The world had stopped trembling, but my reflection hadn't caught up yet.
✦
Every puddle, every polished surface, every stray pane of glass looked slightly delayed — half a second behind the real me, like a buffering video of my existence.The delay wasn't long enough to notice at first glance.But once you saw it, you couldn't unsee it.
[ System Notice: Narrative Layer Duplication Detected. ][ Source: Mirror Draft α ][ Advisory: Proceed Without Interaction. ]
"Proceed without interaction," I repeated. "That's always gone so well for me."
Arjun's ember flickered from pale blue to orange. You should listen this time.
"I should," I said, walking toward the reflection anyway.
✦
The streets were empty now.Same village. Same roads.But the air had a faint tint — not visible, just felt, like reading words printed on slightly different paper.
Somewhere nearby, bells chimed.Three tones. Then a pause. Then three again.
[ System Notice: Narrative Loop — 03:03 Interval. ]
