Gentle white light illuminates the vast corridors as the white crystallized floors gleam beautifully. The hallway is the wide one that extends from the lobby of the immense mansion given to the three guests to explore, and exploring that exact corridor currently is one of those. The guest wanders down the hall with her hands pocketed within her oversized hoodie as her eyes dance curiously around at the various entries into the plethora of rooms still unexplored, as the labyrinth of the house had a surplus of content adequate enough to feast her for years.

However, she isn’t strolling around aimlessly, for she’s a girl on a mission. Her pink eyes are seeking for a specific entity, piercing through her messy pink bangs of hair. She hums a gentle tune to entertain herself, appearing alone without the companionship of the others.

In her scouting mission, Kokei peeks at the various rooms, which all have light walls usually being white, as it seems the house isn’t exactly designed with rainbow colors. Furthermore, it’s become apparent to her that while there's a seemingly infinite group of rooms, as though the mansion is its own universe without limits– a borderless reality–, most of the rooms are poorly furnished.

Beyond the basic sofas and accompanying tables, there doesn’t seem to be much to imbue life into the rooms. There’s no shelves showcasing trophies and other mementos of achievement and experiences, there’s no paintings or photographs hung up on the walls, in fact she convinces herself that she would’ve never been able to make judgements on the personality or life of the homeowner from the house alone.

Such an inability ticks her off, especially given how personalized her own home was. It felt wrong, it didn’t even feel like she was inside someone’s home rather it was a public building. It could be mistaken as a hotel, there was nothing indicating that someone owned this building in such an intimate fashion as residency.

However, she does note that it’s not like she’s seen the host’s bedroom, thus there’s a chance perhaps he’s reserved the personalization for his own specific spaces.

Such a hypothesis does make sense, her own room was the most personalized, and it may be a bother to try decorating the incomprehensibly great quantity of rooms. Besides, perhaps there was an advantage at keeping the rooms clean to make them formally presentable; if the host was so affluent, perhaps it was a necessity for him to be able to use his own house as an office in a way, he potentially would need it for meetings and other professional engagements. Although that begs the question, what does the host even do that enchants him with such prosperity?

Especially someone with such a deadbeat personality as him, Kokei could only surmise that he’d lack the necessary charisma to conduct himself in an executive position in any organization, which seems to be one of the only potential positions to warrant such wealth.

As Kokei growls through gritted teeth at the bitterness she now begins to feel against someone with such superior economic status yet such inferior human functionality, she is suddenly interrupted by the sound from the distance ahead of her.

Her growling stops as her eyes widen in curiosity. She begins to follow the sound forward, silencing her hums as she tries to concentrate on the sound.

At first, all that can be made out is, well, some sound. But in getting closer, that sound reshapes into that of a voice, albeit muffled. Every step gradually clarifies the voice, as the tone becomes discernible, it being a deep masculine voice with an inherent gravity. The words are still too jumbled to hear properly, but that is until Kokei stops, noticing that the voice seems to be coming from a particular room she has entered previously, the entryway to the right of her a few feet ahead.

She takes a step into the room, her eyes setting on the long black tabletop absent of any surrounding seats, to which she recalls the room being the dining room. Even though she had visited the room a handful of times by now, it was impossible to memorize the location of any of them due to the unforgiving abundance of rooms, as she hadn’t made an inch towards familiarizing herself with a house she’s spent days at.

Immediately upon entry, the voice’s words become clear to her: “Huh, seriously, why are you so spiteful towards me?”

Those initial words put Kokei’s expression into panic as she instinctively freezes in place. Her jaw drops, and her head slowly turns to the left to see a glimpse of the kitchen past a short section of wall between the entryway and kitchen subsection.

She too remembers: the dining room and the kitchen are one with little suppression between them. Since there is no visible person in the dining room, yet the voice is so clear it indicates close proximity to the speaker, that indicates that the speaker must be in the kitchen.

From where she stands however, she can only get a glance at the corner of the room, and there is no visible being in that shot. It’s only possible that the speaker is inside the kitchen but out of her current sight, meaning if she just takes a few steps forth and into the kitchen, she’ll find the person.

