She kept repeating those words in her heart.

What the hell is happening to my arm!!....

She said while rubbing her hand roughly. Hoping those lines would disappear. She tried to look once more, looking for certainty whether it was just a hallucination or not. Disbelief was clearly written on her face.

She tried closing her eyes to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Then opened her eyes again. But the lines didn’t disappear, their position stayed exactly as she had seen just moments ago and even clearer now.

They were raised and fine. She froze in place, her gaze locked on her own wrist until the sounds around her felt further and further away.

She knew, no matter how hard her heart tried to refuse that reality, fate seemed already planned. In a situation so difficult for her, it was slowly becoming a nightmare. She didn’t know what to do.

And then,

"This....."

her voice came out slowly, almost breaking, while her body went stiff without her realising.

"....real..."

The hand she raised trembled. Her pupils trembled slightly watching her own arm... creeping slowly, mixed with disbelief that was suffocating her chest.

Her sweat flowed fast until it dripped on her hand. Suddenly, that large room became cold.

Thump.... Thump... Thump..

Her heartbeat thundered without stopping, too strong until it echoed in her own ears. As if that heart was no longer contained inside her chest... but outside her body, exposed, clear enough to be heard by anyone who was near her.

Suddenly...

Her eyes went wide, as if unable to believe what she was seeing. Those lines.., that had only been lines before now rose like veins forced out from the pores of her skin like living thread. Lines like fine thread... as if they could snap with a single touch.

Her fear, her breathing came in gasps. Her whole body went stiff and her head felt heavy.

She tried to calm herself by taking a deep breath then closing her eyes for a moment.

Her hands were still trembling, but she forced herself to calm down, controlling the panic that was almost bursting inside her chest.

Little by little, that tension began to ease from her body. Although there were still remains of fear inside her, it felt better than before. After she calmed down she turned her head forward right in front of the man wearing the black hood.

But, that men who was still standing and watching them in front of her. but for some reason, that feeling of being "watched" seemed to disappear.

As if she could no longer feel herself being observed, and that change made her feel strange. But, suddenly her eyes caught something. That strange feeling from before was set aside.

That thread earlier... seemed to be moving.

At the end of that masked man’s feet, a faint colour appeared. That colour wasn’t clear as if. Then, that colour seemed to slowly move following the line like that thread, spreading from one end to the other.

She noticed that rope looked tense as if being pulled by something. The sound of soft whispers was heard. But, not like before, that voice seemed to be reciting something she didn’t understand.

Soft and quiet as if far away. The sounds around her she could no longer hear because that soft sound seemed to be covering her ears from hearing any other sound except that sound.

While she focused on listening to that soft sound and that thread line, her neck felt very cold as if she was in a very cold place.

A feeling of discomfort began to creep through her body, and without her realising... her sight felt as if something was watching her from an unknown direction. Sharply.

Huhh~

A strong exhale behind her, the breath that had been slow was now getting stronger. As if the combined breath of two people. And strangely that room seemed to become heavy and stuffy every time that breath was exhaled. She speculated maybe it was the masked man who was in front of her. She wanted to look but was hesitant.

Suddenly a shadow appeared in her mind.

Javien!

The overlapping voices made her overthinking about Javien’s condition.

"Could they be targeting Javien?"

She said quietly in her heart. Her heart felt heavy. She didn’t want her favourite character to be made a victim by anyone. She shook her head. She didn’t want that to happen. Suddenly, her eyes watered.

No! I won’t allow anyone to take Javien...

As long as I am here!

When she wanted to pull her hand back, something made her hand stop, as if her left hand was tied with rope. Slowly... she turned her hand around. Left and right until she looked right below her wrist.

1

2

3

10

20...10.....20

Her mouth moved counting those lines. And suddenly stopped. She went quiet, confused... shocked... looking at that thing. She slowly shook her head while laughing a little. Scoffed.

"This must be me dreaming" she muttered softly, letting out a small scoff.

Then she looked back toward those lines. That looked, as if being pulled slowly by something....Not gone, Not fading. Instead, they were multiplying.

What was once one line had turned into two... then three... then more. had only been one before then became two... Three... and became more and more. Her eyes widened slightly. As if not believing the situation she was seeing.

She leaned in, trying to make sense of it, but the position stayed the same. Nothing had changed except the number of threads appearing on her skin. And what was different was only the colour of each thread line.

Her facial reaction briefly changed. Her eyes trembled. But from among those many threads, One of the threads... was moving.

It wasn’t stable like the others.It would tense... then loosen... then tense again, as if something was pulling it from far away. Olivia swallowed hard.

Olivia didn’t know what it all meant but what she was very certain about..... that thing...

If looked at again the tense thread from before stretched. Olivia’s pupils slowly followed that thread rope.

That thread turned toward the back of her body. She was stunned. Her mouth locked. She didn’t know what it all meant but what was certain, that thread was heading toward the back of her body.

She wanted to turn but, the state of her body that was sitting due to the pressure given by the masked man made it hard for her to look behind her.

She tried hard to at least turn her head to see who was behind her.

"Could it be the masked man?"

She said in her heart but, when her head turned to the front that man’s feet and body were still in front of her stiff and not moving. She was confused.

A name suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Javien?...." she said quietly but she shook her head as if rejecting that possibility.

"It can’t be, Javien wouldn’t do something like that to me" she said quietly. But an old memory suddenly slipped in without being called.

"Don’t tell me that event?"

Her eyes watered while she closed her eyes. Not daring to look at who was behind her. She could feel the dangerous aura from that figure... 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Slowly her shoulders dropped. Feeling resigned she lowered her head in surrender.

"I surrender, you can take anything from me....

But not my Javien....

She called out loudly until it almost shook that entire room... but that figure didn’t move at all...

Suddenly...

A cold hand grabbed her shoulder.

Tup!