What Remains of Wiliam

Liam was still leaning against the hospital bed, his body not yet fully recovered. However, his mind began to piece together scattered fragments of memory—fragments he had never asked for.

The door was knocked. Not hurriedly, but firmly.

A man in a neat black suit stepped inside after receiving permission from the nurse. His body was sturdy, his posture straight, his steps calm. His face looked calm yet authoritative. His gaze was sharp, not intimidating, but assessing.

"Good evening, Mr. Louren," he said, bowing slightly with courtesy. "I am Thiago Lucien, from the Special Investigations Division—NEXARIS."

Liam furrowed his brow. Him again... he muttered to himself, recognizing the man he had briefly met a few days earlier. He tried to adjust to the presence that felt so formal and foreign.

"What is NEXARIS?" he asked weakly, head bowed. He couldn't bring himself to look anyone in the eye. His feelings were no longer recognizable—a mix of emptiness, pain, and silence.

"Neutralization & Extraction Authority for Reality-Interfering Subjects," Thiago replied in a calm, trained tone. "An independent organization handling cases involving... unusual elements." He pulled out a chair and sat across from Liam. "I'm not here as an interrogator, but as a liaison."

Liam nodded slowly. He didn't know what to say. Every word felt pointless.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences for the tragedy that has befallen your family."

Liam remained bowed. Those words struck his chest once more. A chest that no longer knew what it meant to be at ease. He closed his eyes, and in the silence, his eyes began to well up. His world was empty. Nothing remained.

"We respect your privacy," Thiago continued, his tone steady. "However, given the scale and... the peculiarities of this case, our involvement is unavoidable."

"What's peculiar?" Liam asked softly, almost in a whisper.

Thiago looked at him for a moment, then smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, I don't have the authority to discuss technical details with parties who haven't been legally verified. My task is simple—to secure you and offer cooperation in the upcoming investigation."

Liam looked up at him. His gaze wasn't angry, wasn't afraid. More like... empty. He wanted to believe, wanted to ask, wanted to understand. But everything felt too fast and too heavy.

"Why me?" his voice broke.

"Because you survived." Thiago said it flatly, as if reading a report. "And that—technically—was impossible given the conditions found at the scene."

Thiago stared into his eyes in silence. There was no doubt on his face—only a truth too cold to deny.

Those words made Liam's tears fall, slowly soaking the sheets. He couldn't hold back anymore. Loneliness, fear, loss—it all piled up and broke inside him. Time no longer mattered. His life had stopped on the day his family disappeared from this world.

"What do you want from me?" he asked softly, gasping. "You suspect me, don't you?"

Thiago didn't respond immediately. He looked at Liam with an expression that was hard to read—a mix of understanding, professionalism, and something… deeper.

"I'm not here to suspect you. I'm here to keep you alive," he said calmly. "And to ensure that when the time comes, you know which side to choose."

Thiago pulled a thin black metal card from his jacket pocket. With a calm motion, he placed it on the small table beside Liam's bed.

"Limited access card," he said succinctly. "Use it only in emergencies. NEXARIS will monitor from afar, but we won't interfere with your personal life… unless you allow us to."

Liam didn't react. His eyes were vacant, staring at the floor, as if the world around him had lost its color.

Thiago stepped closer. He leaned down slightly, touching Liam's shoulder gently yet firmly, forcing him to turn and look into his eyes.

"We know this is hard for you, Mr. Louren. But sooner or later, you'll start seeing—things—that can't be explained. Things that ordinary people can't see." His gaze was serious but not judgmental. "When that time comes, you'll know... who to talk to."

He released Liam's shoulder, then stood up and straightened his jacket. The room remained silent, but the intensity of the conversation lingered in the air.

"We're not forcing you. We'll wait. Focus on your recovery. I'll pray for the best for you." 

Before turning away, Thiago glanced back once more. His gaze had changed—deeper, almost personal.

"We know what you've been through… And we realize you're no longer the William Louren you once were. No one returns from death… unchanged."

Without waiting for a response, he stepped out. The door closed slowly. Silence enveloped the room like mist.

A few seconds passed before the silence was broken.

A small sob could be heard. Liam bit his lip, trying to hold back, but failed. Tears streamed down his face—silently but heavily.

With a sudden movement, he forcefully pulled the IV needle from his arm. The pain was nothing compared to the turmoil in his chest. He stood up slowly, still unsteady, then walked toward the window. He opened the glass slowly, letting the night air seep in.

From there, he gazed at the sky—dark and vast, as if holding all the answers that never came.