“I don’t recall you having ever been this rebellious to anybody else, you make it difficult to deal with you sometimes, you know?” exclaims the voice with an agitated tone. The sudden perplexing statement moves Kokei up against the wall between the entryway and kitchen, as though she’s trying to hide. Her back rests against the wall and she softens her breath to near silence, trying not to be found.

Such odd dialogue has put her in a state of disarray and disorientation, leaving her mind muddled without an idea on how to act. The voice is clearly that of Rohan, it would be odd for it to be anyone else to begin with but she can confirm the familiarity now even though it’s been quite some time since she’s heard it. Her pink irises remain open as she slows her breath, acting by instinct now regardless of how ridiculous it appears from an external perspective.

“Hm hm, there you go again, having some witty rebound into putting the blame on me. I swear, you make it sound like everything I do is bad, even when I’m making your life easier. Seriously, would it kill you to imbue some positivity in your critiques sometimes?” argues the voice, although peculiarly it doesn’t sound genuinely livid, but rather there’s a curious lighthearted sarcasm in those words, attaching a casual tone to his voice.

Yet those words put the fear of god into Kokei, as her body begins shivering and she clasps her open mouth with her hand to prevent any sound. Her mind races in a black void, unable to determine heads or tails, scrambling to make simple thoughts. The voice sounds nothing like what she’s heard prior, as it’s the first time he doesn’t speak as though constantly irritated or antagonizing. For the first time, his voice doesn’t give off the impression of finding discontent in everyone else around him, as though he isn’t trying to ward off any company.

This voice sounds familiar, yet at the same time, so far alien that it’s unrecognizable. And at the same time, the particular words spoken irk her in a strange way, as they feel oddly directed in a horrific sense. Now it’s become even more onerous to approach him from the inexplicable embarrassment she feels, reserving her in place without the ability to move.

“Just like I said, nothing but retaliation. I’m not asking you to inflate my ego, but you know, a few small phrases here and there. It seems like at every moment I’m somehow wrong in your mind, and you make it clear even without speaking. I’m just saying, you can’t complain about my apprehension to converse with you when you’re always so aggressive,” insists the voice, his tone still casual yet exuding a detectable sense of passion.

Flames of tension rage in the two pink irises of Kokei, who’s now become itched with awkwardness at the situation. She hasn’t spent much time at all with this man, in fact only one morning before he vanished, and in that morning he was distant from the group and was hasty to depart from them. Yet now, he was the exact opposite, he was exposing himself in such a manner that somehow embarasses Kokei, for her face reddens. Expressing such human desires as seeking support and consolation right in Kokei’s ears should be impossible, it is impossible, and yet she hears it right behind her.

It becomes abundantly clear that she was peeping in on a conversation too personal for her to be listening to, one not meant for anyone outside of those actively engaged to know of. Yet she’s been standing there, hiding there, hearing this all, and no matter how much she wishes she could take it back and undo the past few minutes of her life, she is now marooned in this terrible timeline.

But to make it even more discomforting, she has only heard the voice of the host, but nobody else. There doesn’t seem to be anybody else within audible range, as for a moment it appears he’s talking to himself. Although then Kokei reminds herself how common online conversations are, as there’s a more than likely chance that she can’t hear anybody else because their voice is spoken through a device only the caller can pick up, thus depriving her of any sources beyond the one physically approximate to her. It was the most sensible conclusion to reach, but even then, that doesn’t detract from the embarrassment she feels walking in on the conversation with someone he seems to have a close relation with.

“Hey, now you’re just shaming me again. Why do I even talk to you about these things when I always end up just regretting-,” swears the voice in a defeated tone, but is interrupted by a sudden high pitched sneeze from Kokei behind the wall.

On the other side of the wall, in the kitchen subsection, the man in the leather jacket stands in front of the long black table along the far wall. Between him and the dining room is the shorter black hovering tabletop, and surrounding him and the three walls of the kitchen is the long black table which rests on a series of cabinets. Above the tables too are another series of cabinets, all white.

All of the tables are spotless, as in fact he doesn’t seem to be indulging in any nourishment, rather using the kitchen as an area to converse. He’s physically alone as there aren’t any other people or creatures inhabiting the kitchen, just as Kokei predicted.

