Bonus: The Zero Hour of the Abyss

Location: Downtown

The echo of the collapse and the final words had barely begun to settle in the dense air of the hallway, leaving a trail of uncertainty that weighed heavier than the clinical silence itself.

Time: 02:10 AM (3 hours and 50 minutes until dawn)

Scarcely ten minutes had passed since Rima's chaotic arrival and Susie's tense intervention—a mere sigh of time during which the atmosphere of the maximum-security wing seemed to have frozen in a tense immobility.

Specific Location: Hidden Hospital – Maximum Security Wing

On-site, the plaster dust—dislodged by the latent fury that still vibrated within the walls following Lilith's strike—floated lazily beneath the implacable fluorescent light, tinting the environment with an unreal stillness where danger remained dormant.

"..."

"....."

And in the midst of that artificial calm, the waiting room of the Central City hospital harbored two of the figures who sustained the weight of that vigil, absorbing the alarming news in absolute silence.

"... Hey."

The first of them was Rima, who, after having brushed the abyss of an emotional collapse, now forced her body into an absolute stillness upon the seat.

"What?"

Her physical appearance possessed a quality that defied the harsh reality of the hospital; like a creature of minute and exquisite beauty, with features so fine and perfect they recalled a meticulously sculpted porcelain doll.

"Do you think... everything will... turn out... alright...?"

Her figure, small and of delicate proportions, radiated a deceptive fragility that, beneath the artificial light, accentuated the translucent paleness of her skin, giving her the air of blown glass on the verge of shattering.

"...."

Seated right there, despite the internal storm betrayed by her fingers tightly intertwined over her lap, her face remained impassive—like a mask of forced serenity that failed to hide the deep, somber worry clouding her blank gaze.

"... I don't know."

On the other hand, right by her side, defying the sobriety of the surroundings with a magnetic presence, sat Susie.

"But for now, this is all we can do."

She inhabited her own space with an almost insulting parsimony, sitting with her back straight and both eyes closed, as if the world around her were nothing more than insignificant background noise.

"... So... try to stay calm."

Her anatomy was the epitome of an overflowing, mature, and sensual charm, possessing a figure of dangerously attractive and voluptuous curves that the rigid metal seat only served to highlight, outlining the narrowness of her waist in contrast to the opulence of her form.

"After all, if we rush back to Lilith and Sara, there would be no one left to keep these parasites at bay."

Every line of her body exuded an innate provocation—a carnal and exuberant beauty that turned the clinical environment into a canvas barely holding back her imposing allure.

"... Yeah."

Her long red hair, thick and bright like the fire of an ancient hearth, fell in perfect waves that slid over the curve of her shoulders and rested upon her generous chest, framing a face that, even in the absolute repose of her lowered eyelids, conveyed a dark authority and a deeply rooted obsession.

"... Ffff... sss..."

However, despite her appearance of tranquility, Susie breathed with a measured rhythm—the stillness of a predator waiting for the exact moment to strike, while keeping the surroundings under constant surveillance.

(Tzzz... Tzzz...!)

At the same time, suddenly, the hallway underwent a subtle alteration as the fluorescent lights above their heads flickered intermittently, casting erratic shadows across the white walls.

(—Flash— —Flash—)

Beneath the twinkling glints and in the midst of the dense residual atmosphere, the silence became even more pronounced following the abrupt departure of Lilith and Sara, who had left in a rush with the sole purpose of suppressing the chaos that threatened to break loose back at home.

"Haahh..."

Feeling temporarily alone in that maximum-security wing, Susie slowly opened both eyes, revealing the intensity of her gaze while releasing a sigh heavy with profound exhaustion.

"... Don't lower your guard, Rima."

Concurrently, she relaxed the fists she had kept clenched over her lap until just a moment ago, allowing the stiffness of her body to yield subtly, though without dropping her guard for a single instant in that hostile environment.

(¡Tzzz... Flsh... Tzzz...!)

In that manner, it was at that precise moment, amidst the flashes of the flickering light, when the gears of her memory began to turn in an attempt to find stability, recalling the history of that hospital...

"... Rima... will not lower... her guard..."

...because that place, behind its facade of neatness and conventional medicine, had never been a normal hospital.

"Well said..."

However... what did that place hide...?

(Tzzz—!! —Flash—)

The reality was that everything had been triggered a long time ago, when an unforeseen incident shattered the monotony of the complex and unleashed an irreversible chaos that would change the very nature of that hospital.

"A patient gravely injured after a fall is about to be admitted."

And amidst the intermittent flashes of the lamps, which seemed to intensify, the events of the past resonated with the present.

"Everyone, get ready!"

Back then, the voice that echoed firmly through the hospital hallway belonged to one of the most brilliant medical minds of the institution: Doctor Alessia Cross.

