Millie awoke to the soft vibration of her phone buzzing against her cheek.
She squinted at the screen, blinking blearily, and muttered something that might have been a greeting - or a curse. Then, after a moment of orientation, she jolted upright with a gasp.
Notifications. So many notifications.
She dismissed a few, then stabbed at a forum bookmark. Her heart began to race as the screen loaded. All across her networks, from conspiracy boards to System-specific info-sharing forums, everyone was talking about one thing:
Apeirosis.
Her eyes scanned line after line of excited speculation, increasingly wild theorycrafting, and panicked misinformation. The term had appeared overnight. Tales of how it was discovered varied. Some, either verified Reclaimed or wannabes, claimed a new screen popped up in their HUDs. Others from undisclosed briefings or confidential sources. Theories about its origin varied widely.
But the consensus? It was definitely connected to the Reclaimed. Specifically, something that showed up during or after sleep.
Then she froze as she read a DM from a fellow System/gamer forum nut that changed her world.
[immagamerpewpew: wat if apeirosis is a new stat? or levelling mechanic??????]
Millie's thumbs flew as she eloquently typed the only appropriate response.
[rotogirlie: squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!]
Millie dropped her phone onto her pillow and stared sightlessly at the ceiling above her bed. She checked her blue screen. She didn't have Apeirosis. She checked again. Twice. Still nothing. She sighed with abject disappointment. The idea that it might be some kind of levelling metric, like an experience bar, made her shake with excitement and turn green with envy, all at the same time.
She bit her lip. Thought of Junior, her very own Reclaimed follower. Even if she hadn't unlocked Apeirosis, he should have, right?
With that, she launched herself from the bed like a bullet from a slingshot and scrambled to dress in a whirlwind of activity. Half a protein bar and a hurried gulp from an energy drink later, she was out the door and heading up to Junior's condo.
She knocked, rocking on her heels impatiently. Then Junior greeted her with a tired nod as his door opened.
"Good morning!" she chirped brightly as she danced inside. "Good morning, good morning, goodmorning!" she added with a laugh, because once didn't do justice to today's awesomeness!
"Morning," Junior grumbled, with a lot less pep and more grouse.
Millie was too pumped to note his decided lack of enthusiasm. She skipped past him, already chattering.
"Okay, so, big news overnight - massive news! Everyone's freaking out about something new that just popped up in the System. It's called Apeirosis. Nobody's got a clue what it means, but the theorycrafters and conspiracy nuts are already waging a forum war. The first half are jealous that only Reclaimed seemed to have unlocked a new stat. Me too, by the way. So, so jealous! The crazy half are whining for stricter quarantines and checkpoints and barcodes or something else nutty like that to stop it from 'spreading', or whatever."
Junior shut the door behind her as she continued talking, barely pausing for breath.
"The quarantine lot think it's an infection and point to the similarity to medical terms, like necrosis, or sepsis, or blah blah. Which, okay, first, rude!" she scoffed. "Second, it doesn't even make sense! Even I can think of a few more words ending in '-sis' that aren't medical terms. Cri-sis. Okay, bad example. Analy-sis. And, uhm . . . anyways, people with functional brains - like me, I'm just not a living dictionary, okay? - think it might be some kind of power mechanic! Or a new stat! Like an affinity? Maybe an alignment or even XP! Can you imagine?" Millie was gushing now. She spun around, eyes wide. "I haven't unlocked it, which sucks. How about you? You must have, right? Can you read me your -"
Finally, Millie's enthusiastic stream of consciousness stuttered to a complete stop as she switched gears immediately.
"Hey . . . are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern.
Junior hadn't spoken.
Now that she was paying attention, she noticed his posture - tense, defensive. There was a tightness to his jaw that hadn't been there the day before.
And beneath it all, a deep weariness.
\ - / - \ - /
Before Millie burst into his condo unit like a hyperactive woodpecker, Junior hadn't spent a very good night.
After the nightmare, sleep was impossible. He spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of what was wrong with him. Or right. He still wasn't sure which.
Through trial and error, one thing became clear: he could see Achilles - but only Achilles.
Sort of.
It wasn't normal vision. The dog appeared as two vague blobs: one where the head should be, another for the body. No fur, no snout, no limbs. Just blurred shapes lacking any visual cues like texture. Maybe it was heat? But that didn't explain why he couldn't see his own hands, even when touching Achilles. And when he deliberately 'looked down' at himself, he still saw nothing.
The weirdest part? His perception of Achilles could be blocked - by himself. When he placed his hand between his face and the dog, the blurred image vanished.
"Huh," he'd murmured. "So my hand blocks my . . . vision? But the bed doesn't? Just me?"
Further tests confirmed it. Achilles had remained visible through furniture, clothing, or walls. Even through the closed door from outside the bedroom. Just not if Junior got in his own way.
"This definitely isn't normal sight," he'd muttered.
Still, the ability felt real. Strange, yes, but tangible. Like something awakened in him. Throughout the night, as he repeated his little experiments, Achilles patiently obeyed every command - earning more treats than usual.
So when Millie stormed into his condo unit and asked him if he was alright, Junior was quiet for a long moment. Then he gestured vaguely toward the couch.
"Sit. I'll explain."
She did, perched on the edge of the cushion like she might spring forward at any moment.
"I didn't sleep," Junior said, voice low. "Not well, anyway."
He told her about the nightmare - not in full detail, but enough. The red beach, the blood sky, the monsters. The towering thing that swallowed him whole. And how, when he woke up, he'd been shocked at the changes.
