked in. This was what might have happened at Mido, hours before they even intercepted their distress call. Realizing this, she tried to make sense of the suspect party to see if she can squeeze out every bit of identification, but to no avail. The assailants were infernal anima, incomprehensible to her eyes, and the people that are being slaughtered are just silhouettes, phasing in and out of the dark background. Most likely, the boy did not see any of their faces, so they are seen as such by Enna.

The feeling of unease made her body vibrate slightly, as echoes walked her through the soot-laden corridors. Enna followed them.

“The flames… Stop it…”

It yearns. Turning to a corner, Enna stood in front of a familiar facade. She opened the door.

“They’re being… burned...” She saw the boy, huddled in the same spot where they found him and Wiz. Slowly, she approached. Tongues of flame were slowly eating the house from the outside.

It resents. Darkness swallowed the flames, but their roars lingered.

“No… I can’t… I can’t help—” Suddenly, everything paused. The hellish sounds stopped as if Enna lost her hearing. Then, she felt something leapt from behind her, pinning her down into the ash.

She screamed, but not even Enna can hear her voice, and neither can anyone on this plane.

Because no one can.

It was an abstract feeling. Her body sunk to the soot and ash. She suffocated from the rubble and immense heat, but she felt no instinctual feeling of dying. She grunted as the texture around her seemed to tear apart her body. And then, all her senses shut down.

After a while, Enna opened her eyes.

She found herself in a cuboid room. The sensation was still there, but the heat and suffocation were gone. Enna composed herself. This consciousness cannot be comprehended easily.

‘This survivor… He had gone through too much…’ she thought.

In the distance, she can make out slim pillars, with ornate feather-like protrusions vertically forming a semi-circle on each pillar. The rest of the space around her were black, with a hint of warm orange. At the blink of an eye, she saw a ball of energy within the cube in front of her, hovering mere meters away. She felt being pulled to it, when a voice came down on her like thunder.

“Who are you?”

Enna wanted to answer, but she could not speak. The hollow voice made her feel fear with every swallow she took.

“My precautions do not lie. You intrude this mind.”

She scampered, wanting to exit his consciousness but does not have the strength to push through. It was like every fiber of her muscle were being drained gradually, strand by strand.

The orb hurled itself unto her body. Expecting impact, she clenched her teeth. She was met by a violent gust of wind and had the intense feeling of something was furiously blown out of her. When she turned behind, to her horror, she felt a crescendo of fear, seeping through her every pore.

‘How… How can you--?’

The orb convulsed, creating an aura that seemed to lurch closer, eventually manifesting into a figure. A figure that, unbeknownst to others, haunts her at the sight of it. She felt weakened, scared, and unable to do anything but take a few steps back.

“No… not… this…”

Relentlessly, the figure leapt and lifted her up by the neck. Enna resisted, but she is too drained. Slowly, tears fell down her eyes.

“Please… Don’t…” She pleaded, choking on the sheer grip of the imposing figure.

The cuboid room shrunk as she’s hurled to a wall. To her horror, arms tore through the translucent wall, grasping her extremities. Masses of ghastly origin circle around her, occupying the whole of her view. Echoes of voices she does not want to ever hear came out from their hollow maws. The sound of sadistic laughter churned her stomach. Figures manifested around her, mocking, taunting and battering her will.

Her torment did not stop.

She wailed until it was drowned out by the voices. Sobbing, Enna uttered meek words.

“Mom… anyone… I don’t want you to leave… I don’t want this! Please help! Help me…”

Silence.

“Please…” Her screams reduced to whimpers as she curled into a fetal position.

Time passes.

…

…

“Enna! Snap out of it!”

A familiar voice caught up to her.

“Gen, hold her tight.”

“On it, cap!”

Her comrades. Light was shone on her face once more.

“Wake up, Enna! Get out of there!” The voice echoed, commanding her.

“Captain!”

Reaching out to his words, she finally got the push to exit the boy’s mind. Before she’s released from the cesspool, however, Enna heard a lingering voice from below.

“Trust as you might, you’re never safe even with your own Tone.”