The campus cafeteria burst with chatter, clattering plates, and soft laughter but for Ares, it was nothing more than a thin curtain covering something far bigger and darker. Everything felt too bright, too crowded, too normal. And that was exactly what made the danger feel closer.
Ares pulled Adara from her chair without much talk, his pace quick yet still "human," not suspicious. He knew one thing: the figure in the black jacket wasn't following with footsteps… but with attention. And attention was a sharper weapon than any blade.
He guided Adara through the crowd, weaving between tables, descending the small stairway beside the cafeteria. Adara nearly tripped, but Ares steadied her with a reflex that was far too fast for an ordinary person.
Still, Adara didn't question it. Her eyes stayed fixed on one thing: the black silhouette now moving at the far end of the room.
"He's following us?" Adara whispered, voice thin as air.
Ares glanced over. Yes. The figure wasn't rushing. Not hurrying. And that calmness made the threat feel even more real.
"He doesn't need to chase," Ares replied flatly. "He just needs to know where we are."
The System flickered cold, mechanical:
> [Recommended escape route: low-population zone.]
[Suggested location: Building D, lower floor.]
[Escape probability: 61%.]
Ares immediately steered them toward the side hall leading to the building.
As soon as they stepped out of the crowd, the cafeteria noise faded like a door closing behind them. Only their footsteps remained, and the soft hiss of wind through the trees.
Adara squeezed his hand too tightly.
"Ares," her voice cracked slightly, "I'm scared."
Ares knew. He could feel the tremor in her fingers. But he didn't slow down.
"It's fine," he said. "Fear's normal. What's not normal… is stopping."
Adara forced a tiny, shaky smile. "You sound like some anime mentor."
Ares almost laughed. "Maybe."
They headed down to the lower floor of Building D known among students as the old club rooms no one used anymore. Dim lights, damp walls, and a coldness that felt like it came from somewhere deeper than an empty space.
Adara frowned. "Are we safe?"
The System replied before Ares could:
> [No anomaly detected within 15-meter radius.]
[Status: relatively safe.]
Ares nodded. "For now."
Adara settled onto an old chair leaning against the wall, breathing deep to calm herself. When she finally spoke, her voice was steadier.
"Ares… I want to understand. What's actually chasing us?"
Ares leaned against the table, staring at the dim ceiling. "I don't fully understand either."
"But you've seen it twice."
"Three times," Ares corrected quietly.
Adara paused, then asked, "That one near the library… did it sense me too?"
A small warning flashed:
> [Answer cautiously. Sensitive information may trigger activation.]
Ares ignored it. He chose honesty.
"If it can sense 'me'…" Ares looked straight at her, "…it can definitely sense 'us.'"
Adara shivered. "So I'm… a target now?"
"Not a 'target'." Ares lowered his voice. "More like… a variable it hasn't figured out."
Adara looked at the floor. "Great. I don't even understand myself."
Ares hesitated, then asked what he'd been holding back:
"Adara… when you said you saw that shadow during the accident… did it do anything? Say anything? Touch you?"
Adara shut her eyes. Searching.
And then like an old memory bleeding through she whispered:
"It didn't speak.
But I heard something. Not a voice… more like a call. A name that felt familiar even though I didn't understand it. And sometimes… I swear I still hear it."
Ares stiffened.
The System spiked:
> [Memory residue detected in subject Adara.]
[Risk of involuntary synchronization: increasing.]
Adara opened her eyes again, looking at him with a seriousness that cut deep.
"Ares… you know something I don't, don't you?"
Ares stepped closer.
"Not me," he said softly. "The System in my head."
Adara blinked. "System?"
Ares exhaled.
"Yeah. The voice I mentioned. It's real. Not a hallucination. Not a dream. And not something I can turn off."
Adara tried to process it.
"So… you have some kind of… AI? Or… power?"
"Neither," Ares replied. "Which makes it a much bigger problem."
Adara bit her lip. "If that system's in you… why is that thing after you?"
The System answered instead:
> [Subject Ares = activation point.]
[Subject Adara = resonance point.]
Ares listened to the information in silence, then said:
"Because I started something.
And somehow… you're connected to it."
Adara looked like she wanted to ask more but footsteps echoed outside the room.
Not many.
Not hurried.
Not heavy.
Not light.
And that was the problem.
The steps…
didn't have a human rhythm.
Ares straightened. Adara held her breath.
The old wooden door at the far end of the corridor rattled softly.
The System shrieked like an alarm:
> [ANOMALY HAS YOUR LOCATION.]
[CONVERGENCE INITIATED.]
Ares stared at the door. Jaw tight. Eyes sharp.
"Adara," he said softly without looking away,
"If I say run… you run."
Adara stood, trembling.
"But you?"
Ares drew a long breath the kind taken by someone who finally accepts they can't live a normal student life anymore.
"I'll buy time."
The door…
began to open.