The strange new sorta-vision. His tests and results.
The way Junior told it, the small blue box displaying Apeirosis: 2.37% was almost an afterthought. For someone who'd lived his entire life in darkness, it was more than just strange - seeing was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.
Millie listened with rapt attention, barely breathing. When Junior paused, giving her a chance to comment, she immediately wanted to jump into the cool parts - to her at least - about his dream fighting and new abilities!
But even she wasn't that insensitive, despite how excited she'd been when she first learned about Apeirosis. She focused on the part truly important to her friend.
"And now you can see?" she asked gently. "I mean - not like me. Your tests were pretty well thought out, given the circumstances. I can confirm I definitely can't see through solid objects and doors."
"Only Achilles," Junior countered. "And only vaguely. I can still see him now," he pointed unerringly in the direction of his dog. Then he titled his head and continued thoughtfully "Stand in front of him."
She blinked.
"What?"
Then she caught on, remembering his tests, and moved between Junior and his dog. The moment she did, Achilles' blurry shape vanished from Junior's perception.
"He's gone," Junior confirmed.
Millie looked down at herself. "I'm blocking him?"
"It would seem so."
They both stood in silence for a moment.
"Huh. I wonder if I'd still block him without clothes on?" Millie mused. Then she realized what she said and blushed furiously.
"Forget I said that!" she rushed to say as Junior chuckled.
"What? Not up for another round of 'bedsheet marathons'?" Junior teased as she muttered darkly under her breath.
"Okay," she said after further thought. "Wild theory time: what if Achilles is your familiar?"
Junior tilted his head. "Like, magically bonded?"
"Yeah! Spirit animal, soul beast, chosen companion - pick your flavour."
"Or he's just my dog," Junior deadpanned, though in truth he was willing to give the idea further thought.
"Boring," Millie huffed. "I'm going with: soulbond."
Junior smiled faintly. "Of course you are."
Millie smiled as well, pleased she'd managed to do her small part in cheering Junior up through his difficulties.
The two of them spent about an hour coming up with more tests and theories. Millie suggested they go to the balcony and look outside together. Even though she spotted other people (including at least one dog walker), Junior saw none of them, not even the other dog. Which Millie touted as further proof of her soulbond theory and Junior reluctantly admitted he wasn't discounting it either.
Later they circled back to the topic of Junior's dream itself. Millie tried to temper her enthusiasm as they returned to the unpleasant subject.
"The dream - nightmare - sounds like a trial. Like a training simulation. You fought, right? You killed things."
Junior hesitated. "Sort of. It felt like I was pretending. I have zero fighting skills. I was like . . . a kid pretending to be a heroic warrior and just imagining how it should go."
"Maybe it still counts," she shrugged. "And your Apeirosis score went up after that?"
"Yeah."
Unable to contain herself anymore, she practically bounced in place. "Then it's gotta be experience. Or maybe awakening something."
Junior gave a dry chuckle. "You're way too excited about me getting eaten in a dream."
"Because it wasn't just a dream." Millie's eyes gleamed.
/ - \ - / - \
Later in the morning, heading towards noon, the two of them left the condo to take Achilles for a walk.
The halls were quiet, the other residents keeping to themselves in accordance with the lockdown orders. Outside, the streets were subdued. For a normal weekday close to lunch time, the streets should have been bustling under the late morning sunshine. Instead, Millie told Junior the roads were practically devoid of cars and most storefronts were closed. Certain businesses got exceptions to remain open as 'essential', like markets and drugstores, but restaurants, which also served food, generally weren't. The rules weren't very clear or consistent and Junior could only imagine how it would change things if the lockdown continued for long.
Millie glanced around, arms folded. "It's not empty," she said. "Just . . . quieter."
Junior nodded. "Galatea's lockdown isn't as strict as some other places. I've heard some cities on the mainland have a full military presence. Curfews. Even drones."
Millie snorted. "Figures. Galateans are chill like that. Back home, they'd have barricades already."
Junior glanced toward her. "Where's home, exactly?"
Junior couldn't see her somewhat bitter smile but he could hear it in her voice. "Mainland. Northeast Kallidora. Big city, lots of noise, even more concrete."
"What brought you here?"
"An assignment. Figured I'd stay a few months. That was… four years ago." She grinned. "Galatea grows on you."
Junior nodded, acknowledging her words. Achilles had done the needful and they were returning to the condo.
"How old were you back then?"
Millie blinked. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. Making conversation."
She paused, then sighed. "Sorry, I keep forgetting. Sighted people can usually guess age. I mean, vaguely. Skin, posture, fashion - whatever. You don't have that. But you still asked."
"Mid twenties," Junior said calmly.
Millie's eyes widened as she stumbled a little. "How did you . . ?"
"Voice timbre. Cadence. Vocabulary." A grin. "Energy level. It's all there if you're listening."
She stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "Remind me never to lie to you."
He chuckled. "I'll know."
By then they'd reached the front of the building. Millie was surprised to see a police car parked out front. Another, open-cab utility vehicle - a 4x4 Manta with military-style camouflage paint in hues of grey - was with it. She commented on the vehicles to Junior before they both went inside.
In the lobby they were confronted by a peculiar scene. A uniformed police officer was with a woman in the grey-shaded uniform of the Galatean Coast Guard. They were speaking with a man who turned out to be Reynard, Junior's neighbour from unit 802.
As soon as Junior and Millie walked into the lobby, Reynard cut off what he was saying and pointed directly at them.
"There. That's them. One of them has got to be a Reclaimed!" he accused.