HSR: A Passing Crimson

Darkness— once more, all he saw was the neverending darkness. There was nothing in sight, nor did he feel like anything would change anytime sooner.

It was just like when he trapped in that glass ampule back in that IPC research vessel.

Yet this time, something was different— he could see. And, there was someone else with him here too.

"It's your fault..."

Oh, and he could hear too.

Although he didn't know whether he had a corporeal body or not, there was one thing that was certain— he was currently facing a phantom. There was no better word for it other than this for what he was currently witnessing.

In front of him, the headless figure of Johan stood straight, in his hand laid his head; with dark sunken, hollow eyes and a face full of hatred and regret.

Currently, those pair of hollow eyes looked at Merris straight in the eyes— cold and full of lingering regret, as if they wanted to burrow deep inside his eyes and torment him for all eternity.

But what can a mere phantom do?

Looking at the phantom that was quite obviously haunting him, Merris, strangely enough, didn't feel scared. On the contrary, he felt like mocking that ghastly phantom.

He attempted to open his mouth, and, sure enough, he could also speak.

"My fault? Sure, but what can you even do about it?" His voice laced with mockery, he ridiculed the deceased Johan. "You're nothing but a mere phantom, my dear sir. A lingering regret with nothing useful other than to annoy the living."

He felt no remorse in what he was doing; Johan was a vile man and Merris was merely venting his frustrations onto him. In the first place, he never liked the goatman.

"No... You're lower than that. You're just a figment of my imagination." He chuckled lightly. "A cheap copy of the real thing; insignificant and utterly worthless that was born out of a guilty conscience."

Although he said that, Merris knew he no longer had that emotion called 'guilt' as a monster, and as such, should not be feeling such a thing. However, perhaps because he was still a human at heart, his mind conjured a phantom that would remind of his guilty actions.

He had faced similar phantoms in the past before, albeit they weren't born from him killing their original counterparts. Most of the time, after Merris had done something that hurt another individual, he would have nightmares of their phantoms blaming him for their misfortune. This was why he remained calm even under his current circumstance.

He had long grown used to such nightmares. He had to admit that he used to fear these phantoms when he was a child, but as he grew older, he adapted to them and gradually knew how to ignore such delusions.

Still, they were a bit annoying.

Faced with the vile lashes spewed by Merris, the phantom of Johan remained silent. His expression remained cold and regretful, yet a small trace of hatred crept in those dull eyes.

Then, after listening to all of Merris' outbursts, the headless goatman once more spoke, his voice as cold and detached as it was when he first spoke.

"You will regret this... A Logos Bound always finds a way to ensnare all that uses it."

"What nonsense are you spouting out now?" Hearing the vague words uttered by the dead goatman, a trace of irritation crept up Merris' face. "If you're done haunting me, then screw off. The fact that I'm having hallucinations and talking to you right now in my mind should mean that I'm still alive. As such, can you disappear already so I can wake up?"

"You will regret this..." However, once more, Johan's hollow voice reached his ears. "Every deal in and of itself is you splitting yourself to many agreements; break one and you break a part of yourself."

This time, the nonsense Johan was spouting was starting to have some sort of essence in it, causing Merris to be a bit agitated. "What do you mean?"

"You will regret this..." However, Johan's phantom had no plans of cooperating. Soon, his visage started to blur, as if he had done his purpose and was evaporating away. "Gluttonous one... Who should not have eaten what is mine..."

"Hey— hold on! Damn it, hey stop!" Sensing that the darn phantom was leaving him on a cliffhanger, Merris tried to chase after him but found himself unable to move his body.

As the headless phantom slowly dissipated in that darkness, the goat head in its arm looked at Merris one last time before leaving one last sentence.

"Keep this one rule in mind... a name holds power. Let anyone utter yours true, then they would hold ownership over you."

After uttering that last sentence, Johan vanished into complete darkness, his last words dissipating into the darkness around Merris.

Standing there alone and glaring at the spot at which the phantom disappeared, many questions raced through Merris' mind.

"What... What the hell did he mean by that...?" He mumbled, recollecting everything that phantom said. "A Logos Bound... True name... What?"

"Did that goat do something to me?" He slightly panicked and looked around his surroundings, but, again, there was nothing.

