Concentrate. The confusion we embrace only distorts our vision more, it disorients the right and wrong, the real and the imaginary. That thin line we drew to separate our selves from the impossibilities, the unrealistic dreams and the inabilities human have is nothing but a fragile hair-like string that could be broken in a second, in fact, its just a matter of time till your borderline is shattered.

But, the confusion and fear that held Merit's comfort was stronger than an iron chain bounding her against the walls. Who would shake the young lady and tell her that life isn't a prison, no one but herself.

Awoke in her sweat and wet pillow, Merit welcomed another day with a heavy heart, anticipating a new failure, and a more mind twisting plot to her dead journey.

She yawned, hearing the silence of the room and the snoring of the girl in the bed right above her, she thought about waking her up and embarrassing her enough to stop that, but as she was about to do so, she found herself derived of all energy.

That day wasn't he best of the days, but wasn't the worst either.

Regular routine went on, the young ones were assigned to different parts all over the city and Merit was quick to jump out of the hideout in fear of meeting Elijah once more.

Time wasn't pleasant.

Streets were slumber at that time of day, there was a storm on the way. Vendors were protecting their dear products while the hideout recklessly threw away children younger than eighteen years old in the merciless streets of Izora. While Merit shivered and trembled across the streets, she was quick to notice a very strange presence haunting her.

"Did..did you feel that?" Merit whispered to Mechi who was in her pocket.

"Feel what?" He replied, popping his head out.

"I don't know..It feels like, we're being watched.." She whispered, looking around each corner in the street with a heavy bag on her back that slowed her down than usual.

"There's nothing. You just didn't sleep well." Mechi said.

But that didn't calm Merit's concerns.

Through the dark streets of the rain soaked city, she kept inspecting her surroundings, each vendor and each alley. She walked around with a slight paranoia obvious on her pale face, "Something is wrong" She cried out, moving in a circle around the same place, unaware of what to do to wash away that feeling of insecurity that was reaching its peak in seconds, she was breathless, teary and anxious, ignoring Mechi's constant questions that she hardly even heard, it wasn't until few seconds till Merit lost all of her senses, once her eyes fell on a certain object on the ground, beneath her feet. She collected it, looking at it in suspicion.

That object was a flag.

"Redemption day has ..ended?" She read it, and once these words touched her lips, Merit could do nothing but throw it away and scream as loud as she can, only to find out she can no longer hear herself, and no one can hear her too..No one even looked.

"What's..What's going on?!?" She cried to herself, running around in the muddy streets and going back to the hideout out as soon as she can.

"It can't be true.." She told herself, rubbing her eyes and biting her lips in hope of waking up, but that was impossible, that wasn't a dream.

In the midst of her isolation, her mind tangled its own self, instead of triggering her senses to move ahead and get help, Merit slowly fell into a paralysed state, looking around her to find no one can feel her presence, no one can lend a helping hand, she stood, feeling nothing but the killing silence surrounding her and her hopelessness devouring her sense of reality.

The sky rained.

"Redemption day..Redemption day..Redemption day" Merit repeated the words involuntary as she saw the flags falling on her like a heavy rain, she stared at the distant sky, crying till her heart bled, still very hurt from the sinister silence enveloping her reality.

"Isn't it a wonderful day, Meredith?" A voice echoed in the distance, somehow over the clouds, or somewhere in the far horizon, or somewhere in Merit's Pocket, or in her..mind?

"Please, just let me out..!!" She cried in profound pain as she started to feel her insides twirling like a hurricane, which caused her to succumb to her pain and fall into her knees, sheltering her ears.

"Let you out to where exactly?" The voice said once again, that voice was indeed human, but a part of it was inhumane, a part of it was eerie and distorted, like a radio.

"This isn't real" She cried, glueing her eyes to the ground as she began repeating lullabies to hopefully drift back to reality, but little poor one didn't know that this is indeed real.

"It's just as real as you are, Meredith."

Through her constant disoriented breaths and rapid heart beats that's threw her into a panic attack state, once that voice spelled her name, she found her hands wet, seconds later, her eyes were too, nose..mouth.

That wet sensation was caused by her sudden bleeding, blood soaked her face, hands and dress, leaving her in full shock mode.

"Who ..who are you ?"

"I'm irrelevant to your information. But my existence is what you should be concerned for."

"You're the one causing my body all of this..?"

"I merely wanted your attention."

"You're one of them black hats bastards!!"

"That's so untrue, I won't answer your questions until my request is granted."

"Who are you to command me?!"

"The sooner you cooperate, the higher your chance of surviving amnesia increases."

"Get over with it!!"

"Meredith, your memories are precious, and I find myself forced to rely on you as the end approaches us."

"What end?"

"Your world 's end."

" But..what am I supposed to do? I'm just a helpless orphan, and the world's end is far from my concern.."

At that point, Merit was blinded by her own blood and vomit, the static sound was breaking through her ears as she coughed blood violently, all that she can see was the redemption day flags soaked in her own blood.

"Redemption day.. What's redemption day?"

"It's day of re-retribution" The voice stuttered, the static grew more loud.

"Merit, there's so little time left, if redemption day comes, all living things will slowly seize to exist, a slight error and existence will no longer be defined by any functioning conscious, you will no longer realize if you're alive, destroy Corelight, and redemption day will never come, M-merit y-you are-"

The static burst in Merit's ears as she lost consciousness, the first encounter ended.

"Oh, my..Poor child"

"Somebody get her some water!"

"She looked dead, I swear if Andrew didn't feel her pulse, we would have taken her to the morgue."

Disoriented voices surrounded the energy less child lying in a puddle of her own vomit and blood, once her golden eyes saw the people surrounding her, she sighed in relief knowing she can be seen.

"I'll take her from here, thank you, sir!" Said a familiar voice that broke through the crowd, Merit's vision was blurry, and so was her memory, and once she felt her senses being revived again, she saw Elijah picking her up as soon as he can.

"You must be very sick, you never said something." Elijah said as he carried her and took her back to the hideout while dismissing the crowds, Merit didn't pay attention to his words, instead, she was only interested in what was in her memory.

"Redemption- redemption day m-must n-not come.." She trembled, and as she said so, Elijah stopped moving.

"What did you just say?" He said, his eyebrows frowning, his expression quickly turning into something malice, he was threatened.

"Nothing at all, don't mind my hallucinating." Merit struggled to say once she have realized Elijah's expression is a warning sign, but his frown didn't fade away, instead, he harshly carried the dizzy Merit and hurried back with nothing but a very strange reaction, as if Merit's words triggered something inside of him.

"I see them." He said, "It has started" He continued.

"You're approaching the end, Merit."