An abrupt huh follows the slit sentence as the man immediately spins around to face the dining room, as it becomes definite that he heard the sneeze. His blue eyes widen for a moment before contracting into a defensive glare, and he closes his fists, putting his right one behind his back as though to conceal it.

“Anyone there?” interrogates the man in a monotonous yet threatening voice, his blue glare piercing the wall between him and the intruder.

Still persisting off instinct discounting how foolish, Kokei has no ideas other than stepping forth, exposing herself to the man from behind the wall. She gazes at the man, her pink strands of hair concealing her red face as she desperately attempts to quell her embarrassment. Her hands ball into fists by her side, clenched tightly as her eyes trail the floor.

Unable to even project hostility in her tone, she timidly reveals, “Hi Rohan…I was uh…looking for you…real quick. Sorry if I was interrupting you on a call~ I just walked in here just now, like just now right now just now.”

Rohan’s eyebrow raises with a perplexed expression, and he alleviates his defensive stance to become casual, no longer seeing threat in his situation. Still, he seems initially befuddled, but his expression then relaxes out the concern after he seems to draw a connection. He then shuts his eyes and shakes his head horizontally before opening them back up and assuring, “No need to apologize, I wasn’t on a call.”

Kokei chuckles in relief after being reassured of her worries, gradually lightening up as her bangs move off her face, which calms and returns to her natural skin tone.

Suddenly, her mind recalls his assurance, but specifically his admission that he ‘wasn’t on a call.’ Her eyes widen in shock as she begins processing this inexplicable response which rapidly deteriorates her mind. She had just listened in on him speak casually, furthermore intimately, leaving no logical explanation beyond him being in a meeting with someone.

Her first thoughts are that perhaps he had jumbled his words, thus seeking clarification, she implores, “Wait, you weren’t on a call just now? Like you weren’t talking to a person just now?”

Rohan shakes his head again before once again reassuring, “No, as I said there’s no need to apologize. Anyways, why were you looking for me?”

That reassurance shatters Kokei into countless fragments as her soul splinters across the crystallic floor, her mind collapsing at once. All relief she had once felt had now become terror a hundred fold, no, greater. Nothing could compare to the raw fear flooding Kokei, as her heart soars to cosmic heights, her eyes rapidly shaking in speechlessness.

Her body quivering intensely, the humanity she was beginning to see in him, the vulnerabilities he was exposing, all of them warp into something far beyond natural, something more disturbing than demons.

Her previous assessment of Rohan was proven incorrect. He isn’t a callous, emotionless merciless husk who lacks a brain. He isn’t some cruel villain fueled by hatred, or some detached soul who seeks to take advantage of humans that he sees and treats as livestock. He isn’t that simple, that becomes clear to her.

No, he was an insane beast, a man with a deeply fragmented, dangerously disfigured brain. An unreasonable, illogical entity beyond the scope of mortals and gods. He wasn’t simply intimidating, he was outright horrifying, nightmare inducing, for now the mere thought of him would certainly put Kokei at unrest for the rest of her long life.

The man was so eased with the haunting thought of him having lost it and began speaking to himself that he doesn’t seem at all concerned about his statement, as his expression is blank with curiosity, not suspecting anything wrong. No, this was a veteran at living a shattered life, this was his normal, he was so far from human that he didn’t see his divergences to begin with.

A single term was difficult to label the man. Sad? Mad? Disturbed? Terrifying? Monstrous? Demonic? No, it appears as though language designed by humans lacks the proper ability to describe the condition of this man, as the humans who built the language never once anticipated the need to explain something so extraterrestrial, so deeply negative that it simply doesn’t compute in this reality.

“Hm? Hey, I’m talking to you. Why were you looking for me?” grills Rohan with an apprehensive tone, now gradually becoming keen on Kokei’s discomfort.

Kokei’s eyes widen as she snaps back to reality, shaking her head whilst attempting to compose herself to the best of her ability. She holds her hands together with a tight grip to get ahold of herself, fidgeting as her feet lightly stomp on the ground. Seeking words from the void to respond, her eyes dart all around the kitchen.

