Horror Game 83 - The Terror of Option

"Thank you for coming."

Maren Holt, the Guild Master of Silver Lanterns, was waiting near the entrance when I arrived. She stepped forward to greet me, her grey hair tied back as usual, before glancing towards my hand.

"...Are you injured?"

Another one...

"A little bit."

"Well, you must take care of yourself. This is a pretty dangerous business we're in."

"So I've been told."

She looked at me for another moment before leading me inside. I followed her down the corridor, noticing that there were fewer people around than during my previous visit.

"I wanted to thank you properly," she said. "Without your team, we still wouldn't know where to look."

"Joanna deserves most of the thanks."

"I've already spoken to her."

"Ah. Then I'll accept the rest."

A small smile appeared on her face, although it faded as we approached the medical ward.

"How is he?"

"The same."

She opened the door and stepped aside.

The man lay beneath a thin blanket, his head turned slightly towards the window. His head was clean shaven, and outside of how pale he looked, there wasn't much about his appearance that suggested anything was wrong with him.

His chest rose and fell steadily.

I approached the bed while Maren placed a folder on the table beside it.

I looked back at her.

"He hasn't woken up at all?"

"No. We've tried calling his name, speaking to him, even bringing in people he worked with, but nothing at all."

I looked down at his face and tried to see if there was anything weird.

But right as I did⎯

His eyes flicked open.

".....!?"

For a moment, I thought he was looking at me, and my breath paused. His gaze seemed to settle somewhere around my chest before his lips slowly started to pull apart. As if he wanted to say something, only for a smile to slowly settle on his face.

The room seemed to suddenly lose all its air as I looked at him.

Only for everything to return at the Guild Master's voice.

"...He does this occasionally."

The Guild Master said, her voice soft.

"He's not actually awake."

I remained where I was, watching him.

His eyes didn't follow me when I moved.

A doctor entered while I was still standing beside the bed. He adjusted the pen clipped to his coat pocket before checking the chart hanging at the foot.

"There's been no change in his responses."

I looked towards him, then back at the patient.

'VILE-1048...'

The thought came almost immediately into my mind.

There were just too many similarities. The coma, the smile, and the fact that he looked perfectly healthy otherwise...

It was hard not to remember Geneva's brother.

Still, I kept the thought to myself. I had come here to check a possibility, and not directly jump to conclusions. It could very well be some sort of absurd coincidence, even though I severely doubted it.

And considering the current situation with the Guild, if news about their best member being influenced by an anomaly nobody could catch, then...

'They're very likely aware but not saying anything because of that. I guess I should be quiet myself and pretend like it's nothing serious.'

"Was there anything before this?"

I turned towards the doctor.

"Any sort of illness, an injury... anything that might explain it?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing in his history that would account for his current condition."

Maren folded her arms, her attention settling on the bed.

"He was usually healthy. Just the occasional fever or cold. Nothing special, though."

"Usually?"

She paused.

Then her brows drew together.

"...Actually, he did mention feeling a little sick before he left."

My attention returned to her.

"Sick?"

"It was nothing serious. A slight cold, I think. I asked whether he needed to sit the mission out, but he said he was already feeling better."

The doctor nodded.

"He came in to get checked before leaving. The results were normal."

He opened the folder beside the bed and drew out several pages, placing the earlier report on top.

"This was the examination."

I took it and looked at the date.

'A cold.'

Geneva had mentioned something similar about her brother.

That did bother me a little.

Then again, people caught colds all the time.

"Were there any complaints after that?"

"Not that I heard."

Maren replied after shaking her head.

"He went about his work normally."

I turned the page.

Most of the report was just regular stuff. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing that suggested he was going to fall into a coma.

The doctor indicated another sheet.

"The later examinations are underneath."

"I had everything put together. I thought it might help."

Maren followed up.

"It does."

At the very least, I had something to compare.

I lowered my gaze towards the next page.

Then stopped.

For some reason, the words on the page had started moving within my vision.

I had to blink several times for the words to finally settle back in place before they started floating in my vision once more.

'...What the hell?'

I blinked and tried again.

