Gharnem would be more surprised if she hadn't already witnessed the extent of the absurdity to which miracles can descend. Dordio's Alleyway Manipulation had been the last miracle to have surprised Gharnem in any way. However, although she felt no confusion or surprise, one emotion unexplainably clouded Gharnem's mind and every one of her senses.
Dread.
Gharnem was left silent. Admiring the accuracy of the form that this invisible girl had taken.
"Well, not really an invisible girl." She thinks to herself, crossing out the miracle portion of the girl's file.
Gharnem watches as the girl, or her own self, realizes the dread in Gharnem's expression,
"Hm!" The girl laughs; Gharnem, betrayed, laughs in ways she had not consented to, moves in ways she had not allowed, and talks to her, as if a mirror had a conscience.
"What are you thinking right now? No two people who have ever seen my miracle have had the same reaction."
Gharnem has no reaction, not due to shell shock of witnessing a miracle, but because she can't comprehend the folly of talking to an identical self, not identical like twins are to each other. Identical, like looking into a mirror, though the sense of similarity vanishes with each word that the girl says.
"What, you've never seen yourself before?"
A voice like hers, talking in a way ever so slightly different from how she would.
Gharnem is trying to keep her thoughts in check as the reflection continues, trying to elicit a reaction from her.
"Oh come on, you have to talk back to me; the other guys have tried so hard to get to where you are right now."
Gharnem scowls at the tone she is convinced she would never use.
"I have questions to ask you," Gharnem says, mimicking the formal way in which she had seen her coworkers talking to other prisoners,
"First, sit down," Gharnem demands.
"I'll sit down when my legs get tired," Silia says, reflecting Gharnem's demanding tone.
"Look, I think you're forgetting: I'm the researcher, and you're the prisoner," Gharnem says, trying to sound like what she's heard Kulibren sound like.
"Oh wow, intimidating, heard you boss." The girl jokes as she sits down on the bolted-down chair in front of Gharnem
"So let's get started. What is your name?" Gharnem asks,
Unimpressed by Gharnem's investigative prowess, the girl doesn't answer the question.
"Answer my que–" Gharnem is cut off.
"I'll answer in a second, but first, tell me about yourself. I wanted an investigator like you because I want to feel comfortable here." The girl states.
"So you asked for a single researcher?" Gharnem asks.
"Exactly," the girl answers, smiling to herself.
"And it had to be a woman?" Gharnem adds
"That was because it feels dishonest to take the form of a man when I'm a girl," she responds, before her–or Gharnem's–face becomes red in realization that she's given a key point of information.
"What do you mean? Couldn't you just conduct the interview invisibly, or… wait…" Gharnem pauses as she tries to connect the dots of how the girls' miracle works
"Exactly, my miracle isn't invisibility or shapeshifting; my miracle is a reflection; it allows me to take the form of any human with whom I talk."
Gharnem writes down everything she hears in an empty notebook she brought with her. Noticing this, the girl fills the silence,
"If I can be honest with you, you don't exactly seem cut out for this job."
Hearing this, Gharnem again reminds herself of how this is an undeserved position that was given to her because she is deemed useful,
"Well, truthfully, I'm not, but there is a reason I'm here," she says, trying to convince not just the invisible girl, but also herself that she brings value to floor zero.
"I see, so you're a Miracle-Born?" The girl asks
"How the hell does she know?" Gharnem thinks to herself in a manic state. Instead of confessing,
"What are you talking about, me? A Miracle-Born?" she says, feebly.
"It's pretty obvious; they sent an incompetent researcher as the sole interrogator for my case. There must be something about you that makes you more valuable to my case. Kulibren is childless, so it isn't any sort of nepotism."
Gharnem tries to hide how shook she is by the comment, but her ego gets in her way.
"Don't act like you're all that. Your file says you were crying when you were arrested; doesn't sound like much of a trained assassin to me."
The invisible girl seems to jot that down mentally.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you told me this, as long as you tell me something I want to know." The girl says, "Gharnem," only now remembering that a researcher isn't allowed to tell any floor zero prisoner anything the prison knows about them.
"Yeah, and what is that?" Gharnem asks
"Just one simple question," The girl continues
Gharnem starts to get suspicious, "Ask the question; if it is simple, I'll answer it."
Gharnem watches her reflection smile back at her, eyes devoid of an original soul.l
"Here it goes." The girl jokes, pausing to keep Gharnem on edge,
"What is?" She pauses again to watch Gharnem begin to stress,
"Your name?" Gharnem is unable to control herself as she breathes out a sigh of relief.
"I'll answer if you answer," Gharnem negotiates.
"Oh, so that isn't written down in your file?" The girl jokes.
"Well, I already have something on you, you know. I don't know if a name for a name is worth it for me; I want more from you." The girl continues.
"Okay, how about this: I'll answer this question and your next question if you tell me your name," Gharnem says, continuing to negotiate.
"Hm, interesting, so my name is something important to you; why is that?" The girl asks
"You told us your name when you were arrested, but that person has never existed, so who are you, Silia?" Gharnem answers while avoiding the question.
"That still doesn't answer my question if an oil company wants to buy your house, it means there's oil, if you ask me for my name you must need it for something, how about this, I'll tell you my name, if you let me see your file, that seems fair, you have a file on me I should have a file on you." The girl points out,
"You're gonna have to say yes. Let me guess: your boss will kill you if you don't find my name out. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone how you got it."
Gharnem starts to grow impatient; however, the girl is right: for Gharnem, finding out the invisible girl's name is the most important thing at this moment.
"My name is Gharnem."
"My name is Lyclin."