Note: I forgot System, lol. I only let her says some few words last chapters. Guess I need to add more of her.
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5:30 AM.
The Northwest District was submerged in a sea of grey mist. It was a thick, chilling fog that muffled sound and turned the uniform apartment blocks into looming, ghostly silhouettes.
Cedric was running.
His black tracksuit blended perfectly into the shadows of the alleyways. His breath plumed before him in white clouds, disappearing into the fog as quickly as they formed.
Slap. Slap. Slap.
His rhythm was steady. The [Rhythm Sense] skill he had acquired was working passively, helping him time his breathing with his strides, reducing the burn in his lungs to a manageable hum.
He was alone. The streets were empty. It was his world.
Or so he thought.
At the 1.5-kilometer mark, he heard—or rather, felt—a presence.
There were no footsteps. No heavy breathing. Just a slight displacement of air beside him, a shift in the density of the mist.
Cedric didn't flinch, thanks to [Focus Energy], but he glanced sharply to his left.
Anby Demara was running next to him.
She wasn't wearing her usual jacket or the heavy gear she wore during commissions. She was dressed in a simple, slightly oversized white t-shirt and athletic shorts, her signature headphones resting around her neck.
She wasn't looking at him. She was staring straight ahead, her green eyes focused on the middle distance, her expression completely blank.
But she was matching his pace. Exactly.
When Cedric's left foot hit the pavement, hers did too. When he inhaled, she inhaled. When he swung his arm, she swung hers in perfect mirror symmetry.
It was eerie. It was like running next to a doppleganger.
Cedric slowed down slightly, testing the phenomenon. Anby slowed down instantly, maintaining her position exactly one meter to his left.
He sped up. She sped up.
He ran for another two minutes in silence, the only sound being his own shoes hitting the asphalt. Anby ran silently, her sneakers making no noise at all.
"Why?" Cedric finally asked, his voice rough with exertion.
Anby didn't turn her head. She kept her eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Synchronization," she stated calmly, barely out of breath. "I saw it in a movie. Training partners must move as one organism to achieve maximum efficiency. Like a Jaeger."
Cedric blinked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "A what?"
"Giant robot. Requires two pilots connected by a neural bridge," she explained, as if this were common knowledge. "If they are not in sync, the robot falls. We are drifting."
Cedric didn't know what 'drifting' meant in this context, nor did he know why they were piloting a hypothetical robot at 5:30 in the morning.
But he understood the logic. Synchronization meant efficiency.
"Okay," he said. "Drifting."
They finished the run in perfect, silent unison, cutting through the fog like a single entity split in two.
They stopped at the small park near the 141 Convenience Store. Cedric leaned against a rusted swing set, catching his breath.
Anby stood perfectly still, her chest rising and falling only slightly. She looked at him, analyzing his posture.
"Your form is acceptable," she noted, her tone professional. "But your footsteps are too loud. You strike the ground too hard. You sound like a tank."
"I am heavy," Cedric defended weakly. "Gravity."
"Weight is irrelevant. It is about technique."
She demonstrated. She jumped in place, a high vertical leap.
When she landed, there was no thud. No impact sound. Her knees bent, her ankles flexed, absorbing the force instantly. It was unnatural. It was silent.
"Ninja technique," she whispered seriously, leaning in. "Essential for sneaking into the kitchen at 3 AM without waking the Commander."
Cedric nodded solemnly. That was a useful skill.
Anby reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small, foil-wrapped rectangle. It wasn't a burger.
"Fuel," she said, handing it to him.
It was a Protein Bar (Discount Brand - Chocolate Flavor).
"Thanks," Cedric said, taking it.
"See you," she said.
And just like that, she turned and jogged away, vanishing into the mist before Cedric could even open the wrapper.
***
Later that day, around noon.
Random Play was quiet. Wise had gone to the market to restock groceries for the week. Belle was upstairs, still asleep, recovering from a late-night gaming raid that had apparently gone until 4 AM.
Cedric was minding the shop. He was wearing his white shirt and black trousers today, looking every bit the dutiful assistant.
He was dusting the shelves with a feather duster, mimicking the movements he had learned from 18.
The bell didn't ring. The door just... opened.
Cedric turned.
Anby stood in the doorway.
She was wearing her usual outfit—the green jacket, the black dress. But something was wrong.
To an outsider, she looked perfectly normal. Her face was blank. She was standing still.
But Cedric, with his [Empathy], saw the signs of a profound internal crisis.
Her headphones were slightly crooked. Her hands were clenching and unclenching at her sides. Her aura radiated a heavy, silent distress signal.