That was the moment I felt an ache at the back of my head. I moved around the chair, only to feel the floor tilt slightly beneath me.

"Seth?"

My hand caught the edge of the table.

For several seconds, I remained there before slowly raising my head.

"...The report seems to be corrupted."

Maren's eyes studied me from top to bottom.

"Are you okay?"

I considered telling her that I was fine, but another wave of dizziness made sure those words never left my lips.

"Lightheaded?"

The doctor asked.

"I guess I'm... a little lightheaded."

I pressed my fingers against my forehead while the sensation slowly settled.

There it was again.

My nodes.

Even without trying to use them, I could feel the same uncomfortable resistance. It seemed like my previous actions had really drained me.

"You should get checked if you're not feeling well."

The Guild Master suggested.

"...A check-up?"

"I think you should."

The doctor followed up.

"Your face is incredibly pale, and it doesn't seem like you'll be able to go back to the Guild at this rate."

"I... can call a driver."

"That doesn't make it better."

The doctor waited while I looked down at my wrist. The bruises had yet to fade, and moving my fingers still hurt.

'I probably should.'

Actually, there wasn't much probably about it.

I needed to get checked.

Taking another pill and hoping my nodes would improve was not the solution. This much was clear to me. I couldn't keep waiting until they stopped working in the middle of something important, like back in the school incident.

If something similar happened again...?

I was lucky that the fridge was stocked, but if it wasn't?

I shuddered at the thought.

But it wasn't like there weren't any problems.

Going to the Guild would mean having my condition recorded somewhere the Section Chief could potentially access. After our last conversation, I wasn't particularly interested in giving him another reason to invite me to dinner.

He didn't even follow up on my throat.

Even now, I was waiting for him to ask if it had gotten better.

"You can have an examination here if you want."

The Guild Master suddenly offered.

"We do have pretty good facilities for this."

I looked up.

Here...

That wasn't such a bad idea.

There were things I couldn't explain, but getting checked didn't mean I had to tell them everything about my nodes. Especially if it was just a quick scan.

I could start with the parts that hurt.

"...I would need it kept private."

Maren's expression became more serious.

"Of course."

"I mean, from my Guild too. I don't want any reports sent over, and I don't want any information to be shared with them."

The doctor nodded.

"Your results would be discussed with you first."

"I won't contact them without your permission. You came here as a guest, and we can also sign a contract that prevents us from saying anything."

I looked between them before lowering my hand.

"I'd like that."

That settled the largest problem.

Well, I was desperate. Things couldn't keep going like this.

"...All right. Just an examination for now."

I didn't want anything deep. I didn't fully trust these guys.

"No worries. We'll just do a quick scan of your head without anything deep. So... just light equipment."

Maren reached for her phone.

"I'll let them know you're going down."

"Thank you."

She gave a small shake of her head.

"After what your team did, it's the least we can do."

I returned the reports to the folder and slowly stood while the doctor stepped towards the door. This time, the floor didn't tilt.

I appreciated the floor.

"Thank you, floor."

"....."

I followed the doctor into the corridor.

We passed several rooms before he stopped beside one and pushed it open.

There was an examination bed inside, along with a desk and several pieces of equipment I didn't recognise.

I sat down carefully.

"Well then."

The doctor took a seat besides the desk whilst also taking a notepad.

"What's been bothering you?"

I looked down at my wrist before rubbing the side of my head.

"...That might take a while."

-x-X-x-

"...Well, let's start with dizziness, headaches, and my nodes not working properly as my primary problems?"

The doctor wrote something down before looking up again.

"How long has that been happening?"

"A while. It has gotten worse recently."

"After using your abilities?"

I nodded, rubbing my wrist. Looking at the bruise, I raised it to show it to the doctor.

"This is something else entirely. Line of duty and all of that."

"Anything else?"

"...Voices."

His pen paused.

"You hear voices?"

"Yes. Usually telling me to do things."

"And do you?"

"Not the unreasonable things. I'm trying to be a good influence on them."

He waited, seemingly expecting me to continue or at least explain what I meant by unreasonable, but well... my voices were telling me not to.

Talk about being unreasonable.

A woman entered carrying a tablet as the doctor stepped to the side and nodded at her.

