Chapter 2: The Strings That Bind Us.

If you look up into the night sky, what do you feel? Do you feel safe? Do you feel hope? Do you feel comfortable?

I feel pity.

For when you look up into that sky, you are seeing lives fading away. Even if they aren't human, those are stars burning away from existence.

That pity felt a little more hollow this time around. I sat on the edge of the roof of this hospital.

Thump

The heartbeat is different from my own, almost unsettling.

But then that was how everything went now, my hand reached out gripping my shirt, it was hard to breathe up here.

I looked down from the ledge upon the city's soft shine.

My eyes closed before I removed myself from the ledge going back onto the roof of the ceiling, "Coward." I uttered to myself I intended to die right there.

To get rid of this damn heart to get rid of him. But in the end, I have to much to protect, too much to worry about.

I suppose I'll have to live with this… After all, I get discharged tomorrow.

And so I began to walk to the door.

Truthfully this wasn't my first time I considered jumping. There had been plenty of times, all of them I thought better of it.

Did I tell anyone? Of course not, best case they'd end up giving me some pills… Worst case, they'd put me in a mental hospital.

And I sure as hell don't want to roll those dice.

It was mid-day, and I sighed, decided to just head home for the day. There was no car to pick me up.

Of course, there wasn't. I figured that'd be the case. It didn't matter much, considering I enjoyed long walks.

Gave me time to think.

Even then, the thought of a killer's heart in mine still wasn't the most exciting of news…

I stopped my walk along the sidewalk and felt my eyes widen.

"What the hell…?" In the distance, a massive crystal tower stood.

I rubbed my eyes, thinking I must be dreaming, yet the tower never moved.

Red strings came from the tower. They seemed to be pulsating almost as if they contained something alive.

Instead of letting panic take me, I took in a deep breath, "This week just keeps getting weirder and weirder…"

An investigation that seems like the best course of action at this moment.

And so I began my walk towards whatever the crystal tower was.

The first thing I noticed was that nobody was freaking out, as if this tower had been there the whole time or perhaps they just never saw it before?

Soon I was at the front door of my house, one of the red strings from the tower was just… fused with the front door. I reached out to grab the string only for it to shock my hand, causing me to recoil in pain.

So instead, I opened the front door, "Granny? I'm home!" I started walking into the house.

There was no reply, so I followed the string into my sister's room.

There it was, the string ended, and it was inside of her heart, "This has to be some kind of cruel joke…"

I looked to the string and frowned, "...Stasis. When somebody falls under stasis, their brain never loses activity, there always expending more energy than they need to…" I uttered the facts and reached out, grabbing hold of the string. The pain returned, but even so, I attempted to pull out the string.

The pain entered my limbs immediately, but I was desperate. If there was a chance that this could save Lily, then I was going to take it.

That's what I kept telling myself. I held back the screams of pain, wincing every second as I attempted to pull the string out.

.

.

.

And then I lost consciousness.

***

The new trend was beginning to grow old, but at least this time, I awoke in a somewhat familiar place.

Slowly I got to my feet and turned my head to see a yellow door, "How di-"

"You were forcibly pulled out of your body." Lightings voice explained, walking towards me before I could utter a word, he threw a red key at me, "A new door has opened, and I haven't the time to explore it… In other words, it's your fault, so you deal with it."

Before I even had a chance to process the man's words, he turned away and walked out of sight. I looked down at the red key and sighed, walking down the hall, into a circular room. It branched out into a few different paths but only one lead to a red door.

"Is that the one?" I questioned, walking up to it and unlocking it. As soon as I opened the door, I was shown what seemed to be a painting, "...What is that?" I muttered it appeared to be some sort of coliseum, but the painting itself moved, almost like one of those 3d paintings you'd see at a fancy-schmancy store.

It was enchanting. I just reached out towards it on instinct, and my hand went through.

Of course, I pulled it out on reflex and looked down at my hand.

"...A Dream." Lightings voice entered my ears once more, "That is what lies beyond that door, what's strange is that it's the dream of someone with 'Stasis.' Would you happen to be the cause of this?" Lighting questioned.

"I-" I blinked, looking at the door, "I don't know… But if I go in there. Can I save her?" I questioned, turning around.

Lighting frowned, furrowing his brow, "Theoretically: he folded his arms and looked at Mj. "You have to understand pulling someone out of a dream isn't exactly something done often."

"I'll do it!" I yelled without hesitation, "I go in there and wake her up!"

Lighting sighed, closing his eyes, "Hacker."

I blinked, raising a brow, "Huh?"

"While in the dream, you are to refer to yourself as Hacker. And Hacker only, it's a protection we don't know what would happen if the dreamer found out who you are." Lighting explained, walking, looking at the door.

"...I see." I turned to look at the door frowning deeply, "And how would I get her out of there?"

"Typically, I'd suggest killing her, but for some reason, death no longer has a purpose in that world… Perhaps you should aim to rip out the heart?" Lighting uttered those words without batting an eye at the thought of killing someone.

I, on the other hand, spun around, "Are you insane!?! You're asking me to kill someone!"

"I am suggesting you kill someone, whether or not you do so is entirely your choice." Lighting folded his arms, annoyed by the conversation, "Even if you make the wrong one."

I could see this conversation going nowhere fast, so I sighed returned my gaze to the door.

"I'm going to save her." With those final words, I took a few steps forward, entering the door.