The hallway stayed quiet long after the thing disappeared.
Too quiet.
Adrian stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space like it might come back if he blinked. His arm still tingled where it had been touched, the skin faintly cold instead of burning now.
"…So," he said finally, breaking the silence, "we're not going to pretend that was normal, right?"
"No one here is pretending," the shadowed woman replied.
"Good. Just checking."
He exhaled slowly and leaned back against the wall, trying to steady himself. His thoughts were still catching up with everything that had just happened.
He died.
Something came back for him.
And somehow, he was still standing.
"That thing," he said, looking at the red-eyed woman, "you said it was only a fragment."
"Yes."
"And the full version is… what? Worse?"
"Yes."
Adrian let out a short breath. "Great. Love the consistency."
The third woman gave a soft, amused hum but didn't comment.
Adrian glanced between the three of them. "Alright. Enough vague answers. I need details. Starting now."
The red-eyed woman studied him for a second, then gave a small nod. "Fair."
She stepped forward slightly, her presence steady, controlled.
"What you saw," she began, "is something that exists between layers. It doesn't belong fully in this world, but it can reach into it."
Adrian frowned. "So it's not… physical?"
"It can be," she said. "But not completely. That's why it moved the way it did. Why it felt… wrong."
"That's one way to put it."
"It marked you before you ever noticed it," the shadowed woman added. "That's why it found you so easily."
Adrian crossed his arms. "And why me?"
This time, there was a brief pause.
The third woman tilted her head slightly. "That's the interesting part."
"…I don't like that answer."
"You don't have to," she said lightly. "It doesn't change anything."
Adrian sighed. "Right. Of course it doesn't."
He pushed himself off the wall and straightened. "Fine. Next question. This 'binding' thing. The covenant. What exactly did you do to me?"
The red-eyed woman met his gaze. "We tied your life to ours."
"Still vague."
"It means," she said, her tone sharpening just slightly, "you exist because we allow it."
Adrian's expression hardened. "I'm going to stop you right there. I don't like the sound of that."
"You don't have to like it."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
For a second, neither of them spoke.
There was tension in the air now, subtle but real.
Then Adrian let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Let's try this differently. What do I get out of this?"
That made the third woman smile again.
"Now that's the right question."
The red-eyed woman didn't look away from him. "You get to live."
"Besides that."
"You gain access to our power," she said.
Adrian paused.
"…Define access."
Instead of answering directly, she lifted her hand and placed it lightly against his chest again.
This time, Adrian felt it immediately.
That same pulse from before.
Deep. Heavy. Not his.
It moved through him like a second heartbeat, slower but stronger, spreading outward from where her hand touched.
His senses sharpened again.
The room became clearer.
The silence became louder.
And something else—something darker—stirred beneath it all.
Adrian's breath hitched slightly. "…Okay. That's new."
"That's yours now," she said.
He looked at her. "Yours, you mean."
"Our connection," she corrected.
"Right."
She pulled her hand back, and the feeling faded slightly, but not completely.
Adrian flexed his fingers, still feeling traces of it lingering.
"…So I can use your abilities?"
"To a degree," she said. "Not fully. Not yet."
"And the more this… bond grows?"
"The more you can handle."
Adrian let that sink in.
"Alright," he said slowly. "That's actually useful."
"Of course it is."
He looked at the shadowed woman next. "What about you?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she stepped closer.
The shadows along the wall shifted, stretching toward her like they recognized her.
Adrian watched carefully.
"Try to move," she said.
"…Move where?"
"Anywhere."
Adrian frowned but took a step forward.
The moment he did, something strange happened.
For a split second, the shadows beneath his feet felt… solid.
Not fully. Not stable.
But there.
He paused. "…Did I just—"
"Yes."
Adrian looked down, then back at her. "I felt that."
"You're touching it," she said. "Not controlling it. Not yet."
He let out a quiet breath. "That's still… something."
The third woman slid off the desk and approached them.
"And me?" she said, her tone light again.
Adrian glanced at her. "Let me guess. Mind stuff?"
She smiled. "Close."
Before he could react, she reached out and tapped his forehead lightly.
The world tilted.
For a second, Adrian wasn't in the hallway anymore.
He was standing somewhere else.
Dark. Endless. Quiet.
Then—
Voices.
Faint at first.
Then clearer.
Whispers.
Dozens of them.
All overlapping.
All distant.
Adrian's eyes widened. "What is—"
The world snapped back.
He stumbled slightly, catching himself.
"What was that?" he demanded.
"Your mind," she said calmly. "And everything brushing against it."
Adrian stared at her. "…I don't like that."
"You will."
"No, I won't."
She just smiled.
Adrian exhaled slowly and stepped back, trying to process everything.
"Okay," he said. "So let me get this straight. I'm tied to the three of you, I can use parts of your abilities, something out there wants me dead, and it's going to keep coming back."
"Yes," the red-eyed woman said.
"…And you're all acting like this is manageable."
"It is."
Adrian stared at her. "For you."
"For us," she corrected again.
He shook his head. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
There was that certainty again.
Adrian didn't like it.
But he couldn't ignore it either.
He looked down at his hand again, clenching it slowly.
That faint, unfamiliar power was still there.
Waiting.
"…So what now?" he asked.
The shadowed woman answered this time.
"Now you learn."
"Learn what?"
"How not to die again."
Adrian let out a dry laugh. "That sounds important."
"It is."
The third woman tilted her head slightly. "And after that?"
Adrian looked at her.
"…After that, we deal with whatever that thing was."
A small smile returned to her lips.
"Good answer."
The red-eyed woman stepped back slightly, giving him space.
"Then we start with something simple," she said.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Simple?"
She looked toward the end of the hallway—the same place where the thing had disappeared.
"Survive the next time it comes."
Adrian followed her gaze.
The hallway was empty.
Quiet.
But now he knew better.
He let out a slow breath.
"…Yeah," he said. "That sounds about right."
Somewhere deep inside him, that second heartbeat pulsed again.
Stronger this time.
And for the first time—
Adrian didn't feel like a victim anymore.
Not completely.
But enough.
He looked back at them, his expression steadier now.
"Alright," he said. "Then let's make one thing clear."
The three of them watched him.
"If I'm part of this now," he continued, "I'm not staying at the bottom."
The third woman smiled.
The shadowed woman said nothing.
And the one with crimson eyes studied him carefully.
"Good," she said quietly.
"Because this world doesn't have room for the weak."
Adrian nodded once.
"…Then I guess I'll have to stop being one."