The exposition

 As I stepped out of the room, everything around me seemed to freeze. The air turned frigid, and my breaths turned into white puffs of smoke. The hallway, once bustling with activity, was now eerily quiet.

I tried to move forward, but my body felt heavy, as if something was holding me back. I looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening. That's when I noticed a figure in the distance, standing still like a statue.

It was a girl, her long brown hair falling over her shoulders. She was wearing a black coat, gloves, and a scarf, as if she was prepared for the cold weather. But what was she doing here, in the middle of the hallway?

"Hey," I called out to her, but my voice was barely a whisper. "Do you know what's happening? Why is everything frozen?"

The girl didn't respond, but she started walking towards me, her eyes fixed on mine. As she came closer, I could see that her face was pale and expressionless. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she was about to say something, but no words came out.

"Who are you?" I asked her, my heart pounding in my chest.

She finally spoke, her voice barely audible. "My name is Akari," she said. "I've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Akari reached out her hand and touched my forehead. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of electricity running through my body, and my mind was flooded with images.

I saw myself in a laboratory, surrounded by scientists and machines. They were all looking at a monitor, which showed a strange pattern of colors and shapes. I was lying on a bed, and my body was covered with wires and sensors.

One of the scientists, a middle-aged man with a bald head and glasses, turned to me and said, "It's working. The experiment is a success."

I heard myself saying, "What experiment? What did you do to me?"

But the scene changed, and I found myself in a different place. It was a vast, frozen landscape, with snow and ice stretching as far as the eye could see. The sky was dark, and the stars were shining brightly, as if they were the only source of light in the world.

I looked around, trying to find something familiar, but there was nothing. No buildings, no roads, no signs of civilization. It was just me, alone in this frozen world.

"What is this place?" I asked, but there was no one to answer me.

Suddenly, I felt a chill running down my spine. I turned around, and I saw a figure in the distance, walking towards me. It was a woman, wearing a red coat and a hat, with her face hidden behind a scarf.

As she came closer, I realized that she was my mother. She looked just like she did before she died, with her dark hair and her gentle smile.

"Mom?" I called out to her, but she didn't respond. She just kept walking, until she was standing right in front of me.

She reached out her hand and touched my cheek, and I felt a warm sensation spreading through my body.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice soft and sad. "I wish I could stay with you, but I can't. You have to be strong, my dear. You have to keep going, no matter what."

And then she vanished, leaving me alone in the frozen world.

"Akari, what was that?" I asked her, still feeling the after-effects of the vision