"Cedric," she said. Her voice was urgent, tight.
Cedric put down the duster immediately. "Anby? Threat?"
"Emergency," she confirmed, stepping inside and closing the door behind her as if pursued by wolves. "The Cunning Hares HQ. Darkness. The power has fallen."
"Blackout?"
"Nicole forgot the bill. Again." Anby sighed, a small, tragic sound.
"They cut the line five minutes ago."
Cedric blinked. "Okay. Do you need... a charger?"
"No," Anby grabbed his shoulders. Her green eyes were intense. "Starlight Knight Season 6, Final Episode. It airs in ten minutes. Live broadcast."
She shook him slightly.
"If I miss the live broadcast, the spoilers will find me. The internet is cruel. I will have to leave civilization and live in a Hollow. I need a TV. A working TV."
Cedric understood. The fear of spoilers was a universal language.
"We have a TV," Cedric said. "In the staffroom. It is old, but it works."
Anby looked at him as if he were a savior descended from the heavens. The tension left her shoulders instantly.
"I will be in your debt," she said solemnly. "Lead the way."
***
They sat in the small staffroom behind the counter. Cedric tuned the old TV to the channel.
The theme song of Starlight Knight blared out—heroic trumpets and synth drums.
Anby sat on the sofa. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her eyes glued to the screen. She didn't blink.
Cedric sat next to her, eating his lunch (instant noodles).
The episode was intense. The Red Knight was fighting the Void Emperor.
As the battle reached its climax, the Red Knight was knocked down. The music swelled with ominous bass tones. The villain raised his weapon.
Anby stopped breathing. Her entire body went rigid with tension.
Without looking away from the screen, her hand instinctively reached out for something to anchor herself.
Her fingers found the fabric of Cedric's sleeve.
She gripped the cuff of his white shirt tightly, bunching the fabric in her small fist.
Cedric paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. He looked at his trapped arm. Then he looked at Anby.
She was trembling slightly, completely unaware that she was holding onto him.
'Structural stress on fabric: Moderate,' Cedric analyzed.
He could have pulled away. He could have told her to let go.
Instead, he slowly lowered his fork. He sat perfectly still, acting as a human stress ball, letting her wrinkle his only good shirt.
"Look," Anby whispered, tugging his sleeve urgently. "The counter-attack frame."
On screen, the Red Knight did a backflip, summoned a sword of pure light, and posed dramatically while shouting: "JUSTICE NEVER SLEEPS!"
Anby's eyes sparkled.
She stood up.
Right there in the cramped staffroom, amidst the mops and buckets, she mimicked the pose.
She spread her arms wide, tilted her head to the exact angle, and narrowed her eyes with lethal intensity.
"Justice..." she muttered, syncing her voice with the TV, "Never sleeps."
She held the pose for five seconds. Then she looked at Cedric.
"Did you see the form?" she asked seriously. "The angle of the elbow? It intimidates the enemy by exposing the chest while preparing a counter-strike. It is high risk, high reward."
Cedric looked at her. She looked ridiculous. But she was so serious about it that it circled back to being cool.
"Intimidating," he lied, keeping a straight face. "Very scary."
"I know," Anby sat back down, satisfied. "I practiced it in the mirror. Billy says it needs more 'pizzazz', but Billy lacks subtlety. He thinks loudness equals power."
"Billy is... enthusiastic," Cedric agreed.
The fight scene continued. The Knight was cornered. He threw a smoke bomb and vanished into the shadows.
"Tactical retreat," Anby noted, nodding sagely. "Ninja Vanish. I can do that."
"You have smoke bombs?"
"No. I use flour," she admitted. "It works, but it makes Nicole sneeze. And then she yells about the cost of flour."
Cedric imagined Anby throwing a bag of flour at an enemy's face and running away while Nicole screamed about groceries.
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Effective."
…
…
…
The episode ended with a massive cliffhanger. The Red Knight fell off the building.
Anby let out a long breath, slumping back in her chair.
"He will survive," she whispered, reassuring herself. "He has plot armor. But the wait for next season will be painful."
Then, a loud GRRRRR echoed in the small room.
It wasn't the TV.
Anby looked down at her stomach. She looked up at Cedric, unfazed.
"Energy depleted," she announced. "Emotional stress consumes calories. I missed lunch."
Cedric stood up. "I have noodles."
He went to the small cupboard. He had a stash of "Spicy Beef" cups.
He boiled the water. He prepared two cups. He added a sausage to each one (a luxury).
He handed a cup to Anby.
Anby took it. She inhaled the steam. "Acceptable."
