"It is disturbing to know what we have created from the used-to-be puppet. Before he spoke with false cheerfulness, yet even with that false reassurance, his brightness still made even the harshest days calm and enjoyable."

"But now..........now he speaks with a genuine cheerfulness, yet no matter how much he smiles upon us, the days only seem to be getting darker and darker."

"Everyday, the same phrases, the same gestures, the same words, and even the same expressions are done repeatedly over and over again."

"When he comes to us, I see you look upon him with pity."

"Why is that?"

"Was it not you, who had ordered the procedure to be done?"

"Was it not you, who ignored the protests of the faculty?"

"Was it not you, who wished to inflict the most cruelest acts upon him?"

"Was it not you, who turned him into what he is today?"

"It is ironic.........that he is the farthest thing from being Human now than he was before."

".........I wonder.......was this the outcome you wanted?"

"The others think so, and I would hope so as well.........."

".......because what's done is done........and no matter how much you regret, grieve, and sulk, you can never undo it."

—Excerpt from "Log LTY-09-00"

——————————————————————————

Wandering and wandering, I am ever stuck seeking something that I know nothing about. What used to be a clear goal, has now turned to a distance memory that I no longer recall. The abyss, the void, the darkness that I set my foot on had long consumed it into its ever hungry depths.

Wandering and wandering, I feel the constant stares that stalk me through my entire journey. Echoes of their footsteps, groans from their limbs, and twitches of their eyes watching me were all I could hear.......No.......it was all I could feel, as all of my senses were nonexistent.

No ears to hear.

No nose to smell.

No eyes to see.

No mouth to speak nor taste.

And no body to feel.

Yet, here I am. Feeling my footsteps continue their walk on a ground that does not exist. Knowing the gazes that linger where I can not see. Ignoring the movements that made me shiver and inwardly wish to escape, I ventured further and further in hopes of discovering something—anything—that wasn't the emptiness and void that surrounded me.

Was I even moving?

Was I even heading in the right direction?

Was this straight ahead or straight back?

I had no way to know. I simply kept going and going. Searching for who knows how long, wandering for who knows how far. The only thing keeping me from stopping was the unknown threat that lingered behind that only seemed to grow in number and presence.
Turn to look, turn to find, turn to imagine that there was someone or something to accompany me other than the entities that were always present.

Looking left, nothing.

Looking right, nothing.

Looking up, nothing.

Looking down, nothing.

Looking back, nothing.

Looking front.......something.

A faint glow in the distance.

A singular luminescent wisp that twinkled and flickered as if struggling to maintain its existence within the suffocating night around it. It stuck out amidst the dark environment that it dwelled in, much like how I do. Attracting me with its dance and glow, I couldn't take my attention off of it as I slowly became entranced.

I must go there.

That was what I have been searching for.

With a goal set in place, I willed myself to close the distance.

Slowly but surely, I was making my way there.

I just needed some more time.

——————————————————————————

X's POV     

Information Department: West Hallway

I wished that I could've went back in time yesterday and savored the peaceful and calming morning that I had. Because right now, the amount of stress and anxiety I was feeling was comparable to that of my first day here. Staying up all night trying to figure out which Department to take command of next was nerve-wrecking as it was tiring, making it impossible to keep my spirits up.

To choose between the Safety Department and the Training Department was like choosing which limb to have removed by a pair of scissors. Or like having to choose between burning or drowning alive. Neither of the options sounded pleasant and none of them seemed to be acceptable in terms of being more beneficial than the other.

Hod's Training Department or Netzach's Safety Department.

One focuses on developing our employees and making sure they were qualified to work here. The other focused on the well-being and precautions in place for said employees to prevent any unnecessary casualties. Both seemed to be worth developing to improve the infrastructure of the facility and faculty, but there was an issue that was preventing me from choosing.

......well, there was actually two issues.

The first being the most apparent one: Netzach's behavior and influence.

The Sephirah of the Safety Team........I don't personally know him, let alone understand his actions and reason for doing what he does. But if him coming to Yesod's Department drunk and less than sober was any indicator, I should've known that it was more than just his hobby and more of a future issue.

Drinking and drinking, from the reports that I've skimmed from his Department by his clerks, I've learned that that's exactly what he does on a regular basis. When he's not drinking, he's passed out or simply gone from his Department's main room. When he's not passed out or missing, he's drinking nonstop while carelessly influencing his employees to slack off as well.

Ironic that the Sephirah of the Safety Department is the one with the most daily casualties. And the fact that those casualties were from the day-shifts, I didn't even want to see what the numbers were for the night-shift.

So if his Department and habits are such a big deal, why haven't I simply decided on nipping the problem at its bud?

Well, that leads to issue number two.

That being Hod's Department filing non-stop complaints and letters to me for the past three days. None of which, I had ever gotten because Angela has been disposing of them before they even had the chance to reach my desk. All of this, I had only found out about yesterday when I caught the assistant AI dumping a box full of envelopes into a garbage chute located outside the office.

When I had asked her what they were about, she nonchalantly brushed me off while saying it wasn't anything worth my attention. Like hell I was buying that! So I simply asked for a single envelope to open to which she complied with no questions asked. It was only after reading that one complaint report that I had became aware of how overworked and stressed Hod's Department really was.

When I first met Hod, she seemed to be a shy and timid person. In no way did I ever thought that she could have the potential to force all her employees into her counseling program. In fact, on paper it sounds like a pleasant and beneficial thing to implement into a facility that constantly works with monsters of the unknown.

So where was the problem?

It was probably due to the fact that on top of the "mandatory" counseling programs that her employees were forcibly taking, they also had to deal with training new recruits, distributing training manuals, and helping other employees be qualified for work here. If even I'm getting a headache from the workload that they have, I can't imagine what they themselves must be feeling while also stressing on surviving another day here.

And so, my dilemma comes in the form of having to choose between solving one of the two problems presented to me.

If I choose to handle Netzach's Department and set his employees straight as well as the Sephirah himself, then Hod's Department will most likely crumble under the workload and stress.

If I choose to handle Hod's Department and alleviate the work and mitigate the counseling for a bit, then Netzach's Department will most likely become unrecoverable once it reaches a certain point.

I am at a fork in the road. The path splitting to my left and right with no right answer. The destination matters not as both options lead me to a different but similar obstacle to overcome. And that alone is causing me to become smothered into the ground by the burdens and consequences on my back that I continue to carry in my walk to success.

I wonder if this could've been prevented. Surely this would have been noticeable to those who work here, and surely the previous Manager would've done something to prevent such a thing from occurring. But it didn't seem to be the case, as not even Angela had told me that such a thing was happening.

Not once had she brought it up in our short discussions. Was it because she found it unnecessary? Or was it because she simply thought it would solve itself? Whatever was her reason, the issue was something that was going to be addressed during the meeting at the end of today, I would make sure of it.

I just only hoped that it wouldn't result in any conflicts occurring as the last meeting was short but impactful, especially for Malkuth. Speaking of the Sephirah of the Control Team, the reports from her Department have become filled with more and more mistakes while also being repetitive in their contents. Something that I noticed was only increasing as the days go by whenever I read her reports now.

Making sure to bring that up in the meeting for later, I finally arrived at the Information Department's main room. The time was just half an hour before the shift began, so I have to be quick in this discussion with Yesod.

Walking around, I finally found the Sephirah I was looking for when he entered from across the room. Making my way over to him, I noticed the atmosphere in his Department was a stark contrast to yesterday. Rather than it being the usual serious and strict mood, I could hear small snippets between clerks as they played what seemed to be Word Chaining.

