The explosion of light was quick.
Nullus didn't feel the moment of transition, but as soon as he became aware of his surroundings, he found himself in a completely different room.
The room was lit by artificial, cold, metallic lighting, and the walls were filled with display screens and devices whose nature he didn't understand.
But, the most obvious thing…
Weapons.
Dozens of people in black suits, their sharp, angry eyes, weapons pointed directly at him.
Their fingers on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment.
"Don't move."
A harsh voice came from one of the men, but it wasn't necessary to say… Nullus had no intention of moving.
He glanced to his side, where Azrael was standing with a slight bow, his face devoid of any emotion.
Then… amidst the crowd, the old man appeared.
No one needed to tell him that; the mere appearance of the old man imposed a kind of silent authority on everyone.
He was sitting in a wheelchair, but the strange thing wasn't the wheelchair… it was how it moved by itself, without anyone pushing it.
It was as if it was an independent entity, moving calmly, flowing as if it were part of the old man himself.
Azrael immediately bowed.
"Sir, I don't know what happened, but this person is involved."
He began explaining everything, the details of the events in the white room, how they lost control, and how something… an entity that was never supposed to appear, manifested there.
Everyone listened in silence, their eyes never leaving Nullus, as if watching for the slightest movement he might make.
Then… the voice was heard.
The voice he had waited for months.
A voice he wasn't supposed to hear again, yet… here it was.
"How are you, my friend?"
His body froze.
"I haven't seen you in twenty years…"
Twenty years?
No, for him, it had only been months.
"But that's not important, it's been a long time… and now, the journey will begin."
"And it seems you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble."
Iggy… wake up.
For the first time in a while, Nullus felt something like reassurance… but it didn't last.
He regained his composure quickly, then said in a steady voice:
"When did you wake up?"
He looked into the empty space where Iggy had always been, but without speaking.
"Were you watching me to see the course of events? To see where it would go?"
Iggy neither denied nor confirmed.
Instead, his voice came calm, but laden with meaning:
"Ask them to explain the white room issue."
Nullus didn't take his eyes off the president, who was watching in silence.
Then, finally, he said calmly:
"I want to know everything… about the white room."
Amidst the charged silence, a new voice broke the atmosphere.
The crack of gum.
A sharp, annoying sound amidst the tension.
It came from behind the armed crowd.
After a few moments, people in less formal attire began to emerge, but their presence was no less dangerous.
They moved with confidence, their eyes analyzing the situation with a deadly calm.
A group of superhuman assassins.
Then, from among them, appeared the man who had been chewing gum, his eyes half-closed and a mocking sideways smile on his face.
"The strangest thing about this case..."
With his lazy voice, he continued speaking while watching Nullus as if he were a strange puzzle piece:
"The sensors said he didn't come with the intent to threaten the Agency."
"So… he's just a pawn in all of this."
"And apparently… he doesn't even know what the realm is."
Nullus didn't hesitate.
He raised his head slightly and looked directly at him, saying coldly:
"Yes, I don't know what this is."
"So, threatening me and trying to kill me for something I didn't intend to do… is a form of stupidity."
The old man didn't speak.
But he raised his hand slowly, yet it was enough.
Azrael immediately understood.
He took a short breath and began to explain:
"After the experiment that exploited the dense primal energy in Novi Era, which aimed to reach the depths of existence…
Something deeper than atoms and quarks.
The concepts that manifest our reality, giving it movement, color, and form."
He paused for a moment, then continued in a more serious voice:
"Because of this experiment, the structure of reality was damaged, leaving behind rifts.
Rifts… that were exploited by entities from outside our world.
We call them the Outsiders."
Nullus froze.
His words… struck something deep within him.
His heart began to race.
He felt as if he finally understood why he had always felt like an outsider.
Is this his origin?
Is he… an Outsider?
Like the entity he accidentally freed?
But Azrael continued:
"The Outsiders imposed their dominance on parts of our reality, and from here… the realms were formed."
"The realms are extensions of these entities' authority."
"They visit humans in their dreams, make contracts with them, using them for strange purposes."
"Each Outsider has a specific goal… and sometimes their goals are terrifying, and sometimes… incomprehensible."
"And those who make contracts with them… gain strange abilities, and we call them Contractors."
"Kara was one of them."
Nullus could no longer hear the rest of the conversation clearly.
All that was running through his mind was:
"Am I… a Contractor?"
"Or am I… something worse?"
But what stopped his thoughts was the last sentence Azrael said:
"For some reason… the door was opened for it to manifest.
Not in its full true power… but it entered this world with its consciousness.
And that means it is a cosmic threat."
Azrael didn't stop talking, but his voice this time carried a different tone…
A tone of delayed realization.
"The white room…"
He paused for a moment, as if he was reprocessing the situation, then continued in a heavier voice:
"The white room was a realm of the same entity Kara had contracted with."
"And I don't know… what kind of coincidence brought you two together here."
He raised his hand to his chin, his eyes widening slightly as if he saw a clearer picture of the whole situation.
"Most likely…"
"He influenced her thoughts, making her take this path."
"Perhaps he pushed her unknowingly to come at this exact time, as you also moved toward the Agency."
"He played us all like chess pieces."
Nullus wasn't surprised.
He didn't need anyone to tell him he was just a piece on a board he couldn't see fully.
But still… he couldn't stop himself from wondering.
He looked at Azrael and asked in a cold tone, hiding something deeper:
"You're an Agency for killing people, aren't you?"
"So, doesn't it also serve your purpose of killing?"
Nullus didn't expect an answer.
He already knew it.
But he wanted to provoke Azrael.
Azrael laughed lightly.
A short laugh, but it carried a sense of irony.
Then he said, in a calm yet clear voice:
"We're killers… with a purpose."
"We don't kill to satisfy instincts."
"Yes, some of us kill for pleasure… like Kil, who gave you the card."
"But most of us… kill for money."
"And we don't want to destroy the world, and we don't have bizarre, random goals that threaten humanity's fate as a whole."
"So… there's a fundamental difference."
Nullus didn't respond immediately.
But inside… he knew that this "fundamental difference" Azrael was talking about might not matter at all when the rules change.
Heavy footsteps advanced through the crowd.
A man of massive build, his face expressionless except for complete stillness…
But what attracted the most attention was the giant nail embedded in his head.
He moved directly toward Azrael, then said in a calm voice, but with a terrifying weight to his tone:
"Move now. It's my turn."
Azrael didn't argue.
But he told him before he moved away:
"Make sure to check every inch of his body, his mind, and his consciousness."
"We don't want what happened with that damned Kil happening to us."
Nullus froze for a moment.
"Kil?"
"What did he do?"
"Isn't he part of the Killer Agency?"
"Did he turn against them?"
"Is this why I haven't seen him until now?"
But he didn't have time to think about these questions because the man with the giant nail raised his head and looked directly at him.
He said in a tone void of any emotion:
"My name is Strange."
"Yes, we want your help."
"But we choose how you help us."
"Now, you'll come with us."
"We'll examine every inch of your body, your mind, and your soul."
"We need to uncover the issue."
"Because the Outsider you freed… cannot leave its realm right now."
"But it will soon."
Nullus didn't resist.
For the first time in a long while, he decided to obey the orders.
He began walking ahead of the group of superhuman killers, his steps calm on the outside… but his mind was not.
Then… something strange happened.
As he passed by one of the corners of the room…
"Black fog."
It appeared suddenly, enveloping his body completely in an instant.
And the next second…
"He vanished."
— Leaving everyone in a state of shock.