The group waited patiently in the office. The woman named Lucie gave the three friends a cup of coffee, and once everyone was comfortable, she introduced herself properly.
"My name is Lucie, I'm not actually related to Silv by blood but I consider her like my sister. We have a common past, all you need to know for now is that we spent our childhood in a hospital. I always saw her as a blind painter, until I saw her true form." The woman sipped a cup of her coffee before asking the question back "What about you? How do you know Silv?"
The group wasn't sure about what they should say. They let Neige talk since he was more experienced with it.
"Silv took a liking to causing chaos and she hurt my friends multiple times. We want to stop her before she goes too far."
"And what do you know about her?"
"That she's a psychopath. We never really talked much with her."
"It's good." The woman said while taking a deep inspiration "The more you spend time with her, the crazier you get."
Lucie finished her coffee and stood up to head toward the exit of her office.
"Come on, there's something I need to show you."
The group wondered what the thing she wanted to show was and followed her without asking any questions.
Lucie and the others arrived in front of fancy shining buildings. Lights were everywhere and were blinding the protagonists. A big neon sign was fixed on the building with 'Silv's Theater' written on it.
"What is that?" Asked Neige while looking at the grotesque building in front of him.
"It's the hospital where we grew up, or so I thought." Lucie clenched her fist around her cold revolver attached to her belt "What is going on in your sick mind, Silv..."
The group was about to enter but was stopped by the woman's confused voice.
"Are you going to enter? Are you crazy?"
"We wanted to find out about Silv, it seems like a good opportunity." Innocently said Neige, exasperating the woman.
"You're not scared of anything..."
Lucie followed them into the former hospital, unsure about the things they would see inside.
Lucie and Silva were in a dimly lit hallway. When they searched around, there were no signs of the others or any exits. They quickly noticed how Neige and Sepide were nowhere to be found, worrying the two girls.
"I knew it was a bad idea..."
Lights from the ceiling showed a scene at the end of the hallway where a puppet looking like Silv was standing there. When they approached it, it started moving and talked in a robotic voice.
"Hey! It's me, your favorite villain since 2023! Have you ever wondered what backstory this great character has? Well, wait no longer as I am going to tell you a tale that will let your eyes wide open! (Refunds aren't accepted.)"
Curtains closed, hiding the scene. After a few minutes passed, two puppets were there in a hospital. It was a doctor holding a baby in its arms and a woman sleeping in a bed. Another doctor entered the scene and spoke with a voice that was obviously just Silv trying to imitate their voices.
"Kilt, she's in a coma for a week, she'll probably never wake up."
The doctor with the baby in his arms stayed silent for a moment and looked at the woman in the bed before answering.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"She'll be alright, I'll find a cure."
"Kilt, you're a doctor. You more than anyone should know that there are no cures, no magical solutions. Take care of your daughter and accept that your wife could never wake up. I'm sure it's what she'd want."
"... Why is life so unfair? It's all because of Silv, if she wasn't born, she never wouldn't have been in a coma."
"Don't say that about your child. It happens that healthy women fall sick after giving birth."
The two doctors stayed silent, looking at the woman in the bed.
The curtains closed again, this time opening to reveal a painting of a little Silv drawing on the walls of the hospital and her father working. Silv's voice echoed in the hallway, narrating the scene.
"The adorable little Silv was alone, playing in the hallways. Her father never gave her the attention she deserved, instead working on a cure to save his wife. He kept telling the little girl that he was doing it for her, but really, it was just for him. She was just six years old at the time. He was working on a way to link souls, it's too long and boring to be in this story and I don't care, I never understood how it worked."
The painting fell to the ground, showing the puppets once more. The doctor was there, with two little puppets with red and black hair.
"Silv, Lucie, are you ready for the experiment?"
"Papa, what is the experiment?"
"Don't worry Silv, I'll just link your souls together. It's without a risk, I promise."
The theater burned suddenly, activating the hospital's fire alarm. Water fell from the ceiling while the narrating voice repeated the same words again and again.
"It's without a risk, it's without a risk, it's without a risk..."
Silva and Lucie continued in the hospital, hoping to find Silv or their friends.
They made it to a room. Lucie seemed to recognize this place and looked around for a moment to make sure.
"This room... It's the place where Silv's mother was hospitalized..."
The room suddenly became dark. The wall was illuminated by lights on the floor and shadows representing two little girls were moving on its surface.
"Is it your mom?" Asked the girl with long hair.
"Yeah, papa is always so busy with her. But don't worry, I have a way to take care of it."
The girl with short hair took a knife from behind her back. The shadow on the wall had a terrifying smile, approaching the bed. The girl planted the knife in her mother's chest with a sinister laugh.
"Silv? Are you sure it was a good idea?"
"Of course, it's a wonderful idea."
"But isn't she hurt?"
"I hope she's hurt. If she wanted to be safe, she should have taken care of me!"
The light came back into the room. The room was all made of pink, with plushes everywhere. Silv was standing in the middle. When she saw her, Lucie immediately pulled out her gun and aimed at her.
"Silv! What are you trying to do?"
"Just summarizing 13 chapters into one, you can thank me. By the way, doesn't it remind you something? This pink room with plushes everywhere?"
"I... Don't think so." Lucie said while looking around.
"I wasn't talking to you."
"I can't see your room, you know?" Said Silva with an annoyed voice.
"I'm not talking to you either. Anyway, when my father tried this experiment, it completely fried my brain. I was blessed and cursed with knowledge. Knowledge from this world, other worlds... About the world beyond the lines, beyond the screens, beyond the Goddess... The real world."
"I never understand what you're saying." Lucie grabbed Silv. Despite grabbing her tightly, Silv somehow managed to escape, the only thing in her hand was a plush looking like her "Still enjoying pranks as an adult, huh? Come on Silva, we have to go."
When Lucie turned around to bring Silva with her, she was nowhere to be found. Both Silv and Silva vanished like they were never there in the first place.
Silva woke up in a moist room. The bed she lay on was freezing cold. An uncomfortable dusty feeling filled the room, along with a putrid smell. She made her way to a chair and heard Silv's voice once more.
"Please sit, I don't want this dumb sister to hear this part of the story."
Silva sat on the hard chair, trying to pinpoint where Silv was from her echoing voice.
"When my father tried his experiment, it was a failure. Or a success for him, I was alive after all. But my soul, my being, was scared forever. I became special, fated to know about everything, even blessed by the Goddess herself. And yet... You're the main character!"
The sound of a violent shock echoed from the metallic table.
"This being! It's toying with me! You're living happily with your Neige and your Sepide, while I suffer alone! But that will all change now."
"Then why am I here?" Defiantly said Silva.
Silv threw a metallic box at her. Silva grabbed it from the ground and recognized it quickly.
"The happiness pill?"
"You remember well. Have you noticed? You're more scared lately. Scared to lose your friends, scared to lose yourself, scared to hurt them."
Silv put a glass of water on the table with a violent impact.
"The better you get, the more you have to lose. I'm not scared to lose anything but I know you are. You're getting weaker, more sensitive. But with this pill, it all changes. You can be the perfect person who won't disappoint anyone."
"I won't disappoint anyone already, I'm going to do my best."
"But will they accept it? Will they accept your past?... Are you scared to find out what they truly think of you?"