Upon reaching Yesod, he didn't pay me any mind as he stood behind two clerks who seemed to be animatedly speaking to one another.

"The letter Z......Hmmm.......Zoo!"

The first clerk said as she grinned victoriously, completely unaware of Yesod and I standing behind the two of them. The other clerk went into deep thought as he thrummed his fingers on his desk. He then snapped his fingers as he gave a grin back at her.

"O...Ox!"

"Wha—! Hey, that's cheating! We agreed that we were doing places only! That one doesn't count!"

The female clerk complained back while the other simply smirked. I was confused on the sudden changes and why they were suddenly playing Word Chaining. Though judging by the look Yesod had, he wasn't too amused by their antics.

"......"

It was when Yesod began tapping his foot on the metallic floor when the two noticed us. The two clerks visibly stiffened once they realized who we were as the male clerk began to stutter a response.

"O-Ooops! W-We didn't know you were there, Sephirah Yesod and Manager!"

"Y-Yeah! Sorry, we know we aren't supposed to....s-slack off....during work hours......BUT! He was the one who insisted that we—"

"W-WHAT?! Oh, hell no! It was you who started it! You said, and I quote, 'Hey! Hey! I saw the Manager playing some sort of game yesterday, do you want to give it a try?'."

"Oh shut it, you dork!"

Well......that answered why they started to play it all of a sudden. I mean, if I saw my boss lazying around while playing words games then I too would give it a try. I could see where they were coming from, though I don't know if Yesod did as well. Looking at him from the corner of my eyes he had a cold look while he crossed his arms and stared down at them.

"I'll think about the appropriate punishment for this case later." The two clerks had hints of fear in their eyes as they stared at him. Yesod's cold look turned to a neutral one when he saw this before he finished addressing them. "You two, focus on your work now that you're done with your games. If your work is exemplary, then I'll consider lessening the punishment."

"O-Of course, Sephirah, sir! We're sorry!"

Getting up from their seats, both clerks organized their things before bowing in respect to us and leaving. The entire interaction left me quite disturbed and understandably perplexed on how to feel. Both Yesod and I watched them leave before turning to each other simultaneously.

"Looks like Word Chaining is starting to become one of the more popular pastimes here again." He mumbled to himself, though it was audible enough for me to hear. Seeing that I heard him, he looked at me while raising an eyebrow. "Do you happen to enjoy Word Chaining, Manager?"

"......I can't say that I particularly like the game itself as I've only played it once......but I will admit that the session yesterday morning was quite enjoyable." And that was entirely true, for I enjoyed that short session with my fellow employees. Though I would've enjoyed it far more if certain members didn't keep repeating the same words over and over. "And you? Do you enjoy Word Chaining?"

Yesod looked at me with what I could call a perplexed stare. Blinking, he turned his head while going into deep thought. I didn't think that such a question would need that much thought to be put into it, but I simply waited for a response.

After a few seconds of Yesod getting lost in thought, he suddenly stared straight ahead while fumbling with his gloves and sleeves.

"......At times, I see hallucinations when I change my clothes." I was far from confused, I was completely flabbergasted at what could've gotten into him to sudden say something like that. "Through the clothing, I can see my skin covered with festering boils."

This was giving me a similar feeling to when Malkuth spoke incoherent sentences and rambled about god knows what during the first few days. I didn't know how to respond, much less if I even should. Not that it mattered since he seemed distant and absentminded, as if he wasn't even here with me at the moment.

"Of course, my body is perfectly fine when I open my eyes. It has come to a point where I've begun to find the sight of my normal skin strange and unnatural."

He then frowned as he looked down at his open palms and glared.

"I cannot help but ask myself, 'Why is my body intact? Why is it not rotting?'........I've asked the other Sephirot about any similar visions, but it seems I'm the only one who experiences this."

He let his arms go limp as he then turned to face me. His face neutral once more, but in his eyes I could see the clouded confusion and regret that lingered.

".......To answer your question......Of course I enjoy Word Chaining. Chatting, long debates and discussions, word games, it was and still is fun to participate in."

He then crossed his arms while looking to the side at the other agents who were either working or playing games to pass the time.

"James.......that's the name of someone who I vaguely recall that I used to enjoy passing the time with. Clever, friendly, always looking to crack a few jokes to liven the mood, he was an agent whom I formed a bond with."

This was the first time that Yesod had dwelled into his personal thoughts and experiences. Something that I doubt happened often, but the only question I was currently thinking was, 'Why tell me?'.

"Unfortunately, that same bond and personal friendship, that I had established, clouded my judgment........One day, James had came to me regarding finishing his quota that he had failed to meet..........I knew at the time that his mental corruption was too high for another assignment to be tasked to him, and yet I..........I had allowed myself to be persuaded by his carefree nature and nonchalant words."

The way that Yesod spoke told me how difficult it was for him to discuss this matter. Making me question all the more why I was even hearing this in the first place. I wasn't a therapist. I wasn't a omnipotent being with all the answers. Hell, I wasn't even qualified to be considered Yesod's friend. Yet here I am, listening with no words to speak and no advice to give.

"..........On that day, James had released two Abnormalities on purpose, and eventually three clerks and four agents were killed."

That alone caused me to freeze from the implications and questions that came with it.

What was the Manager at the time doing?

Judging by how he spoke and stated that he was persuaded, I would guess it was during the night-shift when the Manager at that time wasn't present........probably, I was making guesses.

Why didn't they just reset the day if such casualties had occurred?

Due to the fact that it seems only the Manager can use the resets, most likely they had or couldn't. Angela stated that the limit was 24 hours, a full day, so if it was used before hand then there couldn't have been a way to fix it.

What were the Abnormalities that broke out?

Although I regret to admit, clerks aren't that versatile and are more likely to end up as a casualty than agents. But the fact he mentioned four agents perishing along with three clerks, the Abnormalities were most likely highly dangerous. I lost three agents to two as well, but the Control Team was inexperienced at the time for dealing with Abnormalities. If the four agents he lost were experienced, then what type of monsters were let loose by one insane agent?

"As you may already know, having two Abnormalities breach and losing four agents is a rather significant loss of manpower."

Yesod continued, snapping me from my thoughts while I took notice of how he neglected to mention the loss of clerks. It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought such a thing.....

"In the end........Of course, it was I who ordered for James to be gunned down." It was in these moments when I cursed this emotionless body of mine. Despite wanting to comfort or even offer my apologies to him, my body resisted and placed its authority in keeping me as still as possible. "I know the kind of place we work in......we all do."

"I am not regretful for the fact that I was unable to stop him......Instead, I simply regret ever having developed a bond with him in the first place."

He looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. The emotionless man before me was almost like an empty shell. A husk of someone who was once filled with contents that only he could contain. I couldn't look away no matter how much I wanted to, instead I simply stared back.

"I was careless with my position and let my own subordinate exploit me. The chats, the games, the jokes, I enjoyed it all. But the price I had to pay for the error I made was far from enjoyable in any way."

"........"

"Manager, this is Lobotomy Corporation. We see body bags every single day.......It's a lonely place. There will be times you will have the urge to share the distress and anxiety with someone else; to have a friend."

I won't lie and say the idea never crossed my mind when I was in the company of the Control and Information Teams. In a way, I could've saw myself with them while walking down the halls of this place. Side by side, not as employer and employee, but as friends and people.

"But Manager, whenever you feel lonely, please remember what happened to me. And try not to make the same mistake as I did. You will be able to get over the meaningless deaths that way."

