One of the main reasons why I headed to the doctor’s office was because of my node situation. It wasn’t because I wanted to destroy whatever he had stored over there.
That came later...
While it certainly would have been fun to do that, it mainly came down to the fact that the doctor’s research had something to do with nodes.
’Given how he’s managed to heal the Team Leader, then I’m sure that he might have some things that might be able to help me out. I might also figure out a way to not rely on the system in order to heal my nodes.’
This was one of the more important aspects.
Ever since hearing about his research and seeing the results he had managed to achieve with Soran, I became intrigued. Especially when taking into account how bad my current situation was.
The only other alternative was to reach the Fifth Decree, but that would take me time, and time wasn’t what I had at the moment.
Tik! Tik!
Looking at my watch, I walked out of the room.
The sirens still blared in all directions as I moved ahead with my hat lowered.
The distance to the office wasn’t very far.
I just needed to navigate through several corridors before reaching it. However, that was easier said than done as the moment I turned one of the corridors, I was suddenly met with the sound of numerous footsteps coming from behind.
I didn’t panic, shifting my attention to the watch.
I made sure to note the number inside of my mind before picking up my pace.
"Check this area!"
"I hear footsteps ahead! Check!"
I didn’t bother with the noise behind me, moving even faster than before. In fact, I was almost running now as I moved across the corridors and looked to my left and right, imprinting every detail of the path inside my mind. Every turn, every doorway, and every little detail was carefully noted.
"Hey, you!"
A guard suddenly caught up to me.
"What are you running for?!"
Then, another.
"Hey! Stop!"
It didn’t take long for several guards to spot me as I moved past them, including the one behind me. The moment they recognized me, they broke into a run and gave chase. Voices crackled over their comms as they relayed my position, alerting anyone nearby while I continued forward.
I didn’t bother with them, running straight ahead while taking note of each guard positioned along the corridor as I followed the path to the doctor’s office. Their faces, equipment, and locations were quickly committed to memory as I passed by, all while the sounds of pursuit echoed behind me.
"Over here!"
The entire time I ran, I didn’t bother looking behind me even once. As I turned another corner and prepared to enter the branching corridor that led to branching corridor leading to Sector 1, I was surprised to see several guards arriving from the opposite direction, as if they had been waiting for me.
They spread out across the hallway the moment they saw me, cutting off the path ahead and leaving me trapped between two pursuing groups.
At the same time, I could feel their nodes churn as they dashed towards me at incredible speeds.
Seeing this, I stopped moving.
I raised both hands.
"Alright, I give up."
The guards paused for a moment, at a complete loss regarding my actions. But just as they were about to reach me, I raised both of my fingers.
"Sike~"
And soon⎯
Swooosh!
My surroundings shifted completely as I found myself back in the previous room, my back pressed against the wall beside the door. I drew a cold breath, my hand shivering as I stared at the empty vial in my grasp.
The realization of what had just happened slowly sank in, and for a moment, all I could do was stand there in silence, feeling my pulse hammer against my chest.
"Haa."
A constant ringing sound echoed inside my head as I stared at the empty vial, my surroundings swaying from left to right.
It felt as though I had drunk a whole bottle of alcohol.
"....Mph."
The room refused to stay still, the walls seeming to tilt and bend at the edges of my vision while the dizziness worsened.
I tightened my grip on the vial, trying my best to keep myself balanced.
"I hope I didn’t lose any important memories."
I put the vial away, taking another one out.
[Fate Draught] : A silver vial that smells of ozone. Drinking it lets the user foresee a single, near-future event within the next ten minutes. He will lose a memory of the same duration.
To be honest, I didn’t quite want to use this item.
Especially since the consequence of using such an item came at the cost of my own memories. It was an incredibly useful item, despite the price that had to be paid for its effects.
I had bought it some time ago for the Malovia mission, but I had never gotten the chance to properly use it. Now that I finally had, I could already feel the toll it was taking, even if I couldn’t tell exactly what memory I had lost.
And it was good that way.
Still...
"It’s not like I have much of a choice at the moment."
Without any powers, this was the only thing I could do to reach the doctor’s office. Drawing another breath, I brought the potion back to my lips.
