(Hey, 100k views on this badly written story, a good way to embarass myself compared to actually talented people on this site.)

"Let me ask you something Y/N."

I remember the voice calling out to me, a fragment trying to take a physical form, only to become a blurry mist. No matter how hard I focused, I could not make the shape truly emerge and was left with a shapeless entity speaking to me.

"Do you even possess the willpower to see what lies at the end?"

...

"Can you even fathom the possibility? To be prepared for possible disappointment? Do you have the strength to overcome that fear?"

No, I did not. That is one thing I would always be forced to acknowledge, I'm not one that others would call strong, simply one capable to do its job. I compensate that weakness of mine with teamwork, to support my lacks with the strength of others, carrying everyone forward as a group.

"Why do you even try to pursue that goal?"

Because I want to leave this place? That question was a manifestation of my doubts, was the outcome secondary compared to that goal? Would I be ready to accept anything as long as it allowed me to leave this place?

The true answer was "no", it was my selfishness deep inside speaking. I may speak loud and clear about not caring about the outcome but it is in the human nature to always try to survive, those who do not base their choices around it are simply "defective" in the eyes of others.

Humans are selfish, that can never be changed. Ultimately, someone calling themselves selfless are selfishly pushing themselves to help others, whether they want to be helped or not.

"Here, this place will forever remain the same. The horror may seem terrible at first but at least, you won't have to fear about the future if you forever remain in that moment."

...I think I once agreed to that statement, burying my head to think about the past and not think at the possibility that the end would only result in our demise. I repeatedly buried myself fearing how the end would occur.

Now?

"No, we can't linger on the past forever."

"..."

I've seen it with my own eyes, the strength of the workers following my orders, the agents trying to survive just like me, the power in the one I love and those I got to know. With each passing days, the sacrifices kept piling up, fighting against ardous challenges against our will.

Now, I can safely say that I do not want to retreat back into the past, to see what our efforts will bring us. I want to push forward for the sake of everyone who can't and those who still can.

Click. The sound of an object being closed echoed.

"Sir Hokma, remaining stuck in the past means that you cannot grow as a person."

It was both a message to the one speaking to me and myself, I couldn't hide myself. I had to face the chance of meeting my end and accept it. Because that's how life is, it is painful but running away from said pain will only damage you even further.

https://youtu.be/UKXT_00NPZc

The beginning of the day went as usual. I think the only fear we had was when that alarm turned on since it always brought destruction and panic towards those inside but to our surprise, nothing of the sort had occured yet.

No immediate change, nor any rampaging AI that needed to be taken care of.

So, continuing the day like any other, it soon progressed and the alarm was replaced with a calm, yet eerie song. I have no better words to describe it, it was the calm before the storm.

Y/N: Everyone stay focused, we can't let our attention down.

Office workers: Yes captain!

BongBong: ...

Meanwhile, the girl with blue hair was calmly leaning into her chair, her rifle placed on her legs. Of course, I didn't expect her to stand around like a statue when she wasn't called but the true problem was mostly that she was leaning her chair into me, looking up at my eyes with her cold gaze.

Y/N: ...

BongBong: Bong.

Y/N: Y-Yes... I know, please stop leaning into me.

BongBong: ...No.

Y/N: ...

Well, that was a surprise, to hear her say an actual word, a shame that it was used to tell me off. Sighing to myself, I allowed her to do so, I don't have the time to care about small stuff when an emergency was happening.

The priority was to keep as many people alive as possible, my attention could not waver for a moment or eveything could collapse.

Y/N: Mh, WhiteNight was moved to the Control team.

Well, considering that thing seemed to move around like someone high on caffeine, I was not surprised to see that it had moved yet again. Instead, in its place, we were given One Sin to occupy its previous spot, an infinitely better option in my opinion.

Nodding in contemplation, I resumed the report I was focused on, using the previously mentioned music as a way to calm myself. Once you get used to it, it just becomes some background noise, not the worst thing to exist in a place where the embodiment of terror and madness itself has gained a body.

The [CENSORED] [CENSORED] that echoes in the back of my mind will never be forgotten, left as a scar on my sanity.

BongBong: BongBong?

Y/N: I'm fine... just... having a bad memory.

Feeling my stomach churning at the flash of images, I can assume that my face must have taken a rather pale color. Shaking off the bad sensation, I dug the memories back deep beneath the ground and returned to my work.

Leaning against me, the girl with blue hair gave me a pat on the head before shifting her gaze to my radio.

BongBong: Bong!

In a single blink, the object was no longer on my person, now in her hands. Taken aback by how fast she was, I tried to get it back from her, only to be met with resistance. Skillfully moving her body around to avoid my attacks, she turned on the device and began speaking to the other employees before I could finally grab it.