At that time, despite possessing an evident youth that contrasted with the maturity demanded by her profession, Alessia was a prodigy doctor whose genius and surgical skill had already earned her numerous clinical successes unthinkable for someone her age. Due in part to that, her mere presence in the hospital had not always been received with the same admiration; when she first entered the complex, more than a few veteran doctors and older colleagues had patronizingly underestimated her, judging her solely by her youthful freshness and her impeccable appearance.

"Hurry!"

However, time and her flawless track record took care of silencing any doubt, transforming her, by that point in time, into one of the indispensable "pillar" figures of the entire hospital.

"Can I help you?"

And such a reputation was notable when, in response to her call, an offer came from a light and jovial voice belonging to Doctor Gavin, who observed the scene with a relaxed smile on his lips.

"No, thank you. Thank you for your consideration."

Nonetheless, Alessia's response was direct and unadorned, cutting off any attempt at trivial chatter as she turned around fluidly to head immediately toward the locker rooms in order to prepare for the imminent surgery.

"Heh, heh, still as unfriendly as always."

To which Gavin let out a short laugh, murmuring those words to himself without a trace of offense.

"Excellent decision-making."

On the contrary, an expression of genuine relief crossed his face at the thought that such a cold attitude was proof that Doctor Alessia maintained control, whereupon he left the area to attend to his own duties.

However, what no one knew at that point was that the patient who was about to be admitted in critical condition—a university student named Fiona—would be the source that would trigger the disaster...

According to preliminary reports, completely out of the blue, the young woman had begun to behave erratically and strangely in the middle of the university campus and, while laughing in a deranged manner, plunged into the void from a great height.

But that incident lacked all logic for those who knew her; since Fiona had always suffered from a severe phobia of heights and was not, under any circumstances, the type of girl who would voluntarily approach a dangerous place where she could fall on her own, added to the fact that her daily life seemed to lack any serious problems.

What had driven her to such a decision?

Because of this, the bewilderment was absolute among her acquaintances, who did not stop repeating the exact same phrase over and over to the authorities: "We don't understand why Fiona would do something like that."

"I wonder if this girl had something on her mind that pushed her to do this..."

For that reason, one of the nurses on the team commented in a low voice, having heard the strange details from the mouths of the paramedics during the transfer in the ambulance.

"The reason can wait. First, let's save this life."

But immediately afterward, silencing those present, Doctor Alessia sentenced, cutting the speculations at the root with an implacable determination as she stepped into the operating room, giving immediate start to the complex operation beneath the intense spotlights of the room.

However, as the complex operation progressed and while Alessia quickly convinced herself that the young woman's life would be saved...

"Everything will be fine, she will get through this."

...Right when the normalcy of the surgery seemed to solidify beneath the cold glint of the surgical lights, that was when the unthinkable happened.

(!!)

Suddenly, Fiona—the patient who was lying there with her chest wide open in the middle of a surgical procedure—snapped her eyes wide open.

(—¡¿¡¿?!?!?—)

As a result, Alessia froze completely in her tracks, her scalpel suspended in mid-air as a wave of sheer stupefaction washed over her from head to toe.

"What?! What the hell?!"

And immediately, exclamations of horror and bewilderment broke out without delay as the nurses and medical assistants surrounding the operating table took a step back, completely shattering protocol in the face of the nightmarish scenario unfolding before them.

"..."

Thereupon, defying all biological and anatomical logic, Fiona began to slowly sit up on the stretcher, ignoring the medical instruments attached to her wounded body, while her fixed gaze remained completely lost in the void and her face maintained a cold, expressionless look, devoid of any trace of pain or humanity.

"W-why...? How is this even possible...?"

In response to that scene, Alessia—trapped in the middle of the surgical procedure with her hands stained with blood—felt how the bewilderment threatened to cloud her analytical mind, utterly failing to understand the danger that loomed over everyone present back then.

(How is this possible... What is happening...?)

That was an absolute biological impossibility: the severity of her injuries and the high doses of anesthesia injected into her system should have kept her deeply asleep and unable to respond to any stimulus.

"....."

However, ignoring the laws of medicine and the effects of the pharmaceuticals, the young woman remained sitting upright right there, shattering the hospital's normalcy in a single instant.

(No, there's no time for this!!)

But despite the impact of the scene, Alessia managed to suppress her initial distress and forced out a firm, professional voice.

"—Fiona— Can you hear me? This is a hospital."

She spoke directly to the young woman, who continued to sit up on the stretcher, her gaze completely lost in the void.

"..."

However, Fiona did not show the slightest reaction to the doctor's words; instead, the corners of her lips began to curl upward.

"Heh... hehe..."

