Sleep didn't come that night.
Nara lay stiff in bed, the glow of her laptop screen casting shadows on the wall. The message looped in her mind like a siren:
*"I remember you."*
*"Too Loud."*
Who else remembered?
She had died quietly — suffocated by betrayal and flames, erased by power and lies. No one had mourned her. No one had even looked for her.
So how could someone possibly remember?
---
*The Next Morning – Assembly Hall*
The students filed into rows for another "urgent" announcement. This time, it wasn't about a scandal. It was a warning.
The principal stood at the podium, flanked by two serious-looking men in black suits.
"This school has recently been targeted by cyber-attacks, false allegations, and calculated attempts to defame the Elite Crest community," she began.
Nara watched from the third row, unreadable.
"We will be launching a full-scale investigation. All student devices are subject to search. Suspicious behavior will not be tolerated."
Whispers rippled through the room. Panic. Suspicion. Fear.
And behind it all, *eyes. Watching her.*
She could feel them.
Zayne nudged her gently. "You sure you've got this?"
Nara didn't blink. "I never lose."
He looked like he wanted to say more — but a sharp voice interrupted them.
"You. Stand up."
One of the men in black had pointed to her.
The whole room turned.
Nara rose slowly, spine straight, heart pounding but face calm.
"Come with us."
She followed them out without a word, leaving behind a room full of buzzing tension.
---
*Interrogation Room – Admin Block*
The room was bare: metal chair, one table, a flickering fan overhead.
They searched her phone first. Nothing. She had wiped it last night.
Then her laptop. Still nothing. She never saved anything permanent.
She had learned the hard way in her first life — *evidence kills. Memory saves.*
"You're smart," one of them said. "Too smart."
"Is that a crime here?" she replied, flat.
He leaned in. "Tell us who's behind the leaks. Or we'll find out another way."
She met his eyes. Calm. Cold. "You can't find what you're too blind to see."
After hours, they let her go.
But they didn't return her phone.
---
*Later – Library*
Zayne found her seated in the back corner, tracing circles on the inside of a book cover. Not reading — just thinking.
"What did they do to you?" he asked.
"Nothing they haven't done before," she said without emotion.
He sat down across from her, frustration in his voice. "You don't have to take all of this alone, you know. I'm not blind, Nara. I see you."
She looked up at him, a flicker of something soft behind her walls. But it vanished as quickly as it came.
"You see what I let you see."
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he asked the one question she feared:
"Who *are* you really?"
Nara didn't answer.
She couldn't.
---
*That Night – A New Message*
A different number this time.
*Unknown:*
_"Check your window."_
Her heart stuttered. She crossed her room and peeked behind the curtain.
A white envelope sat on her window ledge.
She opened it with shaking fingers.
Inside: a photo.
*Her.*
From her *first life*.
Standing on the front lawn of Elite Crest in the rain. Her old uniform. A bruise on her cheek. A storm in her eyes.
*This photo never existed. Not anymore. She'd destroyed every copy.*
Written across the top in red ink:
*"You're not the only one who came back."*
She dropped it.
Stepped back.
For the first time since she'd returned…
*Nara felt fear.*