Y/N: Sorry about that everyone, got a troublemaker here.

Hava: Hey Y/N, how's your day?

Y/N: Hava? Isn't the line reserved for the captains?

Hava: Yea, I stole it. Still, that doesn't answer my question.

Alter Ego: H-Hava, please give it back!

Hava: Oops, she's pulling the puppy eyes, gotta go.

Y/N: *Sigh* Please stop stealing your captain's equipement. That also counts for you!

I pointed at the one who seemed to rarely be able to say words past her own name. It went through one ear and right out of the other considering that she didn't even budge from her spot.

Well, whatever, I'm not her parent... speaking of parent, I wonder how they're doing? Do they even remember me, worry that I'm missing? How long have I been trapped in here? After all, time is nothing more than-

No! Focus Y/N, now's not the time to think about such thoughts! You have to remain calm for the sake of your employees, you can't start having a panic attack in front of them!

Clerk: These goddamn clowns are back! Open fire!

Y/N: ?

Running inside, a group of office workers from my department were raising their pistols, chasing a small red clown around. Observing the sight for a moment, I turned to BongBong, who inserted a magazine in her rifle.

Calmly, she blasted the thing's head off, ending the parade abruptly.

BongBong: BongBong.

Clerk: Aww, the fun's over.

All losing interest, the employees instantly scattered and began discussing with each other, documents in hand. I suppose I can't get mad at them, they also need some form of way to cope with this purgatory.

With that, I was called back to work, forcing me to stand up and leave for the first time since the start of this shift. Bringing with me the pink rifle that I've grown used to, I made my way up to the upper layer.

Snow Queen. Standing inside her containment unit, I could feel the cold wind of winter biting my skin, trying to seep into my mind and fill it with uncertainties. Unfortunately for her, that rainbow horror makes her look like a defanged pet compared to it. I would prefer dealing with [CENSORED] for an entire day than deal with that thing, this... stain corrupting my sanity.

Snow Queen: ...

Y/N: It's been a while, a long one.

Letting that comment hanging, I began writing down my observations but with now almost an entire month passing by since she arrived here, there's not much to learn anymore so I can't really call this an observation and more like a daily checkup.

My feet digging into the snow, the cold could only try to push past the protection of my pink suit, the warmth it provided enough to melt even through the strongest hailstorm. Even if this E.G.O was simply borrowed, it felt as if it was mine, granting me comfort better than whatever that shapeless monstrosity tried to impose onto me.

For now though, I didn't have to worry about it, I have the conviction that Gebura would deal with this problem if it tried to emerge yet again.

"The end is near."

Y/N: ?

Looking back at the abnormality, I was taken aback by the voice. Standing still, the tall humanoid looked down at me, now completely silent. Hell, I can't even confirm that it spoke at all in the first place.

Before I could get a definite answer to my question, my work was completed and I returned to my department with a sense of dread on my shoulders. I wouldn't be surprised if I started to lose it by now. Best thing to do would be to ignore it, I don't have the time right now to be worrying about this.

All about time, gotta save it and cut off the unnecessary in order to prioritize the rest.

Clerk: So, uh, is this supposed to happen?

Now back in the main room, one of the clerks standing near me pointed at a scene happening in the distance. Standing still, Marisa was mumbling under her breath while a certain white bird was charging into her head. Her arms crossed, the girl with blond hair rolled her eyes.

Y/N: Just let it do its stuff.

Clerk: ...I'm starting to reconsider my life choices.

Y/N: What's your name?

Clerk: Epsilon11 sir, why?

Y/N: Epsilon, trust me, this is the least of your concerns.

Planting a hand on his shoulder, I flashed him a tired smile that could barely hide the implications behind it. A bead of sweat falling down from his face, the office worker adjusted his collar while looking down at the ground.

Well, speaking of the least of his worries. Just after those words escaped my lips, it felt as if the whole world shook along with statics forming, reality breaking apart like pieces of a puzzle. Deforming and reassembling themselves, all the colors seemed to have faded, leaving a touch of gray in every surfaces of color including E.G.O and the office workers' outfits.

https://youtu.be/SjEcYWye0FI

Epsilon11: W-What's going on?!

With a sharp gaze, I stood up and raised my voice to call to everyone in the room. It seemed like the real problems were starting to pick up, meaning double the attention required.

Y/N: Everyone, we've been trained for this, keep your focus!

With a collective nod aimed my way, the employees scattered, the office workers showing more signs of stress compared to the agents. Nonetheless, none raised their fears to the others. With crossed arms, I unconsciously bit my lower lip and averted my gaze to the monitors indicating our orders.

