**Chapter 1: The Threshold of Echoes**
The rain fell in thin, silver needles against the cracked window of the old apartment. Mira sat cross-legged on the worn carpet, the glow of her laptop the only light in the room. Her final paper for the semester sat half-finished on the screen—some dry analysis of post-colonial literature that she had stopped caring about three days ago. The cursor blinked at her like a quiet accusation.
She rubbed her eyes. The headache had been building since morning. Not the usual kind from too much coffee or too little sleep. This one felt deeper, as if something behind her eyes was pressing outward.
A soft chime echoed in the empty room.
Mira froze. Her laptop speakers were muted. The phone on the desk showed no notifications. The sound came again, clearer this time, like a single glass bead dropped into still water.
[System initializing…]
