The strategist watched the footage three times.
He did not rewind in anger.
He did not curse.
He did not raise his voice.
---
That was how mistakes were born.
---
"…Play it again," he said calmly.
The room obeyed.
---
The alley appeared on screen.
Hunters.
A woman.
A boy.
And then—
Static distortion.
Temperature drop.
A shape forming where none should exist.
---
The Remnant.
---
"…Pause," the strategist said.
The image froze on the woman's face.
Pale.
Terrified.
Still standing.
---
"…Zoom."
---
Her hands were shaking.
Her knees bent.
But her eyes—
Focused.
---
"She didn't run," someone noted from the table.
---
The strategist nodded.
"…No," he said.
"She chose."
---
Silence followed.
Not confusion.
Concern.
---
"That shouldn't be possible," another analyst said.
"Without ritual or incentive—"
---
"—humans still choose," the strategist finished.
He leaned back slightly.
---
"That," he said,
"is the variable we underestimated."
---
A hologram flared to life.
Urban zones lit up in amber.
---
"Track similar behavior," he ordered.
"Anyone intervening. Anyone delaying protocol."
---
An aide hesitated.
"…That will flag civilians."
---
The strategist smiled thinly.
"…Yes."
---
Across the city—
Databases churned.
Cameras reclassified footage.
Keywords shifted.
---
HELP
became
INTERFERENCE
---
PROTECTION
became
OBSTRUCTION
---
> INTERNAL DIRECTIVE:
Voluntary interaction with persistent entities constitutes risk propagation.
---
The strategist folded his hands.
"…If choice spreads," he said softly,
"authority dissolves."
---
He stood.
Straightened his jacket.
---
"So we remind them what choice costs."
---
—
The woman didn't sleep that night.
---
Her name was Elena Ward.
Thirty-six.
Divorced.
No criminal record.
No affiliations.
---
She sat at her kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug she hadn't drunk from.
---
The boy slept on her couch.
Bandaged.
Alive.
---
Her phone buzzed.
---
Unknown Number.
---
She stared at it.
Then answered.
---
"…Hello?"
---
"Ms. Ward," a man said politely.
"This is the Strategic Human Response Council."
---
Her breath hitched.
---
"We'd like to ask you a few questions."
---
"…I didn't do anything wrong," she said quickly.
---
"Of course not," the voice replied.
"You simply stood in the wrong place."
---
Her grip tightened.
"…Is the boy in trouble?"
---
A pause.
Measured.
---
"He is no longer our concern," the voice said.
"But you are."
---
—
I felt it before Mira spoke.
---
"…Rei," she whispered urgently.
"They flagged her."
---
I was hovering above the city, attention stretched thin across too many threads.
---
"…I know," I said.
I'd felt the pull twist.
Not strengthen.
Fray.
---
> [System Alert:]
— Voluntary Ally Under Review
— Risk Reclassification: HIGH
---
"…They're not attacking her directly," Mira said.
"They're isolating her."
---
"…Social pressure," I muttered.
"Classic."
---
The feed flooded in.
---
Elena arriving at work.
HR waiting.
A polite meeting.
A closed door.
---
"Temporary suspension," her manager said awkwardly.
---
A neighbor stepping away when she entered the elevator.
A friend not returning messages.
---
"…They're poisoning her quietly," Mira said.
---
"…And watching to see if I react," I replied.
---
I clenched my fists.
The air around me rippled.
---
"…Don't," Mira warned.
"If you intervene now—"
---
"I know," I said through my teeth.
"They'll escalate."
---
Across the city—
The strategist watched numbers climb.
---
"Public sentiment is stabilizing," an aide reported.
"Fear is redirecting."
---
The strategist nodded.
"…Good."
---
He tapped the screen.
Elena's profile expanded.
---
"No harm," he said softly.
"No prison."
"No blood."
---
"Just consequences."
---
—
Elena sat alone in her apartment that evening.
Lights off.
Phone face-down.
---
She stared at the wall.
---
"…This is stupid," she muttered.
"All I did was stand there."
---
The air chilled.
Not sharply.
Gently.
---
She inhaled sharply.
"…You," she whispered.
---
I didn't fully manifest.
Just enough.
---
"…I'm sorry," I said.
---
She laughed bitterly.
"…Figures."
---
"I didn't think they'd move this fast," I admitted.
---
She rubbed her face.
"…They didn't threaten me."
"…That's the point," I replied.
---
Silence stretched.
---
"…Was it worth it?" she asked quietly.
---
I didn't answer immediately.
---
"…You saved someone," I said.
---
She swallowed.
"…And lost everything else."
---
I looked at her.
Really looked.
A normal woman.
Paying an abnormal price.
---
"…This is the mistake," I said softly.
---
She frowned.
"…Whose?"
---
"Theirs," I replied.
---
> [System Notice:]
— Human Resolve: STABILIZING
— Consequence Absorption: PARTIAL SUCCESS
---
"…They think punishment stops choice," I continued.
---
I met her eyes.
---
"It teaches it."
---
Her breathing steadied.
Not calm.
Resolved.
---
"…I'm still here," she said quietly.
---
I felt it.
That quiet pressure.
---
Mira's voice trembled.
"…Rei. Others are watching her."
---
"…Good," I said.
---
Across the city—
Someone else hesitated.
Then stepped forward.
---
And the strategist—
Smiled.
---
"…Containment effective," he said.
---
He didn't see the metric blinking red.
---
> ANOMALY:
Choice Propagation Rate — INCREASING
---
That—
Was his first mistake.
---