Aya tightened her grip on the holster at her side. Riku's smirk irritated her, but what unsettled her more was the truth in his words.
Oracle didn't detect him.
That was impossible. Oracle detected everything.
Her eyes drifted back to the senator's lifeless face. His wide, glassy eyes still seemed to be staring at the paper in his hand—as if even in death, he remained terrified of the message.
The Whisperer.
A name Aya had only heard in half-forgotten rumors.
"You're shaking," Riku said softly. His voice no longer teased—it was calm, steady, almost too mature for someone his age.
"I'm not," Aya replied quickly.
"You should be," Riku answered, stepping into the room. "If The Whisperer is back, then even Oracle isn't safe. Which means…" His eyes locked onto hers. "…neither are we."
Aya studied him for a moment. The boy was soaked, hair plastered to his forehead, but his sharp, calculating gaze didn't waver.
"Tell me what you know," she demanded.
Riku shook his head. "Not here. Oracle is always listening. Always watching. If we talk too much, it'll notice us."
Aya frowned. "Oracle already declared the case closed. It won't care."
Riku's lips twisted into a cold, humorless smile. "That's exactly what it wants you to think."
Aya's chest tightened. For the first time, she wondered if the boy might be right.
The office lights flickered. Just for a second.
But in Neonspire, lights never flickered.
Aya froze. Riku did too.
On the senator's desk screen, new text appeared—letters not typed by Oracle, but scratched across the glass like invisible claws:
"You're late."
Aya's breath caught.
Riku stepped closer to the desk, his smirk returning, though his hands trembled faintly. "Looks like The Whisperer noticed us."
Aya felt the silence pressing in. The rain outside sounded louder now, like thousands of whispers tapping at the glass.
She clenched her fists. "I don't play games."
But in her chest, her heart hammered with unease.
Riku leaned against the desk, eyes gleaming with something between fear and excitement.
"Then you'll lose," he said quietly.
The words on the screen glowed brighter, burning into their minds:
"The game has already begun."