The clock on the wall wasn't kind. Every second hit like a gavel.
[Thrum…]
Side Flag: Neutralize Scheduled Post
Timer: 00:20:00
Penalty on Failure: Survival −6%
"Elara." Kaelan's voice carried across the silent annex—cool, precise, a warning. "You are not permitted to solicit off-portal evidence or external contacts during a disciplinary detention."
"I'm permitted to preserve existing evidence," she countered, not looking up from her tablet where she was drafting a formal request. She spun the screen toward him. "Co-sign this as supervisor. It's a request to place a formal hold on the B-Hall CCTV footage to prevent deletion or tampering. It's called due process, President Thorne."
He didn't move from his desk. The expensive pen in his hand made a single, soft click.
[Ding!]
Event: Male Lead Interaction (On Site)
Status:
- Attention: 18/100 → 21/100 (Δ +3)
- Survival Probability: 39% → 38% (Δ −1%)
Note: Prolonged private time increases risk.
A new message from Nora flashed on her screen.
Nora_H_AV: Motion markers confirmed for 12:16 and 12:22. I can get you a higher-res thumbnail still if a staff member co-signs the data access waiver. Also… check the wall clock in the background of the viral clip. The numbers look… wrong?
Elara's breath hitched. She pulled up the grainy, looping three-second clip. She'd been so focused on the blazer, she'd missed the background. She zoomed in. The Aethelstan crest on the blazer pocket—an eagle facing left—was facing right. And on the wall behind the struggling figures, the round analog clock… its numerals were reversed. The 'II' for two o'clock was on the left, not the right.
The footage was flipped. Mirrored.
[Ding!]
Note: Refute Pack — Components Identified
Projected Survival Gain: +5% (if recorded before Council)
Sub-Objectives:
- CCTV still + crest orientation mismatch (MIRRORED FOOTAGE)
- Forum pattern (UK spellings: 'rumour', 'behaviour')
- Unique typo ('neckalace') linked to external account
- Locker/clock mirroring confirmation
"The clip is mirrored," she stated, her voice flat with certainty. She didn't look at Kaelan, but she knew he was listening. "Whoever edited it was careless. The crest is backward. The clock is reversed. The real culprit is left-handed in a right-handed world."
She quickly cross-referenced the forum archive. The posts using 'rumour' and 'behaviour' were all from the same IP block. The 'neckalace' typo was a perfect, damning fingerprint.
The analog clock over the door ticked. 00:19:12.
"Sign the form, Thorne," she said, her voice low but clear as she slid the tablet across the desk toward him. "Or you'll be personally responsible for letting a digitally forged lie destroy a student's record. Is that the kind of justice your council stands for?"
He studied her for a long moment, his grey eyes calculating. The pressure of his gaze was a physical weight. Finally, he picked up his pen. "If any of this is fabricated," he said, his voice dangerously quiet, "I will not only vote to expel you, I will ensure you face legal action for fraud." He scrawled his signature on the digital waiver.
A moment later, Nora's higher-resolution thumbnail arrived. It was timestamped 12:16:03. The crest on the blurry figure's blazer was correctly oriented, the eagle facing left. It was the opposite of the viral clip.
[Ding!]
Event: Evidence Preservation Secured
Status:
- Survival Probability: 38% → 40% (Δ +2%)
But there was no time to celebrate. The scheduled post timer hit 00:00:10. Elara and Nora had managed to file a last-second abuse report with the forum host, but it was a Hail Mary. At 3:25 PM exactly, a notification blared across the campus network.
NEW POST: Aethelstan Confessions. Title: The Full Truth About Elara Vance.
The post contained a longer, ten-second clip. It showed the figure in the crimson blazer shoving the mousy-haired girl, Maya, with more force, followed by a sneer that the edited clip made sure was unmistakably aimed at the camera. The audio was new, too: a distorted, but female, voice saying, "Stay down, scholarship trash."
But Elara was ready. She had already split her screen. On one side, the new "full" clip. On the other, the mirrored, paused frame from the original and the CCTV still from Nora. She zoomed in on the wall clock in the new video. The numeral 'IV' for four o'clock was on the right side. In reality, in Hallway B, it was on the left. The new clip was also mirrored.
"Look," she said, her voice cutting through the tension. She turned her tablet fully toward Kaelan, showing the side-by-side comparison. "The clock. It's wrong. Both clips are mirrored. This is a deliberate fabrication."
Kaelan's eyes widened a fraction. The cold certainty in them flickered, replaced by sharp, analytical focus. He saw it. The incontrovertible proof of manipulation.
[Thrum…]
Side Flag: File Refute Pack to Council Record
Timer: 00:05:00
Penalty on Failure: Survival −5%
The door to the library annex swung open. A prefect stood there, face stern. "Vance. Thorne. The Disciplinary Council is convened. You're needed in the conference room. Now."
The final countdown had begun.