My throat felt dry as I swallowed whatever saliva I could accumulate. The thought of myself ignoring and even accepting the deaths of those working for me seemed so alien. Who would be able to do such when they themselves are the ones who send them to their possible deaths every single day? I didn't know whether or not I could become that heartless, I simply hoped that I didn't.

"......I envy Angela. She is truly a heartless monster. If I were to have been built just like her, we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

"......"

"......Despite people saying I'm too rational and giving me titles such as 'Yesod the Cold-blooded Machine', I would like them to think and ponder. Certainly they wouldn't deny that whoever built this place is far more cruel than I could ever be, would they?"

.........Even I wouldn't deny that. Yesod.......even under that exterior of disregard and unmoved coldness, he and Malkuth both had shown more emotion and human thought than one would expect from AIs.

"Sometimes, I wish I were an AI without emotion. Mistakes would prove to be reduced if that were the case. My only question is, why would they place AIs with emotion to handle the facility if they were aware that emotions would only get in the way? Do you know why?"

That.........That was a good question that I knew not the answer. How would I? I wasn't the one who created this place, and I certainly wasn't the one who implemented any of them here. The only thing I've got going for me was the position of Manager and a nonexistent past that I have yet to figure out.

"...........I thought as much.....If that is all, then I will have to ask you to leave. The reports for you have already been sent to your office." He neutrally spoke while turning around. "I shall see you in the meeting at the end of the day, Manager."

With that, he left as I stood here alone in my thoughts. The entire interaction was one-sided, with only I as the listener.......Makes me wonder if people with the letter 'X' are also good listeners. I'll have to ask Angela later......

With that little thought in my head, I turned back around and walked out. No sooner did I step out did I see Angela walking towards me from the other end of the hall. I checked my watch and saw that it was 7:52, only eight minutes left before the beginning of the shift.

Seeing that she had came to fetch me, I sped my walk so we could meet at the midway point of the hallway.

"Good morning, Manager." She greeted as I nodded back. Standing at my side, she fluidly turned on her heels so that we were both walking in the same direction. "Let us head off."

Nodding once again, we made our way to the elevator and patiently waited for it to come down. I took glances at Angela whenever I had the chance. The words of Yesod sounding in my mind.

"I envy Angela. She truly is a heartless monster."

And in no way could I refute such a claim. Cold and emotionless, Angela was the prime example of what you would expect from an AI. The Sephirot, despite being AIs as well, show far more emotion and thought processing than what they should be capable of. As a headache was slowly making its way to my head for how much I was thinking, I gave Angela one last glance.

It was then that I blinked when I noticed something. Something entirely different and a complete contrast to what my mind was used to.

I never did take notice of how simplistic the world seemed to me. Single solid colors, shades of black, and lightings of white, I was so used to the world around me that I had grown to favor that I forgot that none of this was the real thing.

Looking past the AI assistant who turned her head to look at me, I stared at the rusted walls covered in blood and grim. The lights flickered as they shined down like a spotlight to a corpse sitting against the wall, for who knows how long it has been sitting there. To the side, another corpse was laying limp on top of the entrance of a room, the door halfway open as it blocked its closure. Upon a closer look, I could barely notice the armbands they held and the grayish color that they were themed with.

After taking notice of the vastly different environment that I was in—no, this was the same environment just more closer to actual reality—I noticed my breathe had hitched and I was struggling to stay calm. Despite my attempts to do just that, my mind could only confusingly process whether or not I was dreaming. Reality seemed far from what I was used to and that only made things complicated within the confines of my mind.

"Manager, is something wrong?"

Angela's voice caused my eyes to frantically set on her figure. She stood the same way as she always did, with her arms crossed in front of her and her her eyes shut closed. Without muttering a single word to her, she seemingly understood by just glancing around the hallway what the issue was. And yet, her voice was as nonchalant as always, without a hint of emotion.

"Ah, I see. Will you wait just a moment? If you cannot bear to look, you should close your eyes."

It was easier said than done. My eyes stayed wide open as they took in everything around me. Angela didn't seem to mind as she went into thought. When my eyes begged to be shut, I relented and quickly blinked. In that moment, everything went back to the way it was before, to its cartoonish and simplistic state. The corpses, blood, grim, rust, stench, and flies that accompanied it seemed to disappear. Yet, in the back of my mind I knew that they were right there in the same spots.

"There, I fixed it." Angela notified me as she turned back around. "There was a system error. How strange, it shouldn't have been so easily compromised." Despite her words, she herself didn't seem all too worried about it.

".......I.....I see...."

I quietly responded while trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. It's thumping was frantic and I had only just noticed it due to the cognition filters removing the horrendous sight. But no matter how deep of a breathe I took, the image of the dying agent made its way to my mind, negating any effect in calming myself.

*DING*

I nearly jumped in fright when the elevator rang its arrival. This was one of the moments when I felt blessed to have an emotionless body, because if I didn't I would've screamed and shat myself. Not caring of my near heart attack experience, Angela simply walked right in. Following behind her, I took a stand right beside her and turns to face the entrance of the elevator.

"The cognition filter was developed during the war, though now it is mainly used for commercial purposes." I inwardly questioned what war she was talking about and merely nodded my head. "As you can see, it's not that impressive of a technology, really, if it was compromised so easily."

I once again nodded my head absentmindedly. I was too busy trying to get rid of the imagery in my head to worry about whatever she was talking about.

'How many times have I passed by dead corpses unknowingly?'

'Were the times when I stumbled on air simply me tripping over someone's or something's corpse?'

'When my shoes squeak against the metallic floor, was that simply the lack of friction or the blood staining them?'

'Was there a time when someone was at Death's door and the last thing they could see was me walking by without a single glance at them?'

Those were some of the hundreds of questions that came to my mind throughout the trip.

I hadn't even noticed we arrived at my office.

——————————————————————————

3rd POV

No hesitation.

No time wasted.

No interruptions or distractions.

Y/n wasted no time after he had woken up from his dreamless slumber as he got dressed and made his way out. Questions upon questions now had infiltrated to the forefront of his mind as he struggled to understand and contemplate the feelings he had. Once was accountable to being a coincidence, twice was already suspicious enough, and the third time will simply confirm his suspicions.

Suspicions on what exactly?

He didn't know, but he had a feeling it was something crucial and very important to him. Nevertheless, Y/n found that it was quite odd how things didn't add up to him now that he thought about it. Busying himself with paperwork and the Department rotations had distracted him from taking a step back and looking at things from the big picture.

The "medication" that he took routinely was something he had long forgotten the purpose of as well, it simply became normal for him. Y/n simply shrugged it off when he didn't notice anything unusual, but was that really the case? Now that he began to think, he questioned the true purpose of those pills and whether or not his mentality was normal.

"Great, I'm back a square one." He mumbled to himself. It was true, he was back to speculating and fumbling for answers that he knew not where to find. "I'll just start with the Manager."

Taking the elevator, Y/n made his way up to the Manager's floor with questions in his mind. The workload he had could be put on hold as he found this situation far more important than reports and logistics, though he doubted Yesod would appreciate it.

When he arrived at his aimed floor, Y/n began to think about how to go about this. Checking his watch, time only provided him with several minutes and a few seconds at best to get as many answers as possible.

'It would be best if we were alone.' He thought to himself while walking down the corridor. 'Angela will likely be there, and I doubt she will allow any trivial questionnaires.'

Forcing away a sigh, he stopped right outside the Manager's office. Cooling his expression and making himself seem as carefree as possible, Y/n then knocked and awaited for permission to enter.