"Are they... there?" he whispered, barely audible.

The sky remained silent. And below it, a young man who had lost everything stood on the threshold between life... and something darker.

On the other side of the hospital corridor, Thiago stood calmly, his back to Liam's room door. The neon light cast long shadows on the shiny white floor. His hands were folded in front of his chest, while at his feet lay a medium-sized black suitcase—hard, sturdy, and unlike any ordinary suitcase.

A few minutes later, steady footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor. A man in an elegant black suit approached. His jacket was smooth and wrinkle-free, his dark gray tie neatly tucked under his vest. The man's aura exuded authority—clearly no ordinary person.

Without preamble, the man spoke without turning his head.

"How is it? What's his reaction?" His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Thiago turned slightly, then responded in a formal and professional tone.

"He's still not stable enough for discussion. His psychological state is fragile, but as predicted... in a few minutes, he'll lose consciousness."

Thiago glanced at his watch briefly, then bent down to open the suitcase beside him. Inside were neatly arranged several devices: a handheld neural scanner, a type of mini electrode with a blue light indicator, and a small transparent capsule stored in an airtight container.

"Non-invasive equipment. For capturing psionic traces and neural responses. It won't leave any traces," he explained briefly.

Silence once again enveloped the corridor. Then, from behind the bedroom door, the sound of a heavy object falling—but muffled—could be heard. Thiago quickly opened his phone and displayed the CCTV footage from inside Liam's room. On the screen, Liam's body could be seen lying beside the bed.

"He's unconscious," Thiago said flatly.

Without another word, the man in the suit walked toward the bedroom door. Thiago followed behind, closing the suitcase and bringing it inside. The door closed slowly behind them, leaving the corridor in silence once more. 

The room lights were dimmed slightly when the two men in suits entered Liam's room. Liam's body lay on the floor, his breathing still steady despite being unconscious. Thiago placed the suitcase on a small table near the bed, then opened it with a special code.

"We don't have much time. The window of his unconsciousness is only about eight minutes," Thiago said as he put on latex gloves.

The man beside him nodded, then scanned the room to ensure there was no surveillance besides the system that had been hacked by NEXARIS.

From the suitcase, Thiago removed two devices: one a small metal capsule the size of a thumbnail, and the other a flexible headband that glowed blue when it touched the skin.

"Starting from the basics: the tracking implant and the main neural mapping device." Thiago knelt beside Liam and secured the headband to his temple.

The device's light glowed softly, displaying 3D data visuals through a small projector on Thiago's wristwatch. Some parts of Liam's bodily systems appeared as neural maps and biological structures—but the data was incomplete.

"Active regenerative cell response, but unstable. Metabolic patterns and brain waves don't match those of a typical human. Some tissues even show anomalies like post-traumatic critical organism cells that… persist," he murmured softly.

"We can't get everything tonight," the other man replied.

Thiago nodded quickly. "Therefore, we'll install this." He took a small tracking capsule and attached it to the back of Liam's shoulder, in an inconspicuous area that wouldn't be easily detected by routine examinations.

Using a portable device, Thiago pressed the activation button. A small flash emerged from the capsule as it embedded itself under the skin, silently, without leaving an open wound.

"It's active. The frequency is encrypted. He can move freely without realizing we know all his movements."

Thiago stood up and began packing his equipment back into the suitcase.

"We'll schedule further surveillance through official channels. Get a special inspection permit under the education program. Let the school handle it; we just need to be there as technical observers."

After ensuring all inspection equipment was turned off and neatly stored, Thiago looked at Liam's body still lying on the floor.

Without speaking, he walked slowly toward him, then knelt beside Liam. His movements were measured and calm. With one arm supporting Liam's back and the other under his knee, he easily lifted the teenager's body, as if he were accustomed to handling such situations.

"You're too fragile for the war to come..." he murmured almost inaudibly, whether to Liam or himself.

Thiago carefully laid Liam back on the bed. He ensured that his head and arms were not under pressure, then pulled the blanket up to Liam's chest. After that, he neatly rearranged the IV line that had come loose and reconnected it to the backup port on the other arm—a method performed efficiently and cleanly, without calling a nurse.

"If anyone sees, they won't suspect. He's just... asleep from exhaustion." said the man standing behind Thiago, double-checking the situation.

Thiago stood straight, looking at Liam once more.

"Leave the recovery to them. We'll watch from the shadows."

With a nod, both of them left the room silently, like a night breeze that briefly lingered before disappearing back into the darkness of the corridor.

The door closed tightly.