Thereupon, a dull, deranged laugh escaped her throat, completely ignoring the severe bleeding emanating from her open wounds.

"—Hospital... Just as planned...—"

The voice that erupted from Fiona sounded uncomfortable and unnatural, devoid of any human inflection.

"—This woman is a... vegetable... vessel... for us... for reproduction...—"

Following that, she murmured those words to herself, a grotesque smile broadening across her pale face as she communicated with a strange, fragmented, and robotic cadence, as if a foreign intelligence were forcing the girl's vocal cords to speak.

"She seems confused... I will administer an extra dose of anesthesia immediately."

The situation had turned critical, but unfortunately, faithful to her duty, Alessia quickly determined, judging logically, that Fiona was in a state of delusional semiconsciousness brought on by the trauma of the fall.

"... More."

But just as she was about to give the order to the anesthesiologist, the young woman's body suffered a violent spasm.

(¡¡Gock— Cough—!!)

Then, Fiona began to vomit abruptly right into the middle of the operating room's sterile field.

"Hey, are you alright?!"

And from amidst the fluids, to the horror of everyone present, a mysterious and repulsive object with the shape of a worm dropped onto the clinical sheet, writhing with a life of its own.

"Huh?!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"What in the...?!"

Naturally, in reaction, the medical assistants recoiled in terror, breaking all formation as panic took complete hold of the operating room.

"—Hehehehe... This body is no longer useful... so I am going to move out too, alright?—"

And having uttered those words, the strange entity, through Fiona's body, stood completely upright on the stretcher, swaying and losing its balance due to its wounds, while stretching out a bloody hand and tightly grabbing Alessia's arm.

"Hey! Let go of me!"

Finding herself trapped, Alessia exclaimed, attempting to break free from the grip, but Fiona simply widened her grotesque smile and, pulling her with an unnatural force, kissed her roughly on the lips.

(¡¡Mmmgh—!!)

And immediately after that contact, as if the thread sustaining her life had been suddenly severed, Fiona's body collapsed heavily onto the cold floor of the operating room, staining the linoleum with blood.

(¡¡PLAF!!)

Concurrently, Alessia stumbled backward, bringing a hand to her mouth as an indescribable chill ran down her spine.

"Something... did something enter me...?!"

At that moment, it was already too late as panic seized her thoughts, feeling a foreign presence sliding beneath her own skin after that forced kiss.

(I must call for help...!!)

Attempting to maintain her sanity, Alessia turned her head toward the door to desperately call for help from the outside, but the scene unfolding around her left her paralyzed.

(W-what is this...?)

Before her, the nurses and medical assistants could no longer hear her; all of them were writhing on the floor in the midst of violent spasms, experiencing severe mechanical difficulties while being infected one by one by the repulsive worm-like parasites that Fiona had scattered.

"W-what is this...? W-what is this...?"

In the face of such a scene, incredulous, she could only murmur, completely stunned and horrified as she watched Fiona's lifeless body convulse one last time on the floor before going completely rigid.

(................)

And from that point onward, time seemed to vanish into a black void until, hours later, Alessia slowly opened her eyes, waking up in a hospital room bed with a somber and blank expression etched upon her face.

"That was quite an ordeal."

In the end, in a state of fuzzy consciousness, a voice came from the side of the bed, belonging to Doctor Gavin, who was observing Alessia with an unusual seriousness as she regained awareness.

"... The patient... How is... the girl...?"

Then, in response to those pleas, the physician, who usually possessed a carefree, relaxed, and jovial demeanor...

"The patient passed away. Apparently, she suddenly regained consciousness during the surgery and began to thrash violently, ruining the procedure."

Gavin calmly explained the version of the events he had been given.

"They found you unconscious too, collapsed in the middle of the operating room, so they brought you here immediately to rest."

With a somber expression, he uttered those words with a tone completely devoid of any trace of his habitual playful behavior in the face of tragedy.

"I couldn't save that girl..."

Thus, that doctor was only capable of looking with sadness at Alessia, who spoke in whispers with a deep, feigned sorrow that clouded her eyes.

"Don't lose heart. It wasn't your fault. Not even the best doctor in the world can anticipate or handle a situation as unforeseen as that."

Therefore, in an attempt to comfort her, Gavin replied as he stepped back, judging that the most prudent thing at that moment was to let Alessia process the grief alone, giving her a few light pats on the shoulder as a sign of support before leaving the room.

(—Click—)

However...

"I couldn't save that girl..."

The moment silence reigned once more within the isolation room, Alessia's heavy sorrow vanished completely.

"I couldn't save that girl..."

Murmuring thus over and over in the absolute solitude of the room, a disturbing, twisted smile, completely devoid of humanity, stretched from ear to ear across her face.