Arin woke up late—again.
Perin was bouncing on his chest like a drumstick on a battlefield.
"Perin—stop! I'm waking up!" Arin groaned, shoving the little furball off.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Om Sai said he'd come pick me up today… huh? He didn't show?"
He stretched, glanced around. The dorm was silent. Too silent.
"Maybe he overslept," Arin muttered. "Wouldn't be the first time that lazy bastard did."
He pulled on his jacket and stepped into the hallway. The base felt… empty.
When he reached the cafeteria, every seat was deserted. No chatter, no clanging trays, not even the usual smell of burnt toast.
"Is it some kind of holiday?" he said to himself, half-laughing. "No way I woke up early… there's no way."
He turned toward Om Sai's room. The door was wide open. The bed unmade. No sign of life.
Confusion crept up his spine. "Om Sai? You in here?"
No answer.
Then the lights flickered.
Once. Twice.
And the entire corridor bled red.
A shadow formed at the far end of the hall—tall, human-shaped, horns curling upward like broken crowns.
It walked forward slowly, each step echoing like a heartbeat.
When the glow touched its face, Arin froze.
He was staring at himself.
Same face. Same eyes—except they were black, entirely black, sclera and all.
That twisted grin spread from ear to ear.
"Who… are you?" Arin shouted. "And why the hell do you look like me?"
The figure tilted its head, voice like his but layered with static.
"Ask the same damn thing to yourself, Arin… or whatever you are. Kalink's clone? Or something greater?"
He laughed—a deep, broken laugh that crawled under Arin's skin.
"This isn't real," Arin whispered. "It's just a dream. It has to be—"
He turned, bolting toward the exit. But his body suddenly collapsed, his knees slamming into the ground.
It felt like a mountain pressed down on his shoulders—every breath like dragging knives through his lungs.
The horned version of himself crouched down in front of him, still smiling.
"You'll find out soon enough," it whispered. "When it's too late."
The world blurred. Heat splashed against his face—hot, sticky.
He gasped, blinking. "W-what the—?"
The weight vanished. The hallway dissolved.
He was on the floor of his room.
And the "hot water"… was Perin's pee.
Arin screamed. "What the—Perin!?"
The little creature squeaked guiltily while being held by a very startled Om Sai.
Om Sai's expression was caught between disgust and laughter. "What the hell, kid!? We knocked like maniacs—no answer! So I broke in and found you rolling on the floor like a corpse!"
Behind him, Shivani stood with crossed arms, trying her best not to laugh. "Honestly… only you could turn a nightmare into a bathroom accident."
Arin wiped his face, glaring. "Why does every day of mine start like this!?"
He looked around—and realized something else. He wasn't on his bed. He was lying on the floor, cold sweat clinging to his shirt.
The dream, or whatever it was, still clung to him. That face. That voice.
And somewhere deep inside his chest… something answered back.
Thrum.
The laughter in Arin's head hadn't stopped. Even with Om Sai shouting and Shivani trying to calm him, that echo of his own distorted voice kept crawling through his mind.
"You'll find out soon enough…"
Something snapped inside him.
Om Sai's grin faded. "Kid—?"
Arin's pupils drowned in black.
For a heartbeat, there were no whites in his eyes—just two deep, lightless voids staring back at the world.
Then the air changed.
The floor groaned, dust lifting from every corner as if gravity had twisted.
A wave of unseen pressure rolled outward, heavy and suffocating.
Shivani gasped, her body locking mid-step.
"Arin… what are you—" she couldn't finish; her knees hit the ground.
The air itself turned thick, like she was trying to breathe underwater.
Om Sai's expression hardened instantly. He tried to move, but every muscle resisted.
"This presence… damn it, not again!"
He forced his aura outward, trying to stabilize the room, but Arin's was far stronger—untamed, furious, feral.
The furniture cracked, walls shuddered, Perin whimpered in the corner.
Om Sai took a step forward, veins bulging on his neck. "Kid! Stop before you—"
Before he could reach him, Arin punched himself in the face.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Blood burst from his nose, splattering the floor.
His breathing came in ragged growls, half-scream, half-snarl.
"Control yourself, idiot!" Om Sai shouted, but he didn't intervene—he knew this was Arin's fight with whatever monster lived inside him.
Arin clenched his fists and slammed one more hit across his jaw.
CRACK.
His body staggered backward. The black haze around him flickered—
—and vanished.
He collapsed to his knees, panting, eyes returning to their usual blue-green.
Blood dripped from his lip, his hands shaking, but his voice was steady.
"I'm… fine," he muttered. "It's gone now."
Shivani was still kneeling, catching her breath, eyes wide with both awe and terror.
Om Sai knelt beside her, rubbing his shoulder. "Fine, my ass… kid, you nearly crushed the whole damn corridor."
Arin didn't reply. He looked down at his trembling hands, then at the faint red stains on the floor.
In the silence that followed, something inside him laughed again—so faint it could have been a memory.
And for the first time, Om Sai didn't smile.