Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime-Chapter 15: Mission Null14zk+ - Stage 2 Begins

Eclipse adjusted her clothes, shaking off the last remnants of the unsettling dream. Her breathing had finally evened out, and the cold sensation of the wires detaching from her skin had faded. But no matter how much she tried to ground herself in reality, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

She turned to Obscura, who was already back to his usual composed self, scanning the room with a sharp gaze. They were still in disguise, still playing their roles.

She blinked a few times before sighing dramatically.

"If only you were as talkative as you were in that dream," she muttered, her expression pitiful as she looked at him with a classic puppy-eyed gaze. "How good would that be?"

Obscura turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing.

Eclipse, of course, didn't stop there. She sighed again, louder this time, making sure he heard her. "You kept answering me back there. Like, actually answering me. Maybe a little bit of ignoring but no grunting, no 'hn,' just full-on sentences! I was shocked!" She blinked up at him, clasping her hands together as if pleading. "Can you do that more often? Please? Just talk to me more?"

Obscura stared at her like she had grown two heads.

Was she serious?

This damn woman—what was she even pointing out? The things that happened in that dream weren't under his control! He had genuinely believed he was only thinking those words, not speaking them out loud. He always kept his thoughts to himself, but somehow, in that illusion, he had actually been responding to her?

Obscura scoffed internally.

Ridiculous.

Eclipse waited, eyes expectant, lips slightly pursed.

But Obscura didn't answer.

He merely glanced at her before looking away, acting as if she hadn't said anything at all.

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Eclipse scowled. "Hmph! Now this is the real you!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "Ignoring me again! No wonder I kept feeling like something was off when we were fighting in that dream! I knew it! Because this—" she waved her hand at him dramatically, "—is the usual you. Silent, broody, and mute most of the time!"

She stomped her foot lightly, glaring. "How did you suddenly talk so much back there? You even explained things! I was shocked, you know! You never explain anything! You just say, 'follow me,' and expect me to understand! But in the dream, you were so cooperative!"

Obscura still didn't react, continuing to check their surroundings, his expression unreadable.

That was the last straw.

Without thinking, Eclipse suddenly smacked him on the shoulder.

Obscura stiffened. His head snapped toward her, eyes dark and dangerous. "You!"

Eclipse stepped back but didn't cower. Instead, she crossed her arms and huffed. "That was for earlier! For pulling me down! For my emotional damage!"

Obscura's eye twitched.

"You almost killed me!" she added dramatically, pointing at him as if accusing him of a heinous crime.

Obscura exhaled sharply through his nose. "I saved you."

Eclipse looked away, pouting. She had to admit... he had saved her. If the brain believed it was dying, it would force itself to wake up—Obscura had used that logic to break the illusion and bring them back to reality.

But still. He was annoying.

And she absolutely would not say thank you.

...And fine, maybe she hadn't meant to smack him. Her hand had moved instinctively. She had only meant to pat his shoulder and ask what they were going to do next, but before she knew it—whack.

A soft click broke the tension.

Both Eclipse and Obscura immediately turned toward the source of the sound.

The screen near the door flickered, a new message appearing in bold text:

"Congratulations on successfully completing the first stage of the mission."

The text lingered for a moment before fading. Then, another message appeared:

"Stage 2 of Mission Null14zk+

Mission: Defeat all the Runners and reach the top floor, where the Erasers are currently waiting."

A digital floor plan of the building materialized on the screen.

Eclipse and Obscura both leaned in, studying it.

They were currently on the ground floor. The building had a total of five floors, with the Erasers supposedly waiting at the top.

Obscura's sharp gaze immediately caught something odd. "There's only one elevator on each floor, and its location changes," he noted thoughtfully. "No visible stairs. Except..." His eyes landed on the emergency exit, faintly highlighted in red.

Eclipse squinted at it. "Let me guess. It's probably sealed?"

"Most likely."

Eclipse groaned. "Of course it is. That would be too easy otherwise."

She rubbed her temples. "Okay, okay. Let's think this through. So we fight our way up. Simple enough. But why are they making us do this?"

Obscura's gaze darkened. "Do you think this is a test?"

Eclipse blinked. "What the—" She stared at him. "You keep saying that! Why do you keep insisting that this is a—"

She cut herself off mid-sentence.

Her eyes widened.

Realization dawned on her face like a lightbulb flickering on.

She turned to Obscura, voice quieter now. "Wait... no... you're right."

Obscura simply raised a brow, waiting.

Eclipse took a deep breath. "This is exactly like when we became Nulls."

She bit her lip, the memories coming back. "The first test... was to escape a maze. What we just went through—it felt like a maze. A dream maze, sure, but still a maze."

Obscura nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.

Eclipse exhaled sharply. "Then the second stage of the Null selection was a hacking test..." Her voice trailed off, realization hitting her like a freight train. "Oh no."

Obscura didn't react, but Eclipse groaned loudly, dramatically dragging a hand down her face. "Damn it, I hated that test!"

She scowled, pacing. "Maze. Hacking. Fighting skills. Deception. Survival," she muttered, listing the stages of the Null selection process.

Obscura said nothing, but his eyes gleamed slightly.

They both knew it now.

This was a test.

A test disguised as a mission.

And if they were following the Null selection process—

The next stage would be hacking.

Eclipse groaned even louder. "I barely passed that hacking test! Ugh, I hate this! Information is our key, blah blah, I get it—but why couldn't they have picked something simpler?"

Obscura ignored her complaints, his gaze still on the screen.

The sound of the door unlocking snapped them both out of their thoughts.

A new message appeared:

"You have 3 hours to complete this mission."

A timer appeared, beginning to count down.

Eclipse and Obscura exchanged a look.

No words were needed.

They nodded at each other.

Then, without hesitation, they stepped out of the room—ready to fight.