"......"

Precious seconds ticked by as no answer came. He didn't want to seem rude, so Y/n waited for another few seconds. Luckily for him, a response came, but rather than the Manager, it was Angela's muffled voice that came through.

"You may enter."

'Angela? Where's the Manager?' With curiosity and suspicion boiling inside him, Y/n slowly entered the room with his hands in his pockets. Prepared to see only Angela in the room, Y/n was confused as to why Angela answered when the Manager was right there in his chair. 'What the bell happened to him?'

The Manager was sitting in his chair while staring blankly at his desk. He seemed absentminded and far deep into his thoughts. Something that Y/n noticed would be problematic in him trying to find answers.

"Manager!~ Good morning!" Y/n cheerfully spoke while trying to get his attention. When the man didn't respond, Y/n mentally clicked his tongue and turned to Angela. "Good morning to you, too, Angela!"

Angela simply looked at him before nodding. That seemed like an odd reaction to Y/n as he took note of it. Turning to face the Manager once again, Y/n walked closer to the Manager's desk before waving his hand in front of him. Angela rose an eyebrow at him closing the distance, but refrained from doing anything. She trusted him not to harm a single hair on the Manager.

*SMACK*

Which she was immediately proven wrong in that assumption when Y/n gave the Manager a quick light slap to the face. The action made her open her eyes and look at him with what seemed to be a small disappointing glare. Y/n felt it, but ignored the look as he gave the stunned Manager another light slap.

"You done daydreaming now?" He asked while taking a step back. The Manager blinked while looking dazed before taking notice of his surroundings. "The Manager shouldn't be so lost in thought right before the start of the shift, don't you think?" Y/n turned and asked Angela the question, to which she simply responded by lessening the glare she gave and turning to face away.

'Why the sudden silent treatment?' He questioned to himself as he noticed she had yet to speak with him. Before he could ask, the Manager finally recovered from being brought back to reality as he cleared his throat. '..........With Angela here, things might get complicated."

"Khmm.....Captain, what brings you here?"

'So we're just going to ignore the fact that I slapped you? Pretty sure you could've had me 'removed' from my position for that........well whatever.'

"I came to discuss a very........questionable phenomenon that we have been experiencing. And by 'we', I mean the staff and I." Taking a seat on a spare chair, Y/n's expression shifted to a more serious one as he stared intently at him. "You're the Manager, it wouldn't be far fetched of me to assume that you would know the cause of it, correct?"

Y/n didn't like the fact that Angela was now placing her full attention on him. Choosing his words carefully, Y/n leaned back in his chair trying to seem like he wasn't aware of her stares.

"I've been getting some complaints and comments from some of the employees saying that they feel 'more tired than usual' and 'the day feels longer than it should be'. Usually I would brush these things off as them not getting their coffee or waking up too early." He commented before looking at both of them. Not seeing a response from either of the two, Y/n leaned forward and continued. "But the thing is......once it starts affecting their work and mine, as Captain of the Reserves, I'm obligated to find the cause of it."

The Manager thrummed his fingers on his desk while taking in what he said. His mind automatically went to the day resets as it was the only possible cause of this, unless, of course, it was a new effect of an Abnormality he didn't know about. But moving on from that, the Manager didn't see any reason to withhold any explanations from him.

Y/n patiently waited for him to speak, though from the realization in his eyes he could tell that he knew exactly what was causing it. Seeing the anticipation in Y/n's eyes just made the Manager want to give him the answer, because despite the feeling in his gut and the unjustified dislike he had for the man, the Manager personally believed that they could at least be on good terms with one another.

Just as the Manager was going to explain to him that the cause was due to the TT2-Protocol, Angela stepped in much to both of their surprise.

"Are you not overstepping your boundaries, Captain?"

She finally spoke to him, but it was with a apprehending tone. Both Y/n and the Manager looked at her with the same confused expression.

"Excuse me?" Y/n asked after recovering from his confused state. Although he knew she would intervene, he hadn't expected Angela to do so as quickly as she did. It was making things worse for him and he had to turn it to his favor if he wished to obtain what he came here for. "In what way am I 'overstepping my boundaries', Angela?"

"That information is classified and beyond your authority. It would be in your best interest to cease this now."

Hearing this only made Y/n more curious on what exactly was causing what he and the others felt. The Manager could only watch from the sidelines, not knowing if he should or even could intervene. He never thought of the reports he received to be that important, but now that he thought about it, it made sense that the ones he personally received from the Sephirot were considered to be restricted to only his eyes.

"Beyond my authority?" Y/n repeated as he stood up while giving her a small frown. "Angela, if whatever this is, is causing issues within our workforce, it is my responsibility to know how to prevent it from happening or lessen its affects."

"Your responsibility is to maintain the status quo of the facility. This matter is under the Manager's care, you can be rest assured that it will be kept to a minimum."

The Manger felt his eye twitch at the unintentional jab. He was trying his best every single day. He couldn't prevent himself from making mistakes simply due to the fact that he had to deal with unknowns everyday. There will for sure come a time when he would need to use all 24 hours of the reset, it was just a matter of why.

'Judging by that statement, they can directly influence the cause of it.' Y/n took mental note of what she said before giving her a flat look while crossing his arms. "While I appreciate the fact that you will keep it to a minimum, what am I supposed to tell those who continue to ask? They won't be satisfied with a simple answer of 'it's classified'."

It was a lie, of course, as everyone would be forced to be satisfied with that answer if it came to it. The night-shift wouldn't however, as they could care less about some trivial feeling of exhaustion and deja vu. Those during the day were the ones that Y/n got the complaints from, it did irk him that they all simultaneously decided to flood him with them last minute yesterday.

"If they are dissatisfied, notify them that there is always the option of resigning from their position." The Manager and Y/n froze under those words. They both knew exactly what she meant, as that was literally suicide here. "As a reminder, that applies to you as well, Captain."

"......."

'So either accept the circumstances and deal with it, or die . Wow, the diversity of my options is outstanding, if I do say so myself~' Y/n continued to hold his flat look even as he struggled to find a loophole for him to use. 'And......is it just me or does Angela have a sudden vendetta against me?"

"Me? The thought never crossed my mind~ I quite like working here." He was going to mention the mountains of paperwork that he despised, but now wasn't the time for that. With a final attempt to gain something, he offered her a smile. "Besides, those pills you gave me helped me out quite a lot."

Trying to fish out anything that she could slip up, he was quickly disheartened when she neither confirmed nor refuted his comment.

She simply remained silent.

'We're back with the silent treatment now are we?' Seeing that this was going nowhere, Y/n decided to end things now. He could always try tomorrow or even the day after that. "Well, it's been a nice talk, the shift's about to begin, so I'll take my leave."

Receiving no response once again, Y/n turned to leave. Just as he opened the door and was about to step out, he looked over his shoulder and looked directly at the Manager.

"Say, would you say that we're friends, Manager?"

The Manager, who had not once been able to jump into the conversation that was originally for him, stared back at the man. In his mind the words from Yesod resonated over and over, reminding him of the possibilities if he were to say 'no' or 'yes'. Despite the shame he felt for ignoring the Sephirah's advice and the churning feeling he had in his gut, the Manager slowly nodded his head.

"......acquaintances would be more befitting.......yes......Good acquaintances."

"Glad to hear that." He chuckled before giving the Manager an amusing look. ".......You know, now that I think about it. I never did get your name, Manager."

".........My......name?...."

