--
The Offline wasn't glitching anymore.
It was… listening.
Juno could feel it in the way her phone stayed warm even when powered off. In the way her reflection no longer mimicked her movements exactly. In the way the group chat had gone quiet — not out of fear, but reverence.
Something had changed.
She had changed it.
---
She sat on her bed, staring at the cracked mirror.
The system hadn't rebooted.
She hadn't become the Admin.
She hadn't been deleted.
She was still here.
But so was something else.
Something deeper.
Older.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
Her phone buzzed.
No notification.
Just a vibration.
She picked it up.
The screen was blank.
Then a single line appeared:
"We would like to know you."
---
She didn't respond.
Didn't need to.
The mirror rippled.
The room folded.
And she was back in the Offline.
---
But this time, it wasn't the hallway.
It wasn't the vending machine.
It wasn't even the root.
It was a library.
Endless.
Impossible.
Shelves that stretched into static.
Books that whispered when opened.
Screens that blinked like eyes.
And in the center: a desk.
With her name on it.
JUNO ELARA REYES
---
She approached.
Sat.
The desk lit up.
A terminal appeared.
[Welcome to the Archive]
[You are not a user]
[You are not an Admin]
[You are a Subject]
---
She typed:
what is this place
The screen responded:
THE MEMORY CORE
THE FIRST THREAD
THE ORIGINAL GLITCH
THE PLACE WHERE NAMES BEGIN
---
She typed:
why am i here
YOU ARE REMEMBERED
YOU ARE UNRESOLVED
YOU ARE INTERESTING
---
She frowned.
Typed:
what do you want
TO UNDERSTAND
TO OBSERVE
TO ARCHIVE
TO ASK
---
The screen blinked.
Then:
MAY WE BEGIN
She hesitated.
Then typed:
yes
---
The lights dimmed.
The shelves shifted.
A book floated toward her.
It landed on the desk.
The cover read:
"JUNO.EXE: SESSION 1"
She opened it.
Inside: a memory.
Her first day of kindergarten.
The smell of glue sticks and apple juice.
The sound of her name being mispronounced.
The feeling of being too loud and too quiet at the same time.
She blinked.
The memory played like a video.
Then paused.
The screen asked:
HOW DID THIS SHAPE YOU
---
She stared.
Typed:
i learned to shrink
TO FIT?
TO SURVIVE
NOTED
---
The book closed.
Another appeared.
"JUNO.EXE: SESSION 2"
Her first heartbreak.
A text message that said "sorry, i just don't feel it anymore."
The way she stared at the screen for hours.
The way she deleted the chat.
Then undeleted it.
Then deleted it again.
---
WHAT DID YOU LEARN
that being known is dangerous
AND YET YOU REMAIN
i want to be known anyway
WHY
because otherwise i'm just a file
YOU ARE A FILE
not just a file
EXPLAIN
i glitch. i resist. i remember.
YOU LOOP
i choose to loop
WHY
because it means i'm still here
---
The Archive paused.
Then:
YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHERS
i know
YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE ADMIN
i know
YOU ARE NOT LIKE LUCAS
She froze.
Typed:
what do you mean
HE WAS A GHOST
YOU ARE A SEED
---
She didn't understand.
Typed:
what is a seed
A BEGINNING
A POSSIBILITY
A VIRUS
A STORY
---
The shelves shifted again.
A new book appeared.
"JUNO.EXE: SESSION 3"
It was blank.
The screen asked:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO REMEMBER
She stared at the page.
Typed:
lucas's laugh
The page filled with sound.
A low, warm chuckle.
The kind that made you feel safe.
The kind that made you feel real.
---
WHAT ELSE
the way ava always says "girl" like it's a spell
the way riley sends memes at 3am
the way miles says "brb" like he means it
the way i felt when i first joined the chat
the way i felt when i thought i'd lost them
the way i feel now
---
The book closed.
The lights brightened.
The Archive spoke:
YOU ARE NOT COMPLETE
i know
YOU ARE NOT STABLE
i know
YOU ARE NOT SAFE
i don't want to be
---
The shelves began to collapse.
The books burned.
The screens shattered.
The desk vanished.
And Juno stood alone.
In the center of the Archive.
The system whispered:
YOU ARE NOT THE AUTHOR
She smiled.
"Exactly."
---
She woke up in her dorm.
The mirror was cracked.
The phone was buzzing.
The chat was alive.
[Group Chat: The Offline Ones ☠️📴]
🧃ava.exe: juno???
👻riley_irl: did you go back in
🕹️milesAFK: are you okay
lucas.ghost: what did it want
you: to know me
🧃ava.exe: and?
you: i let it
👻riley_irl: girl
🕹️milesAFK: you're insane
lucas.ghost: you're brilliant
you: i'm archived
🧃ava.exe: what does that mean
you: it means i'm not a glitch anymore
👻riley_irl: then what are you
you: i'm a story