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Chapter 12 - Chapter 11: Echoes Before the Storm

The morning felt off.

Not bad, not good—just… different.

Frank stood by his window, eyes half-open as the sunlight spilled across his desk like molten gold. The world outside seemed quieter than usual, yet the silence carried weight—like the earth itself was holding its breath.

Jessica's hologram flickered to life beside him, a faint shimmer of blue light that took the form of a girl with calm, calculating eyes.

> "Good morning, Frank," she said, voice smooth and precise. "System stability has decreased by three percent overnight."

Frank blinked. "Meaning?"

> "Meaning something in this world is… shifting. Beasts are evolving faster. Humans are changing too. The code of this world isn't stable anymore."

He sighed, scratching his neck. "And you're just telling me this now?"

Jessica tilted her head, unfazed. "You were asleep. You humans tend to do that."

Frank shot her a dry look. "Ha. Funny."

Still, the words lingered—the code isn't stable.

He closed his eyes for a second, feeling the faint pulse in his chest. It was subtle, but deep inside, something stirred. A strange rhythm. Like an echo calling to him from far away.

---

School was quieter too. Students whispered between classes, rumors spreading about weird things happening nearby—dogs glowing at night, a tree that bled sap like molten gold, someone lifting a car with one hand. The teachers brushed it off, but Frank could feel it: the world was changing.

When he walked into class, Emily was already there—sitting by the window, sunlight cutting across her face like divine brushstrokes. Her eyes, always unreadable, flicked to him the moment he entered.

"Morning," he muttered, sliding into his seat.

She gave a slight smile. "You look like you didn't sleep."

"Didn't," he said simply. "Night felt… noisy."

Emily's fingers paused over her notebook. "You heard it too?"

Frank looked up. "Heard what?"

She stared out the window. "The hum. Like the world's heart beating… but out of sync."

For a split second, something flashed in her eyes—something otherworldly. A flicker of blue light, the same hue as Jessica's hologram.

Jessica's voice whispered through his mind.

> "Frank. Energy fluctuation detected. Classmate Emily—her energy pattern is anomalous."

He froze.

> "Define anomalous."

> "Undefined fragment resonance. But weak… fading."

Frank's breath caught in his throat. Fragment resonance? He wasn't ready for this—not now.

Emily glanced at him, noticing his sudden stiffness. "Something wrong?"

He forced a smile. "Nah. Just… thinking."

Her gaze lingered, searching, like she could see the storm inside him.

---

After class, Jessica appeared beside him in the empty hallway, her tone quieter than usual.

> "Frank, I recommend caution. Whatever this 'Emily' is—she isn't ordinary. There's a pattern in her energy similar to yours, but distorted. Like… an echo."

"An echo?"

> "Yes. A faint reflection of your soul's signature."

He ran a hand through his hair. "You're saying she might be one of them?"

> "Possibly. But incomplete. A fragment that hasn't awakened—or doesn't know it exists."

Frank stared at his reflection in a nearby glass door. His own eyes looked different lately—darker, sharper, like something inside was peering back.

He felt both terrified and drawn in. If Emily really was a fragment, why didn't he sense hostility? Why did her presence make his heartbeat faster, not colder?

Jessica's voice cut through his thoughts again.

> "Frank. Power levels rising across the district. Mutations detected in the surrounding fauna. The world's system is unraveling faster than predicted."

"Meaning?" he whispered.

> "Meaning the Fragments are stirring… and soon, the first will awaken."

Thunder cracked outside—sharp, sudden, unnatural. The hallway lights flickered, and for a heartbeat, Frank saw a silhouette in the glass beside his reflection. It looked like him—but the eyes burned red.

Then it was gone.

---

The storm began to build that night.

The air tasted like static. The moonlight was pale and cold, casting the world in a haunting silver. Frank sat on his bed, staring out at the lightning slicing through the clouds.

Jessica stood beside him, arms folded, face unreadable.

> "You can feel it too, can't you?" she said softly.

Frank nodded. "Yeah. The world's waking up."

> "No," Jessica replied, her hologram flickering like static. "The world's remembering."

He turned to her, confusion flickering across his face.

> "Remembering what?"

Jessica's gaze met his, and for the first time, her tone held something almost human.

> "You."

And it's not going to be easy.

---

End of Chapter 11.

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