The hours passed in silence—cold, sterile, and dead.

Tsukina’s eyes snapped open with a sharp breath, her chest hitching like she had just broken through water. The world around her spun in sterile white. Her body jolted upward from instinct, panic flooding her system—but her legs gave out before she could even rise.

She fell—hard.

Her knees hit the cold, polished floor with a sharp slap, the impact sending pain up her legs and into her already aching core. A choked whimper escaped her lips as her body collapsed forward, trembling fingers scraping against the tile.

Everything hurt.

Her limbs were like wet noodles, her muscles screaming in protest. Her ribs ached, her lungs stung, and her back throbbed with the ghost of impact. Her throat burned from crying—she could tell—and there was dried blood on her lip.

She wasn’t at school anymore.

She wasn’t anywhere safe.

She was back here—this place. The place that always made her feel small.

Lilith’s lab.

No restraints held her down. No machines blinked beside her. But the sense of dread in her stomach returned like an old friend.

The buzzing of the fluorescent lights above her seemed louder than ever—like flies chewing at her thoughts. One bulb above her head flickered, casting her shadow back and forth as she struggled to crawl upright.

Her voice came out hoarse and thin.

“…Mama…?”

Nothing. Just the hum of the lab.

“...Lilith?” she called out again, her voice cracking.

Still no answer.

Her eyes were wide now, clouded with tears. She blinked rapidly, her hand bracing against a nearby wall as she forced herself up—unsteady, wobbling, every breath sharp and shallow.

Her body moved on instinct—on longing. It didn’t matter that she was scared. It didn’t matter that she could barely walk. Something in her chest screamed for a presence, a warmth, a comfort.