The Manager whispered to himself before realizing that it was true. Not once had he actually introduced himself to him. Before he responded he sent a quick glance at Angela, something that Y/n noticed but refrained from doing so as well. Angela was still facing him after all and he didn't want to seem anymore suspicious than he already did.

".....it's X."

Glancing back at Y/n, X reluctantly answered as it felt odd to introduce himself with a letter. He had expected Y/n to comment or question if that was actually his real name, but instead he simply smiled like he was satisfied. As if it was exactly what he wanted and it was enough for him.

"Well, nice to meet you, X. Let's get a drink together sometime. I'll see you guys later today in the meeting."

With that, he walked out and the door closed behind him. Angela immediately took to her seat while X checked the time. It was exactly 8 o'clock, something that X found very much not a coincidence. Not at all. But not having the time to think about it anymore, X simply clicked the button to start the day.

 

"Announcement in progress:
To all personnel, the start of the day has been initiated.
Please report to your designated area."

 

The announcement played out, being the signal for X to start focusing on his monitors and keeping his spare paper for notes close to him. Angela turned in her chair to give the entrance of the office one last look. She stared at it for a moment.

Before she slightly smiled.

——————————————————————————

3rd POV             

Information Department

<Time-Skip>

Dexter slowly sipped his coffee while his eyes blinked just as slow. The fact that one of his eyes was more delayed than the other showed just how much his body was struggling to operate.

What time was it? He didn't know.

How long has he been sitting here? He didn't know.

Did he miss some of his tasks and assignments? He didn't know.

All he did know was that his fingers felt as if they would snap from the tinniest breeze and that everything was starting to annoy him. His tolerance for bullshit was now at its all time low. He simply wanted to rest, but even that wasn't a viable option now.

Paper, ink, paper, ink, paper, ink, paper, ink, paper, ink, paper, ink.

The entire time he slept last night, his dreams were filled with never ending landscapes made of paper and rivers of ink. A single sound of a page turning is enough to cause him to snap his eyes open and glance around like a mad man, while the faintest color of white was enough to make him want to gouge his eyes out.

So here he was, drinking some coffee to keep his sanity from slipping out of his grasps. His desk littered with coffee cups and empty sugar packets that he somehow got from who knows where.

Dexter added another cup to the pile as he downed the last remnants of his drink and slid the mug across the table. He accidentally slid it too hard as it hit the others and knocked one over the edge of the table. Before it could hit the ground, however, a hand quickly caught it in midair and placed it back on the table.

Vinera placed her hand on her hip as she looked at Dexter. In her other hand was a moderate stack of papers that were very much blank and brand new. With twinkling hints of amusement in her eyes, Vinera popped a smile as she stood right over him.

"What's wrong, Dex?~ Not feeling good?~"

She suppressed a giggle when she heard him groan. Dexter gave her the stink eye as he mumbled complaints and curses that she couldn't hear.

"Hmm?~ What was that, Dex? I couldn't quite hear you."

"Tch......I said I'm fine." He spoke through gritted teeth, already annoyed by her innocent facade and teasing remarks. Despite giving her a glare, she brushed him off by waving the papers in her hand at him. "........."

"Anyways~ Don't know why you've been spacing out all morning, but Yesod wants these done by the end of the day!~" Stretching her hand out, Dexter looked at them with a twitching eye. He could already feel a migraine coming just by looking at the stack. "I would help you.....but I'm sure you got this all covered!"

It was at this point that Dexter just snapped. He knew that he might regret this later, but at the moment he simply couldn't find it in him to handle such a workload right now. Standing up from his seat, he walked over to her with his bangs shadowing his eyes. Vinera was taken by surprise from the sudden burst of energy as she could do nothing but stare at his approaching figure.

*SMACK*

The fluttering of papers floating down to the floor sounded out as he smacked them out of her hands. Vinera's shocked expression only lasted for a moment before she realized what happened. The action stung the back of her hand and she snapped to attention while glaring harshly at him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

"What the hell! I outa kick yo—!"

But once again, she froze when her glare met his more fierce one. He sneered at her as he continued to move closer to her, closing the distance between them once more.

Instinctively, Vinera took a step back.

"U-Uhh, D-Dex?"

Then another when he didn't stop.

"D-Dexter, I-I was just kidding!"

Then another.

""I-I wasn't really going to do anything!"

And another.

"T-Those are documents actually mine, so you don't have to do it!"

And another.

"I-I'll s-stop slacking off and teasing you from now on!"

Until her back hit the wall of the room.

"EEEEEP!"

She released a girly squeak when he slammed one of his hands on the wall right next to her head. Still keeping eye contact, Dexter leaned down slightly so they could be on the same eye level. Vinera had to fight the urge to shrink under his sharp gaze that made her feel insignificant.......and yet...why was her heart thumping so much?

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

With each strong emphasis of his words, he moved his head closer and closer to her until they were face to face. Frustration and the lack of sleep clouded Dexter's mind as he allowed a small sample of his anger loose.

"Now listen here you snotty uptight bitch, because I'm only going to say this once." Not caring if she was even paying attention, he spat out his words. "For the rest of the day, don't fucking speak to me, don't look at me, don't touch me, don't sit next to me, don't even breathe the same god damn air as me."

Vinera nervously gulped as she basked in his anger while trapped against him and the immovable wall. Yet, despite the situation she was in.......her twisted mind was elated in the fact that she had his attention. She was feeling exhilarated and euphoric, because at the moment, Dexter had his eyes on her and only her.

Everyone growing up in the slums was insane in one way or another. Vinera was no exception. Living a lonesome life in a place where death surrounded all, she witnessed countless gut wrenching scenes and deplorable acts done by her fellow desperate residents. And in her childhood, Vinera had already understood one thing: She was one of many who will die a lonely death while the world would continue on as if she didn't exist in the first place.

Her life wouldn't be forgotten, because there was no one to remember her in the first place.

Her life wouldn't be mourned, for she was simply another corpse to add on the ever growing mountain.

Her life wouldn't be anything to anyone.

So she sought to become something that would stick out to someone—anyone. Something to differentiate herself from the others who were in the same situation as she was in. To become a beautiful flower among a garden bed of weeds, simply so someone would pluck and take her away.

While others frowned, cried, and mourned, she laughed, smiled, and cheered. Even if it was fake, even if it pained her, she continued to live her entire life with such a mindset.

"If I'm the only one smiling among them, then surely someone will remember me."

It was idiotic, naive, childish, and yet, her mind could simply not comprehend any other way for her to live. She simply didn't want to be known as 'that person from the slums', she wanted to be known as 'Vinera'. Whether it was from a good or bad connotation of her didn't matter, because it would at least differentiate her from everyone else,

And so, while Dexter stared at her with his harsh glare and heated words that he continued to spout, Vinera simply stared at him with a dazed look. In Dexter's mind—no, world—she existed right here in front of him as his stress reliever, and that meant that she existed and would be remembered by him regardless.

"Did I make myself clear?" Finishing up his rant, Dexter heaved breathlessly as some of his stress was now gone. When he saw that Vinera wasn't responded and seemed to be absentminded, his frustration came back a little. "I said, did I make myself clear?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Vinera stuttered as she held her breathe while nodding slightly. Her cheeks reddened a bit, but it was ignored by Dexter as he gave her one last glare before stepping away. That caused Vinera to feel slightly disappointed as she already missed the attention he was giving her. When she was about to grab the sleeve of his suit, she stopped when his wrist watch buzzed.

