Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 45 45: Ana

She didn't know how much ti had passed when Ana slowly woke up. Her vacant eyes stared at the ceiling stains for a full minute. Only then did the mories belonging to her return like a tide.

"Ugh… sob… sob…"

A faint sound of crying echoed in the room.

She rembered it all, the Raptures that darkened the sky and spread across the land, and the screams of people in agony.

The school teacher, the old man next door, the breakfast shop owner, the elderly lady taking a walk, the cute little dog, even the cat that always lay on the wall sunbathing and never allowed anyone to pet it… they all died, within just a few minutes.

She also rembered her father, using his body to block a Rapture, creating an opportunity for the mother and daughter to escape.

She also rembered her stepmother–soone she had never truly looked at seriously, pushing her away in almost the sa way as her father, telling her not to look back.

She ran desperately. She could not waste the chance her parents had created for her.

But when she ca back to her senses, she suddenly found herself in a place she had never been before. If it weren't for the familiar sound of tal scraping, she might have thought she was already dead.

However, after that… her mories beca unclear.

She did not rember how she got here. The bed beneath her was soft, the blanket warm, even carrying a scent like sunlight. That comfort restored both her body and energy to full.

She tried to get out of bed, but the mont her feet touched the floor, a sharp, piercing pain shot through her left foot.

The wound from losing a shoe during her escape was still there. She needed to treat it.

Although she didn't know where she was, the room was clean. From the interior design, it looked like a single room in an inn. Even she could take in everything at a glance. There were no sounds of Raptures nearby. It should be safe.

Fortunately, the floor was covered with a soft carpet, which eased the pain sowhat. She checked her foot first. Thankfully, it was only a scrape from running. There was a sock acting as a barrier, so the chance of infection was not high, but it still needed basic bandaging. Otherwise, she would struggle to walk normally, let alone escape a possible pursuit afterward.

But before that…

Her gaze suddenly drifted to a corner of the room, where there was a distorted dressing table.

She had never seen a mirror with such an irregular shape before. It looked like random drops of paint scattered on glass, forming a strange pattern, but it still drew her attention.

After all this running, she hadn't had ti to clean herself.

More than her foot injury, she cared about whether there was any ugly dirt on her face.

She limped toward the mirror. Looking at her reflection, she saw panic between her brows, ssy silver hair, and restless light-blue eyes, all of it shattering her usual elegance and beauty.

Fortunately, there was no dirt on her face. Otherwise, her first action would have been to rush into the bathroom and wash it off.

"Right now… you're not beautiful at all…"

She murmured softly, then closed her eyes, unwilling to look anymore. Instead, she turned to the second most important task, treating her injuries so she could walk.

After searching the room, she successfully found a simple dical kit.

But Ana did not notice sothing.

Although she had already left the mirror, in its surface there was still a reflection of her, smiling.

The pain of disinfecting the wound with alcohol was far worse than she expected. She could only endure it with tears trembling in her eyes, carefully, but still clumsily, bandaging her foot into sothing like a rice dumpling. There was no helping it; although she knew what to do, she had very little practical experience. For soone her age, thinking this far already counted as impressive.

After her biological mother passed away, she had learned many, many things.

After finishing everything, she tried walking a bit. Even with only one shoe, she could still move sowhat normally.

As for the painkillers in the dical kit, though they should work well, her father had once told her very seriously: never, ever abuse painkillers. Only take them if the pain would otherwise make you pass out.

She rembered that, and followed it strictly.

Grrr…

At that mont, her stomach finally began to protest.

Although humanity was living sowhat tightly under the Rapture attacks, she had never truly gone hungry. Her parents' love at least ensured she never had a miserable childhood.

But now, she had to find food on her own.

Then, from a corner of the room, laughter suddenly rang out.

In that instant, Ana felt a chill crawl up her spine, because that voice was unmistakably her own.

She instinctively turned her head–and saw the irregular mirror again.

Inside it, another "Ana" was smiling at her.

It was a flawless smile, completely free of any shadow.

"Co here, Ana. I will give you what you desire most."

The perfect version of her inside the mirror spoke, even extending a hand toward the outside world.

Ana stared blankly at the mirror reflection. A wave of nausea surged through her.

If not for the Raptures, she should have been smiling like that on her birthday, surrounded by her family's blessings.

But now, that smile only made her feel disgust, and anger.

"You're not !"

She grabbed the dical kit and threw it. Even though she was just a child, it still carried enough force to cause damage.

Crash!

With a piercing scream, the mirror shattered with a "bang."

The "her" inside lted like liquid, flowing out of the mirror, before slowly dissolving on the ground.

The scattered fragnts of glass also disappeared along with that figure, leaving behind only one palm-sized shard on the carpet.

Ana had no idea what had just happened. In her mind, she hadn't even fully ford the concept of what "reality" ant. To her, the existence of such a mirror monster didn't seem impossible at all.

After all–it wasn't scarier than the Raptures.

But… it looked like the monster was dead?

She carefully picked up the shard of glass, being cautious not to cut herself. Looking closely, she noticed a bit of blood on it.

This ti, her reflection in the shard looked normal and real.

She tried smiling at herself.

It was stiff, not beautiful at all–but sohow, it felt more comfortable than before.

Holding the shard, Ana slowly walked toward the door of the room.

Ti to find food.

"Hello."

From outside the door, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded, like sothing chewing on thick, viscous liquid.

"Is soone… inside?"