Chapter 33 - Awake

'Did you know that people can die if they don't breathe? And did you also know that people can die underwater?'

Ayami was thinking of the randomest things in the world as she danced with the silence. She was slowly accepting the situation right now.

"You are oddly calm." A flowery voice, so smooth like butter, entered her ears. "In situations like this, humans tend to panic or be wary of me."

The peculiar smile on her face widened as she stared at Ayami with an intense gaze under the black veil.

"It's better to think calmly and assess the situation rather than to panic and do useless things." Ayami answered calmly.

"…You're right."

"But you know, If I arrived a second later, then, ⍰⍰⍰ would have swallowed you. So, what is a human like you doing here?"

Hm? Ayami felt like she heard something strange in the middle of her sentence.

"I… don't know how I got here, actually. By the way, what was that thing earlier?"

「⍰⍰⍰.」

Again, Ayami couldn't hear what '⍰⍰⍰' was. It was like the words were garbled and she was restricted to hear it.

"Who are you?" Ayami asked, curious about her identity.

The woman didn't speak but just smiled at her meaningfully, which made Ayami frown. The woman stood up and went to the bookshelves, filled with books.

"Fufu, What you should be asking is 'what am I?'" The woman said as she picked up a book with a title Ayami couldn't read.

"Then what are you?"

"Well, since you look so curious and look like you're about to die out of curiosity, then I will answer your question." The woman answered as she flipped through the pages of the book. "Fufu, but I don't really know what I am. I guess you would call me a 'Guide'."

"What about your name?" Ayami asked. The woman immediately closed the book and created a loud sound.

"How innocent of you. But take my advice, you shouldn't get too close to an entity like me. And… It would also be best if you forget everything that happened earlier."

It was spoken nicely, but Ayami could feel that something bad would happen if she didn't take that advice.

"Enough about me." The woman said after returning the book back to the bookshelf.

"Ayami Gardner, or was it Lein or whatever it is? With the way you are going, I wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly died."

"The actions you are doing right now would only hasten your death."

"You already felt earlier right?"

"Please be aware of the consequences of challenging ⍰⍰⍰⍰."

"Today is just a warning. After you leave this place, ⍰⍰⍰⍰ will target you. Beware of the dangers that surround you."

"I advice you to lay low for a while."

"What are you talking about?" Ayami could not understand anything she was saying. It was like she was listening to nonsensical words.

"…That's right, you wouldn't be able to understand right now. Time will tell." The woman flashed smile with thousand meanings.

Then, the woman walked towards her and slowly reached out to her.

'Huh?'

Ayami was frozen on the spot, she couldn't move her body. She watched as the woman touched her head, slowly losing consciousness.

Before she could completely black out, she heard the woman murmured something.

"I wonder how long you'll last this time…"

"…"

***

Her eyelids quivered for a second, before she slowly began to open her eyes, only to be greeted by a blinding white light, making her squint and adjust.

'Where is this?' Ayami thought as she tried to get up. There was an IV Drip attached to her.

She presumed that she was inside a private hospital room, judging where she was laying down and the equipments she saw.

"Oh, you're awake."

Ayami heard a gentle voice beside her making her turn her head towards the source of the voice.

She widened her eyes in shock as she saw the person she didn't expect to first see.

Kayden was nonchalantly sitting on a one person sofa wearing casual clothes. He was holding a phone on his hand, while on the other was a… donut.

The box of donuts sitting on his lap caught her attention. Seeing that Ayami was eyeing his donuts, Kayden glared at her.

Ayami rolled her eyes at him. It was not like she was going to steal it…

"…What are you doing here?" Her voice hoarse as her throat was dry.

"Drink some water first." Kayden handed her a glass of water, to which Ayami downed in one gulp.

"Ahem." Ayami cleared her throat first before she started speaking again. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit a friend?" Kayden started munching on the donuts as soon as he finished speaking.

"Of course, you can." Ayami smiled sweetly at him. "But next time you visit me, make sure you bring a visiting gift."

"I did bring one." Kayden rebutted.

"Then where is it?" Ayami looked around and couldn't find anything.

"On my stomach. You took too long to wake up, so I just ate it and I was also hungry." He answered nonchalantly as he ate the donuts one by one.

"Even if you were awake, I would still eat it because you are not allowed to eat heavy meals yet."

Ayami was speechless. What a glutton!

"Then treat me after I fully recover."

"Sure." Kayden nonchalantly answered. It wasn't a big deal to him anyway.

Their conversation ended there as the doctors started to arrive, three of them to be exact. There were nurses walking behind them.

"Miss Gardner, you're awake. How are you feeling?" The doctor immediately asked and checked her body condition.

"We already informed your family, they will be here soon." One of the doctors spoke.

They did they work fast and efficient. After checking that her condition was ok, the doctors instructed the nurse and immediately left afterwards.

"Were they in an emergency? They were in a hurry." Ayami remarked after they left.

"Who knows.." Kayden smirked playfully as he remembered what happened earlier.