She walked past him and stopped before me.

"Mr. Thorne? I'm Dr. Bell. I'll be carrying out your examination."

"Seth is fine."

She smiled and placed the tablet beside me, showing me the examination consent and confidentiality agreement. I read through both before signing.

"I'm only here to do the scans. Nothing deeper."

I reminded her after going through the paper one more time.

I didn't want any of my secrets to be found. I just wanted a simple look at my nodes.

"Yes, please don't worry."

The doctor moved his chair closer to the desk while she checked my wrist and asked me to move each finger. I did as instructed, although I stopped appreciating the examination when she pressed against the bruises.

"...That hurts."

"I can see that."

"...Oh. Oohhh."

She moved her hand away before preparing the equipment beside the bed.

The scan itself was considerably less unpleasant. A band went around my head, with several small pads resting against my temples. I sat still while the machine hummed.

Then, things suddenly turned for the worse as my face changed.

"Don't activate your nodes."

"...I'm facing more serious problems here."

"Huh? Something wrong?"

"Yes, the back of my head. Ugh..."

"Hold on, let me⎯"

"Can you scratch it for me?"

"....."

She started to ignore me from that point forward.

"No, but seriously. It's really itchy."

Several images appeared on the monitor. Dr. Bell adjusted something on the machine, checked my blood pressure, then had me follow her finger with my eyes.

By the time she removed the band, I was starting to feel a little better.

"I'll collect the remaining results. Stay seated for now."

I nodded as she left.

The doctor was still looking at the monitor.

His pen had stopped moving.

I watched him lean closer to the screen, his expression changing as he went over the image. Then he looked at me, only to return his attention to the scan almost immediately.

"...Is there a problem?"

He didn't answer right away.

That wasn't particularly reassuring.

"How are you still using your nodes?"

His next words made me smile.

So that's why he's making that face...

"I wonder too."

"No, I mean..."

He stopped, his brows drawing together.

For a moment, the only sound in the room came from the equipment beside me.

"Your condition is serious."

My hand stopped against my wrist.

"How serious?"

"Continuing to strain them like this could cause further damage. I wouldn't recommend using your abilities until we understand the full extent of it."

"....."

I looked towards the monitor. There were several pale shapes on the screen, but I couldn't tell which parts I was supposed to be concerned about.

All of them, apparently.

"Can it be treated?"

"The nodes themselves will require further investigation. I can't promise anything based on this examination alone."

"...Right."

"However, the voices may be treatable."

I looked back at him in surprise.

He pointed towards one section of the image.

"There's foreign material accumulating within several of your nodes. It's obstructing their normal activity."

"Foreign material?"

"Something like a plaque."

I leaned forward, trying to make sense of what he was showing me. The area looked denser than the space around it, although I wouldn't have noticed without him pointing it out.

"What does that have to do with the voices?"

"The obstruction is interfering with the signals passing through. Activity that should settle is being repeated instead. That's what you're hearing."

"...A side effect?"

"Of the interference, yes."

I remained quiet.

For a moment, I thought about what it would be like to go through an entire day without the voices, then I recalled my experience with the Mimic.

Well, not bad, I guess.

But I did miss the voices for a moment...

Oh, no.

"And you can get rid of it?"

"We would need to remove the obstruction."

"How?"

"Surgery."

"No."

The answer came out before he could say anything else.

He looked at me.

I looked back.

"...No, not surgery."

Anything but that. I already had someone wiggle their fingers against my brain. Hell no.

"Well, in that case, that's all we can determine. You should feel a little bit better in the coming hours, though. Since I've identified the cause, then I do have a way to ensure that you'll be fine for a little bit."

"Oh?"

I was suddenly curious as the doctor moved to the end of the room and handed me something.

This is...?

"Just a node suppressor. If you wear this, your nodes will be completely shut down or at least numbed. That will help considerably. You can adjust how much you want your nodes to be suppressed for."

Oh.

Actually, this was quite smart.

I took the device.

"Thanks a lot."

