When I woke up, the morning looked normal.Bratislava was always quiet at this hour…but today's silence felt too dry,as if someone had peeled one layer of sound away.
I walked to the bathroom to splash water on my face.The moment I looked into the mirror, I froze.
My shadow… was late.
Not an illusion.My body was already leaning over the sink,but the reflection took 0.1 seconds to catch up.A thin transparent frame flickered around its edges—a UI glitch.
I rubbed my eyes.The shadow snapped into sync.A shard of broken text flickered and vanished.
Patch sat at the door,not watching me—watching the delayed shadow.His ears folded back slightly.As if asking:What are you turning into?
Even the objects felt wrong—the rim of my cup stretched into pixel blocksbefore snapping back.
My chest tightened.A thin thread pulled outward—not painful,like someone tugging gently from far away.
Staying indoors felt worse.The thread urged:Go out.
I sighed, put on my jacket, and stepped outside.
The stairwell swallowed sound.The wind paused between gusts,like someone pressed a button.
Patch stuck close behind me.
At the café, I overheard:
"…that lake in Austria is getting weird.""You mean the water denting inward?""Yeah. The whole surface sinks—nothing to do with wind."
I drank quietly.The coffee was normal.The world wasn't.
Patch stared west.Same direction as the café conversation.
Then—the air flickered.Half a second of low-resolution blocksbefore snapping crisp again.
A deep hum rolled from below the street.Glass rattled.Sand jumped.Patch puffed up.
Emilia appeared, breath tight.
"…It pulsed," she said."Too early. Much too early."
The thread inside my chest tightened violently,fragments of text flashing in my ribcagebefore collapsing into the Source point.
I gasped for air.
Once the pulse faded,the pull oriented west.Clear.Consistent.Waiting.
Back home, my reflection tore again—a UI rip that sealed instantly.
"What's calling me…from the west?"
Patch tapped my arm.As if telling me:Get ready. Something out there really is waiting.