The room was dim, the most prominent source of light coming from the soft glow of the terminal hovering in front of me. My eyes flickered with curiosity as I read the notification again.
[Alert - Ire Haven has accessed skill
MP4. That format was unfamiliar. Even stranger was the name—Recovered_LHC_LOG001. It was cryptic, making it emanate an ominous vibe.
With a slight tilt of my head, I tapped on the file. The screen in front of me flickered, then shifted into a grainy video feed.
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The footage was shaky, the timestamp in the corner flickering with distorted numbers. The colors were slightly washed out, and the faint buzz of old recording equipment hummed in the background.
A woman with purple hair and striking blue eyes was the first to come into focus. She adjusted the camera, leaning in too close for a moment before pulling back with a grin.
"Is it working? Ah, finally! I swear, if I had to mess with this thing for one more second, I was just gonna chuck it into the collider—"
"Please don’t," came a flat response from someone off-screen.
The camera jostled slightly as the woman turned it toward a tall man with dark hair and sharp features, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Nanik other than the fact that he had brown eyes. He stood with his arms crossed, expression impassive but eyes faintly amused.
"You have no appreciation for the finer things in life," the woman shot back, dramatically flipping her hair. "Anyway, for the record, we’re making this log because certain people—" she shot a pointed look at the camera, as if addressing someone unseen, "—insist we keep track of our work for posterity."
The camera tilted again, this time revealing a third figure—a man with dyed blue hair and brown eyes. He was hunched over a terminal, typing something before briefly glancing at the camera. His expression was neutral, his tone reserved.
"Or in case something goes wrong," he said simply.
A beat of silence followed.
The woman’s grin faltered slightly before she waved a hand dismissively. "Sure, sure, if you wanna be all ominous about it. But that’s not gonna happen. We’re running the most controlled environment possible. This experiment is going to change everything."
"It already has," the Nanik lookalike murmured, almost too softly to be caught.
The woman turned to him with a raised brow. "What was that?"
"Nothing," he replied smoothly, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Just wondering how long before you break something."
"Oh, screw you—" the purple-haired woman huffed, tossing a crumpled piece of paper at him. He caught it effortlessly, giving her a mock-impressed look.
"Wow. Such grace. Such precision. Truly, we should have put you in charge of calibrating the instruments."
She rolled her eyes. "For your information, I only broke one spectrophotometer. And that was back in high school chemistry. It doesn’t count anymore."
The blue-haired man at the terminal finally let out a small, dry chuckle. "Pretty sure that’s not how breaking lab equipment works."
The Nanik lookalike shook his head. "Remind me again why they let you work here?"
She gasped, placing a hand over her heart in mock offense. "Because I’m a genius. And because, unlike you two, I actually have charisma. You know, that thing that makes people like you?"
The blue-haired man raised a brow. "Is that what you call it?"
"Yes. And don’t be jealous just because the lab assistants actually talk to me."
"That’s because you bribe them with precious coffee."
"And?" She smirked. "That’s called strategic resource allocation."
The Nanik lookalike snorted, but before he could fire back, a soft beep interrupted them. The blue-haired man turned back to the terminal, his demeanor shifting into something more focused.
"Preliminary checks are done. We’re clear for the next phase."
The woman clapped her hands together. "Finally! Alright, let’s get this show on the road."
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
The screen flickered again.
The footage distorted.
Then—
Blackness.
The video cut out entirely.
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I sat still, my eyes locked onto the now-dark screen, my mind running faster than I could keep up with. The terminal had gone back to its usual state, as if nothing had happened. As if it hadn’t just shattered everything I thought I understood.
I tapped my fingers against my arm, trying to steady my thoughts.
The way they spoke. The way they looked. The environment in that recording—it didn’t feel right. It felt alien.
And yet…
Something about it felt familiar. Unshakably so.
Then there was the notification.
Administrator Makina.
Why did they have my last name?
And if there was an administrator, then what exactly was the terminal?
Questions kept piling up, each one unraveling into five more. I felt like I was trying to hold onto sand, every answer slipping through my fingers the moment I grasped for it.
My eyes flicked back to the terminal. It had never behaved like this before. I had always thought of it as something mine, something tied to me. But if there was something—someone—granting me access to information, then that meant the terminal wasn’t just a part of me. It was something bigger.
Something I didn’t control, instead it was something trying to control me.
I pressed a hand against my temple, forcing myself to breathe. There wasn’t enough here to draw conclusions yet. I needed more—more information, more context.
More answers.
I glanced toward the other room. Should I tell them? Would they even believe me? Would they even understand?
…No.
Not yet.
Not until I had something solid.
I took one last look at the terminal before pushing myself up and turning away. I’d find the truth eventually. I had to.
But for now, I just had to keep moving forward.
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Elysia stepped out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. She let out a slow breath before turning to Tokei.
"Thank you, Tokei… I owe you for clearing my head."
Tokei shifted awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, uh. I-It’s fine… I just did it because—well, you’re one of my first friends…"
Elysia blinked, a hint of warmth flickering in her tired eyes. "I see… I’d say the same about you." A small, almost sheepish smile formed on her lips. "Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor."
"A favor?" Tokei tilted her head. "Sure, as long as it’s something I can handle."
Elysia hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I want to look into someone. A person by the name of Ire Haven."
Tokei’s brow furrowed slightly. "Ire Haven?"
"You have access to a lot of information, don’t you? Being part of a high-profile group and all…"
Tokei crossed her arms. "Ire Haven…" she repeated, more to herself than to Elysia. A strange feeling stirred in the back of her mind.
Elysia caught the shift in her expression. "Do you know something about them?"
Tokei’s eyes flicked down the hall before she met Elysia’s gaze again.
"Can we talk about this somewhere private?"
Elysia blinked at Tokei’s sudden shift in tone but nodded. “Of course.”
Without another word, Tokei started walking, leading them through the quiet halls of Emilia’s home. The candlelight flickered against the walls, casting long shadows as they moved. Once they reached an unoccupied sitting room, Tokei closed the door behind them and turned to face Elysia, her expression unreadable.
“You said the name was Ire Haven?” she repeated, her voice low.
Elysia nodded, watching her carefully. “That’s right. Do you know something about them?”
Tokei crossed her arms, her gaze flickering slightly before she exhaled. “I just wasn’t expecting to hear that name from you, of all people.”
Elysia frowned. “Then… you do know something?”
Tokei hesitated, which was rare for her. She was always so composed, so certain in her actions—but now, it was as if she was trying to piece together her own thoughts before speaking.
“Ire Haven isn’t just some person,” she finally said. “It’s something tied to… well, something I don’t fully understand yet. But I do know that name isn’t random.” She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing. “Where did you hear it?”
Elysia hesitated. She had only seen the name briefly in the notification from the projection, but now that she thought about it, why had it appeared there? And why had Tokei reacted like this?
“I saw it,” she admitted. “In something… strange.”
Tokei raised a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I saw it in a floating projection of sorts.”
Tokei’s eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal.
“It means we’re already in deep, and this just proves it.” Tokei glanced toward the door, as if ensuring no one else was listening, then looked back at Elysia. “Alright. I’ll help you look into it. But if we’re doing this, I need to know everything you know about where you saw that name.”
Elysia hesitated but then gave a firm nod. “Then let’s trade information.”