The ER was quiet, but only in that sterile, humming kind of way that made everything feel more distant. Fluorescent lights glared off the tiled floor. Kaiden sat on a plastic bench in the waiting area, elbows on his knees, hood down now.

  His mother stood by the triage window, calmly speaking with a nurse. Malik paced slowly by the vending machines.

  Mina had stopped responding in the car. Her eyes were open but unfocused, as if she were listening to something only she could hear.

  Kaiden hadn’t spoken since they arrived.

  He kept replaying the moment, the bite, the wilted plant, the way her lips moved without making a sound. Like her body was awake, but her mind wasn’t.

  They were finally allowed into the exam room just as the doctor entered. He looked like he hadn’t slept much. Graying hair, crow’s feet, reading off a tablet as he walked.

  “I’m Dr. Sato. You’re Mina’s family?”

  “Yes,” Yuriko said, standing straighter. “Is she alright?”

  “She’s stable,” the doctor said, lowering the screen. “Vitals are normal. No fever, no signs of seizure or cranial trauma.”

  Kaiden glanced past him to see Mina resting in the hospital bed. Her eyes were open, but tracking nothing. A gentle heart monitor beeped in the background.

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  “But she’s not responding,” Malik said quietly.

  The doctor nodded. “It’s like a partial stupor. Minimal responsiveness. We ran a toxin panel and this is where things get... strange.”

  Kaiden straightened.

  “We found traces of a parasitic fungal compound in the wound,” Dr. Sato explained. “It’s similar to a species called ophiocordyceps unilateralis. It’s a fungus that primarily infects insects, hijacking their nervous systems. The infection spreads by influencing motor control before eventually killing the host.”

  Yuriko gasped softly. “But that should be impossible.”

  “Yes. Which is why this doesn’t make sense. The chemical markers we found shouldn’t affect humans. But they’re here. Just trace amounts. Enough to cause a neurological freeze, from what we can tell.”

  Kaiden swallowed hard.

  “Can you treat it?” Malik asked.

  “We’ve stabilized her. We’ll keep her under observation and run further analysis. But whatever this is... it didn’t come from anything we’ve seen before. Not in this region. Not from a houseplant.”

  Yuriko covered her mouth. Malik stood still, unreadable.

  Kaiden didn’t move.

  The words looped in his head:

  “Traces of a fungal compound… neurological freeze… not from a houseplant...”

  Belgrave.

  Wrapped in spores. The way he couldn’t recall certain things. The strange, floaty detachment. The infection that wasn’t part of the game.

  What was going on?

  Kaiden stepped out of the room quietly while the doctor explained more.

  He stood just outside the glass pane, watching his sister sleep. Her hand was bandaged. Her chest rose and fell gently.

  He needed answers. He needed to return back to the game.