He then looked down and inspected his own body, hoping to find something anomalous.

However, when he did so, he indeed saw something out of place.

"...huh?" His eyes contracted upon seeing what was in his palm. "What... What the..."

There, laying on his palm, was the head of the Administrator of the space station, cut cleanly off his body. His eyes were dark and lifeless.

"Why am I...?" Just as Merris looked at the decapitated head in confusion, a sound suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"There! He's still there!" A voice of a man echoed to his ears, prompting him to turn his head.

Instantly, the darkness around him distorted and changed as his eyes moved. Walls erected around him as the darkness receded away; slowly being replaced by reality.

As Merris left that void, he returned to the material realm; however, he was currently being faced by something odd. His eyes landed on the person that he heard the voice, his eyes full of confusion.

"Quick! Hurry and restrain him while he's still here!" The man outside the room shouted once more.

Suddenly, Merris heard thunderous footsteps rapidly approaching the room. There were so many that he thought that an army might have come!

Then, he looked down at his two hands— only to see one of them piercing through the Administrator's body, while the other was holding his decapitated head, almost as if he was about to eat it.

Piecing all of these together, a rough outline of what could have possibly happened flashed through his mind.

'...oh no.'

Realizing what was happening, he quickly took his arm out of the man's corpse and looked for a way to escape.

He had no plans of clearing the misunderstanding between him and the obviously hostile forces outside. Instead, he wanted to get as far here as possible!

His eyes scanned the room. Sure enough, his killer, Blade, was no longer here. However, he was not the only one missing in the room.

Johan's body, which was supposed to be decapitated and laying on the floor was gone.

Instead, at the spot where he died, claw marks and two different liquids were present, mixing together. From the way they looked, they appeared to be blood and saliva.

He grimaced. 'Did I eat Johan...?'

It was the only logical explanation. Merris knew that, as long as one part of his body survived, even if he got decapitated or torched to death, he could still regenerate and come back to life if he ate something to regain his lost nutrients.

During his unconscious state, his body must have moved on its own and devoured the nearest food around it— Johan's corpse— allowing Merris to regenerate and retain his life.

'No wonder I was having nightmares of that damn goat...' After clicking his tongue, his eyes moved to the balcony where he entered. Seeing it, he knew what to do.

'I must escape... I must never let them catch me and...' He then thought of his employer, a melancholic look appearing on his face. 'I can't lead them to Ms. Acheron...'

'For now, I need to hide.'

Without wasting time, he immediately dashed towards the open balcony, intending to jump out.

Behind him, the man who saw him yelled out. "Are you insane?! We're on the 10th floor!"

Merris didn't give a reply. Instead, he grabbed onto the railings and, swiftly, he leaped over it.

He jumped out of the building, free bird style.

"That madman...!" Seeing the main suspect for the death of their Administrator, the man hurried over to the balcony he leapt out of and looked around.

His eyes looked at the ground— but saw nothing. His eyes continued to glance all over the area but was unable to spot the man anywhere.

Just then, the hurried footsteps of dozens of soldiers wearing high-tech bodysuits, complete with energy rifles, stormed into the bedroom.

"The culprit got away." The man said to the soldiers present. "He leapt out of the building, but I don't think he's dead. Search for him."

"And... Hm?" His eyes then looked over to the floor and noticed something shining. He picked it up and his eyes contracted, realizing what it was. "This..."

It was an ID.

"Make sure you all remember this; he is the man that killed our Administrator." The man said as he looked at the soldiers, showing it to them. "You will hunt him down. In the meantime, I'll put up a bounty for him. From henceforth, everyone in the space station should know this criminal by the name of—"

"Kharon!"

And that was how, through his arrogance and miscalculation, Merris' new identity immediately got into danger.

---

- Beep

The rhythmic sound of a heart monitor reverberated around a particular room. This room looked no different from any other medical ward, as it was complete with everything needed for a patient.

Laying there on the white sheets, however, was a woman who had a profound sense of allure and detachment, sleeping soundly.

Just then, amidst the beeping sounds of the heart monitor, her eyes slowly moved and opened. It took her a moment to acclimate to the light in the room, but soon, she was able to open both of her eyes wide.

Just then, the door of the ward opened, and a man wearing a white medical coat entered. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties and a pair of glasses.