She manages to exert, “I uh…oh yes yes…I remember ahah…Dana uh…needs to speak to you…yeah that was it…she needs to speak to you…so uh I was looking for you…to tell her where you are…I’m going to go get her now I’ll be back don’t go anywhere!”

She then immediately turns around and sprints away, panting heavily as she escapes the room, her heart beating out of her chest. She races down the hallway, throwing her arms back and forth as her mind races, scarred for life. Now, she’d never be able to sleep easy again, for she was no longer living in a house of humans, for there was an imposter far more terrifying among them.

Deeply entrenched within her own mind, Kokei sprints straight into a body without noticing, which knocks her backwards with a terrified scream of help. She starts rapidly throwing her hands in terror as she staggers backwards, squealing with all her might with her eyes tightly shut, unable to bear the sight of what lays before her.

“Jesus, I’m not even that hideous, that’s a bit uncalled for don’t you think,” declares a disgruntled, raspy male voice familiar at an instant.

Kokei stops her barrage, peeking out from behind her eyes after hearing the voice. Her expression still drowned in terror, she stares between her fingers to see that in front of her is Ekitai, and beside him is Dana, both of whom have solicitous expressions as they stare straight at her silently.

Now further embarrassed at her own hostile reaction, Kokei shakes her hands again before resting them by her side and bowing apologetically. She insists, “Sorry, I swear I didn’t see you Ekitai! I don’t think you’re hideous, but I still think you could benefit from a little bit of facial reconstruction!!”

Sighing from the rebound, Ekitai lowers his head before noting, “I feel like part of you has regressed from coming here, you’re starting to act like a bi-,” he and Dana then quickly exchange glances as she glares at him with furiously blazing eyes, and he returns his gaze to Kokei before continuing, “-annoying person…again. Anyways, what happened?”

To regain her composure, Kokei shuts her eyes, takes in a deep breath, and lets it out, which quells her heart to beat at a calm pace again. She opens her eyes, peaceful, before explaining “I found Rohan, Dana, he’s in the kitchen.”

The response, while being what Dana needed to hear, seems to compulse her to put on a dreadful expression as she lowers her head, her arms going limp. She stares at the crystallic floor, taking a slow breath before accepting, “Yay…looks like I can talk to him now…wooh.” in a destroyed, soulless voice.

Her green eyes stare blankly at the ground through her amber bangs, already experiencing perpetual annihilation before even stepping into the room.

Ekitai lets out a wide grin before placing his hand on her shoulder, gleefully assuring, “Don’t worry, my guy Rohan is super nice, trust me! He’s my great friend who let me tag along in his adventures, and he seems really close with you so I’m sure he’ll be understanding! You have nothing to worry about!!”

That response picks up Dana’s head as she turns to Ekitai before her dead eyes begin to gleam again, reinvigorated by his words. A smile opens on her face as the revelation dawns on her, “You’re right actually, he’s changed and seems more lenient with people now! You’re right Ekitai, I don’t have anything to worry about, I don’t know why I was so scared, he’s nice to you guys and he’s known me for so long! Thanks Ekitai, you say reasonable things from time to time!”

Ekitai smiles with closed eyes and gives a thumbs up, returning “Of course, you’re welcome! That sounds a bit backhanded but I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be!”

Dana lets out a soft breath, choosing to ignore the last part of Ekitai’s response before turning to Kokei and nodding. She then declares, “Okay, I’ll go talk to him. I can handle this on my own, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be right back.”

With that, she strides forth, journeying to the dining room where the kitchen stands. Now imbued with courage from her fellow companions, she confidently approaches the host, marching on as Kokei and Ekitai watch from behind in awe to her graceful movements.

Trekking through the wide blazing gates of hell, Dana passes the black counter bordering the kitchen and dining room before planting her black sole on the white floor. She raises her head, her green eyes piercing her amber hair as she stares dead ahead at the boss before her, draped in the blackened skin of animals, his soulless eyes penetrating her soul through the scant locks of white, dead hair.

The boss turns his body to face her after acknowledging her presence, as the two titans stand several feet apart, staring at one another in silence for what is felt as an eons, like two masters at chess strategizing before daring to move a muscle.