Zeta19: Out of the way, passing by!

Hearing a familiar voice coming from the left, I turned to greet them. Still not wearing an actual E.G.O suit, the ex-clerk was making his way to the access leading to the upper layer, a skeletal wing attached to his back. I wonder where he got that thing from.

BongBong: ...

Completely unfazed by the situation, the girl with blue hair silently drilled holes in the back of my skull with those wide eyes of hers. Feeling a few sweats falling down my face, I shrugged the feeling off and attempted to coordinate the employees in my department.

Though I still wonder what will be the one thing that will try to screw us over. So far, the effects have been known to us most of the time at the very start but not this time. With the exception of the colors graying out, nothing else was happening.

Needless to say, it was both a relieving and unnerving experience.

Y/N's mind: I still have the feeling that it's not over, I should keep my guard up.

So, holding that thought in the back of my mind, the day continued but with a certain slowness, the orders not coming as fast as they should. It did give me a few raised eyebrows but if you think about it: it just means that we get bigger break between works.

...Yea, even I'm not convincing myself, something's definitely going on. With the music falling into chaos and the work orders starting to lose speed, the employees seemed to be on edge at all time. The few who survived the rampage of the Arbiter a few days ago were even more than the others.

Y/N: ...

Marisa: Uh, sir?

Y/N: What is it?

Not even turning around to face my sudden interlocutor, my eyes were fixated on the sight of the main room filled with employees running in all directions not in panic but rather dread. Feeling the presence of the blond girl beside me, I remained silent.

Marisa: You have a work order.

Y/N: ...Wait what?

Quickly locking onto the monitor, my name was clearly visible and you can guess who I'm assigned to, might as well be printed on my forehead at this point. Yep, that's right, Queen of Hatred duty.

Y/N: Gotta go, keep an eye on the employees.

Marisa: Got it captain!

Standing still with a formal salute, she flashed me a wide smile and a pair of eyes revealing confidence in her capabilities. Without even being outside of the room, she broke her posture and yelled at the office workers.

Marisa: Move your asses, we have an emergency, we can't slack off now of all days!

Nice to see that she hasn't lost her energy from the first day I met her. With a small smile on my face, I hurried to the upper layer and walked to the Security department, passing by a few clerks assigned to it.

Now, to attend to the real problem.

...

QoH: Hey Y/N, can I ask you something?

Y/N: Hm?

Looking at the girl standing in front of me, I let out a barely audible noise through the music playing around us. My eyes locked on her, I could see her own face looking around the containment room.

QoH: Why is that music playing? It feels like the end of the world.

Y/N: ...At this point, I would be inclined to think the same.

Letting out a weak chuckle that comforted no one, I observed the magical girl in the room with me pondering about something until her eyes widened. A little confused by this, I frowned.

QoH: I see, yes, it has to be it! A villain is trying to invade this place, a perfect theme for the grand bad guy!

Y/N: Well, it does feel like the final phase of a boss but I don't think that's it.

Considering that Gebura and Binah are a thing, this is far from a boss battle. Lightly tapping the tip of my pen against my chin, I closed my eyes and tapped one of my feet against the floor, trying to follow the tune of the intense melody that only seemed to calm down for a few seconds at irregular intervals.

QoH: You're lowering your guard Y/N.

Y/N: ?

Just like that, I immediately stopped what I was doing. What was she talking about? Don't tell me there's ANOTHER battle we gonna have to go through? Is Binah gonna try to destroy everything a second time?

QoH: I can still feel one, someone who pulls the strings in the shadows. It's those cowards that never reveal themselves until all their minions have been defeated or when they finally achieve their plan to brag about it to the heroes!

Y/N: ...

Hands in my pockets, I took her words and merely needed to understand their meaning for a second to have a guess. If there was one person that I know that would pull some shady stuff behind everyone's back, it would have to be her.

Not that I can really do anything about it, I'm just an employee. Even if my hunch turns out to be right, I have to admit that there's not much we can do against it.

Y/N: Work's over, I'll see you soon.

Finally released from my duties, I sent a goodbye to the girl, a goodbye she returned with a kiss blown my way and a wink. Used to it at this point, I ignored her gesture and returned down to my department.

Still nothing, something was going wrong, my instinct was whispering that to me. For a song that seemed so rapid and extreme, the complete antithesis was happening, creating this uncomfortable air. Even-

BongBong: Bong!

Y/N: Ah! Don't scare me like that!

Seriously, that girl doesn't know the concept of personal space. Pressed against me, her wide eyes stared into my soul like a zombie, giving me shivers. Quickly pushing her away, I dusted off my sleeves with a few mumbles under my breath.

Keep your focus Y/N, the troubles are just getting started.