Vincent took a key from the hotel reception and handed it over to me. A number ‘three’ was engraved on it. After showing me where the canteen was, Vincent left me to my own devices.

My apartment had a bedroom and a restroom in it. Not too luxurious but nothing to fret over. I locked the door and looked around. While I was observing the bedroom I was standing in, a familiar golden color caught my attention. A butterfly was sitting on the windowsill outside of my apartment.

I pulled the blinds down. The sky was slowly getting dark and a day full of events took its toll on me. I was going to take a shower when a mirror caught my attention. It was the first time I was able to see my reflection clearly. Fair hair, sharp features, blue eyes. I wondered, what happened to the person who shared my appearance not so long ago? Would I be able to encounter him in the dreamland? Then I might be able to receive a hint regarding the person Rachel told me about. Deep in thought, I was going to take a quick shower when the mirror caught my attention once more. In reflection I spotted a dark haired pale girl standing behind me.

I turned around abruptly, confused at how the intruder was able to sneak into my room, only to see that my room was empty. Meanwhile a pair of slender arms coiled around my waist from the direction of the mirror. They tried to pull me inside even though I didn’t quite understand how or why would you try to squeeze someone of my size in, well, a glass panel. I resisted with all I had but unfortunately those slender arms possessed unimaginable pulling force.

“Help!” I tried to call for someone, not actually expecting for anyone to heed my call in time.

Suddenly my apartment door swung open and fish-eyed Gunter strode into my room. Arms holding me flinched and the grip got weaker for a moment. But it was enough for me to break free. When Gunter reached the bathroom and I had a chance to turn around, the arms and their owner disappeared completely as if no one but me was here in the first place. Only my reflection remained in the perfectly normal mirror. Gunter looked around the restroom in silence and left my apartment without forgetting to slam the door.

“Wait,” I tried to stop him as I finally managed to recollect myself.

Didn’t I lock it? I cautiously glanced at the mirror, in case the strange lady decided to return and checked the door. It was locked as if no one had just broken into my room. I took the mirror off the wall and put it into my wardrobe, glass panel down. It seems my stay here will be rather eventful. Well as long as it’s not the mysterious companion, I still had my trump card no one knows about.

I was somewhat baffled that I perceived those sudden events with a relative composure. I attributed it to the feelings of mine. No, not even feelings, but rather a lack of them. From the first day when I found myself in the labyrinth and till now I felt as if my negative feelings were somewhat weakened and at the same time my curiosity brimmed with an unprecedented radiance.

After getting in the dreamworld I found my hopes shattered. I was alone in there, no sign of the person whose body belonged to me as of now. Were my assumptions wrong? Void didn’t answer.

New glorious morning has come! I opened my eyes, feeling refreshed. I got up, tidied myself and opened the door only to end up face to face with Rachel who was brimming with goodwill, “Good morning. I was going to knock if you wouldn’t wake up soon. When you left, I… I was afraid I would never see you again. I’m so glad to see you back!”

I liked Rachel’s talkativeness. The more I talk the more probable it’s for me to slip up. So I’d rather be a listener here. Under what circumstances had the previous owner left? What was that mirror creature? How did Gunter get around locks? Somehow, everyone had too many secrets and I had too little answers on my hands.

When me and Rachel were about to enter the main building, my instinct suddenly flared up, telling me to stop. I stopped not even because I wanted to get along with it but rather out of surprise of the sheer intensity with which it rang. A moment later a brick fell on the spot I was about to step on. I peeked at Rachel but it didn’t seem like she minded what had just happened as if it was but a normal occurrence.

Soon everyone gathered in the room. Well, almost. Gunter was absent. “Where is he?” I thought. At the very least, I wanted to relay my gratitude for helping me to get out of the mirror creature’s grasp. And perhaps I would be able to learn what’s going on between him and the locks.

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“In the basement,” my instinct suggested. At the same time an image of Gunter lying lifelessly behind a large metallic red door appeared. My instinct claimed that there was a basement in the building I currently was in. Just how much did my instinct know and what was it in the reality?

