Chapter 20: Waking in the Unknown

Noah's entire body ached as though he had been trampled by a stampede. His chest rose and fell in shallow, painful breaths. Slowly, he forced his eyes open.

The ceiling above him was smooth and metallic, faintly illuminated by a series of glowing panels embedded into the surface. The room around him was unlike anything he had ever seen—alien and sterile yet strangely organized.

He was lying on a makeshift cot, his torso wrapped in bandages. His arms and legs felt heavy, but as he tilted his head, he saw his wounds had been meticulously cleaned and dressed.

A soft hum filled the air, the sound of distant machinery. He struggled to sit up, biting back a groan of pain. His surroundings came into sharper focus.

The space was cavernous yet functional. Shelves lined the walls, filled with equipment that looked both advanced and archaic at the same time. Strange instruments blinked with soft lights, and several monitors displayed data he couldn't comprehend. There was a distinct smell—sterile, like disinfectant, but with a faint metallic tang.

Where am I?

Before he could make sense of his surroundings, the sound of soft footsteps echoed through the room. He turned his head sharply, immediately regretting the motion as pain flared in his neck.

The woman from before stepped into view.

Her long, dark hair was tied back, and she wore a fitted black uniform with patches and insignias that were unfamiliar to him. Her expression was unreadable, her piercing gaze fixed on him as she approached.

"You're awake," she said, her voice calm but firm. She carried herself with the confidence of someone used to being in charge. "Good. I wasn't sure if you'd make it."

Noah blinked, still groggy. "What… happened?" His voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

The woman crossed her arms, leaning slightly against the edge of a nearby table. "You were surrounded. Nearly torn apart. I stepped in before things got worse."

Her words stirred faint memories—the fight, the Grindstone's warning, the figure cutting through the aberrations. "You… you saved me," he muttered, his brow furrowing. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it out of charity," she said bluntly. "You're lucky I was there. What were you thinking, fighting a swarm like that alone?"

"I didn't have a choice," Noah shot back, his voice gaining strength despite the pain. "I wasn't trying to fight them all—I just... ended up in the middle of it."

The woman studied him for a moment, her expression softening slightly. "I figured as much. You don't look like someone who belongs here."

"Here?" Noah asked, looking around. "Where… is here? What is this place? And who are you?"

The woman straightened, her hands resting on her hips. "My name is Agent Valerie Cain. And this," she gestured around them, "is the first human research facility established in this dimension. A forward outpost for the Department of Paranormal Regulations."

Noah's breath caught. "You're with the DPR?"

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "You've heard of us?"

"Yes. I… I was working with some of your agents," he said, his mind racing. "Alice, Dante, Mira, Ezra… Lila." The last name caught in his throat, the memory of her death hitting him like a hammer. He looked down, clenching his fists.

Valerie's sharp gaze didn't miss a thing. "Alice and her team? That's impossible. They're stationed in the overworld. There's no way they could've crossed over here."

"They didn't," Noah said bitterly. "Not all of them, anyway. I… I don't even know how I got here."

"Start from the beginning," Valerie said, pulling up a chair and sitting across from him. "Tell me everything."

Noah hesitated, but there was something in her tone that made him trust her—or at least feel that he had no choice. He took a deep breath, the words tumbling out as he recounted the horrifying chain of events.

He told her about the rift nodes they'd been sent to destroy, about the aberration that had ambushed them in the underground, and how his entire team had been slaughtered one by one. He told her about Alice's last moments, about the desperate dive through the rift node, and waking up in this hellish world.

By the time he finished, Valerie's expression was grim.

"So," she said slowly, "you're telling me a high-level aberration opened a network of rift nodes in the overworld, and you and Alice jumped through one directly into this dimension?"

Noah nodded weakly. "That's the short version."

Valerie leaned back, rubbing her temples. "This is bad. Very bad."

"You're telling me," Noah muttered.

Valerie shot him a look. "You don't get it. If what you're saying is true, it means that aberration wasn't just a random anomaly. It's something else entirely—something capable of deliberately tearing open rifts. That's beyond anything we've ever encountered."

Noah's stomach sank. "What does that mean?"

"It means," she said, standing, "you've just confirmed one of our worst fears. And you've brought a whole new level of danger to this operation."

Noah frowned, confused. "What operation?"

Valerie's lips pressed into a thin line. "This world," she said, gesturing around them. "We've been here for months, studying it. Mapping its terrain, cataloging its flora and fauna, trying to understand how it connects to our world. This is uncharted territory—dangerous, hostile, but also full of untapped resources. The higher-ups believe it could be the key to stopping the aberrations once and for all."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And now you show up, with a high-level aberration on your heels, no less. So tell me, Noah—how exactly did you survive?"

Noah shook his head. "I don't know. I just... I didn't want to die."

Valerie studied him in silence for a moment. Then she sighed. "Well, you're here now, whether we like it or not. We'll figure out what to do with you later. For now, you need to rest. You're no use to anyone like this."

Noah wanted to argue, but the exhaustion was already pulling him back under. His last thought before he drifted off was of his fallen team—and the monstrous aberration that had torn their lives apart.

End of Chapter 20.