Aki woke up to the same rusty smell she’d felt in her dream — but this time, it was the hospital she knew.

  Her head ached faintly. “Was I… dreaming all this time?” she muttered, dizzy. Then let out a small, uncertain chuckle. “I feel so… funky. If only I could remember what it was.”

  The door creaked open. A nurse entered — familiar uniform, unfamiliar face. She didn’t even glance at Aki, just said flatly, “You’re getting discharged today.”

  “Oh… really?” Aki blinked. “I don’t remember that being scheduled.”

  There was something off about the nurse — her shoulders stiff, her movements too quick, too forced. Tense.

  When Aki finally got her phone back, she realized it was cracked badly down the middle.

  “What happened to this?” she asked.

  The nurse hesitated, eyes darting away. “You… had a seizure,” she said. “During the chaos, someone must’ve stepped on it.”

  Aki froze. Her hands trembled slightly. Anger rose in her chest — how careless could they be? But she didn’t say anything. Not yet.

  She finished her breakfast, cleaned her bed, and waited. Her discharge bill hadn’t been cleared — strange. Her parents always handled it. And no one had come to pick her up.

  A chill ran down her spine. The air shifted — heavy, wrong. The world started spinning.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “No… no, it can’t be…” she whispered, voice breaking. “It can’t be again… it can’t be…”

  As if on cue, the nurses appeared — quick, expressionless, mechanical. They restrained her, ignoring her cries, and loaded her into a transport vehicle.

  Her protests dissolved into panic.

  Moments later, she was back — the psychiatric ward.

  Her voice cracked as she screamed, “Why am I here again? What did I do? I was getting better!”

  No one answered.

  She was dragged down the sterile hallway, her wrists burning under the pressure. The white room ahead glowed faintly, almost unnaturally bright. It shone even during the night.

  Aki struggled, kicking, crying, begging. “Please! I’ve been good! I’m not crazy! I smile, I get angry, I cry just like everyone else! Why can’t you let me out? What about the promise?! You promised—!”

  Her voice broke into laughter — loud, trembling, hysterical. “Ha… haha… hahaha…”

  Each second, her laughter grew sharper, colder. Until it wasn’t laughter anymore.

  And then — silence.

  She sat on the floor, staring blankly at her own hands. They looked fine. Too fine. No scars, no scabs. Her skin was perfect.

  That wasn’t right. She always had marks — from picking at her skin, from restless nights. This wasn’t her body.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered. “Something’s missing. Something important. But what?”

  Her eyes drifted across the room. The walls were smooth, white, blinding. There were no windows. The light hummed just loud enough to dig into her nerves.

  “It’s as if they want me to go mad,” she murmured. “Maybe if I behave again… maybe they’ll let me out, like before.”

  So she waited.

  A day passed. Then two. Then three. A week.

  No food at first, then scraps. Just enough to keep her alive.

  They didn’t speak to her. Didn’t look at her. Just left her there — to rot quietly in her own thoughts.

  When she was too weak to move, she heard voices outside her door.

  “Did you see him? Looked like a kid. Who do you think he’s here to meet?”

  “Must be someone important. The director gave him VIP treatment.”

  “Who do you think he—”

  A sudden bang echoed through the corridor. Loud. Violent.

  “Let me out! Please! Let me out!”

  Her heart jolted. The voice—

  No, there was no voice. The hall was silent again. Maybe it was her imagination.

  A while later, her door creaked open.

  She looked up, expecting a nurse, maybe her meal tray.

  But standing there was a boy — younger than her, with eyes too calm for someone his age.

  With a polite smile, he said, “Hello.”

  Aki kept staring at him, unblinking.

  “You must be Aki. I was expecting to meet you a while ago,” he said.

  Still, she didn’t react.

  “You will have to come with me. We’ll discuss everything on the way to the academy.”

  But Aki stayed frozen, lifeless.

  The boy gestured for someone else to come in.

  “…Aki, we meet again.”

  Aki’s eyes widened. “Doc… Doctor?”