Chapter 8: Ghost in the Halls
Three hours after binding to the Root Shard, the real world stopped feeling real.
It was in the details.
The subtle dissonance.
Light switches that didn't line up with shadows.
Lockers that seemed a few inches too wide.
Students laughing at jokes no one told.
And worst of all—my reflection still lagged, but only when I looked away.
---
> [OBSERVER TRACE: ACTIVE – 69 HOURS REMAINING]
[Remain unnoticed. Avoid triggering anomaly proximity events.]
I kept my hood up. Kept my mouth shut. Kept the Arsenal hidden.
But the world wouldn't let me hide.
People I never spoke to started calling me by name.
A teacher asked if I'd "healed from the subway incident."
There was no subway incident.
Not in this timeline.
Lena didn't text.
The Veilbond was silent—like we were being throttled.
---
It got worse at lunch.
I sat alone at the edge of the quad, pretending to scroll my phone while checking the Arsenal's sync rate.
> [Memory Slots: 4/5 Active]
[Sync Rate: 22%]
[Active Trait: Mirror Spike (Echo Cling Mode – Passive)]
I hadn't slept. Couldn't.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the Observer looking back.
And that's when she sat down across from me.
---
New girl.
Not Lena. Someone else.
Black uniform. Pale skin. Dark red lips. Bright silver eyes with concentric rings.
She didn't introduce herself.
Just smiled.
"I liked you better before you touched the shard."
I froze.
> [UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
[Status: Passive Host]
[Classification: "Anomaly Class – Watcher Seed"]
[Threat: ???]
[Note: Do not engage.]
"Excuse me?" I asked, voice low.
She tilted her head, eyes gleaming.
"I'm not here to hurt you, Kai."
She licked her lower lip. "Yet."
> [System Warning: Veilbreach Event – Dormant State Fluctuating]
[Countdown Suspended – Observer Threshold Holding]
"What are you?" I whispered.
She leaned closer, and for a moment, I saw it—beneath her skin, a writhing network of code, like veins made from wire and static.
"A fan," she whispered. "For now."
Then she stood.
"Seventy-two hours," she said with a wink. "Try not to die before the real show starts."
---
She walked away, blending into the crowd like she'd never been there.
But the System didn't stop flashing.
> [NOTE: Observer Contact Avoided – Class Instability Minimal]
[Side Effect Detected: Environmental Desyncs May Occur]
[Arsenal Warning: Sentient Echo Activated]
[Trait Acquired: Glitch Step (Unstable)]
[Cooldown: Unknown]
---
The next period passed in a haze. I couldn't focus.
When I looked down at my notebook, someone had written RUN across the page in a language I didn't recognize—but understood anyway.
In the bathroom mirror, my reflection didn't move.
It stared at me.
Then it smirked.
---
I left school before the final bell.
Veilbond reconnected the moment I hit the street.
> [Veilbond Sync: Reestablished – Lena Astrid Online]
Her voice hit my skull like a gasp for air.
"Kai. What the hell happened? You dropped off the bond like you were dead."
"There's someone here," I said. "An Observer. Maybe a seed. She knew about the Shard."
"Where?"
"School."
Lena cursed.
"I'll meet you tonight," she said. "And bring your Arsenal. If they've marked you, we need to move."
"Move where?"
"To the edge of the city," she said.
"To a place where the System doesn't listen."