"If you want this to truly be fixed, I recommend surgery. This is merely a temporary fix. Whatever you've ingested, it caused plaque to build up. We need to remove it before things get worse. That's why surgery is important. You don't have to do it with us. If you can contact your Guild doctor, I'm sure they can take care of this better than us."

Surgery.

I considered it for a moment before shaking my head.

There were too many things inside me that I couldn't explain. I also didn't trust anyone to get close to my brain.

Especially while I was unconscious.

What if they were from the Hand or some other organisation?

The voices were unpleasant, but at least I had some experience dealing with them.

"You don't have to decide immediately," he said. "We would need further examinations before considering an operation."

"...Then I'll think about it."

I wasn't entirely refusing.

Maybe one day...

If it got really bad.

The door opened again before he could continue. Dr. Bell returned with an older man, who introduced himself while taking the seat beside the examination bed.

"I'm Dr. Reeves. We went in depth with the analysis, and I'd like to ask a few follow-up questions about your symptoms."

"Sure."

I nodded.

That sounded considerably better than surgery.

He asked about my sleep, when the dizziness had started, and whether I had lost consciousness recently. I answered as accurately as I could without explaining anything that I didn't want him to know.

When he asked about medication, I simply shook my head.

He asked several more questions before looking back at Dr. Bell.

"We'll need more time to review the results. I'd also like you to come back for a follow-up."

The older doctor spoke from beside the monitor.

"We can discuss treatment once you've had time to consider it."

I looked down at the bottle before putting it away.

"...All right. But nothing beyond examinations for now."

"Of course," Dr. Bell replied.

By the time they finished, my wrist had been wrapped, and I had received several instructions about resting.

Apparently, I wasn't doing enough of it.

Outside the broken wrist and nodes, I was also suffering from fatigue.

That much I knew.

***

Guild Master Maren arranged a car for me.

I thanked her before settling into the back seat, placing my injured hand on my lap as the driver pulled away.

The Guild's entrance disappeared behind us.

For a while, I watched the buildings pass without paying much attention to them.

'Surgery...'

I rubbed the side of my head.

It would've been nice if the answer had been something less troublesome. Sleep more. Drink water. Stop being bothered by people.

I could attempt at least two of those.

Krrr...

A soft crackle interrupted my thoughts.

"Hm?"

I looked down.

The sound was coming from my pocket.

Reaching inside with my other hand, I took out the radio and held it above my lap. A soft static sound came through the speaker before fading softly.

It sounded like several people speaking at once.

I moved my thumb towards the dial, when⎯

BANG!

My hand jerked, nearly dropping the radio.

The murmur stopped.

I stared at the speaker while the sound continued echoing inside my head.

My fingers tightened.

For a moment, I could almost picture the room.

Rows of seats behind me. A high desk ahead. Someone sitting above it, looking down while I stood with my hands resting against a wooden railing.

"...?"

I blinked.

The car was still moving.

I could feel the seat beneath me and hear the quiet hum of the engine. The driver was still looking at the road, seemingly oblivious to what was happening behind.

Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was standing somewhere else.

Waiting for someone to finish speaking.

A chair scraped through the static.

Then... a voice came from the radio, loud and clear.

"...I hereby pronounce you guilty!"

BANG!

-x-X-x-

By the time I returned to the Guild, the radio had gone quiet.

I tried adjusting the dial several times, but nothing else came through.

Only the constant static sound.

Krrr⎯

And right as I put it away, the car stopped. Thanking the driver, I eventually stepped out. My head felt a little clearer, although I couldn't say the same for everything else as I looked down at the bracelet that I was wearing.

'It's not perfect, but it'll do for now.'

The entrance was considerably busier than usual.

No, it was usually busy, but today it felt incredibly busy.

Several people stood near the doors, looking at the same phone while someone spoke beside them. Further inside, the screens in the lobby had been changed to a news broadcast.

I slowed down.

'...What happened now?'

Nobody was looking at me.

That alone was the strange part. I mean, I was wearing a disguise, but even then, I'd usually get a few looks here and there.

I searched the lobby until I spotted Rowan standing near one of the screens.

He was holding a folder, but whatever was on the display seemed to have made him forget about it.

"Rowan."

Snapping out of it, he turned his head. It took a moment for him to recognise me.

