Chapter 3 – The First Glitch

It started during second-period literature.

The classroom lights flickered, just once—barely enough for anyone to notice. Mr. Delmas, droning on about Victor Hugo's use of emotional torment in Les Misérables, paused only for a second before continuing. Most students didn't react. Most.

Kekoa looked up from his copy of the novel, brows lightly furrowed.

Zaynah, two rows away, lowered her tablet mid-note. She stared at the projector screen—it had glitched, just slightly. A frame stutter. A heartbeat skipped.

In the back of the room, Ubel's right eye twitched. He whispered under his breath, "That wasn't natural…"

Odd was the first to really feel it. Sitting two rooms down in chemistry, he dropped his pencil as his vision suddenly blurred, like someone had increased the brightness of the world to an unbearable level.

A shrill, alien tone echoed in his ears.

He clutched the edge of his desk.

"Odd?" Yumi turned to him.

But before he could answer, the intercom crackled violently.

"STUDENTS—RETURN—ERROR—RETURN—RESET—"

A blast of static filled every classroom.

Then, silence.

The lights returned to normal. Projectors stabilized. The buzzing in Ubel's ears stopped.

Kekoa slowly leaned back in his chair, placing a hand on his chest.
"…That wasn't just a glitch."

"Definitely not," Zaynah murmured, softly enough that only he could hear.

Across campus, the bell rang early—wrongly.

Students spilled into the hallways, confused but grateful for the break.

In the faculty lounge, Ms. Hertz stared at her laptop, watching as her code simulation began reprocessing itself backward. The screen read:
/ CORE RECALL ENABLED

Her brows knit together. "That can't be right..."

Later That Evening – The Factory

They were all there.

Kite, Haseo, Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich stood in the control room. The elevator's hum was the only sound.

On-screen: five towers—one in each new sector—lit up in unison. Simultaneously.

"That's never happened before," Kite said, his voice tight.

"Looks like X.A.N.A.'s finally stretching," Odd replied, though he didn't smile this time.

Yumi leaned forward. "Are we sure? This could be a false reboot—system noise, not real activation."

Haseo stared at the screen. "No… this is different. This is deliberate."

From the corner, a faint sound echoed—the Scyphozoa's data-tentacle screech.

A playback file.

Kite approached the terminal. A video flickered to life—a blurred recording from one of the factory's hidden monitors. It showed a figure… floating. Featureless. Surrounded by crackling red energy.

Then static.

"Who is that?" Ulrich asked.

No one answered.

Because none of them wanted to say what they were all thinking.

Jeremy.

Back in the Dorms – That Night

Zaynah sat on the windowsill, the silver pendant resting in her palm. She stared out at the sky, expression unreadable. Kekoa walked by her open door and paused.

He tapped lightly.

"You okay?"

She didn't answer immediately.

Then, softly, "You ever feel like reality... skips a beat?"

He smiled. "Sometimes. But that just means something important's coming."

She turned to look at him.

For the first time since she'd arrived, she let the silence between them feel… natural.

Not defensive.