Arata fell asleep that night feeling slightly zany with exhaustion. The moon almost looked like a rabbit’s head as he began to drift off to sleep. The full moon still managed to lull him to sleep, a gentle scratching, wriggling feeling permeated out through beneath his skin, a subtle, gentle feeling reminding him of the larvae which fed on his corpse upon first coming to this world.

  Arata felt his body trapped inside a warm, wet type environment, white padded walls encompassed him, looking down, Arata spotted a gentle red crack which extended through the building’s floor.

  This place again? Oh golly! Last time it was sooo much fun, I just wanna be in this mental asylum! Arata examines the hole, recalling back to how Arata originally fell through it. It glances back at him seductively, telling Arata to make his way inside.

  Arata feels the ground beneath the cave in yet again. Oh shit! Better to drop down on my own terms than stumble I guess.

  With that, Arata takes the leap, returning to the same hallway with more patient rooms on either side. Blood-tipped or shattered reinforced glass lines the floor. Accompanied by a perpetuated squelching, contrasting a rather confusing silence. I recall seeing many Selenas down her… yet seemingly they’ve all left.

  One person remains, however, a nurse Selena, wearing a white cap and a dress resembling what the maid wore. She is wheeling around a cart of torn-off skins. The nurse turns, questioning Arata, “Sir, it is past closing hours… your patient isn't here.”

  What's she saying? Seeing Selena again, I fail the people I don't save. Arata feels his head fill with a blur of static when his mouth begins to move on his own, unnaturally speaking, “I am here for Celine.”

  The nurse Selena nods, “Very well sir Arata, shall we ascend upwards then?”

  The nurse walks up to a wall as it rips open, the tissues underneath the white tiles stretch apart into threads before snapping. The open wound of the wall is filled as it squelches and screams with ecstasy. Behind that all is a metal door with buttons made from eyes, nigh identical to Selena’s on the same first day Arata watched her commit suicide.

  *Ding*

  With the door opening, Arata follows nurse Selena inside. The place is cramped, with barely enough room to push the cart to the back, Arata finds himself waist to waist with Selena.

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  Damn, this is awkward. Why does she have to carry all this shit anyway? Arata turns to the buttons inside, more eyes before asking, “Which floor should I press?”

  “The fifth eye up and two to the right please.” The nurse dryly comments, watching as the button is pressed.

  The nurse points out, “Your primary method of consoling Selena was through small talk, you figured something was better than nothing in order to help her mental state. May we engage in such a conversation?”

  Last time I killed a Selena here, they didn't drop a script. How does something that isn't real have knowledge of reality? Arata nods.

  The nurse decides to ask Arata, “What do you plan on doing? Celine got the hint that you want to go home, yet that would only leave Miss Clemence to remember Selena?”

  Arata shakes his head, “I don't know quite how yet but Selena, Celine, they're one in the same person. There will be people to remember Selena, I'll find her family back on earth.”

  The nurse looks dumbfounded at Arata, “I find the idea that you can reach them as well as them believing you improbable. You do not need a justification for you to leave her behind in this world, given the opportunity, she would do the same. Deep down, she really was a selfish girl.”

  Arata pauses, there's not really a desirable point for him to pick up again. For the remainder of the trip, the two remain in silence.

  Ding

  Stepping out, Arata finds himself in a hallway with the walls decorated with beds and the floors with paintings. Arata walks through the halls as lights flicker temporarily before the nurse picks out some brain matter, deep inside her cart. Having found a ladder on this floor, she begins to routinely change out the “lightbulbs” with each one being unscrewed as a wet, slopping sound plays.

  At the end of the hallway, Arata spots a camera room. The room is a small, intimate space, a supple padded office chair overlooks a console. Entering, he sees several screens connecting to views spanning the entire facility. He can see into the manor, various rooms, all except the screen at the top, as the feed is broken. Arata spots Celine in the camera. She lies bent down inside a hallway overlooking a baker’s dozen of her own hanged corpses. Their faces all tell different stories, some indulgent, others look too far gone. I got to reach her… there's some urgency I can't quite put my finger on.

  Arata turns back around to try and spot the nurse, but he sees into a different hallway. Celine was so conveniently in, now sobbing. Selena referred to this as a nightmare, same case maybe?

  Arata steps out to reach Celine, her hand graces the lifeless cheek of one of her bodies, “Celine. We need to get going-”

  Snap

  Every single neck turns to Arata. Their eyes are in a bloodshot state, latent aggression is there, yet they have no means of moving. Nonetheless, Arata grabs Celine's hand and books it to the stairwell.

  “Arata? Why are you here-” her trauma-stricken eyes pan towards his in the quiet moment, their hands touch.

  Arata doesn't know himself, he just keeps running up. Last time we were too slow… There was something at the top, something I shouldn't have overlooked.