"Cult Lea-Ehm, Team Leader, you're back."

"Yes, I'm certain I am."

His gaze lowered towards my wrist before returning to my face. Somehow, he didn't seem to find it at all weird.

I then looked towards the screen.

People and reporters gathered outside of what appeared to be a Gate, with medical personnel moving between the vehicles.

"...What happened?"

"A raid went wrong today involving one of the major Guilds within the Oak Circle, and several teams belonging to them were wiped out."

My attention settled on him.

"Dead?"

He nodded, his expression growing more serious.

"Some are still missing, but there are already confirmed deaths. People are saying they might not remain one of the major Guilds after this."

"....."

That was considerably worse than I had expected.

Losing ordinary members was already bad enough. Losing people that were very likely Paragons was probably a massive blow, regardless of how strong the Guild was.

I looked back at the screen.

"How did it happen?"

"They haven't released the details yet. Apparently, they committed a large part of their main force to the raid. It seems like they were trying to push to reach a higher ranking. Probably they wanted to get closer to the five big Guilds."

"Hmm."

Greedy.

"Not everyone is dead. Some are being treated, which is good."

I nodded slowly.

"Which Guild is this?"

"Ivory Thorn."

"...I see."

I wasn't extremely familiar with them.

There wasn't much point asking for more information when even the people involved probably had yet finished figuring out what had happened.

That didn't explain why several people near the reception desk looked rather excited.

Rowan followed my gaze.

"The other Guilds are already moving."

"...To help?"

"Well, some but not really."

"Oh?"

"I mean, if there's no better time to swallow up a big Guild then now, then I don't know when."

Ah.

That explained the expressions.

Guilds belonging to the Oak Circle were considerably big, and naturally, they held the license to quite a lot of large Gates. If someone swallowed up the Guild now that it was weakened, then...

"And this is allowed?"

Rowan nodded.

"I mean, yeah. It's kind of normal. There are already rumours about offers. Partnerships, taking over operations... some Guilds have started approaching their surviving members."

"That's fast..."

"It's a rare opportunity."

I watched one of the Guild Members near the reception desk smile into his phone.

He looked quite excited.

"What about the bigger Guilds?"

"They're interested too, but they're different. There's a status quo between the major Guilds, so it's very unlikely they'll move. If they do move, it'll provoke the other major Guilds to move, and that would be pretty bad."

Which gave the Guilds beneath them room to move.

I could more or less understand the situation now.

It was also becoming rather clear why everyone seemed so busy.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling.

'...Please don't.'

And sure enough⎯

Trrr!

My phone vibrated.

I looked down.

[Emergency meeting — Team Leaders and Section Chiefs.]

[Your attendance is required. Proceed to the main conference room immediately.]

"....."

I read the message twice before looking at Rowan.

"....I can skip this event, right?"

"Sure...? Cult Leader, you can... Ehm, you're a Team Leader though, so I think it's best if you go. If you don't go, nothing will happen, but it might be annoying."

"You have a point."

I put the phone away.

I had to avoid annoying.

***

"Before anyone makes a commitment, it will be brought to me."

Section Chief Johansberg stood at the head of the table, one hand resting beside the reports laid out in front of him. Reading through them, he caressed his large beard.

The seats around the table were nearly full, with Team Leaders gathered along either side and the other Section Chiefs studying the information already distributed.

Johansberg looked across the room.

"Let me remind all of you. You are not to make any independent offers and approaches to the Oak Circle on the Guild's behalf without my approval."

A man near the middle of the table lowered his phone.

"Some of the other Guilds have already made contact."

"I'm aware."

"Then waiting could mean losing the opportunity."

"But it would also mean attracting the attention of the Major Guilds. We can't afford to go against them. We're taking a more conservative approach."

Johansberg's words were sharp, leaving no room for discussion.

Only then did the Section Chief turn towards the screen.

"They weren't attempting an ordinary clear."

The Section Chief said, laying eyes on the long list of names on the screen. They were the names of all those who were confirmed dead.

"The Gate they were clearing is an Ranked Gate. They likely wanted to clear it in order to compete against the major Guilds."