The coldness remained in his arms. His facial muscles tensed, clutching her soaked hoodie even tighter.

  "What did you find so great about me? I'm not good for anything but this."

  Hezekiah gently rested the body against the ground. A squeeze in his chest remained after he looked away.

  She trusted me, and I trampled on it, and in turn, I took away the last thing she couldn't get back.

  His eyes rested on the card he used. The symbols shined beautifully.

  "Is this what I felt towards her?" A fatigued breath left him. He slipped the card between her fingers before taking the rest of the deck.

  It felt wrong, but something about them felt more valuable than they did previously. Many fell by his hands; he rarely cared what they had left on them, but a hint of regret lingered this time, as if warning him if he made the same choice again.

  He summoned the rules sheet, ready to cross out the name of the location.

  —Crossing out the location will erase all rules assigned to this location. However, the Host will be forced to bear the consequences of all its violations.

  So this place is cursed forever then. The Rule of Suffering just has to live up to its name.

  After discovering that reinstating the Custom Boundary is essentially impossible here, he made his way to Jin.

  Despite how worthless you are, you did a better job looking after her in her last moments. Wouldn’t expect you too to possess something that I lack.

  A slightly distorted reflection mirrored off his iris, catching Hezekiah’s attention.

  Wait a minute...

  Hezekiah reached out, touching his sclera. It displaced itself, along with the iris. It was hard and cold, but contrary to his expectations, his eye wasn’t entirely bionic.

  He slid the thin sheet of metal from off his eye. It was like malleable metal, but very light. It was hard to explain—he had never seen anything like it before.

  It’s like glass, but more flexible than paper. The only thing that stands out is the red-tinted pupil. How did someone turn this into a contact lens? And it was even able to change shape, further enhancing his vision.

  He was about to put it on but quickly stopped himself. If this was really made by the Organization, then it could have a tracking device. It's possible a recording device may be installed as well.

  It's still too invaluable to leave behind. If all I had to worry about was the Organization, then this wouldn’t matter. But I doubt that’s all the issues I’ll have moving forward.

  Forget it, I can take care of it inside a Custom Boundary.

  He layered one of the contacts against his eye. It snapped—the metal shifted against his eye like plates, arousing itching pain.

  "Aughhh! Damn it!"

  His eyes felt like they were on fire. Tears raced down as his iris began to glow. He fell to his side groaning, restraining himself from scratching the metallic contact lens.

  His left eye only saw flashing colors as it burned, squeezed against the glass-like metal.

  He bit hard against his teeth, fighting the urge to pass out. Sweat cruised his face while he took deep breaths.

  Was this a trap!? Was this only made for him!? Fuck! Of course they wouldn’t allow this to be stolen that easily!

  Regret filled him instantly. He tried to write a rule, but the pain was too prevalent.

  He writhed for the next hour as the sensation gradually dwindled to a manageable amount.

  His breaths eventually steadied, along with his clarity.

  He shakily stood up, almost losing his balance. A weak air current tickled the eye. He hastily shielded it, slightly squinting, but after finding out it was still fine, he slowly lowered his hand.

  "Whoa," he whispered.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The darkness of the subway vanished. He saw everything—from the rats running along the platform’s edge to the colored tiled pillars in the distance. Unlike typical night vision, he saw each color just like normal, but could still tell it was dark.

  However, due to him only having one of the metal contact lenses, it was disorienting if he had his other eye opened.

  "Screw this. I’ll have to get used to it. The other one goes on after I create another Custom Boundary." He slid the other contact lens into his pocket, making sure nothing cracked.

  He looked back at Cevine’s corpse. Lines of information displayed toward the corner of his vision.

  —Name: Cevine Ashlink—

  —Age: 21—

  —Blood Type: B+—

  —Occupation: A Black Flower of Sunset Garden—

  —Public Status: Alive—

  —Do you wish to perform a deep search?—

  Hezekiah spiked back.

  "Wh—what is this?"