"Tch! What is it now?" He hissed under his breathe before seeing that he was assigned to Fragment Of The Universe once more. ".....Get your shit done by the time I come back."

He didn't even wait as he already began walking away. Surprisingly, despite his sour mood, he picked the papers off the floor on his way out and place them on the desk they usually sat together. Vinera simply stared at him and his retreating figure while trying to calm her thoughts.

Even when he was gone, she stood leaning against the wall for a while before flinching when she heard a voice sound out a few feet away from her.

"Freak~"

She turned her head and saw Bella standing there while giving her an amused smile.

"You're a freak!~ You're a freak!~ You're a freak!~"

Repeating herself over and over while pointing at the red-head, Bella was childishly smiling and enjoying teasing her. Vinera came back to her senses as she then gave her teammate a smiled that promised pain.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oooo~ sure you don't. Regardless of what you say, I know a freak when I see one!~"

"Tch! Why? Is it because you see yourself in the mirror every morning?~"

At that remark, Bella simply gave her a closed eye smile that seemed to curve more upwards as the seconds went by. When she opened her eyes again, Vinera felt a shiver go up her spin that smothered the hot feelings she felt due to Dexter's glare. Compared to his eyes that were fierce, Bella's were the opposite: blank and indifferent.

Without another word Bella simply turned around and walked away, leaving Vinera there standing alone and unsure of what just happened.

——————————————————————————————

Fragment Of The Universe's Containment

 

At the moment, Dexter was beginning to remember the conversation he had with Vinera tens of minutes ago. Although she did deserve a small portion of that rant for dumping her workload onto him, she didn't deserve some of the harsh words he had said to her. And so with a small pit of shame inside him for letting his emotions get to him like that, Dexter was having a small therapy session with the Abnormality across from him.

"Was it wrong of me to have had called her those things?"

He asked Fragment Of The Universe. The Abnormality was currently standing on the opposite side of the room as it's tentacles slithered in the air. In response to his question, it pointed at a symbol drawn on the metallic floor in marker. It was one of dozens on the floor, it was its method of communicating that they were able to decipher.......somehow.

"Well......I do care for her.....and Bella as well. I don't hate them, even though I rightfully should."

It then pointed to another symbol.

"Because.......Because it's nice to have some company every once in a while. I can't lie about that."

The Abnormality was going to point to another symbol before stopping. It seemed to be in thought, at least from what Dexter could read from the features it had that reminded him of a children's drawing. After a few seconds, it pointed to a symbol that resembled a shattered square mixed with symbols in it.

"...I don't know how easily it would be for you to comprehend, but I just need some time for myself to be alone. To be able to just think or just......Never mind."

The Abnormality's confusion was apparent as it slapped its tentacles on the symbols. It released a screech that made Dexter shush it loudly as he glared at it.

"Would you please stop doing that?!"

It ignored him in favor of pointing its tendril at another symbol. Unsurprisingly, this action only made Dexter realize that maybe talking to an Abnormality wasn't a good idea to help set his head straight. He didn't know why the Abnormality was so fixated on this one question, but he couldn't deny that it was his own fault as well.

"......No. For the last time, I am not explaining what a 'bitch' is."

He rubbed the bridge of his eyes in frustration as he questioned what the hell he was doing with his life. Glancing back up, he noticed that the Abnormality had gotten closer and was about to cross a line that he drew in the middle of the room.

"Hey! Hey! I said don't cross that line, remember!"

*Screeching*

"Oh don't you fucking start throwing a fit!" He stood up from the ground he was sitting on and pointed his finger at it. "Want me to find that thing you are so scared of and bring it here?!"

At his threat, the Abnormality flailed its tentacles at the walls of the containment cell in anger. It screeched a high pitch noise that caused Dexter some pain and a headache, but other than that it didn't make any other attempts to move or escape. Seeing that it wasn't planning to move any closer, Dexter sighed in relief before once again taking a seat.

 

"4 PE-Boxes acquired."

 

Before he stood right back up with a twitching eye from the announcement.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself before he did anything he might regret, he turned around and exited the containment room. Dexter didn't neglect the fact that he got a very low amount of PE-Boxes just now. Usually when he interacted with this particular Abnormality, it was usually 10 or 11. It's low number probably meant it disliked what he said that much or it was dissatisfied with the answers/questions he provided/asked.

 

"Attention to all Personnel!
Foreign Entities detected within the Facility!
Suppression is advised!"

 

One would expect him to be annoyed by such an event happening, but Dexter was actually glad that he now had something else to vent his frustrations on. If yelling at the top of his lungs and talking it out with an Abnormality didn't help, then surely physical venting would.

Detaching his spear from his back, he armed himself while taking his radio out. Not a moment later, it came to life with static.

"South Western Hallway of the Information Department."

The voice of the Manager sounded out once the static cleared. Dexter quickly dashed to the stairwell and made his way down of where he was at. That hallway was where Forsaken Murderer was contained, and no doubt where Vinera would be. He felt that it would be awkward for them since he did lash out on her quite harshly, but work comes first, so he ignored it for now.

"HaHAhahAHaHaHAhahAHa!!"

Upon arriving he heard the chilling robotic sound of laughter echoing off the walls. It was loud and yet distant, almost as if it came from everywhere and nowhere. He couldn't even hear his own footsteps as he all but ran deeper into the corridor to find the intruders.

"HaHAhahAHaHaHAhahAHa!!"

When the sound became more clear and audible to him, he snapped his head in its direction. The constant laughter was beginning to annoy him as it continued to grow in volume. It was as if the entity was mocking him for failing to find it. Reaching the end of the corridor, he stopped just as he was about to exit and continue following the laughter when his radio turned back on.

"This is clerk Omega-44, I'm taking over the coms under tbe Manager's orders. Anyways.......What do you think you're doing?! You just passed the damn thing!"

The male clerk yelled in the place of the Manager. Momentarily being in disbelief, Dexter shook his head and turned back around. Despite wanting to follow the sound, he decided to trust the words of his fellow colleague and made his way back. With Forsaken Murder's containment room just up ahead, the sound of music made its way to his ears. It reminded him vaguely of a cheerful theme park or carnival.

"Did you find it?!"

Coming to a complete halt, Dexter spotted what seemed to be a small figure in the distance. The blaring alarms made it difficult to hear, but he was sure that the laughter was coming from it. The figure then turned to face him as the music got louder as did the laughters.

"Is....Is that a fucking clown?!" He exclaimed before realizing that this was the entity he was supposed to eliminate. Grabbing his radio, he yelled harshly at the clerk. "Is this some kind of joke?! Don't fuck with me!"

"Hey! I'm only doing my job! And you should be doing yours!"

Clicking his tongue, he fought back the urge to retaliate as he focused on what he was ordered to do. Sprinting towards it, he gave the clown a kick, making it fly and hit the wall. It fell on the floor limp before twitching and wobbling back up. Before it could fully stand, Dexter slammed his spear right through it and violently ripped it back out. The clown continued its laughing as blood oozed from its stitched mouth and its tongue hung out.

"What the hell?"

Furrowing his brows in annoyance, he stood over it before stabbing it once more. Yet, the entity continued its joyful cheer as the carnival melody continued to play.

"Why! Won't! You! Die!"

He repeatedly stabbed it over and over again, creating a bigger hole in its tiny body. Right before he was going to lop off its head to shut it up, he froze when he blinked and it was gone. Taking a step back, he looked around to try and find where it went before he heard a small creaking sound. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw it right next to the containment door.

Knowing what it was likely trying to do, he lunged at it as fast as he could. The clown-like entity simply smiled broadly before its head twitched creepily.

