The delay was real.
Lian tested it in front of her mirror.
She lifted her hand.
Her shadow followed — half a second too late.
At school, everything felt exaggeratedly normal. The laughter. The announcements. The bright white lights.
Too normal.
Then someone sat beside her.
She turned sharply.
He hadn't been there before.
Dark hair. Calm eyes. A silver pendant around his neck — a split circle.
It glowed faintly.
"You shouldn't react," he said quietly.
No one else in the classroom looked at him.
No one seemed to see him at all.
"You disappeared," Lian whispered.
"I was moved."
"Moved where?"
He looked toward the window.
"To the version before this one."
Her stomach tightened.
"How many times do you think Norval has burned, Lian?"
His name came to her without being told.
Kenan.