The pale script expanded above the floating token until six lines occupied the air. Every symbol looked carved from angles my eyes could follow individually but refused to remember after I looked away.
Nina's phone kept recording continuously while she removed her finger from the token first. The token dropped toward the counter, forcing Yuna to catch it through the insulated cloth before metal struck stone.
"Contact ended, temperature unchanged, and no person experienced pain. Everyone step beyond the marked floor line before we discuss interpretation," Nina said, reading the infrared display.
We moved three meters away because curiosity did not improve through crowding an unexplained object. The token remained lit beneath the cloth, projecting smaller symbols against the ceiling without opening any doorway.
My System interface appeared without permission across the edge of my vision. Its usual blue text flickered through unfamiliar gold before a translation panel stabilized.
