For the first time since that morning, Ares felt his heartbeat pick up slightly. Not out of fear, not anxiety… but because something about the girl didn't fit into any logic he understood. And he hated things that didn't have a pattern.
The girl clutched her books tightly, though not to the point of nervousness. Her gaze didn't avoid him, but it wasn't fully confident either. There was a strange balance in her body language subtle, consistent, and almost… familiar.
Yet Ares was certain he had never met her.
"Sorry, I just… well, I feel like I've seen you before," the girl said again, her voice soft but not fragile. "But I honestly can't remember. It's so weird."
Ares watched her longer, trying to read the micro-expressions on her face. No lies. No hidden tension. No concealed agenda. Only a sincerity too clean for a college campus.
And that made him even more suspicious.
"What's your name?" Ares asked calmly.
"Oh Adara." She gave a small, genuine smile. "Adara Lyn."
A beautiful name. But Ares didn't react. He merely nodded, then closed the gray, titleless book a little tighter.
The system whispered again, its tone soft but full of warning.
> [Pattern linkage increasing.]
[Subject's memory waves unstable.]
[Low-level anomaly probability: 62%.]
Ares ignored it for now. He looked back at Adara.
"You're sure we've met?" Ares asked.
"Sure… but not sure." Adara brushed her hair awkwardly, her cheeks slightly flushing. "Sounds silly, right?"
No. Not at all.
And that was exactly what made this even stranger.
Ares leaned in slightly, testing her reaction. Adara didn't step back. She didn't tense up either. She maintained her distance, but not out of fear more because she was… comfortable.
Too comfortable, as if they'd spoken years ago.
And that made no sense.
The system appeared again, this time with clearer data.
> [Cognitive synchronization recorded between user and subject.]
[This pattern only occurs with entities possessing 'initial access'.]
Ares stiffened.
Initial access?
Did that mean Adara had interacted with something like his system?
"Ares?" Adara called, noticing his expression shift.
Ares looked away, thinking fast.
Two possibilities:
Adara was connected to the motorcycle incident.
Or she was connected to the student in the black jacket.
And both were equally dangerous.
"Adara," Ares said flatly, "have we ever taken the same class?"
"As far as I remember… no." Adara lowered her gaze briefly. "I'm in my second semester. You're a freshman, right?"
Ares nodded.
"Have you seen me in the cafeteria? The garden? The faculty hallways?"
Adara bit her lower lip, trying to recall. "Not really. That's why it's weird you feel… familiar."
Ares crossed his arms, thinking.
If Adara's memories were incoherent, something external must be affecting her whether it was lost memories, overlapping ones, or… something that happened outside his line of sight.
But before he could dig deeper, something else subtle and silent pulled at his senses. A small shift in air pressure that no ordinary student could notice.
A slight atmospheric disturbance.
The system lit up instantly.
> [Minor disturbance detected.]
[Source located on the second floor of the library.]
Ares slowly turned toward the spiral staircase.
There behind an ordinary wooden pillar someone was standing. Not moving. Not breathing loudly. Not noticeable unless someone knew what to look for.
Ares sharpened his gaze.
The student in the black jacket.
He was watching them.
And this time, his gaze wasn't probing or attacking… but measuring.
Adara followed Ares's line of sight, but she didn't see anything. Only an empty, quiet hallway.
"What's wrong?" Adara asked softly.
Ares didn't answer. He picked up the gray book and slipped it into his bag. His movements were calm, natural just a student finishing their reading.
The system sent a quick recommendation.
> [Do not let the subject detect interest.]
[Exit through an alternate route.]
[Priority: protect subject Adara.]
Ares froze for a moment.
Protect Adara?
Why?
"Ares," Adara called. "You look… tense. What's going on?"
Ares gave a thin smile. Not warm, but enough to reassure her.
"It's nothing. But let's go out through the back. The new hallway's under renovation, so it's quieter."
Adara nodded, unsuspecting.
Ares stood up. He moved with a perfectly measured rhythm relaxed enough to avoid suspicion, fast enough to get them out before something happened.
But as they began walking, the system sent one final message:
> [Subject in black jacket not moving.]
[But monitoring intensity increasing.]
[Evaluation: the world is no longer passive.]
[The game has begun.]
Ares didn't look back.
Not now.
But he knew one thing for certain:
Whatever was happening with Adara and whatever tied them together none of it was coincidence.
And for the first time ever, Ares felt something he had never felt before:
Fear of losing something…
he hadn't even had the chance to hold yet.