ZigZagkers

Nki's eyes shot open.

Her lungs sucked in air like she hadn't breathed for days. She sat up with a jolt—then instantly winced. Everything ached. Her ribs. Her legs.

But where... was she?

Her blurry vision slowly cleared up, and she found herself in a strange room.

It looked kind of like a medical room—but nothing like a normal hospital. The walls were clean, white and glowing slightly like they were made of polished marble. A strange soft light came from the ceiling—yet there were no bulbs. Just light. Like it was alive.

There were weird floating orbs of water lazily drifting above a long, steel table nearby. A glowing blue magic circle was drawn under the bed she was lying on, humming faintly like it was breathing.

Weird symbols floated in the air around her—words that looked like ancient runes, slowly spinning like lazy butterflies.

On the wall, a large circular clock didn't have hands—it just ticked in random directions.

And then—

"Ah! You're awake! Yay~!"

Nki flinched.

A tiny girl stood next to her bed, clapping her hands with a bright smile.

She looked like a living doll.

Short—like, really short. Maybe around 4'8". She had short, fluffy brown hair that bounced with every move, and her soft brown eyes sparkled like caramel. She wore a long white doctor's coat that was way too big for her, sleeves flopping past her hands. Underneath, she had a cute blue dress, white socks, and small shiny black shoes.

A tiny name tag read:

Dr. Geli

"U-Uhhh..." Nki stared at her, blinking. "Where... am I?"

The girl beamed. "You're in the infirmary room of the Bluez Deviner Club!"

"...Huh?"

"I'm Geli! I'm the club medic! Aarue brought you here after you fainted in the forest!"

"HUH?"

Geli tilted her head like a confused puppy. "Don't worry, it's totally normal around here!"

Nki's face twisted into a mess of confusion and exhaustion. "Wait, wait, wait—Bluez what? Deviner? Aarue?? Who are you people?! Where is my darling?! Where's Enix?!"

"Huh? Enix? There is no patient with that name?" Geli blinked.

Suddenly—

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the halls.

"Darling!!" Nki shrieked.

She jumped off the bed so fast the magic circle below her sparked in protest.

"W-Wait! You're still healing!" Geli yelped, trying to grab her hand. "You shouldn't move yet! It'll be bad for your muscles!"

"I DON'T CARE!!" Nki shouted.

She shoved the girl aside gently—but firmly—and dashed toward the door.

She swung it open and found herself in a massive, glowing hallway. The floor was made of polished blue stone that shimmered like water, and the ceiling was arched with hanging magical crystals instead of lights. Strange signs and floating arrows pointed in all directions.

Left, right, straight, up, down, diagonal?!

"What is this, a dungeon map?!" she screamed internally.

She spun in place, trying to figure out where the scream came from. Every hallway looked the same—fancy, magical, confusing.

She clenched her eyes shut, trying to remember the direction of the scream.

("Please... please... Where are you..?")

Then—buzzzt.

A strange hum tickled her scalp.

Nki's eyes shot open.

The red thread braided into her bangs... was glowing blue again.

And this time—it sparked.

Zsshhh!

A zig-zagging line of glowing blue light zipped out from her thread, shot forward into the air—and bolted down the hallway to the right like a living streak of lightning.

Her heart jumped.

Without thinking, she chased after it, her feet slapping against the stone floor.

"Hey—HEY! Don't run! I'm not done checking you!!" Geli shouted from behind, huffing and puffing as she ran after her, arms flailing and doctor coat flapping wildly.

Nki didn't stop. The light twisted and turned like it knew the way. Her legs burned, her lungs screamed—but she kept running.

"Just hold on, Darling," she whispered. "I'm coming."

Behind her, poor Geli was dying.

"Waitttt—why are high school girls so fasttt, this isn't fairrrr!" she cried, tripping over her own feet as she chased the streak of blue.

Nki turned a sharp corner, her breath ragged, chest heaving. The blue zigzag line from her thread shot into a half-open wooden door.

Without thinking, she dashed forward and slammed the door open.

What she saw froze her soul.

Inside, Enix sat slumped in a chair, wrists and ankles bound by thick, glowing pink chains. His head hung low, black hair messily covering his face. His body was still demonic looking.

Right in front of him stood Aaru, his fist glowing with blue flame light.

And seated off to the side, legs crossed elegantly, was a girl with long, cotton-candy-pink hair flowing down her back. Her glowing pink eyes stared with interest. Her school jacket was tossed aside, revealing a tight black sleeveless top under a white skirt. Her legs kicked slowly like she was enjoying a show.

Standing to her side, watching silently, was Koru, arms folded.

Koru's gaze snapped to the door. "You?! How did you get here?"

Aaru and the pink-haired girl turned, both startled.

But Nki wasn't listening to any of them.

Her eyes widened in raw panic as she saw what was happening with Enix.

"NO!!" Nki screamed.

She shot forward like a bullet—but before she could take even three steps, the girl with pink hair stood up calmly.

"Can't have that."

With a flick of her fingers, pink glowing chains erupted from thin air and wrapped tightly around Nki's body—arms, legs, waist, even her throat. She was yanked backward, slammed against the wall, pinned like a captured animal.

"Ghkk—!" Nki struggled hard, body jerking against the magic.

She roared with rage, her muscles straining, feet digging into the ground, but the chains didn't budge.

"You bastards!!! Let me go!!" Nki screamed.

The red thread on her head pulsed.

And then—

FZZZTT!!

It glowed—brighter than ever before—and then suddenly her eyes glowed too. A deep electric-blue light surged through her body.

KRA-KOOOM!

An explosion of light burst out from her chest—the chains shattered into glowing particles like glass under a hammer.

Everyone in the room froze.

The pink-haired girl stared in disbelief.

"No… freaking way…" she whispered, eyes wide.

Nki stepped forward, her feet crackling the broken chain shards under her heels.

A furious storm burned in her blue eyes as she sprinted toward Enix.

Koru quickly jumped in front of her, grabbing her arm.

"MOVE!!" she screamed in rage, trying to pull away.

At that exact moment—

Bzzzt.

A strange red and black spark flickered on Enix's cheek.

It crackled... and didn't disappear.

Everyone turned.

The air pressure in the room suddenly dropped.

Enix slowly raised his face.

His eyes glowed crimson red.

"Don't…"

His voice was low. Raspy.

"Don't touch… her."