"ByE, bYe!"

It's robotic voice mocked him and before his spear could decapitate the thing, the lights of the corridor blinked off then on and the clown seemingly disappeared along with its music and mocking laugh. Dexter grit his teeth as he was about to take off, he knew it was still in the facility, but stopped when once again his radio came back on.

"Agent Dexter! Run for your life!!"

The same male clerk screamed at him in clear panic. Confusingly, Dexter eyed his radio with a raised brow before hearing a loud thud behind him.

*THUD*

He turned his head to look at the source of the sound. His heart nearly dropped when the containment door to Forsaken Murderer's room had a large dent in it.

*THUD*

The muffled banging from before became more clear as the door creaked and another dent made its way on it. With barely a split second to react, Dexter turned and ran as fast as he could to the nearest stairwell.

*CRASH*

The metallic door gave into the fierce force that the Abnormality used and flew off its hinges. With its metal helmet on, Forsaken Murderer was now loose and ready to crush his next victim. And unfortunately, it saw Dexter's silhouette for a split second before he disappeared into the stairwell.

 

"Attention to all Personnel!
Forsaken Murderer has breached Containment!
Suppression is advised"

 

——————————————————————————

Information Department: North Western Hallway

Laughing up a storm, the clown entity joyfully stood in front of Fragment Of The Universe's containment. The jingles of the carnival echoed and blended with the alarms overhead. It found amusement in the chaos it was causing and could only anticipate what this Abnormality could cause.

"HaHAhahAHaHaHAhahAHa!!"

"HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!"

The clown-like entity stopped laughing when it heard someone else next to it. Turning its head with a few twitches, it tilted its head up and saw Bella staring with her revolver pointed down at it.

"Why'd you stop? I wanted to know what was so funny." She asked the creature that stood frozen with its gaping hole in its chest still oozing out liquid. "What are you anyways?"

Coming out of its shocked state, the entity laughed once more before trying to finish its work on opening the containment door. Of course, Bella simply shot it's limps and prevented it from moving.

"You know what, I can just find out for myself!~" She giggled to herself before bending over and grabbing the clown one of its hat's pointy ends. Bring it up to her face, she analyzed it before snapping her fingers. "Oh! I know what you are!~ You're a hand puppet, aren't you?!~"

The little clown simply chuckled before letting out a inaudible sounds when Bella pried its mouth open, ripping the stitches, and thrusted her hand into it.

"Gotta remove the stuffing first!~" She instructed herself as she dug out its contents and dropped them onto the floor. With its internal organs and other components all laid out on the floor, Bella effectively made herself a homemade sock puppet. "Now I have a friend to play with!~ Good job, Bella! Let's be friends! Of course, Mr. Dubee!"

 

"Attention to all Personnel!
Foreign Entities have been suppressed!"

 

The Manager who was watching this could only hold his mouth to prevent the vomit that was making its way up . He took deep breathes before he quickly changed the screen of his monitor to the Control Team. While drinking some water that he usually used for his cactus, the Manager accidentally choked on it and started to cough. Angela looked at him with a raised brow before going back to work once she saw he was fine.

——————————————————————————

Y/n's POV

Information Department

Quickly dodging out of the way, I called out to the other clerks who were randomly shooting Forsaken Murderer.

"Keep your distance! Avoid being in its line of sight!"

The clerks frantically moved out of the way of the stampeding Abnormality. The ones on its blindside were continuously shooting their handguns while making sure not to shoot anyone on accident.

I sighed to myself when two clerks who weren't fast enough got crushed under the charge of the Abnormality. More paperwork for me it seems.

"Captain! The Control Team is here!"

A clerk on the opposite side of the room called out as the three agents came running in. With no hesitation, Roxie was already charging up her cannon while Dana and Mike made sure to support the clerks in need. Trusting that they knew how to do their jobs, I turned my attention to Dexter who was the main target of the rampaging Abnormality.

Dodging to the side, Dexter was able to get in a few stabs whenever he could but it wasn't enough to subdue the Abnormality. I would have helped him, but it was kinda of hard to do so when I didn't have a E.G.O. weapon of my own to use against it. The handguns and batons that everyone received weren't exactly something I would call efficient when used against Abnormalities.

Sighing once more, I aimed my firearm at it and carefully fired a few shots at its knees and joints. It wasn't enough to bring it down, but it was enough to get it to stagger and let the others get a few hits in.

"Dexter, get over here!" I called out to the man as he nodded. Turning back to the clerks and the three agents on my side, I waved them to move. "Get ready!"

Running in our direction. Dexter took cover and ducked as we aimed our weapons at it. Forsaken Murderer got out of its dazed state as it turned and immediately began scurrying in our direction.

"Aim for the torso and let loose, boys and gals!"

With a war cry, all the others began firing their hand guns. The bullets riddled the straight-jacket with holes and blood splattered from them. Despite how it looked, it did little to stop the Abnormality. A huge shot from Roxie's cannon was what caused Forsaken Murderer to finally topple over on its back as the smell of charred flesh emitted from the smoke.

Dana, Mike, Dexter, and any others with their batons out immediately rushed it and let loose multitudes of slashes and thrusts. And soon, with the final blows going to Dexter and Dana, Forsaken Murderer stopped moving.

 

"Attention to all Personnel!
Forsaken Murderer has been suppressed!"

 

With the normal jingle back on, everyone sighed in relief before going about their day as if nothing happened. The Control Team spoke a few words to Dexter before taking their leave.

"Good work, you guys!" I called out to them just before they left. They smiled and waved at me before finally leaving. Walking over to the man who seemed far more energetic than usual, I started brewing some coffee. "Good job out there, Dexter. How do you like your coffee?~"

He eyed me suspiciously before seemingly giving up on whatever he was thinking as he laid his head down.

"I would usually ask for black coffee, but at the moment I could use the sugar." He groaned out as he slumped on the desk that wasn't broken. Now there was the Dexter that I was used to. "......have you seen Vinera?"

I barely heard his whisper, and from what I did hear, it was almost as if he was worried. Nothing like what I heard this afternoon when he was yelling at the top of his lungs. I guess he reflected on what he did and hopes to make amends. Hiding a chuckle, I let the coffee brew before taking a seat across from him.

"The last time I saw her, she was assigned to the Old Lady. Seeing as she hasn't came back, the Old Lady is probably telling one of her longer stories."

He nodded his head in understanding before sitting up and facing me.

"What do you do if someone is mad at you, especially if the are a woman?"

"Already assuming the worse? It's best to be prepared I guess, so props to him." Giving it some thought and relating to him quite a bit, I just grinned at him amusingly. "Honestly? Just give them some space and time. Sure, you could apologize right away, but that will give the impression that you are dismissing what they are feeling as something that can easily be cleared up with a small 'sorry'."

"........"

"Of course, you will apologize after they have calmed and are prone to rational thought. But it's better to show them that you genuinely regret whatever you did."

".....sounds complicated....."

He tiredly responding as the bags under his eyes became more apparent and the fierce look he had all day seemed to calm.

"Nothings simple in life. People, not just woman, are complicated creatures in general that will never be fully understood by another. So it's best to learn little by little and be satisfied with what you are able to get."

The coffee machine beeped and alerted us of its completion. I stood up before filling two cups and adding sugar to both. Walking back and handing it to him, we both sat in silence while sipping away our hot drinks.

