Necromancer Survival

Chapter 406

Anxiety symptoms began to appear about two months ago. When I was alone, my body strangely itched all over, and I heard the occasional auditory hallucination. As a result, Dawon consulted with a doctor and made Choi Kyung-sik produce a drug that worked well with a User's constitution.

After taking the drug, my anxiety was relieved, but, even so, I was wary about leaving the house without Seo Dawon. One day, I went out by myself to prepare for Dawon's birthday celebration, but I had a panic attack when I realized I couldn't recognize the faces of passersby.

‘Still, I've never had such a vivid hallucination…'

I kept thinking about the eyes I saw under the sink.

"They were definitely red… Those eyes…"

I wasn't scared; rather, I was unsettled by this feeling of deja vu–I had seen those eyes somewhere. Though, of course, I realize that the testimonies of people with my condition would be considered unreliable.

‘They say that hallucinations are made by combining memories of what we've glimpsed before inside our head.'

But have I ever seen someone with red eyes? Or did I imagine that based on animals I saw in some documentary? Lost in thought, I slowly stood up from Dawon's embrace.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"…Just… My body is feeling sore, so I'm going to wash up before coming back."

"Should I help you?"

"Nah…That's alright."

Dawon glanced at my face for a moment, then let me go without insisting. I headed to the bathroom. Washing up a little might help me feel more composed.

Gurgle–! Rush–!

As I filled the bathtub with water, I absentmindedly dipped my hand into the warm water for a moment. For a while, I heard nothing but the sound of water gushing out of the faucet, and for some reason, it felt like Dawon, who was waiting beyond the bathroom door, suddenly disappeared.

"……" I felt a chill run down my back for some reason, but I didn't bother to open the door to check. Dawon-ie would be quick-witted enough to notice that my anxiety symptoms were returning if I were to open the door I had recently closed.

‘I don't want to make him constantly worried…'

Besides, I wasn't short of breath or gripped by fear. I took off my clothes to take a bath; perhaps the chill I was feeling was just a result of the ambient temperature. I stepped into the bathtub, which was only filled enough to cover my ankles.

The water was so hot, that someone might think it would soon boil. However, I found this temperature just right. I soon pressed my body against the walls of the bathtub, closed my eyes, and breathed in the rising hot steam.

[Isn't it weird?]

Then, as soon as I closed my eyes, I heard whispers in my ear. I raised my head, terrified; simultaneously, the hot water in the tub slowly oscillated.

"……"

Of course, no one was nearby. However, by this point, I was aware that my anxiety had intensified considerably. I decided to leave the bathroom and call for Dawon instead of continuing to be stubborn.

"Hnnnrk…!"

But, when I removed my back from the bathtub walls, I felt something cold brush past my toes. Since the water in the tub was as hot as it could be, the sensation of something else touching me was quite frightening.

Even so, I couldn't muster the strength to get up from the bathtub. It was already too late. By the time I sensed an unsettling wrongness and glanced up, something strange had already materialized on the other side of the tub.

I couldn't shout even though I was staring straight at that disgusting sight. Because, the person emerging from the opposite side…

[There are no mirrors in this house. There are no mirrors here either.]

…Shared my face.

Even its facial expression was the same as mine. The hallucination at my feet was a direct copy of me.

The only difference was that, while mirroring my actions perfectly, their words were completely different, [Choi Lee-kyung. Remember. This is not our future.]

Of course, I couldn't bring myself to focus on the hallucination in front of me.

"Haah, haah…" My body was trembling all over from the stress caused by extreme fear.

Fortunately–the only fortunate thing here–both the bathroom door and window were tightly closed, and the hot running water had filled the bathroom with a hazy steam, which shielded me from the hallucination's gaze.

Despite that, the hallucination continued to say incomprehensible things in my own voice.

[You probably also already realized how narrow and small this world is. You must open your eyes.]

"Sh-Shut up…!"

I forcibly denied the hallucination's words, worried I might lose my mind if I kept listening. However, in contrast to the hallucination's clear and vivid voice, my own words tumbled powerlessly out of my lips. They were barely more than a whisper.

‘I need to call for Dawon-ie… I need to call for him.'

[You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up You need to open your eyes and wake up]

Meanwhile, the hallucination seemed to be getting closer, and the auditory hallucination continued to ring loudly in my head.

I closed my eyes tightly and screamed with all my might, "Seo Dawon!"

Bang–!

Fortunately, Dawon stormed through the bathroom door before the hallucination's face completely crashed into mine.

"…Lee-kyung-ah?" As soon as Dawon saw my pale, frightened face, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He rushed over to me and pulled me forcefully away from the sides of the bathtub, where I had been clinging desperately to the cold, smooth ceramic. "You're alright."

"Gasp, gasp…"

It was only after his gentle hands brushed my back that I realized I hadn't been breathing.

Dawon lifted me up, not caring that his clothes were getting soaked. As the breeze from the open door touched my skin, it sent shivers down my spine. Dawon quickly grabbed the shower robe hanging on the bathroom door and placed it over me.

"I, I…. There was something s-strange in the tub…. It jumped out at me."

"It's alright. There's nothing there."

"…Haah, haah…" I kept rambing, trying to explain to Dawon; I was so exhausted, though, that my head kept nodding off.

Dawon hugged me over the robe, picked me up, and gently laid me on the bed. Embracing me with his whole body, he whispered into my ear, "You saw a reflection in the water."

"……"

"It was nothing. Right?"

His calm voice and embracing arms which held my body together allowed me to finally unfurl my tightly clenched hands.

I nodded slightly. Dawon continued to comfort me for a while. Then, he pulled back slightly to look at my face. His expression seemed sympathetic, and I couldn't help but feel melancholy. I couldn't help but think, ‘Why am I so weak?'

"…Why am I the only one seeing these things?"

Dawon stroked my exhausted face and said, "Because you keep on getting photographed and being written about in articles… This is all stressful. Of course this is happening."

"……"

"You weren't like this before, right? Maybe, in this instance, you thought you were being watched when you saw your face reflected in the water."

"……"

Dawon kept fiddling with my cheeks as he delivered logical arguments. I thought he was correct as well.

So, I continued and brought up what the auditory hallucination told me, "So, you removed all the mirrors?"

However, this casual question led to an unexpectedly long silence. At first I looked at Dawon's lips vacantly. However, when there was no answer, I raised my gaze to the Mage's eyes.

"……"

Dawon was making a very alien expression, but upon seeing my surprise, he quickly erased that strange expression. Then, he returned to his usual affectionate demeanor and nodded slightly. "That's right. And, from now on… I'll help you when you take a bath. Even if you find it a little troublesome."

"……"

I couldn't answer. Because, when we made eye contact just now, I was overwhelmed by his chilling expression. It wasn't a look someone would give to his lover… I felt as if I was observing someone completely alien when I looked at him. A complete stranger. And, this made me tense, leading me to new suspicions.

"Understood…" In the end, I couldn't ask Dawon my unvoiced questions.

‘When did you clear away all the mirrors? Since when? And why haven't I noticed this change until now?'

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TL: The parallels >.< Especially with the bathing scene >.<

I'm back after my finals guys. However, I'll be in and out of town during this summer, so we'll see how my update schedule looks like.

New novel chapters are published on fr(e)ew𝒆bnov(e)l.com