My second scream is still echoing into the vast emptiness when a sudden, resonant vibration cuts through the dark. It doesn't come from any specific direction; it seems to vibrate directly inside my own mind.
"You are running out of time," a voice speaks. It is smooth, heavy, and carries an undeniable, urgent authority. "Do not waste any more of it screaming. You must go back to Elanore's world. Now."
I freeze, the breath catching in my throat as the words ripple through the freezing water. Wait...
The panic in my chest momentarily gives way to a bizarre sense of recognition. The pitch, the subtle cadence of the words—it feels horribly, intimately familiar. Where have I heard this before? Let me think... let me think!
My analytical mind furiously shifts through my memories until a spark ignites. Yes, I remember now! It was the exact same voice I heard four days ago, trapped in this very void when my consciousness was leaving Elanore's world to wake up in the hospital ward. Back then, the sound had been so distorted and ghostly that I couldn't even tell if it belonged to a man or a woman; it had just been a terrifying, disembodied echo telling me it was time to return to my world. But now, with the heavy restriction gone and my ears open, I can hear it with crystal clarity.
It is a girl's voice.
My blood runs cold, but the absolute frustration building inside me overrides the terror. I am tired of being pushed around by things I cannot see or understand.
"Who are you?!" I demand loudly, my voice sharp and demanding. "Before you start ordering me around, tell me who you are! I am Sara! I have my own life to live in my world. Why are you forcing me to go back to Elanore's world again? I don't want to go back! And even if you want me to, how can you possibly force me if I refuse?"
I pause, breathing heavily, but the silence offers no immediate response, so I press on, letting out all the bitter reality I've been holding onto. "I am not going back to that place. It was horrible, and I just want to live my life. Let me be! If I slip back into that world again, my mother and my father will never stop worrying about me. They will think I'm completely insane. The hospital will lock me away forever, and my family will lose every single penny they have trying to pay the medical bills! I won't be able to survive the guilt. I will feel guilty for the rest of my life. So please, leave me alone! I want to stay as Sara!"
The girl's voice lets out a low, heavy sigh that seems to ripple the freezing currents around me.
"I should explain everything to you," she replies, a distinct note of strain creeping into her tone. "I should explain myself, who I am, and the truth of your own story. But I physically do not have the time. We are running out of seconds. You were absent from that world for too many days, Sara. Because your soul was far too weak after the transition, I couldn't establish a connection to reach you. But I need your help right now. If you do not go back into Elanore's world immediately, Elanore will never wake up. She will die, and something deeply catastrophic will happen to her body."
The voice tightens, dropping to a dark, warning register. "And believe me... that will be incredibly problematic for you."
"Why?!" I bite back, completely defensive. "Why would it be problematic for me? I don't belong to that world! I don't have a single shred of responsibility for Elanore's life! Why should I sacrifice my own sanity and my family's future for someone who is a complete stranger to me?"
"I told you, I have no more time to explain the details of your existence!" she snaps, the darkness around us vibrating with her growing panic. "But let me give you this assurance—if you go back right now, you will be safe. They will treat you much better this time. You will not face the same horrors. So go back!"
I look down into the infinite abyss, my mind racing at maximum speed. If this entity can drag my consciousness here at midnight, she has complete control over whether I wake up at all. If I fight her blindly, I might end up a comatose shell in that hospital bed forever—which would ruin my parents even faster. I have to negotiate. I have to use my corporate brain to secure a contract.
"Fine," I say, my voice hardening with practical determination. "But you have to promise me something first. Promise me that I will still be able to live as Sara. I need to be able to return to my world in the morning, just like before. When I go to sleep over there, I need to come back here to my real life."
There is a brief, microscopic pause in the dark, as if the girl is calculating the terms.
"Very well," she finally concedes, her tone striking a binding deal. "I can promise you that. You will continue your life as both Sara and Elanore. From this moment on, the cycle will align: when you go to sleep as Sara in your modern life, you will wake up in Elanore's world. And when you close your eyes to sleep as Elanore, your consciousness will return right back to Sara's world. Is that clear?"
"The cosmic terms have been laid out on the table in the middle of a pitch-black abyss. The voice has offered a bizarre, double-shifting life—a non-stop twenty-four-hour existence divided perfectly between two completely different realities.
How will Sara respond to this unbelievable contract? Will her logical, corporate mind accept such an exhausting, dangerous agreement just to protect her family, or will she reject the deal and risk falling forever into the bottomless void? Can a human soul truly survive living two entirely separate lives at once?
The decision is entirely in Sara's hands, and her next words will permanently alter her destiny. Let's find out her final answer and step into the official contract in the next chapter! Stay with us to discover what happens next!"