Time went on and we witnessed the clean up crew come in and clean the mess that Forsaken Murderer made. Dexter grimaced when they put the dead clerks into body bags, as well as the Abnormality's corpse. I wasn't that much fazed as it was a common occurrence here, and continued sipping my coffee until the intercom alerted us of the shift ending.

 

"Announcement in Progress:
The day shift has ended,
thank you for your hard work."

 

Standing up, I walked past the still seated Dexter while smiling at him.

"Don't stress yourself, too much. Sometimes it's best to simply enjoy the moment you're in and forget about everything else." He stared at his drink in thought, taking in the words I spoke. "I would've enjoyed to stay longer, but I have a meeting to attend to."

Walking away, I opened the Department door to find Renold already waiting for me with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

"Shall we?"

He nodded as he uncrossed his arms and started walking by my side.

——————————————————————————

3rd POV                         

Meeting Room

The current occupants of the room were as followed: the Manager, Angela, all four Sephirot of the Upper Floors, Y/n, Renold, Katie, and John. Shina and BongBong couldn't make it as they had important assignments to deal with, so Katie and John took their place for today's meeting.

The Manager was seated in the usual chair that the most important person in the room would take. Angela was at his side like usual while keeping her attention on everyone.

Netzach was already sleeping on the conference table while Malkuth waved energetically at Y/n trying to get his attention. Hod smiled sheepishly at him as well while Yesod nodded a greeting and turned to face the Manager.

Renold was farthest from everyone else as he was writing in his journal. Katie and John were standing by Y/n's side while keeping their eyes on everyone in the room. Y/n, himself, was standing on the opposite side of the Sephirot like the previous meetings.

"....Let's get this meeting started."

The Manager spoke as he emotionlessly started to sort through the documents that was brought to him by Angela.

"First things first. With the full development of the Information Department, the decision of which Department to develop next has been one I've thought thoroughly." Netzach wasn't even paying attention while Hod was nervously glancing around the room. "The decision I've come to decide upon was the Training Department. It has come to my attention that there is great importance in developing yours first, Hod."

Hod smiled brightly while nodding her head vigorously.

"I'm glad you think so, Manager! No doubt with your help, my Department will produce better results! There is also something I've been meaning to ask but I'll wait for tomorrow morning to tell you!"

The cheerfulness that she radiated was a stark contrast to the other people in the room. More specifically Malkuth, who was staring blankly at her fellow Sephirah. Hod didn't notice her stare as she waved at Y/n in clear excitement. Y/n chuckled as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Can't wait to work with you, Hod."

Hod nodded her head before closing her eye and humming to herself, quite content with how things went. The Manger wasn't paying attention to any of this as he sorted through the documents once again.

"There are some things I would like to discuss with you, Hod, but I will save it for later." Hod didn't hear as she continued to hum, much to the annoyance of Malkuth. "Yesod, I would like to assign Agent Dexter as the Captain of your Department. Any objections that you may have?"

Yesod brought a hand to his chin as he went into his thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"None that I believe are worth mentioning. If that is your decision, I'll have him notified of this by tomorrow morning."

Nodding his head, the Manager flipped through the documents once more.

"I wish to bring up the situation in the Safety Department." Upon saying that everyone, aside from Renold and Y/n, turned to Netzach who continued to sleep. "Or......Maybe not."

Just as he was about to dismiss his statement, Angela stepped forward while giving Netzach her attention.

"Netzach, it is unbefitting of a Sephirah to demonstrate such conduct during an important meeting with the Manager."

Netzach rolled a little to the side to give her a stare. Yet, instead of saying anything he simply rolled back to his original position with his head down. Seeing this, Angela was about to scold him but Y/n quickly stepped in.

"Hey, X, Angela~ If it's such a problem, I could give the Safety Department a few visits to set them straight. It's no biggie~"

Despite his attempt to alleviate whatever was going to happen, Y/n stopped himself from speaking when Angela turned to face him with her eyes open. It's ironic that he gave Dexter that advice earlier today and yet he, himself, hadn't thought to follow it.

"Y/n, it would in your best interest to refrain from coming in-between matters that don't involve you. The title 'Captain' can always be given to someone else."

The other Sephirot stayed silent as they glared at the assistant AI since they understood what she meant. Netzach sat up while giving her a cold stare while the sound of Malkuth's pen snapping could be heard in the back. Hod snapped from her cheerful mood as she gave Angela a look of disbelief. The Manager winced a bit from the bluntness of her words before noticing Yesod giving him a stare that conveyed several things.

Contrast to their reactions, Renold, Katie, John, and Y/n weren't affected by it at all. Renold simply closed his journal before taking his leave without speaking a single word. Katie and John looked at each other before shrugging. Y/n simply rolled his eyes.

"You caught me off guard once this morning. The same threat loses its impact when you use it over and over again."

But deciding that he shouldn't instigate anymore conflicts, Y/n sighed before taking a step back. Silence filled the room as none of them knew what to discuss. After a few seconds, the Manager cleared his throat.

"Khm.....Moving on.....The Safety Department will still need to be functional by the time I start working on its development. Will that be possible for you, Netzach."

Netzach gave him a nonchalant nod as he stood up from his seat. Not waiting to be dismissed, he gave a small wave of goodbye and took his leave. The other Sephirot watched him leave before turning back to the Manager.

"......Hod, I would you to go over these profiles and confirm if they will be appropriate to work at your Department."

Giving Angela the three folders, she then handed it to Hod who nervously took it from her. Immediately she began reading the pages as she walked out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Y/n!"

"See you tomorrow, Hod."

With that, she left the room. The rest of the meeting was more trivial discussions about managing specific Abnormalities and personnel. Malkuth was the next to leave as she ran and gave Y/n a hug.

"Let's work hard like always, Y/n!"

"Of course, let's do our best."

A small head patting session later, Malkuth was gone to do her own business elsewhere. Seeing no reason in keeping them here, Y/n dismissed Katie and John for the night.

"Have a safe shift, you two."

"Nothing's safe here, Captain. But thanks anyways!"

"Have a nice rest, Captain."

Waving them goodbye, Y/n yawned a bit when he felt his body get caught up with the fatigue. Before he hit the sack for the night, he wanted to clear some things up with a certain AI.

"Angela, would you mind if I talked to you for a moment?"

She rose a brow before wordlessly walking out the room. Sighing in relief, Y/n followed right out with her. Yesod and the Manager were the only ones in the room now. When none of them spoke, Yesod decided to simply speak what he had stayed for.

"I see that you disregarded my advice rom this morning."

The Manager swallowed the saliva in his mouth as he wondered how he knew. Almost as if Yesod read his mind, he spoke off-handedly.

"He called you, X." That made the Manager freeze and think back. Now that he thought about it, he did notice Y/n calling him by his 'name'. The fact that Yesod was able to take note of it during that small chaotic moment was chilling. "Usually, Y/n will call someone by their title if he doesn't know them well. He tends to simply ignore such, what he calls, 'insignificant details' and favors calling one by their name if he can."

Yesod turned to stare at him straight in the eyes.

"No doubt the same was for you, until today it would seem." The Manager looked away in clear shame, but Yesod didn't seem to mind. "Allow me to fill you in on something, Manager. In here......within the confinements of this facility......everyone and everything is either an asset or a liability. What makes you think you're any different?"

Turning to walk away, the Sephirot of the Information Team gave him one last look.

"I never knew the name of the previous Manager, but if I had to take a guess, I would say their name was W."

With that, he left the conference room. The Manager sat alone within the room for an unknown amount of time. When his mind couldn't handle it anymore, he simply stood up and slowly made his way to his room.

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