“Hey, Rohan?” Dana makes the first strike in a bold tone of a messenger.

“Yes, Dana?” retaliates Rohan in a monotonous, impenetrable voice.

“I regret to inform you that recently, an accident occured in the gymnasium floor. Due to a series of unintentional circumstances, there are holes in the walls of both the air hockey rink and the weight room. Also as collateral, several athletic instruments were rendered in a dysfunctional state likely irreparable. This incident has been thoroughly investigated and it can be reported that this event will not again transpire in the future,” formally reports Dana.

A few more moments of silence pass as the two stare at one another. Dana’s expression boasts confidence and integrity, not letting fear get the better of her as she maintains her ground, having mentally empowered herself before the meeting.

At last after several eternities, Rohan responds with a soft, calm sigh, closing his eyes and shaking his head lightly. He opens his eyes and returns their gaze back to Dana.

He then calmly assures, “Do not fret, I understand, there is no need for concern. The damages to the walls should be repairable with proper maintenance in a few hours once I initiate the service. For the exercise units, replacing them will be no problem as they are rather inexpensive for me, thus there is no conflict there.”

Dana lets out a sigh of relief after hearing Rohan’s understanding, confirming her belief that there was no reason to feel anxious. This was her dear friend who she’s known for longer than she can remember, such an inconvenience would be insignificant in their iron bond.

“In fact, while engaged in the errand of replacing the machines, perhaps I can seek out any cages, specifically ones with the capacity capable of containing human beings. I have never made an investment of that kind, but such discovery may be informative, so I am willing to embark. If such cages exist, I doubt they’d be too expensive, and perhaps I can purchase three of them, and then I can truly ensure that no event of similar nature may once again occur.”

In that moment, Dana’s bangs cover her eyes, darkening her face as she stares straight through the dense covers of her amber strands. She stands in place for a few moments, dumbfounded, before making an attempt to recover with a light chuckle and respond with a light tone, “Ah, your sense of humor never ceases to…humor me!”

Without a change in tone, Rohan simply asks, “Humor?”

While neither of them knew it, hiding behind the wall between the dining hall exit and opening to the kitchen once again is Kokei, however this time accompanied by Ekitai. They both lean against the wall in silence, attempting to conceal their presences while observing the interaction. Ekitai’s head is tilted as he has a forced innocent expression, trying to conceal any reactions deep down within a childish mask.

Beside him, Kokei isn’t nearly as deceptive, for her expression of morbid horror beams through her wide eyes and open jaw. For in those moments, she can feel her life being contorted, choked out by a monstrous claw. Frozen in place, there is nowhere forwards nor nowhere back. There is no escape.

“Hey, Rohan, I feel like that uh…may violate human rights…are you sure there are no…more humane alternatives?” helplessly pleads the fallen Dana.

“Unfortunately this discussion must conclude, as it appears I have pressing matters to attend to. I shall be departing now, we may interact again,” concludes Rohan, his closure being followed by footsteps that approach Kokei and Ekitai.

Before either of them can react, Rohan steps out of the kitchen and beside them, standing right in their sight. His attention doesn’t seem infatuated by the hawks, as his eyes remain ahead, and he continues to hover towards the exit.

“Hey uh…why don’t we uh…maybe we should all hang out later today actually or something…over like dinner or something…okay? Rohan? Buddy?” Dana makes her final stand from the kitchen, only for it to go unnoticed as Rohan walks out of the kitchen without verbal response, departing from the scene.

As though the host’s presence itself had been choking the two guests, both Kokei and Ekitai immediately begin gasping for air upon his absence, wheezing in pain after having endured such tragic homicide. They stay in place however before turning to their right, where Dana appears, staring straight ahead with cold, lifeless eyes.

Her green eyes gaze into the abyss wide, standing before the two guests who’ve experienced the frigid cruelty of the phantom, having just stood point blank in a nuclear explosion that’s incinerated her being.

“So uh…we’re going to have a nice…friendly dinner tonight…where we’re going to…make some great impressions…so we don’t need to live in cages? Sounds good? Come on, I’m going to…look up some recipes…this is going to be fun…we’re all going to have…so much fun!” Now, hope was the strongest redemption Dana could arm herself with.