In the silent night, moonlight came through the window. The sound and smell of the wind almost made the lamp go out. His muscles started to tremble. Sweat started to flow even though it was a cold night. Skye's instincts started to scream to run away.

  His breath hitched. The stranger blocked the only exit. His legs tensed, every nerve screaming for him to run. The window? He glanced at the ledge. A fall from this height would snap his bones like twigs. He was trapped. Skye thought to himself. But before he could do anything, the mysterious person spoke in a voice even colder than the temperature of the night.

  "Huh, I half-expected you to panic and throw yourself out the window. I must have underestimated you a little." Although Skye's instincts still confirmed his previous answer, but in another part of him, he felt relieved that the mysterious person might still be able to talk to him.

  "So... who are you? And what do you want from me?" Skye held his breath and asked while his body was still shaking.

  "Oh, I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. But you just connected to "The Cube" a few hours ago, right? I guess I'm not wrong. Anyway, you can call me K." When Skye received the answer, he was quite surprised, because he thought that the mysterious person would have dangerous or cruel behaviors and actions.

  "Speaking of which..." Before Skye could say anything, K interrupted. But this time, K's expression and tone were so serious that Skye felt heavy.

  "Is your last name Rozelinn?" And this was the second time K surprised him. No, now I have to answer his question quickly, Skye thought.

  "Y-yes, my name is Skye. Skye Rozelinn. But may I ask how you know my last name?" Even though he felt scared, this matter was too suspicious to ignore.

  The air thickened, the silence pressing down on him like a weight. Skye's hairs prickled, every nerve on edge. His fingers dug into the bedframe, nails scraping against the wood as his hands shook uncontrollably. The pit of his stomach dropped. Fear clawed at him from every direction. His heart raced like a drum, and his mind screamed—I'm going to die. But a small part of him whispered, Please... don't let it end like this.

  "...I See..." K replied, before a long creaking sound was made as K pulled a chair closer and sat down.

  "By the rules, I will help you with everything, but my fee is quite expensive. So, 3, I will let you ask 3 questions, anything, but I will only answer what I know and understand. Also, save the basic questions for the people who let you stay here. This is a suggestion," K said, holding up 3 fingers.

  "But you must not tell anyone about our seminar, including my appearance. Otherwise, my dagger will not stab your stomach this time." K said, taking out a silver dagger with a strange pattern engraved on it, and pointing it at Skye's neck.

  "Okay, okay. I will not tell anyone." Skye raised both hands before making a zippered mouth gesture and he started to think of a question.

  "Ummmmmm." Skye put his hands on his forehead and closed his eyes, hoping that he could think of a good question.

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  "So, the first question, where is this place?" Skye said.

  "Ah, the classic question. The city you are in is Shinar, but I guess you will ask something like, is this the "world you think it is?" The answer is yes and no at the same time. Let's just say this world is quite complicated," K replied, and put down one finger.

  "Second question, why did you stab me when we first met?" Skye asked, but K's face froze for a moment before he said,

  "Oh, that was a misunderstanding. I thought you were a Dopple, but when I saw your face, I knew you weren't." K replied, but this time, K didn't meet Skye's eyes and his tone was a little shaky. He then lowered one finger.

  "Okay, what will be your last question?" K asked, standing in front of Skye. Then Skye thought of a question. Even though it wasn't very useful, he wanted to know.

  "K, what's your gender?" Skye asked in a half-serious, half-joking tone. It only made him pause for a long moment before K burst out laughing. K's laughter sounded very strange. Maybe it didn't match his personality.

  "Out of everything you could be asking right now, you're curious about my gender? Ahahaha, seriously?" K said,

  "Okay, fine. My gender is..." Before K could answer, there was a knock on the door. The person who knocked opened it and shouted,

  "Hey, new kid. Quiet down. People are trying to sleep. At first, there was the sound of chairs being dragged. Now, you're laughing. Do you want to get beaten up or something?!" The man had white hair and silver eyes. But what caught his eye the most was his cat-like ears and tail.

  "I'm sorry. I was talking to..." Before he could speak and turn to K, the air around him shifted—light, almost imperceptible. The chair where K sat was still gently swaying, as if someone had just stood up. But K? Gone.

  "Shut up and go to sleep already!" The white-haired man said before he slammed the door shut with a bang!

  "Fuck, I wasn't the one who made the noise, why am I being scolded instead of that guy?" Skye cursed inwardly before he leaned down to sleep, but many questions were still running through his head.

  "How the hell am I supposed to sleep when I have so many questions? I shouldn't have asked that stupid question," Skye said to himself before he started to close his eyes....

  The first light of dawn slipped through the window, painting soft golden streaks across the floor. Birds greeted the morning with their melodies, and a gentle breeze nudged the window open just enough to let in the crisp air. It was a picture-perfect morning.

  But for Skye? A nightmare. Skye felt like a reanimated corpse. Dark circles clung under his eyes like stubborn shadows, his hair a tangled mess from restless tossing. His limbs felt leaden, his energy drained. Sleep had betrayed him.

  "Damn it... do sleeping pills even exist in this world?" Skye groaned, rubbing his temples. His patience was wearing thin, and exhaustion clung to him like a heavy cloak. Before he could think of asking the young lady in the lobby whom he saw last night. And when he thought of that, he staggered and grabbed the doorknob. Suddenly,

  "Wake up, handsome boy, Skye!!!" Steven opened the door with full force, not knowing that the door had hit Skye's face hard. He was almost thrown out of the window.

  "F...f...f...f...f**k," Skye said weakly, trying to keep his sanity. But because of the accumulated fatigue from yesterday and the fact that he hadn't slept, the world started spinning and distorting before the image cut off. (At least you got your sleep now, Skye.)