When he entered, he saw his patient awake and looking at him, and he soon smiled. "You're awake, Ms. Acheron. That's great."

Lying on the bed was none other than Merris' employer, Acheron.

"...did it succeed?" She asked the doctor in the lab coat, her body still resting on the bed.

"To proceed with your operation, I had to use the Revitalization-310 tincture which grants profound slumber." The doctor explained as he stood beside Acheron's bed, holding a clipboard. "The operation went smoothly, but, subsequently, you slept for quite a while."

"...how long have I been asleep?" Hearing this, she turned her head to him, awaiting his answer.

"Four days." He replied. "I've been observing your dreams for the past four days and recorded them all here. I must say... You're the exception. No one has ever awakened from their dream state, yet you defied the odds."

He then looked at his clipboard as he continued. "I closely observed your dreams... and they can hardly be called happy moments: gloomy skies, crumbling cities, ruined lands, and incessant rains."

"I must admit that you have ventured far beyond our progress on this Path..." The Doctor of Chaos sighed as he placed the clipboard down. "Forgive me for asking but... What's the purpose behind it all? You have walked far down this Path and had been tainted by the Shadow of Nihility far greater than any of us... With so much on you, why continue?"

"..." Acheron didn't answer the doctor's questions. Instead, she remained silent as he looked blankly at the clipboard laid on her bed, its contents filled with observations of her dreams.

Was she at loss for words? Or does she already have an answer in her mind? The doctor didn't know. With her silence, it was hard to determine what could be going through her mind right now.

'I already knew it...' She thought in silence, her gaze growing ever blanker. 'Still...'

Her eyes sunk a bit as her silence permeated a bit longer, when suddenly, she remembered something important, causing her eyes to regain their focus somewhat.

She turned to the doctor, paused briefly, before asking. "...did anyone attempt to visit me?"

"There was, but that was four days ago. He left some fruits and vegetables over before leaving." The doctor told her honestly. "After he dropped them by, he left without even meeting me in person; you must have told him about my rules and anonymity."

"Indeed, but... Did he not return?" Remembering her recently obtained assistant, since he was now connected to her, she was partly responsible for him.

"No, Kharon never came back." The doctor shook his head. "For the past recent days, everything has just been going smoothly without any interruptions by him, if that's what you're thinking."

"Wait..." Just then, Acheron found something odd in his words. "How did you know his name? I never mentioned it and you didn't talk to him."

"Ah, that... Yes. Pardon me." The doctor then pulled out a remote and opened the television, allowing Acheron to see the most recent news.

[Until now, authorities have yet to capture the main suspect behind Trace's Administrator's death. Citizens and travelers alike are advised to tell relevant authorities if he is ever seen or heard of.]

There, on the news, the news anchor told the relevant information recently. Then, next to her face, a 3D model that closely imitated Acheron's assistant was present. The model wasn't accurate, but it was close to his appearance. Since he had a distinct and innocently charming face, it allowed everyone who saw it to imprint his impression on them.

"Your assistant's currently the most wanted man in the space station." The doctor said. "Even then, he never once stepped near the clinic. He's quite thoughtful, that one."

After he told her that, he was just about to speak more, when suddenly, Acheron abruptly got up from the hospital bed and took her sword laying beside her, securing it on her side.

"You're leaving already?" Asked the doctor, not stopping her. "Are you going after your assistant?"

"Yes." She answered shortly. "Since he bound himself to me, it is my responsibility to correct his wrongdoings."

She then walked towards the door, but not before looking at the doctor. "Thank you for the treatment, doctor. If fate allows it, then we will meet again."

And with that, she left the hospital ward, a stern look on her face as she went out and looked for her assistant.

Meanwhile, the doctor stayed in the room, looking at the door with a somewhat dazed expression.

He then chuckled softly.

"...Why does it feel like she just found out her pet puppy did something bad and is gonna go lecture it?" He amused himself.

"It seems that she's not entirely yet deep into that darkness." He sighed in relief. "That's good. So long as she still believes in something, then her inevitable fall into the Shadow of IX could be postponed somewhat..."

"As for that assistant..." He then looked at the television and smiled softly. "Although I don't know where their fate would lead them..."

"I have a feeling that they're going to have an unforgettable experience together."