Elias begins encountering people who say things twice — perfectly, word for word — and don't realize it. Conversations echo. Events seem to reset. The Black File tries to stay grounded, but Volst forgets recent orders. Lirae records Elias saying things he swears he didn't say.
The System can't detect a threat. But it begins logging something new: "Narrative Looping."
---
It started with a question in the hallway.
A junior comms officer passed Elias, nodded casually.
"Back from Silph already?"
Elias raised a brow. "We've been back a week."
The officer froze.
"No, I just saw your team's arrival stamped this morning."
Thirty minutes later, Elias crossed the same hallway.
Same officer.
Same nod.
Same words.
"Back from Silph already?"
Elias didn't answer this time.
He just watched.
And the officer didn't blink.
Didn't notice.
Just walked on.
That afternoon, Volst gave Elias new patrol orders.
A sweep rotation near the armory.
He confirmed.
Later, he ran into her again.
She handed him the same order — same paper, same seal — and acted like it was new.
"Volst, you already gave me this."
She paused. "No I didn't."
"Yes. Same hall. Four hours ago."
She stared at the paper.
Eyes flicked once left.
"I don't remember that."
Lirae's logs caught it next.
Audio files of Elias in the common room.
Same line — said twice over two days:
"If the System's quiet, it doesn't mean nothing's wrong."
Elias only remembered saying it once.
Lirae played it back for him.
Word-perfect. Same tone. Same breath.
She blinked.
"I didn't copy the file. That's... two different days."
Bit didn't seem confused.
He seemed amused.
"I like the echoes," he whispered one night in the vents. "It's like a song. Like the world wants you to say the same things so it remembers you better."
Elias didn't answer.
But he wrote in the journal that night:
"The ship is looping. Or we are.
I'm losing track of when things happened.
Everything feels like déjà vu — but rehearsed."
The System chimed softly:
> Narrative Irregularity Logged
> Local Time-Slip: Sub-Cognitive
> Memory Match Events: 4 (Last 36 Hours)
> Threat Level: Non-Hostile
> Category: LOOP
Non-hostile.
But growing.
That night, Elias looked in the mirror.
Only for a moment.
But long enough to watch his own mouth move...
just a second too late.
[END OF PART 3: Mirror Conversations]