"My, my, aren't you early today?"

Lacie's eyes slowly opened to that familiar voice- no, familiar was an understatement, it was her voice. But she wasn't really speaking. She found herself in a dark void, complete with nothingness. This wasn't reality, was it? And this wasn't the first time that she had been here.

That same voice echoed throughout the darkness, "Haha, you're so adorable." The speaker lifted a finger to her mouth, contemplating her visitor. The words were tinged with a hint of laughter that grated on the edge of her nerves. Lacie lifted her gaze to see the speaker, unsurprised by what laid in front of her. It was Lacie yet not Lacie at the same time. To be precide, a shadow of the young lieutenant and the demons that lived inside of her.. The shadow was the tangible form of the corruption in her star seed, the darkness that Lacie continuously to hold back. "So you found a friend or two within the negaverse."

The shadow hugged Lacie from behind, whispering silken words into Lacie's ears. The chilling quality belied her words and even manifested in her touch, the touch of her fingers alone causing an coldness to seep through Lacie's skin until she felt as if she were submerged in the artic ocean. "And you're no longer killing to meet your energy quota." It was true that Lacie had joined the negaverse when killing people for greater quantities to produce starseeds, instead of mere energy, was mandated by the higher ups.

"However, don't be mistaken. The blood of the people you've already killed has already stained your hands." The sticky red liquid had begun to drip from Lacie's hands. She found herself in front of her bathroom mirror, rubbing and washing it vigorously, desperately, to the point of rubbing her skin off but it didn't change.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She threw out her arm in the direction of the shadow's voice, her emotions close to the breaking point.

At her agitation, the shadow's lips pull into a slow grin, eyes glittering with mirth. "Denial ruins your beauty. But don't worry.. you won't be able to hide in your denial forever."

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At night, when alone- Lacie couldn't help but always toss and turn, waking up in sweat-damp sheets and salivating in her bed. Her knuckles would throb with strain and her jaw would ache from constantly clenching through unease. The back of her tongue would always be heavy with something that tastes akin to fear. The only respite Lacie knew from the nightmares of her own self was in the comfort of somebody else's arms.

Jerking awake from the bed- as she normally did- a voice cut through the silence of the night. "Hey, hey, are you alright?" She knew the speaker even before she turned to look at him. He was of a similar age, and similar mentality. They mutually liked and respected each other. But what really mattered and differentiated him from a regular friend was that they shared a friend-with-benefits relationship whenever one desired the other. They met when convenient, with no attachments. "You looked like you just had a nightmare.""

Lacie quickly changed her expression, unwilling to let him see the unease she felt. "Why don't you make me forget all about it?" She held out her arms to invite him back to the bed. Wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing his head down by tugging at the locks of his hair, she briefly let her eyes cloud in unexpressed emotion- hoping to immerse herself in human pleasure to forget, if only for a temporary period of time.