The alley was empty when Je entered it.
It wasn't when he turned around.
A figure stood at the far end—tall, motionless, cloaked in layers of black so deep the night itself seemed pale. No footsteps. No breath. Only the weight of its existence pressing into Je's lungs.
The voice didn't come from its mouth.
It slid into Je's mind, bypassing every defense the system had.
> "Child of an unblessed dawn…
Why do you carry her mark?"
[Warning: Foreign Authority Detected.]
[System Interference: 87%]
[Status: Losing Control.]
Je staggered back. "Who—what—are you?"
The figure tilted its head in a way that felt like an insult.
> "I am not a what. I am the first question, and the last answer. I wrote the strings your parasite calls 'commands.' When I speak, your system listens."
The air grew heavy. Je's thoughts slowed, like they were being read before he could think them.
[System Notification Blocked.]
[System Voice Muted.]
> "Do you believe," the being said, "that you are its master?
No. It is mine. As are the others."
A hand emerged from the cloak—not flesh, not bone, but a lattice of starlight wrapped in shadow. In its palm, a symbol pulsed—the same as Je's, but older, jagged, complete.
> "The First Seal has cracked. That was not your doing.
It was mine. You walk a path I carved before your kind could speak."
The figure took a step forward, and the alley bent, folding space around its presence.
> "The next time you hear the whisper…
…it will not be hers."
And just like that—
he was gone.
[System Voice Restored.]
[System Error: Authority Conflict Logged.]
[Note: He should not exist.]
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