Soon the perfect specimen arrived in the room we were in. Next to him were three youths I had never seen before. I glanced at Rachel. It didn’t seem like they were her friends either. Were they connected to the mysterious companion? I studied those three carefully. There was a small issue which was really not to my liking. For some reason all three newcomers were watching me silently.

After the newcomers chose their chairs, the perfect specimen began to write formulas and equations, similar to those he wrote yesterday. But my attention didn’t linger on the blackboard for long. Instead I thought about my current plight. Why were those three looking at me so intently? Their behavior was definitely strange. Well, was there anyone normal in this place at all? “Me!” my instinct suggested.

Yesterday’s events repeated themselves. At some point of time the perfect specimen put down a piece of chalk he was writing with and left the room. At the same time I thought enough of what I would say. Or I was going to unless everything would go wrong.

It was finally the time for me to confront newcomers. But only two of them came over to me. Young bespectacled man with raven hair followed the witch instead.

“Rita!” I wanted to chase after them. My instinct told me that bespectacled youth didn’t have good intentions. But the duo blocked my way. I was ready to force myself through, when the guy in front of me said in a somewhat somber voice, “I demand an explanation.”

Did the former owner know that guy? “He knows the secret!” my instinct screamed in my head. So was he familiar with the mysterious companion? What’s his purpose? Revenge? At this point of time I finally noticed. The guy’s facial expression was changing with each passing moment oh so slightly. He didn’t know for sure. His purpose was to test me. As if confirming my guess, his companion was looking intently at him with expectation. There was something unnatural about him. “He can alter the future!” my instinct intruded upon my thinking process once again. My instinct showed me different versions of the ‘seer’ asking me different questions all at the same time. I realized that he’s looking for inconsistency between my answers in different timelines. I couldn’t possibly solve such a predicament on my own. As such I relied on my instinct completely.

“No matter how I look at you, you don’t look familiar at all,” was my answer to his first question.

“Oh? But a friend of mine looked identical to you,” he quipped.

“Now, that’s something interesting. You see, I also met a person with an appearance similar to mine, just yesterday. Alas, their companion murdered them,” was my second response.

His expression turned grim. The girl who helped the guy to block me looked at him waiting for a confirmation. Seeing him nod her expression stiffened, “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted her!” she hissed. Was the mysterious companion a girl then? Seems like the test is over? Good job, the other me! I didn’t feel like being in seer’s proximity was a good idea. As such I tried to move away. Alas, my new acquaintances had other plans.

“Then, my new friend, I’d like to introduce myself. I go by Andrew and this is Alice,” seer Andrew said. “Would you like to come over with us to get some snacks?”

“Sorry, but I don’t have an intention to dine with a person who interrogated me out of nowhere,” I answered slightly grumpy.

“That was but a mistake on our part. Let us apologize?” he shrugged, but didn’t insist any further. Andrew and Alice left in tow, it seemed like the girl relied on seer in everything. At that moment only me, Rachel and a few mosaics remained in the room. Rachel interrupted the silence, “Don’t worry. The day after tomorrow all those inconvenient people will disappear.” After saying that she left as well, as I stayed there, dumbstruck by her ominous remark.

The remaining part of the day was almost uneventful. Mirror was still lying in my wardrobe and no new intruders were noticed by me. This time, however, two butterflies were sitting on my windowsill. I didn’t mind them and simply closed the blinds.

I entered the void once again and like the last time I was completely alone in there.

A new day began. This time no one was conveniently standing in front of my door. I reached the main room in silence. Soon everyone aside for the third newcomer gathered there. My instinct told me that witch Rita was the reason for that fellow’s disappearance. As always, the perfect specimen came to the blackboard and started to write the formulas and equations yet again. I was ready to pay them enough attention this time and maybe understand at least a bit of his writings. But you can never be sure of what’s about to come. A painfully familiar voice reverberated through my head asking me to leave the room right now. It was a voice I haven’t heard since I left labyrinth tunnels. The voice that I didn’t expect to hear after she disappeared through the ceiling.