📘 Chapter 9 — First Signal of the Hunt
The night didn't feel normal anymore.
Aren could feel it.
Something was watching him.
Not from the sky.
Not from the academy.
From elsewhere.
Every step he took through the corridor echoed too loudly.
As if the world was listening.
[THE HUNT HAS BEGUN]
The system message hadn't disappeared.
It stayed in his vision like a stain that couldn't be wiped away.
Aren stopped walking.
"…So I'm being hunted," he muttered.
No answer came.
But the lights above him flickered again.
This time longer.
Then—
A sound.
Footsteps.
Behind him.
Aren turned instantly.
Nothing.
Empty hallway.
But the air felt… heavier there.
[ANOMALY DETECTED — DISTANCE: 12 METERS]
Aren's eyes narrowed.
"…Show yourself."
Silence.
Then—
The wall beside him cracked.
Not physically.
But like reality itself had been scratched.
A black outline appeared.
Shifting.
Unstable.
Not fully formed.
And from it—
A voice spoke.
Not human.
Not system.
Something in between.
"You are not supposed to exist, Zero."
Aren's heart tightened.
"So you're the one hunting me?"
The figure tilted slightly.
Almost like it was curious.
"We are correcting an error."
Suddenly—
Aren felt pressure crash into his body.
Like gravity doubled in a single second.
He dropped to one knee.
"Ghh—!"
[HOST PRESSURE INCREASE: 300%]
Aren gritted his teeth.
"…System… help me…"
But the system didn't answer normally.
Instead—
[WARNING: ENTITY CLASS — UNKNOWN]
[NO COUNTERMEASURE AVAILABLE]
Aren froze.
"…No counter?"
That was the first time fear actually appeared.
The shadow moved closer.
Slow.
Certain.
"You will be erased quietly."
Aren's breathing slowed.
Then stopped shaking.
Something inside him changed.
"…No."
He stood up slowly.
Even under pressure.
Even broken.
"I don't care what I am supposed to be."
His eyes darkened.
"But I refuse to disappear quietly."
The system flickered violently.
[SYNC RATE INCREASING…]
[1% → 3% → 7%]
The shadow paused.
"…Impossible."
Aren lifted his hand.
The same hand that once showed nothing.
Now shaking with unstable light.
"If I am an error…"
He clenched his fist.
"Then I'll become the error that breaks you."
The hallway cracked.
Not from the shadow.
Not from the system.
But from him.
And for the first time…
The hunter stepped back.
End of Chapter 9