Izmir woke up on the same bed he had passed out—or more accurately—fainted on.
His head throbbed faintly. The ceiling above looked the same, but something in the air felt...off.
He slowly turned his head and checked the clock on the wall.
03:05.
Only one minute had passed. Just one minute.
---
I had finally made the decision—to return to the asylum and get more answers from Rachel.
She was the only person I could rely on right now.
I packed my things, barely said a word, and somehow convinced my father to drop me off.
"I'm surprised. You didn't wait for me until tomorrow," he said, a little hesitant.
"There's no time," I replied, stepping out of the car. "See you later."
The entrance garden looked exactly the same as before. A few patients wandered aimlessly, murmuring to themselves. The wind carried faint whispers I tried to ignore.
Inside, I headed straight toward the offices. Dr. Lupin was there—waiting.
To be honest, I had forgotten all about him with everything that had happened lately. I didn't really want to see him either. It felt pointless.
But he spotted me from his office window.
"Izmir!" he called out.
Should I run?
He stepped out before I could decide, blocking my path and handing me a card.
"Since you're here now, I won't be in charge of you anymore. You'll report to Dr. Hector from now on," he said, as if relieved. "Here's your room assignment."
Without another word, he turned and disappeared back into his office. I could almost see the weight lift off his shoulders.
I flipped the card over.
Room 43.
This place... it felt like a prison. No—it was a prison.
As I made my way down the hallway, I turned a corner and bumped into someone.
"Hey! Can't you watch where you're going?" a male voice snapped at me.
The tone was aggressive, heavy with arrogance.
"Sorry," I muttered, lifting my eyes. A black-haired guy stood in front of me, dark brown eyes sharp and piercing. He wore patient clothes like mine.
"'Sorry'? That didn't sound like you meant it. Apologize properly."
These types... I hated them the most back in school. The ones who always had something to prove. The ones who dragged drama into every breath.
"What a drag," I mumbled and tried to walk past him.
But he touched my shoulder. "I'm not done talking to you."
I turned around, and he punched me square in the face.
I saw it coming...
I could've dodged it...
But my body refused to move.
Drip… drip…
Warmth ran down from my nose. I wiped it with my fingers and saw red. Blood.
I looked up.
He was grinning. Smiling like he'd just won something.
What a sadist.
He was mentally unstable—that's why he was here.
But what about me? Was I any different?
"Well, now you've had a taste of my fist. I'm satisfied," he said, mockingly.
I wanted revenge... but I was too tired to care.
Then the lights began to flicker.
The hallway dimmed. The shadows stretched unnaturally long.
And then—I saw her.
The shadow of my mother, standing on the other side of the corridor.
Her eyes were bloodshot, bleeding, filled with rage or sorrow—I couldn't tell which.
"What the hell is going on?" the guy shouted, looking around.
She raised her hands and gripped his neck.
Crack.
That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out again.
---
I woke up.
Back in the same cabin on the train.
"Hey, did you just shift again?" Ray asked. He was sitting in the same spot with Snow. Nothing had changed. It was like time hadn't moved at all.
Rachel leaned in, her eyes filled with concern. "This might be new to you," she said, "but every time you go unconscious in that world, you shift into this one... and vice versa."
I looked at her, still shaken. "At 04:50, second floor—come to the passageway near room 40s."
"What??" she looked at me, puzzled.
She didn't realize it yet, but we were shifting at different times.
Her "present" might be my past—or even my future.
I could use that.
Use her to predict what's coming.
"You two know each other in the real world? What a coincidence!" Ray said, beaming.
I narrowed my eyes at him. He had completely ignored Rachel's earlier hint that she wouldn't kill me because she knew me in the real world.
"What about you?" I asked. "Is there no one from your timeline here?"
He noticed my suspicious tone and leaned back, casually. "There might be," he said, shrugging. "Hard to say."
This guy…
He acted like a clueless fool, but I could tell he knew more than he let on.
I turned to Snow. He crossed his arms.
"I'm from the same timeline as most of you," he said. "Actually, most people in this world are from the same year or month."
That made me uneasy.
I never told them the year I was from.
If he was right—if most people here came from my time—then the odds of running into assassins or threats from the real world were higher.
That meant danger... in both worlds.
I could be killed in either reality if I stayed weak.
But why was my mother's shadow appearing again and again?
I was sure I had hidden the body properly. And still—I saw her. At the hospital. In the asylum. She killed the guy who punched me. But why?
Was she trying to protect me… or preparing to destroy me?
"What happens if I die in either world?" I began to ask, my voice low. "Will my exis—"
"Oh! I'll explain this part!" Ray interrupted, excitedly.
"If you die in the real world, you'll be dead there. Your body will stay unconscious forever. So this world—Lunes—will become your reality. You'll keep your memories from before, but you'll be considered dead in real life."
"But if you die here, in Lunes, your memories of this world will vanish. You won't remember anything until you come back and somehow reclaim the same Lune Stone you had before. Which… is nearly impossible."
He paused, letting the explanation sink in.
Outside the cabin window, the scenery had changed.
What was once a lush, green landscape was now a bustling modern city. Tall buildings surrounded a winding river in the center. It almost felt like we were flying above it.
"I guess we're here," Rachel said, eyes wide with excitement.