“I’m hallucinating.”
Bianca said it twice more after that.
Mostly because the alternative explanation was worse.
The glowing blue screen remained floating directly in front of her face.
Calm.
Unmoving.
Very real.
Synchronization Complete.
Host Successfully Integrated.
Bianca stared blankly.
“…integrated into what exactly?”
No answer came.
Of course not.
Because apparently terrifying magical hallucinations had customer service issues.
Her breathing slowly steadied as adrenaline gave way to cold awareness.
Chains restrained both her wrists above the metal chair.
Her ankles too.
The restraints looked industrial.
Military maybe.
Definitely not normal.
The room itself felt freezing cold beneath the flickering red lights overhead.
Medical equipment lined the walls beside trays of surgical tools.
Some clean.
Some not.
Bianca swallowed hard.
A dark stain stretched across the floor near the drain in the corner.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
The distant screaming returned again.
Muffled this time.
But human.
Very human.
Every instinct in Bianca’s body screamed danger.
“Okay,” she whispered shakily.
“Okay okay okay…”
Think.
She remembered:
jumping the parachute failing hitting the ground
After that?
Nothing.
No hospital.
No ambulance.
No explanation.
Just this place.
Bianca tested the restraints carefully.
Solid metal.
No movement.
Fantastic.
The blue screen flickered again.
Welcome to the Void System.
Bianca froze.
“…the what?”
Primary Objective: Survive.
“…that’s it?”
Current Survival Probability: 12%
Her stomach dropped.
“Twelve percent?!”
That felt aggressively low.
Bianca laughed weakly despite herself.
“Wow.” pause.
“Love the confidence.”
The system ignored her.
Rude.
Another sharp scream echoed faintly beyond the walls.
Closer this time.
Bianca’s humor died immediately.
Something horrible was happening here.
The realization settled heavily in her chest.
Then footsteps echoed outside the room.
Bianca stiffened instantly.
Voices followed.
Russian.
Or something close enough that she recognized the accent but not the words themselves.
The metal door slid open.
A woman walked inside first.
Tall.
Sharp-eyed.
Red hair tied tightly behind her head.
She wore a black tactical uniform with gloves covering both hands.
Cold eyes locked onto Bianca immediately.
Not angry.
Not cruel.
Worse.
Empty.
Two armed guards entered behind her.
Bianca’s pulse spiked.
The woman studied a tablet briefly before speaking.
“Subject awake earlier than expected.”
Her English carried a thick accent.
Bianca immediately tried talking.
“Okay listen—I don’t know where I am but there’s clearly been some kind of misunderstanding—”
“No misunderstanding.”
The woman’s voice remained flat.
Bianca fell silent.
The red-haired woman approached slowly.
Bianca instinctively pulled against the restraints.
Bad move.
Pain shot through her wrists immediately.
The woman crouched slightly in front of her chair.
“You remember your name?”
“…Bianca.”
The woman nodded once.
“Good.”
“That doesn’t answer literally any of my questions.”
No reaction.
The woman continued calmly:
“You are now property of the Red Room.”
Silence.
Bianca blinked once.
“…I’m sorry what I didn’t sign up for this?”
One of the guards smirked slightly.
The woman remained expressionless.
“You will be trained.” pause.
“You will obey.” pause.
“You will survive if useful, if you prove to be stubborn you’ll die.”
Cold spread through Bianca’s chest.
This had to be a joke.
A kidnapping.
A trafficking ring.
Something.
Because no sane person said things like that casually.
Bianca forced a laugh.
“This is insane, who does that what the hell happened to human rights”
The woman tilted her head slightly.
“Your rights are useless here.”
That answer somehow scared Bianca more.
The woman stood fully again.
“Most break quickly.” Her gaze remained fixed on Bianca.
“The smart ones adapt.”
Bianca’s heartbeat pounded harder.
No.
No no no.
This wasn’t real.
This couldn’t be real.
The blue screen flickered suddenly.
Main Quest Available.
Bianca nearly jumped.
The woman noticed her reaction immediately.
Interesting.
“What did you see?”
Bianca froze.
“…what?”
The woman stepped closer instantly.
“What did you see?”
Fear crawled up Bianca’s spine.
She couldn’t see the system.
Only Bianca could.
Important information.
Very important information.
Bianca forced confusion onto her face.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The woman stared at her silently for several long seconds.
Then unexpectedly— she smiled slightly.
Not warmly.
Predatory.
“Good.”
That somehow felt like a test Bianca barely survived.
The woman turned toward the guards.
“Take her downstairs.”
Bianca’s stomach dropped instantly.
“Wait—where the hell are you taking me?”
Nobody answered.
The guards unlocked the restraints roughly before dragging her upright.
Pain exploded through Bianca’s body immediately.
Her legs nearly collapsed beneath her.
Too weak.
Everything hurt too much.
The fall.
Her body still remembered dying.
“Move.”
Bianca stumbled forward as the guards forced her toward the hallway outside.
The moment she stepped beyond the room— the illusion shattered completely.
Children.
Dozens of them.
Some younger than ten.
Lined the hallways wearing identical gray uniforms.
Silent.
Bruised.
Terrified.
Bianca’s chest tightened painfully.
One little girl glanced toward her briefly.
Then immediately lowered her head again.
Like eye contact itself was dangerous here.
What the hell was this place?
The guards shoved Bianca forward again.
She nearly tripped.
The deeper they moved through the facility, the worse things became.
Training rooms.
Medical labs.
Interrogation chambers.
Bloodstains everywhere.
Some children trained with weapons under armed supervision.
Others fought each other hand-to-hand while instructors screamed at them.
No one cried.
That part scared Bianca most.
The silence felt unnatural.
Broken.
Like this place had beaten fear out of them already.
Bianca’s breathing became uneven.
This wasn’t some random kidnapping.
This was organized.
Huge.
Professional.
The red-haired woman walked ahead calmly while speaking without turning back.
“You will train here.” “You will learn discipline.” “You will become useful.”
Bianca stared at her in disbelief.
“These are children.”
No response.
Bianca’s voice sharpened.
“You’re hurting children!”
This time the woman stopped walking.
Slowly turned.
Her expression remained perfectly emotionless.
“The world hurts children every day they are being given a chance.”
Then she continued walking.
Bianca hated her instantly.
The system flickered again.
Quest Updated.
Survive The Red Room.
Reward: ????
Bianca clenched her fists weakly.
Survive.
That was it.
No heroic destiny.
No chosen one nonsense.
Just survive.
Ahead, massive steel doors slowly opened.
Screams echoed from the chamber beyond.
And for the first time since waking here—
Bianca truly understood something horrifying.
She hadn’t escaped death.
She’d fallen somewhere worse.