But she didn't eat immediately.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of potato chips (Sour Cream & Onion).
"Wait," she stopped him as he raised his fork. "It is incomplete."
She opened the bag of chips. She didn't offer him a chip.
Instead, she crushed the bag in her hand, crunching the chips into dust.
Then, she poured the potato dust directly into her noodle cup.
Cedric stared. "Why?"
"Texture," Anby explained, stirring the unholy mixture with her plastic fork. "The broth softens the chips. The chips flavor the broth. It adds crunch and sodium. It is fusion cuisine. Try it."
She held out the bag of crumbs to him.
Cedric looked at his perfectly good noodles. Then he looked at Anby's serious face.
He took the bag. He poured the crumbs into his soup.
It looked... messy. Like a swamp.
But Anby was eating hers with an expression of pure bliss, eyes closed.
Cedric took a bite.
The soggy chips added a salty, creamy kick to the spicy broth. The crunch was gone, replaced by a strange, savory mush. It was weird. It was unhealthy.
But it was... actually good.
"Not bad," Cedric admitted, taking another bite.
"I saw it in a commercial," Anby revealed. "The mascot said it was the 'Taste of Victory'. He was not lying."
They ate in companionable silence.
Or rather, in synchronized silence.
Cedric lifted his fork. Anby lifted her fork. Cedric blew on the steam. Fuu. Anby blew on the steam. Fuu. Cedric slurped. Slurp. Anby slurped. Slurp.
They weren't trying to do it. It just happened. The [Rhythm Sense] skill and Anby's natural tendency to mimic created a bizarre, rhythmic loop of eating.
At one point, Anby got a speck of potato dust mixed with spicy broth on her cheek. It stuck there like a stubborn barnacle.
Cedric noticed it. He pointed to his own cheek to signal her.
Anby blinked. She wiped her left cheek with the back of her hand.
Cedric shook his head. "Other side."
Anby wiped her chin.
"Higher," Cedric corrected.
Anby wiped her nose.
"Lower."
Anby stopped. She frowned slightly. This trial-and-error process was inefficient. It was wasting calories and time.
She put her hand down. Then, without a word, she leaned forward across the small table.
She closed her eyes and tilted her cheek toward him, presenting the dirty spot like a patient waiting for a doctor.
The message was clear: 'Assist.'
Cedric looked at her face, hovering just inches from his noodles.
He picked up a clean napkin. He reached out.
Gently, he wiped the spot.
Swish.
The crumb was gone.
"Clean?" Anby asked, opening her eyes but not pulling back yet.
"Clean," Cedric confirmed, lowering the napkin.
Anby nodded, satisfied with the efficiency of the interaction. She sat back down.
"Thank you. Mirroring protocols are difficult with inverted coordinates."
"Understood," Cedric replied.
***
Before Anby left, she stopped at the back door.
"Cedric."
"Yes?"
"You helped me protect the timeline," she said solemnly. "And you shared your rations. I must repay you."
"It's fine," Cedric said. "You gave me chips."
"Chips are temporary. Knowledge is eternal."
She stepped closer to him. She looked left and right, checking for spies in the empty alleyway.
"I will teach you the move," she whispered. "The one the Knight used in Season 2, Episode 15. The 'Shadow Step'."
Cedric blinked. "The ninja walk?"
"Yes. You have the rhythm, but you lack the flow."
She demonstrated. She didn't use magic or Ether.
She simply rolled her feet from heel to toe, bending her knees slightly, shifting her weight so smoothly that her movement made absolutely zero noise on the metal floor.
"Do not stomp," she instructed. "Imagine the floor is made of eggshells. Or that Nicole is sleeping nearby and you are trying to steal her wallet to pay the electric bill."
"Steal her wallet?"
"It is a metaphor. Mostly."
Cedric tried it. He softened his knees. He rolled his feet.
Tap...
"Too loud," Anby critiqued immediately. "You are engaging your calves too late. Be water. Be nothing."
Cedric tried again. He focused.
[Passive Skill: Rhythm Sense - Activated]
He felt the silent beat of the room. He felt the vibration of the floor. He moved in the space between the beats.
He shifted his weight.
...
Silence. He moved three steps forward. No sound.
Anby nodded, impressed. "Good. You have potential. You could be a Starlight Squire."
Ding!
[Skill Acquired: Stealth Walk]
"Thank you," Cedric said, feeling slightly cooler.
"Use it wisely," Anby said.
She reached for the door handle, then paused. She turned back to him.
She stepped closer, invading his personal space just like Ellen had, but with zero romantic tension. It was purely clinical.