The same benzene-like taste hit my tonsils, nearly making me wince as I swallowed it and put the item away.
After which, I brought myself up and reached for the door.
***
"This is so odd."
Soran walked calmly across the chaotic corridors. Even as the sirens blared around her, she didn’t seem concerned in the slightest, occasionally whistling to herself as though she were taking a casual stroll.
While the guards rushed from place to place and alarms echoed through the halls, her pace never changed, and the relaxed expression on her face remained completely undisturbed.
Moving ahead, she managed to overhear a conversation.
"How long do you think it’ll take before the monitoring systems are back up? At this rate we’ll never find them. Especially since they were able to get past the monitoring systems without getting identified."
"Don’t ask questions and just move. Try to take note of anyone that might seem suspicious."
Two shadows stretched across the floor ahead of her before their owners turned the corner and stepped into view. They faced her directly, their silhouettes growing clearer beneath the corridor lights as they blocked the path forward.
The Team Leader’s expression remained much the same.
With the same nonchalant air, she continued walking forward.
Just as the group was about to take notice of her, their entire bodies froze.
It was almost as if time itself had come to a standstill. Mid-step, mid-breath, they remained perfectly motionless, their expressions locked in place as Soran casually passed by them without so much as a glance in their direction.
Oddest part...?
They were the only ones frozen.
The sirens continued to blare throughout the facility, and the rest of the world carried on as normal as Soran calmly walked past them.
Her finger pressed lightly against the brim of her hat as she turned the corner and followed the exact route Seth had pointed out to her.
Similar scenes occurred throughout the way.
Every time Soran was about to encounter someone, they would freeze on the spot before she could reach them.
It was only after she had moved away that they resumed what they had been doing, completely unaware that anything had happened.
To them, no time seemed to have passed at all, and they continued on their way without taking note of the strange interruption.
’This really does feel odd.’
Soran inwardly muttered as she clenched and unclenched her fist. It had been so long since she had been able to use her powers this comfortably. While she could still feel the strain on her nodes, it was nowhere near as severe as it had been back in Malia.
The familiar sensation almost felt foreign now.
Even now, she remained careful not to push herself too far, though the ease with which she was moving made it tempting to do otherwise.
She almost felt reborn.
’I wonder what he gave me. Was he the one who healed me? Or was it due to the experiments that they carried out on me?’
The Team Leader wasn’t quite sure why, but whatever the reason, she was extremely pleased with the situation.
She didn’t waste a single second taking advantage of it, freely using her powers as she moved toward her destination completely undisturbed.
No one noticed her presence, and anyone who came close was dealt with before they could even react. As she continued forward, she eventually reached an area lined with windows on both sides of the corridor.
"Hm?"
Guards stood at every corner and intersection, making the area a lot more guarded than the previous.
But just like before, everything froze the moment Soran stepped in, and her gaze swept over the surroundings.
As she walked forward, her eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the figures visible through the glass windows lining the corridor. Bodies occupied each of the rooms on display, some lying still while others were positioned in ways that made her frown.
For a brief moment, her focus lingered on them as she took in the unsettling sight hidden behind the glass.
Soran’s eyes flickered as she witnessed everything.
"Did they do something like this to me as well?"
The scenes before her weren’t exactly pleasant. There was a lot of gore and blood being shown, with tubes and robots working on the bodies lying on the metal table. Seeing the scenes, Soran almost had the urge to free them all, but thinking about her task, she stopped herself and appeared before a certain room where her gaze fell on another one of the patients.
This time, it seemed to belong to a young girl that the Team Leader had seen in the past.
"You must be Rowan’s sister."
Soran’s hand pressed against the glass.
"...Looks like I’m in the right⎯"
"Who are you?"
Soran’s words were suddenly cut off by a deep, rough voice. The unexpected interruption startled her slightly, causing her to turn her head toward the source.
Her gaze fell upon a man dressed in a uniform similar to her own, though his appearance carried a noticeably more refined and pressuring air.
Blinking a couple of times, she realized rather quickly who she was dealing with.
"You must be the security captain, correct?"
Her lips pulled into a smile.
"I did hear about you from my fiancée. It’s nice to meet you."