Giving the Simulated Environment a Little Extra

Claustrophobia was an anxiety disorder involving enclosed spaces.

Eva Miles, the Magical Congress's Director of Magical Security, knew about the condition. During her past battles against evil Dark Wizards, one of them had once taken revenge on her by locking her boyfriend in a suitcase and demanding that she exchange him for another captured prisoner, a vicious criminal.

As an Auror known for her hardline stance, Eva Miles had refused to compromise.

In the end, through sheer determination and exceptional tactical skill, she had captured the despicable Dark Wizard.

However, because the standoff had dragged on for so long, her boyfriend had developed a severe case of claustrophobia.

Whether it was an elevator or a bathroom, any cramped space sent her boyfriend spiraling toward a breakdown, sometimes even making him pass out.

She had never been able to understand it. She thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

This grown man was more fragile than she was, even though she was a woman. In the end, they had argued and broken up.

But now, Eva Miles was beginning to understand how her ex-boyfriend had felt.

She had never been so afraid of her fellow Aurors.

In the dim room, they stood stiffly beside her, their faces frozen. Only their eyes could dart around.

Two people stood facing her. Both tried to communicate with her through their eyes, but the longer she looked at them, the more horrifying she found it.

As for the few standing sideways to her, some had eyes reflecting a faint glimmer, while others were so terrified that their pupils had dilated. They made goose bumps rise all over her.

Oh, no. Her skin couldn't move.

She could only feel the one part of herself she could move—her face—going numb and feeling awful.

But thankfully, her face could