Hellbents
Chapter 46: Glitch

Ava flinched backwards, her grip on the reflex fence slipped off, she fell to her feet. The girl could feel a seizure on her hand, but from what was clearly seen her arm had a glitch, just when a computer's monitor screen was damaged.

Whatisthis?

Not long after, his shoulders followed along into a blue hologram, accompanied by numbness on his fingertips which slowly numbed. Ava's first instinct was to hide the oddity. He hurriedly ran back to the room, the pain of Ava's broken ribs ignoring.

The girl reached the front door when she felt shock from her chest and right back. Upon entering, Ava immediately covered herself with a blanket.

Seeing the glitch happening to her body made Ava frown in horror, but the frantic beating heart made the bug even faster. So he has to calm down.

Even so, when it is calm, the gilitching process does not stop.

Now, the right half of Ava's body is throbbing pain, cramping and stiff like a stone. He could not even feel part of his face.

Cold sweat pouring profusely wet the white bed sheet mattress in the restroom. Ava squirms, at least trying to move the body that has not been transformed.

He gripped the pillow tightly with his left arm. Almost his entire limbs turned into a blue transparent screen.

"A-a-akh!" Ava desperately tried to make a sound, but it only made her choke with her own saliva.

And when the fingernail tip of the middle finger of his left hand incarnated a hologram. A notification screen appeared.

100% data loading%.

Synchronization will begin, please wait a moment.

Ding!

Ava's body shattered into pieces, at least that was the sensation she felt. Ava was eager to howl painfully, but her throat was choked and dry, only a chuckle broke out of her open mouth.

His body was locked, but every cell in it felt torn apart, put together again, and then dismantled. More intense pain each time rotation.

Ding!

Synchronization failed.

A million volts of electricity flowed profusely in every thin line of Ava's pulse. His leg's body jumped. The girl's consciousness was thrown.

***

I don't know how long Ava's been stuck in that hell circle. He was just glad the process was over.

"Welcome again," a voice that was very similar to Ava interrupted, as if what had just happened was a trivial thing even though Ava seemed deprived of her life.

When she opened her eyes, the girl was greeted with a face she always saw in the mirror, only with clothes that turned around with her taste. "Don't visit me often" Ava replied.

One corner of Eve's lips lifted up, scoffing with her gaze, "Well, this time it was you yourself who came."

Ava raised an eyebrow, the look was cold, completely incredulous. However Eve simply shrugged, not intending to explain further if Ava did not ask first.

But the girl did need information, so this time she lost. "How can I come to this place myself?"

Eve's victorious smile shone, "Because of the defense mechanism I installed."

"What else is that?!" Ava snatched ferociously.

Plaque!

The slap from Eve clearly left him in shock. "Listen first," Eve's smile became even more dazzling. Best definition of the word "tamak".

"This domain comes from the minds of both of us," he began to explain, "It holds your soul as well as mine. So that when you pass out, your consciousness that is forced to disappear will be immediately attracted to this domain."

Seeing Ava's flat response, Eve scrunched her nose, "You're quieter than usual."

"As you know, my existence failed to be reprogrammed" Ava said half-jokingly.

"Ah, I see. Nice, no? That way the pain can satisfy your masochistic tendencies," Eve retorted half ridiculously.

"Hahaha," crisp and flat-pitched, Ava laughed. "By the way, exactly how long am I gonna be here?"

"Depends on how long you'll be conscious in reality."

Disgusted, Ava commented, "So I'm going to be stuck with you?"

That's when Eve looked up, looking at the total darkness on the ceiling, "No, it looks like you'll wake up in a moment."

"How can you-"

***

"Rina!" Ava was shocked by the scream. River whose eyes were red and teary grasped tightly his left hand.

Ava blinked in confusion, then looked at Dom who was standing not far from them, hugging Lorah who was sobbing. "What's wrong?"

"You're the "what's wrong"?!" Ava is not surprised by the sharp tone that Dom gives her everyday, but what makes her shocked is the foreign vibration in the voice of the arm-tattooed man, sad?

That's when he just realized with a wet mattress and blood. The stickiness he felt earlier was not from sweat.

So ... is he really torn to shreds?

Although the pool of blood on her bed was very alarming, anyone who saw her would definitely think a mutilated corpse there, Ava instead felt very healthy. The tiredness and agitation from yesterday as if melted were taken away along with the synchronization earlier.

But the problem, was how did he explain all this to River, Dom, and Lorah? Ib will also obviously ask tomorrow.

Although it was ridiculous that he should reason, "It seems like this is the effect of the potion I'm making, the experiment failed of course, but somehow the potion made my sweat red."

"Don't lie this time, my nose clearly smells of blood!" Ah, the sense of smell of animals whose sensitivity Ava does not need for now.

"Ah, you may smell my open wound," Ava twitched.

"If it were so, his blood wouldn't-"

"You better stop" in a tired voice, River interrupted.

The sky was still dark filled with stars and purple moons, two hours had already passed from midnight, they should have been asleep. He goes around buying these at the small island market they feed on, after Ava's emotional surge and her "red sweat", River has no more energy.

"We'll discuss it again tomorrow" he said.

Dom and Ava could not argue, consciously, they should not make a fuss for the good of themselves and the other passengers.

... But Ava could not sleep on a bed that was dripping with blood. "You're still hurt, just sleep in my bed for the night."

Before Ava refused, Lorah had already offered another alternative, "Don't, Big Brother should stay asleep in the lower bed, I'll sleep with big brother."

Dom initially wanted to protest, but a few seconds later he decided to shut up, "my brother is right" he said.

Ava had no logical reason to refuse, so she decided to take another bath, change her clothes in a clean suit, then lay down on the mattress that originally belonged to Lorah.

Within the threshold of the dream world, Ava made a mental note to more actively find out about Eve and the [System].