Maxim sat on the edge of the couch, still feeling a thousand tiny needles prickling under his skin. Andrei walked across the room, checked the windows, flicked the switch — the light turned softer, warmer.
“Alright. Quiet,” he said, turning around. “Seems like they’ve shut up.”
Maxim nodded silently. His gaze was fixed somewhere off to the side — at the wall where just minutes ago the insults had been pouring through. He was clutching the cup in his hands, almost crushing it. At the edge of his vision a message flickered:
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[Emotional state: partial stabilization.]
[Source — human.]
[Recommendation: maintain contact.]
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Maxim frowned, as if he’d heard an annoying fly.
“Contact… great advice,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?” Andrei looked up.
“Nothing. Just… thinking out loud.”
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Andrei came closer, leaning on the back of the couch.
“Listen, if you want, I can stay. The night’s long anyway, and you’re… well, not in the best shape.”
Maxim was silent for a long while. Then — short, almost breathless:
“Stay.”
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Andrei didn’t even look surprised. He just nodded and smiled with that light, human smile of his.
“Alright. But fair warning: I snore like a bear.”
Maxim smirked for the first time that day.
“Better snoring than voices.”
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Andrei rummaged through the closet, pulled out a blanket — old but clean. He spread it out on the couch, then peeked into the kitchen — there was still some soup and pasta left.
“You finished eating?” he asked.
“Almost. Thanks,” Maxim answered quietly.
“‘Almost’ means no,” Andrei said, setting a plate in front of him. “Come on, hero, rebuild your strength.”
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Maxim ate slowly, as if testing whether the food would vanish if he got distracted. He felt warmth coming from Andrei. Simple, without pressure. The kind that asked for nothing in return.
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The system flashed a pink glow at the corner of his sight:
[Trust level: increasing.]
[Unusual heart rate activity. Run diagnostics?]
He ignored it.
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Later, when the apartment lights went out, silence fell like a heavy layer. Maxim lay on the bed, Andrei — on the couch by the wall. Everything seemed calm, but inside something still itched — the expectation of disaster, an anxious current beneath his skin.
“Hey, you asleep?” Andrei asked softly.
“No.”
“I just wanted to say… if those bastards start again, I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t,” Maxim replied wearily. “It doesn’t help. They come back anyway.”
“Then let them,” Andrei said. “I’ll pour them tea. Hot. Right in the face.”
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Maxim snorted faintly, almost inaudibly. Silence settled over the room again, only to be broken by the IT guy’s quiet question:
“How’s Masha?”
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Masha — Andrei’s girlfriend, or rather, almost fiancée.
“Masha?” Andrei repeated, not immediately grasping the point. He rolled onto his side, propping his head on his hand. “She’s fine, I guess. Studying, running around on her practicum. Same as always.”
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He went quiet, searching for words, then added softly:
“We’re… kind of… on pause right now.”
Maxim turned to him.
“On pause? What does that mean?”
“Well,” Andrei gave a wry grin, though weariness rang in his voice, “like in a video: a freeze-frame, but the sound still plays. Everything’s there, but also… nothing.”
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He shrugged.
“She just got tired of me always helping someone. ‘What, you think you’re some kind of rescuer!? Always running around for everyone, forgot about me completely, got fired from your job. Unemployed hero!’ she said.”
Maxim smiled faintly, just the corner of his lips.
“Sounds… like a compliment.”
“Not to her,” Andrei yawned. “But you know, I’m not angry. She’s probably just tired. I really do stick my nose in everywhere.”
Maxim was silent for a long time. Then he exhaled:
“And if you don’t stick it in — that’s bad too.”
“Yeah,” Andrei nodded. “Then you just eat yourself alive.”
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He turned toward the ceiling. For a while, the only sound was the lazy ticking of the clock on the wall. Maxim wanted to say something else but couldn’t. Words refused to form, stuck in his throat. He just listened to Andrei’s breathing.
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[Analysis: anxiety level decreased. Cause — stable external source.]
[Recommendation: maintain distance to prevent dependency.]
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Maxim closed his eyes. “Maintain distance…” Yeah. If only it were that simple.
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He didn’t notice when he drifted off. He dreamt of something soft, pink, pulsing like light under eyelids. Rabbit ears. A faint squeak, like radio static.
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[Protocol error. Emotional bond exceeding permissible parameters.]
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Maxim jerked awake, eyes snapping open. Darkness. The same room. Andrei asleep on the couch, face buried in the pillow, messy hair falling into his eyes. Everything quiet.
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Only the earring still glowed — faintly, like dying embers. He touched it — hot. Tried to pull it off, tugged — it wouldn’t move. Pain stabbed his earlobe, as if the earring had fused into his skin. He clenched his teeth, stifling a groan, and let go.
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[Deactivation attempt detected.]
[Warning: removing the element will cause subject instability.]
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A shadow dripped from the ceiling — just light play from passing headlights, but Maxim’s heart plunged. He sat up quickly, scanning the room. Everything in its place. Andrei asleep. Quiet. Calm. But inside, the sensation lingered — that someone was watching, not from outside, but through him.
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Maxim lowered his head, shut his eyes, whispered barely audibly:
“I just want it all to stop. Just for one night.”
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[Request recorded.]
[Execution impossible. Cycle continues.]
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The system went silent. A window flared. Not from headlights — the glow was different. Soft, lilac-pink, like a neon lamp flickering beyond the glass. Maxim lifted his head. And froze.
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In the window’s reflection — sharp, terrifyingly clear — a giant rabbit. Not plush, not cartoonish, but ink-black, stretched, with eyes like glowing lenses. Its ears brushed the ceiling, its face blank, smooth, without a mouth. Only the stare. Straight at him.
