Ayush shook his head, trying to clear the heavy thoughts. "Why am I being so dramatic?" he thought, feeling a bit embarrassed. "He just collapsed from exhaustion. He'll be fine. I'm just projecting my own past onto this situation for no reason." He gave a small, silly self-deprecating shrug, dismissing his anxiety.
He glanced over at the chair where Vikas was supposed to be keeping watch. Vikas was fast asleep, his mouth wide open, snoring like a chainsaw. Ayush watched him for a second, noticing Vikas leaning dangerously to one side. "Is he about to fall?" Just as the thought crossed his mind, gravity won. Vikas slid right off the chair and slammed onto the floor. He bolted awake instantly, looking around in a daze with a confused, silly expression. Ayush couldn't hold it back anymore—he burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter. Vikas, feeling offended, made a huffy face and turned his head away in an exaggerated pout.
At that exact moment, the girl in the white cloak—the same one from the morning—was walking past. As Vikas swung his head around to ignore Ayush, his face accidentally went straight into the girl's chest.
Ayush's laughter died instantly, replaced by a hilarious, terrified "O" face. Vikas froze, his brain slowly processing the soft contact. He scrambled back, his face turning bright red. The girl looked down, her hood hiding her face as she let out a small, shy squeak.
Vikas dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face in a funny, exaggerated display of innocence. "I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I JUST WOKE UP!" he cried, making a pathetic but cute face.
"It's... it's okay," she whispered in a tiny, sweet voice. "It was an accident. I shouldn't have been standing there."
Vikas blinked. That voice... "Wait! You're the girl I ran into this morning!"
"Hmm," she hummed softly. She had come to check on Rei's party, and Vikas told her they were safe, but explained that their friend Aryan was in bad shape inside. "I heard an S-Rank healer is coming, but I don't know where she is," Vikas sighed.
"If she's coming to heal him, then you don't need to worry. He will be fine," the girl said. Without another word, she turned and ran back the way she came. Vikas stared after her, confused. "Who is she? And how is she so sure?" He shrugged. "Whatever. Not my problem."
Inside the room, Saber stood over Aryan. She looked at his glitching mana and whispered a single word: "Again?" She dismissed the other healers with a cold command. Once the room was silent, she activated her skill.
Meanwhile, Aryan wasn't truly "unconscious." His mind had been pulled into a void of total darkness. Suddenly, the darkness shattered, and he found himself standing in a place that defied logic. It was a library, but it was infinite. Bookshelves stretched into the sky and across the horizon in impossible structures, and the gravity felt "wrong"—heavy yet floaty.
Aryan was excited for a split second until a sudden force slammed into him. He was frozen, unable to move a muscle. Out of the shadows stepped a terrifying figure—a red, evil-looking entity with blood and saliva dripping from its maw. Aryan's heart nearly stopped.
"What is this place? Who are you?" Aryan stammered.
The creature spoke in a distorted, demonic growl. Aryan couldn't understand a word. He tried to pull up his System, but nothing happened. It was as if the System didn't even exist here. "Am I dead?" he wondered.
Suddenly, the "Devil" adjusted its voice, speaking in a clear human tongue. "Do not be afraid. You are safe. You are only here for a short time."
"Who are you? Why am I trapped?" Aryan asked, curious despite the fear.
"I am an Angel," the creature claimed, though it looked like a nightmare. "This is not the afterlife. This is a Library you are connected to. You possess an ability that is too powerful—out of control. It has damaged your physical vessel."
Aryan thought of his Copy Ability. "Is he talking about the Glitch?" He decided to keep quiet. He couldn't trust this "Angel" who looked like a demon.
"You are only the second person to ever set foot here," the Angel continued. "I was told to tell you something very important..."
But as he spoke, his voice distorted back into a demonic roar. Aryan couldn't understand anything. The world turned black again, and suddenly, a Flashback hit him.
Aryan felt like he was trapped in a time loop. He watched the life of the White Behemoth for what felt like an entire year. He saw the monster living in a cave, fighting its own kind to grow stronger. He saw a mysterious cloaked figure appear, wound the monster, and grant it power before vanishing.
"I wasted a whole year of my consciousness watching a monster's documentary?" Aryan groaned.
Then, another flashback hit. This one was about the Scout whose skill he stole to find the cat. Aryan made a hilarious, disgusted face. "Really? I have to watch this guy's life just because I wanted to find a cat? I'm never copying a low-rank skill again!"
By the time the flashbacks ended, Aryan had spent about a year and a half in his own mind. Even though only minutes had passed in the real world, his mind had aged. He felt older, more mature, and exhausted.
A blinding white light filled his vision. Aryan opened his eyes to see Saber standing over him.
"Take care of your body," she said coldly. "Stop using that power so recklessly."
Aryan was stunned. "How do you know about that?"
"I've healed many people like you," Saber replied, her voice devoid of emotion. "You aren't special." With that, she turned and walked out.
Aryan frowned. "Not special? Does that mean others have the Copy ability too?"
Outside, Vikas was grumbling to himself. "Where is this damn S-Rank healer? She's so late!"
Saber was standing right behind him. Ayush saw her and turned pale, giving a tiny, terrified smile.
"Oh? Were you saying something about me?" Saber asked, her voice icy.
Vikas jumped, nearly hitting the ceiling. He turned around, trying to hide his fear with a "cute and innocent" face, but his eyes started watering automatically. Saber looked at him with pity and just walked away.
The two friends rushed into the room. "Aryan! You okay, you idiot?"
Aryan looked at them. He felt different. Spending months alone in a void had changed him. He was quieter, more mature. The three of them talked late into the night until they finally succumbed to exhaustion.
Next Morning. The receptionist arrived early the next day to check on them. She opened the door and stopped dead.
Aryan was sprawled on the floor, mouth wide open, snoring. Meanwhile, Ayush and Vikas were squeezed onto the single hospital bed, tangled together. Vikas had one leg draped over Ayush, and both were snoring in a funny, synchronized rhythm.
The receptionist just stared, her face a mix of confusion and secondhand embarrassment.
"What... what exactly is going on here?"