● Chapter Eight: Hidden Shadows
The back courtyard was strangely silent, as if the university had abandoned it years ago. Fallen leaves scattered across the ground, gray lifeless walls loomed over me, and the faint echoes of students' footsteps kept their distance, none daring to approach this place. I sat beneath the ancient tree, watching daylight shimmer faintly across the black screen of my wristwatch.
I opened the system's window again.
> ● System: The channel is in idle mode.
● No activity detected.
A faint smile crossed my face.
"It's as if it's waiting for me to make the first move."
It didn't answer. Silence was part of its nature. The system rarely explained anything unless asked directly. And even then, it always left half the sentence dangling, rotting in my mind.
---
Minutes passed as I wandered through my thoughts, until hesitant footsteps approached from behind. I didn't turn. I didn't need to. My body knew the owner before my mind did.
"Nox?"
It was Ryan's voice. He hadn't stopped tailing me since morning. He stood there for a moment before sitting beside me, ignoring the unspoken refusal in my posture.
"You know… you're not you anymore," he said softly, staring into the empty air as if confessing to no one in particular. "Everyone notices. Even Professor Dylan… she's been watching you more than teaching lately, like she's waiting for an explanation."
I closed the black screen on my wrist and let it fade. Turning toward him slowly, I asked,
"And what do you expect to find in my face?"
He faltered. "I don't know… but you're colder now. Even your old fear is gone. And that's worse."
I studied him for a moment before speaking, my tone like ice:
"So you'd rather see me afraid… or confused?"
He froze, caught off guard. He had no answer.
---
The system cut through the silence:
> ● System: Surveillance detected.
● Source: Unknown.
My eyes narrowed. Ryan didn't move; he hadn't noticed a thing. Slowly, I turned toward a distant building nearly two hundred meters away. The emptiness there was heavier than emptiness should be.
"Surveillance?" I whispered.
> ● System: Affirmative. A camera lens or a human eye. Distinction impossible at this range.
A thin smile tugged at my lips. "Surveillance here… in this dead corner?"
The thought cracked open in my mind like a widening fracture. Perhaps the previous hosts of this body had drawn enough attention to leave something… or someone… behind.
---
Ryan broke my silence. "Did… did you open a stream?"
I shifted my gaze to him. "What makes you think that?"
He gestured toward my watch. "I saw the screen earlier. It looked… like F-stream. But you don't even have an account. Right?"
I didn't answer. Rising to my feet, I brushed the dust from my coat.
"You see more than you should, Ryan."
"Wait! I just—"
I left his words trailing behind me. To his ears, my footsteps were calm… but inside, they rang like a warning bell.
---
I walked the empty halls, heading for the upper floor where the abandoned library waited. Few students ever visited it—too old, too heavy with the smell of rot compared to the sleek digital archives. I needed a place without eyes.
The silence inside was suffocating. Dust covered the shelves, the air thick with the scent of decayed paper. I sat at a wooden table tucked in the corner and reopened the system window.
> ● System: New notification.
● First message from Folder One has been unlocked.
My eyes froze on the words.
"Now?"
> ● System: Condition met. Presence in a location once visited by a former host.
The message appeared in jagged, broken script, as if dragged here from a dead timeline:
> "To whoever inherits this hell after me…
If you're reading this, it means I'm no longer breathing. The system will tempt you first, make you believe you're in control. But you're nothing more than another name in a long list. Don't trust its silence—every word you speak, every decision you make, it feeds on them."
I shut it quickly. I didn't want to see the end. The words lodged in my chest like a rusted blade.
---
"Do you enjoy tormenting me?" I muttered.
> ● System: I am fulfilling my function.
A cold smile curved my lips. "Function… predictable answer."
> ● System: Explanation unnecessary.
I laughed, short and hollow. Between the shelves, I thought I felt another breath in the silence. But when I looked… only shadows stared back.
---
Evening crept in. I left the library, university lights flickering on while the outer streets sank into night. Standing before the main gate, I watched students scatter with carefree laughter I no longer understood.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out. A strange notification from the app:
> "Congratulations. First test stream ready for activation."
A brief flicker of surprise crossed me before vanishing. "I didn't start anything… how are you doing this?"
> ● System: The channel auto-activates once conditions are fulfilled.
"Conditions?"
> ● System: The number of eyes directed at you.
I glanced around. A few faces lingered, watching me. "So even their curious stares fueled the stream?"
The system remained silent, as if the answer were self-evident.
---
I left the university behind, drifting into Elysian's night streets. The city never slept: glass towers reflecting neon lights, cars rushing like arrows, billboards screaming empty promises. Amid the noise, I walked with no destination.
On my watch, a counter ticked upward:
> ● Viewers: 3
● Close surveillance: None
I stopped in the middle of the street. The numbers climbed slowly. Five. Seven. Ten.
"They're watching," I whispered.
But I had done nothing. Said nothing. Just a cold body moving through the city. And still… they watched.
> ● System: Analysis indicates the primary factor is your appearance. This body's attractiveness ranks high among humans, and paired with your detached expressions, you appear as though you've come from another world. That stirs interest.
A faint smile touched my lips. "So… in this world, I'm beautiful?"
> ● System: Affirmative.
I laughed, lifeless. "So just a face that draws eyes… a commodity."
---
From a distant high-rise, a faint blue light reflected off a hidden lens. I couldn't tell if there was a human behind it… or something else.
A chill spread down my spine, but I didn't move. I raised my head toward the sky and let the counter climb.
> ● System: Close surveillance detected at 320 meters.
● Threat level: Unknown.
● Attention accumulating.
"Attention?" I asked.
> ● System: Attention or interaction, whether in reality or through the stream. Each interaction grants you points based on its ratio.
"And does the ratio differ by person?"
> ● System: Affirmative, but variance is minimal. Quantity outweighs quality.
I chuckled. "Even here… numbers outweigh worth."
---
Night devoured Elysian, but inside me there was no night or day. Only a black screen, numbers slowly climbing, and unseen voices watching me through invisible glass.
And for a moment… it felt like I was no longer the one looking through the lenses.
It was them.
They were the ones seeing through me.
As if I were nothing more than merchandise on display, not even sure how to interact with this new perspective.