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A second. A flicker. Emptiness. The reflection vanished. Only his own remained — frightened, pitiful, wretched.
“...Shit,” he exhaled, and the word sounded so loud it felt like someone else had spoken it.
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Andrei stirred on the couch, mumbled something, but didn’t wake. Maxim stood barefoot in just a T-shirt, heart pounding. He walked slowly to the window, peered outside — the street was empty. No headlights, no passersby. Only a sudden clap of thunder in the middle of the night, making him leap back from the glass.
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And then — the pink window. This time large, right in the center of his vision:
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[Mission #2 activated.]
[Objective: prevent the collapse of subject “Andrei’s” emotional balance.]
[Key to success: trust.]
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“What?” Maxim recoiled. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He tried blinking, but the window wouldn’t disappear.
[Critical-level task. Ignoring will result in system sanctions.]
“You’re insane,” he whispered. “What am I, a therapist now?”
[External support mandatory. Destabilization level of ‘Andrei’: 63%.]
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Maxim blinked.
“Sixty-three… from what? He’s just… asleep!”
[Parameters hidden. Maintain observation. Apply empathic involvement.]
“Empa…” he groaned, clutching his hair. “I can barely handle my own crap, and now I’m responsible for him too?”
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He looked at Andrei. Peaceful in sleep, breathing evenly. In normal light he didn’t look like some “stability source,” as the system claimed, but just a man — tired, arm twisted uncomfortably, with that habit of wrinkling his nose in his sleep. Maxim suddenly felt a cold weight in his chest — not fear, but something closer to pity, tugging from the inside.
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Instantly — another notification:
[Empathic response detected.]
[+2 to bond level.]
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He clenched his fists.
“Screw you, system…”
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Just then, something scratched outside the window. Soft, like a fingernail on glass. Maxim flinched but didn’t move. Step. Another. He edged closer. The reflection shivered again. Rabbit ears — just for a heartbeat, then gone.
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He froze, pulse hammering in his throat.
[External visual anomaly confirmed. Do not abandon subject.]
[Mission active.]
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Maxim sat back down, eyes fixed on the window. Blood pulsed in his ears, and at the edge of his mind one word burned — trust. He exhaled softly, glancing at his sleeping friend.
“Alright,” he whispered. “Since I’m a ‘soul rescuer’ now, I’ll try not to screw up this quest too.”
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[Accepted. Mission #2 active.]
[Objective: keep subject ‘Andrei’ stable.]
[Hint: sometimes kindness isn’t words.]
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The pink window vanished. Somewhere outside, the reflection flickered again — faint, like someone smiling in the dark. Maxim sat for a long time, unmoving. His heartbeat was uneven, as if trying to break free — toward air, toward light. He stared at the glass — dark, mute, but alive. If he looked long enough, the reflection might come back. He waited until his breathing steadied, then finally tore his gaze away.
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Andrei still slept. Peaceful, almost too much so. Maxim thought he’d never seen someone sleep with such an expression. Unprotected. Unmasked. Simply… real.
[Subject ‘Andrei.’ Sleep stage: deep phase.]
[Recommendation: do not interrupt cycle. Stabilization in progress.]
“Go to hell with your cycles,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes wearily.
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He got up, paced the room. His legs trembled — not from fear now, but from sheer strain. From how everything felt both real and unreal at once. Missions. Voices. Rabbits. And suddenly — ordinary silence, the smell of food, Andrei breathing evenly. Maxim sat back down, elbows on his knees. A thought stirred in his chest — foreign, not his own:
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“If you fail this task, he dies.”
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He froze.
“That… wasn’t you saying it?” he asked aloud, not knowing whom he addressed. Silence. No flash, no window. But deep inside, it felt like someone was smiling.
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When dawn broke, the room looked like a film set from a movie about the mentally ill: faded wallpaper, a withered plant on the windowsill, a mug with leftover coffee. Andrei woke first — yawned, stretched, and rasped, seeing Maxim:
“You didn’t sleep at all?”
Maxim shrugged.
“A little.”
Andrei frowned.
“You look like you spent the night on duty in hell.”
“Almost,” Maxim replied, too serious for it to sound like a joke.
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Andrei got up, walked to the window.
“Hey, you’ve got… marks here.”
“Where?”
“On the glass. Like someone ran a paw across it.”
Maxim came closer. A faint arc on the fogged glass. Almost erased, but visible. Like a claw print. He turned away, as if he hadn’t seen it.
“Condensation,” he said flatly. “From breathing.”
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Andrei stayed strangely silent, sneaking a glance at him. Maxim wanted to say something, but the system cut him off:
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[Mission updated.]
[Stage 1: establish trust.]
[Stage 2: prevent physical contact with external anomalies.]
[Time until critical phase: 72 hours.]
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He exhaled softly. Three days. Three damn days to… what? “Maintain stability”? He didn’t even know what that meant. Meanwhile, Andrei was already bustling in the kitchen, noisily clattering a pan.
“Want some eggs?” he asked.
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Maxim opened his mouth to refuse. But suddenly realized — the ordinary question made him feel a little warmer.
“Yeah,” he said. And it sounded almost like a confession.
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The system responded instantly:
[Positive emotional exchange recorded.]
[Bond strengthening.]
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Maxim let out a heavy breath, staring at the notification as it slowly dissolved into the air. Outside the window something pale flickered again — like a reflection, like ears. But he didn’t turn. He just closed his eyes and whispered:
“Three days… let’s try not to go insane.”
[Confirmed.]
[Mission #2: active phase begun.]
[Observation: subject ‘Andrei’ at risk.]
And at that moment, someone laughed softly behind the wall. The same laugh Maxim had heard in the night — not human, but all too familiar.
ns216.73.216.241da2
and then Add to home screen.