  He traced through the information, altering his sight between it and Cevine.

  It feels similar to the Rule of Suffering, except this time, the information follows wherever I look.

  He read the last line again. "Deep Search?"

  As if reading his mind, the eye revealed more information.

  —Basic Profile of Cevine Ashlink—

  —Parents: Javis Ashlink and Asa Ashlink—

  —Siblings: 1 Brother, 1 Sister—

  —Birth: Invio City, Herx Region—

  —Illnesses: Mild Asthma—

  —Do you wish to perform an External Analysis? —

  "How does it know all this? Was technology more advanced than I thought?"

  He flashed back to the moment when Cevine commented about his attire.

  "She thought I was wearing some type of Huska Tool. Is that what these eyes are as well? Considering Hyonda also suspected my pen is the same, a Huska Tool is probably something that transcends common sense."

  An eye that is suited for combat and investigating people... there’s no way this was created by natural means.

  Wishing to no longer see the information, it faded from his sight. He turned back towards Jin, holding the pen just above him. His corpse disintegrated after the pen changed states.

  Hezekiah quickly reverted it before it spun out of control.

  He made his way back to Cevine, lifting her to a more secluded area.

  You may be mad at me forever, but I want to see you again. Once everything is over, I’ll come back for you.

  After hiding her, he wrote another rule that would ensure she stayed hidden as well, along with the Ace of Hearts he planted between her fingers. He walked back to the subway’s entrance, but he stopped suddenly after he noticed he was covered in blood.

  I can’t walk out like this. It’s great that frog made them cut- and fire-proof, but I should’ve asked it to make it where bloodstains couldn’t taint it. Well, at least it tested better than I expected.

  He jumped his way back onto the tracks, pacing down the tunnel until he was outside the sector’s range. After he was far enough, he created another Custom Boundary to clean his clothes. He dissolved the Custom Boundary soon after and continued to make his way toward the next sector.

  He followed along the tracks as minutes flew by in silence. He heard a train horn. He swiveled his neck, expecting the train to be right behind him, but there was nothing there. No lights, engine, or the echo of the wheels rolling.

  "What the hell...?"

  A chill brushed against his skin, straightening his hairs. The temperature dropped, eating away the little warmth the tunnel retained.

  Recognizing the bizarre situation, Hezekiah summoned the pen.

  "Alright, I don’t know what the hell you are! But let’s not waste any of our time in here!"

  He scanned his surroundings with his new eye, but nothing stood out. Still, he could tell he was being watched.

  "Death, loss, separation, and disappointment. You’re not capable of inflicting anything good to others," a voice echoed.

  Hezekiah creased his brows. He quickly created a Custom Boundary.

  He tried to pinpoint the source—it was as if it came from both ends of the tunnel—but something about its voice sounded familiar.

  "You’re despicable, beyond redemption. It’s no surprise you were chosen to be its instrument."

  "Chosen to be its instrument?" he whispered back. "Sounds like you know about me."

  It knows about the Rule of Suffering? Shit... they’re either crazily powerful or ridiculously knowledgeable. Either way, I can only hope they’re not hostile—especially if they know I’m its Host.

  Beads of sweat raced down his cheek while he constantly observed his surroundings.

  "You have no idea. You took everything from me. I wondered what your character entailed after you left the hospital, but then I realized something: I no longer cared."

  A violent wind nestled within the tunnel. His clothes flapped as strands of darkness rose from the ground, taking a feminine shape.

  Its red sun eyes formed first, followed by a white gown that reached the foot. Flesh grew out of the dark tendrils, perfectly fitting the gown.

  The wind ceased. A woman stood before Hezekiah. A knife was plunged into her swollen stomach.

  Hezekiah twisted his face as she carried a deranged smile, waving with blood on her hands.

  It was impossible for her to be here. He racked his mind trying to figure out how she even got this far, or how she was even able to find him. But that’s not what worried him the most.

  "Looks like I was right about what happened to you, and I assume you’re here to settle things as well, Elaine."