(First Person — Aria)
The next morning felt wrong before I even opened my eyes.
Silence pressed heavily against my ears — too deep, too complete. Usually, the sounds of traffic and distant voices drifted through my window, but today there was nothing.
Just stillness.
I sat up slowly.
My wrist tingled.
The faint silver markings from last night were gone, yet the sensation remained, like warmth trapped beneath my skin.
"Okay… I officially need sleep," I muttered.
But deep down, I knew exhaustion wasn't the problem.
Something had changed.
At the University
Campus looked normal.
Students laughed, vendors shouted prices, motorcycles passed noisily outside the gates — everything exactly as it should be.
Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong inside the scene anymore.
Like I was slightly out of sync with the world.
"Aria!"
Lucien jogged toward me, waving a notebook. "You disappeared yesterday. I thought you died under exam pressure."
I forced a smile. "Tempting option."
He studied my face longer than usual. "You look pale."
"I didn't sleep well."
That was technically true.
As we walked toward class, a sudden cold breeze swept through the corridor.
Every light above us flickered at once.
Students murmured in annoyance, but my stomach tightened.
The air felt… aware.
I glanced toward the second-floor balcony.
For a split second, I thought I saw someone standing there — tall, unmoving.
Watching.
I blinked.
The space was empty.
"Are you listening?" Lucien asked.
"Hm? Yeah."
But I wasn't.
Because the uneasy sensation followed me into the lecture hall.
Halfway through biology class, my pen rolled off the desk.
A small thing.
Normal.
Except it stopped mid-fall.
Hovered.
Then dropped suddenly as if gravity remembered its job.
My breath hitched.
No one else reacted.
I stared at my hands.
"What is happening to me…?"
A whisper brushed my ear.
Awaken.
I turned sharply.
No one stood behind me.
My heart pounded so loudly I barely heard the lecturer anymore.
Unseen
From the rooftop across the faculty building, Keal watched.
The girl sat among humans, unaware of the energy leaking from her existence.
It pulsed faintly — unstable, incomplete.
Not the overwhelming force described in prophecy.
His expression hardened.
This is the Veiled Star?
Impossible.
And yet…
When her power flickered during class, he felt it clearly.
Ancient.
Bound.
Dangerous.
His hand tightened slightly.
If she awakened fully here, thousands would die before sunset.
The logical decision was simple.
End it now.
Still… he waited.
Observing.
Confirming.
Afternoon Unease
The rest of the day passed under invisible pressure.
Phones malfunctioned near me.
Lights dimmed when I walked by.
Even conversations seemed to pause as I passed groups of students.
By evening, my nerves were stretched thin.
"I'm heading home early," I told Lucien.
He frowned. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Just tired."
That word again.
Tired.
It was easier than explaining fear I didn't understand.
Nightfall
The sky darkened faster than usual as I left campus.
Clouds swallowed the last sunlight.
The streets felt emptier.
Quieter.
And then—
Footsteps behind me.
Slow.
Intentional.
My stomach dropped.
I turned.
He stood beneath a streetlight.
The stranger from before.
Closer now.
Real.
Watching only me.
And this time…
he didn't look curious.
He looked decided.
(First Person — Aria)
Something was wrong with the night.
I felt it the moment I stepped out of the campus gate.
The air was too still.
Even Chicago traffic — usually loud and restless — seemed distant, muffled, like the world had been wrapped in invisible cloth.
I tightened my grip on my bag and walked faster.
"You're imagining things," I muttered.
But the feeling followed.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind me.
Slow.
Measured.
Not trying to hide.
My pulse quickened. I turned slightly, pretending to check my phone.
That was when I saw him.
The stranger from the rooftop.
Standing beneath a flickering streetlight.
Tall. Motionless. Watching.
My breath caught.
Up close, he looked even more unreal — dark hair falling over sharp eyes that held no warmth at all. People walked past him without reacting, as if they couldn't see him.
But I could.
And he was looking directly at me.
Instinct screamed at me to leave.
I turned and began walking faster.
The footsteps followed.
Closer now.
"Why are you following me?" I asked suddenly, spinning around.
He stopped a few steps away.
Silence stretched between us.
His gaze moved slowly across my face, studying me like a problem he intended to solve.
"You can see me," he said at last.
His voice was low. Calm. Dangerous.
I frowned. "Of course I can see you. You're literally standing—"
"You shouldn't be able to."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Okay… you're being weird."
I turned again.
And froze.
He was suddenly in front of me.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Just… there.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
"How did you—?"
His hand lifted.
Not touching me.
Just hovering inches from my throat.
Power pressed against my skin — invisible but suffocating.
Every instinct screamed run, yet my body refused to move.
His eyes hardened.
"So this is the one," he murmured.
"The prophecy chose… this?"
"What are you talking about?" My voice shook despite my effort to sound brave.
He ignored the question.
Instead, he asked quietly:
"Do you know what you are?"
Fear turned into irritation. "A tired university student being harassed by a stranger?"
For the first time, emotion flickered across his face.
Not amusement.
Disappointment.
"…Then this will be quick."
The air shattered.
Dark energy gathered around his hand, twisting like living shadows. The streetlights flickered violently as pressure crushed the space between us.
I couldn't breathe.
"What—what are you doing?!"
His voice remained cold.
"Preventing the end."
The darkness lunged toward me.
And then—
Light exploded from my chest.
Silver energy burst outward instinctively, colliding with his power before it reached me. Wind roared down the empty street, sending debris flying.
Keal's eyes widened — the first crack in his composure.
The forces clashed violently.
Then both vanished.
Silence slammed back into place.
I staggered backward, gasping.
He stared at his hand.
Unharmed.
Blocked.
"…Impossible."
I shook uncontrollably. "You just tried to kill me!"
His gaze snapped back to mine, sharper than before.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No apology.
Pure truth.
Fear rooted me to the ground.
"Why?"
He stepped closer, shadows shifting around him like obedient servants.
"Because you are either the greatest threat this world will ever know…"
His eyes darkened.
"…or the greatest mistake I have made."
Before I could respond, pain surged through my body again. Silver markings flickered across my wrist briefly.
His expression changed — calculation replacing certainty.
He lowered his hand slowly.
"…You're not awakened."
Confusion filled his voice now.
As if reality had betrayed him.
Sirens sounded faintly in the distance.
He glanced toward the noise, then back at me.
For a moment, something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Conflict.
Then he stepped back.
"This isn't over," he said quietly.
The shadows swallowed him.
And he was gone.
I stood alone under the streetlight, shaking, trying to understand one terrifying truth:
Someone out there believed I was dangerous enough…
to deserve death.