She reached out and grabbed the collar of his white shirt—the one she had wrinkled earlier during the movie.
Tug. Smooth.
She straightened the collar, fixing the fold that had been bugging her.
"Your armor was disheveled," she stated, satisfied. "A Starlight Squire must maintain uniform integrity."
Cedric blinked. He touched his collar. "Oh. Thanks."
Anby adjusted her headphones, her expression blank but her green eyes soft. And checked her phone.
[ANBY HELP!!! I FIXED THE FUSE BOX BUT NOW MY LEFT ARM IS A TORCH!!! SEND HELP OR WATER OR BOTH!!!]
"I must go. Billy messaged me. He tried to fix the fuse box and now he is on fire. Again."
She opened the door.
"Bye, Cedric."
"Bye, Anby."
She walked out, blending into the street crowd instantly.
Cedric stood in the empty shop. He looked at his straightened collar. Then he looked at the empty noodle cups.
He tried the Shadow Step again, gliding to the counter.
"Cool," he whispered to the empty room.
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…
Cedric stood in the empty shop for a long moment.
The air still smelled faintly of instant noodles and potato chips. The silence was heavy, but not oppressive.
He looked down at his feet. He bent his knees slightly, shifting his weight.
Roll. Step. Roll.
He moved across the shop floor. Thanks to [Rhythm Sense] and the new technique, he made absolutely no sound. He felt like a ghost haunting his own life.
Cling-clang.
The front door opened. Wise walked in, carrying two large paper bags filled with groceries.
"I'm back," she called out, kicking the door shut with her heel. "The market was a war zone. I think half of Sixth Street decided to buy carrots today."
She walked to the counter and set the bags down. Then she looked around.
She saw the two empty noodle cups on the table. She saw the TV still buzzing with static in the staffroom.
She looked at Cedric, who was standing in the middle of the room, looking unusually... poised.
"Did we have a customer?" Wise asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A guest," Cedric corrected. "Anby."
"Oh? The girl from the Cunning Hares?" Wise smiled, starting to unpack the groceries.
"Did she come to look for Nicole? Or Billy?"
"No. She came to watch TV. Their power is out."
Cedric walked over to the counter. He didn't ask; he just started helping her unpack. He took the heavy cartons of milk and the bag of rice, moving them with efficient, silent grace.
Wise watched him. She noticed something different in his posture.
"You're moving quietly today," she observed. "Almost didn't hear you step up."
"Stealth Walk," Cedric explained seriously, placing a can of beans on the shelf. "Anby taught me. It is essential for avoiding creditors and navigating minefields."
Wise laughed, a bright, clear sound that filled the shop.
"Well, as long as you don't use it to sneak up on me while I'm cooking, I approve. It's good to have skills."
She paused, holding a bag of apples. She looked at him with a soft, sisterly expression.
"It's nice," she said gently. "Seeing you make friends. First that 'Senpai' who gave you the clip, and now Anby. You're building a squad."
Cedric paused. Friends?
He thought about Ellen and her hair clip. He thought about Anby and her french fry.
"They are... efficient allies," he murmured, looking away, his ears turning slightly pink. "We share resources."
"Of course," Wise winked, playing along. "Resources."
She finished unpacking. "Belle is probably going to sleep until dinner. Why don't you head home? You've been 'working' all morning."
Cedric nodded. He walked behind the counter to retrieve his utility belt.
18 and 06 were still there, guarding the incubators like miniature sentinels.
"Eh-nah!" (Sector Clear!) 18 reported.
Cedric clipped the belt back on. The weight of the eggs felt reassuring against his hip.
He checked the status.
[Blue Egg: Happy]
[Pseudo Egg: Dormant (Absorbing ambient Ether)]
"Thank you for watching them." Cedric said to the Bangboos and Wise.
"Anytime," Wise leaned on the counter. "See you tomorrow, Cedric."
"See you, Sister."
Cedric walked out of Random Play.
The afternoon sun was warm. The street was busy.
Usually, the noise would grate on his nerves. But today, with [Rhythm Sense] active, the chaotic sounds of New Eridu seemed to organize themselves into a beat.
The thrum of a car engine. The clack of boots. The whir of a drone.
Cedric stepped onto the sidewalk. He didn't just walk. He flowed.
Heel to toe. Silent. Smooth.
He wove through the crowd without touching anyone, a shadow moving in the daylight.
He touched the shark clip in his hair. He felt the phantom sensation of Anby tugging his collar straight.
"Not a bad day," he whispered to the eggs.
He headed back toward the Northwest District, his footsteps making no sound at all.