She's not from here. And she's not here to play.
Day 5, 11:58 AM — Academy Training Field (Sealed Zone C)
It started with an earthquake.
No one else seemed to feel it — but the system did.
[System Alert: Dimensional Echo Detected]
Origin: UNKNOWN
Interference Class: Tier 5
Reality Layer Disruption: 12.7%
Status: Incoming Entity — Estimated Manifestation in 00:12 seconds
Twelve seconds later, the sky above Training Zone C cracked like glass.
Students screamed. Instructors activated containment spells. Barriers flickered and buckled.
From the rift stepped a girl. Not older than seventeen. Dressed in black and violet. Her eyes were void — not metaphorically, but literally: endless space filled them.
She didn't say a word.
She looked across the field—
And pointed straight at me.
"There you are."
Her System Flared to Life
[Target Interface: ERROR — Not Registered to This World]
[Cross-System Detected: "Erebus Protocol"]
[Entity Name: ❖ Unknown | Alias: Kiris]
[Relationship Claim: Primary Summoner of Subject Nox Voidborne]
"You were supposed to be mine," she said. "Not this world's. Not theirs."
"Return what you stole."
Cassandra appeared in a flash, landing between us with her blade out.
"Stay behind me. She's not part of this realm."
Mira appeared on the other side of the field, unnaturally calm. "Huh. I guess the other one woke up."
I didn't move.
The girl—Kiris—raised a finger.
A ripple ran through the ground.
Half the field collapsed.
[System Sync Spike Detected: 91%]
Emotional Memory Surged: Name 'Kiris' = Recognized
Why do I remember her? Who is she to me?
FLASHBACK GLITCH: SYSTEM RECONSTRUCTION INCOMPLETE
You see:
A dark chamber.
A ritual.
Chains binding your hands.
Her voice: "You'll change the world for me. I made you for that."
I gasped. My knees hit the ground. Blood in my mouth.
"No... no, you're not real. I escaped you."
She smiled.
"Did you?"
Cassandra roared forward. A wave of null-magic crashed toward Kiris.
Kiris didn't dodge.
She absorbed it.
"Wrong realm, wrong rules, Cassandra. I'm not bound by your logic."
"He belongs to me. Body, soul... and system."
[System Emergency Trigger Available]
Use Forbidden Skill: [LOCKED]
Activate Incomplete Shadowstep [✓]
Attempt System Firewall Break [ ]
Delay Action [ ]
I had seconds to choose.
But I already knew what I had to do.
I stepped forward.
"I don't belong to anyone."
I raised my hand, blood pulsing through the circuit lines in my wrist.
"You want me? Catch me."
I blinked into Shadowstep — straight through her.
Her eyes widened—
And the sky cracked again.
[Dimensional Flux: Temporary Evacuation Successful]
Cross-system breach avoided
Kiris threat postponed, not eliminated
System Log: "Kiris — primary link to origin soul. Connection active."
I landed hard in a hidden alleyway, knees buckling.
This wasn't over.
She wasn't done.
And worse—
I remembered her name.
And everything that came with it.