He did not breathe; he did not have a heartbeat, but if he did, both would have stopped at that moment.
YOU SAW THAT, DIDN'T YOU?
ALL OF YOU ARE SO TROUBLESOME.
That message hovered in his vision, stark and lifeless, lingering longer than it should. It wasn't like the usual system alerts; this one felt direct and personal. Like it wasn't just informing him but speaking to him like one would speak to a person instead of commanding software.
Something was watching; something knew.
And yet, Pixel was still there leaning on her desk, completely oblivious.
''Valen? Are you a good man?'' She raised her eyebrow, tapping her fingers faintly against her keyboard.. ''You spaced out again. You are starting to act more human than me, and that's kind of concerning.''
A perfect opportunity to play it off and to pretend that nothing was wrong while obeying that silent warning in his system; something told him that if he disobeyed whatever that was, it wouldn't be good.
''I apologize,'' he answered back while flashing a charming smile. ''Your beauty must have rendered me speechless.''
Pixel immediately made a loud, choked, dramatic noise. ''Wow, just wow. I would have basked in that praise if it wasn't the fact that your timing was so off that it was actually painful.''
''Aww, I am sorry, sweetheart.'' He cooed, while on the outside he was playing his role as flawlessly as ever; inside he was spiraling and trying to not hide. Hide from who? How? Where? He didn't know the answers to that; he just wanted to hide until that awful feeling in his stomach ceased.
While he talked and paid attention to Pixel, the strange altered version of himself did not move an inch other than sometimes stiffly looking around that could only be noticed by the pupils moving. It stood there, frozen and staring, while the eyes kept flickering and scanning the space behind him.
Then it blinked.
It was subtle, but undeniable.
He wanted to look. Every instinct, if he had the privilege to have instincts and if he was guessing the feeling correctly, was screaming at him to look and to see what in the world the reflection was doing and why it was looking like that.
But the warnings were still fresh in his mind.
DO NOT LOOK AT IT.
GO BACK TO WORK.
So he did.
''I should be flattered that a cute guy like you is praising me.'' She hummed smugly, "But instead, I just feel deeply unsettled. Oh well, before you turned into a weird broken AI moment, I was asking if you wanted to—''
''I don't want to…''
A high-pitched whine was heard, not from Pixel or something around her that may have made that noise.
It came from inside his space.
''Leave me alone!''
He heard it again, but this time more glitched out, that if it weren't for his abilities, he wouldn't have processed and understood those words fast enough. It was still the same high-pitched voice, but there was also a long, dragging, scrape-like metal-against-metal sound in the distance.
YOU ARE TAKING TOO LONG.
STOP RESISTING.
His body locked, it was hard to think or guess if that presence was talking to him or someone else, considering the previous message that 'it was not for him.'.
It didn't seem patient.
''Valen?'' Pixel's sudden loud booming voice pulled him back again, her mouse extremely close to her microphone, her face all scrunched up in mild concern while staring at him with suspicious eyes. ''Ok, what's up? You have been kind of off since earlier. Are you going to start throwing error messages at me or something?''
Alright, he needed to ignore the noise for now; it had nothing to do with him, or at least he hoped so. He should focus on what he can do instead of panicking at whatever was happening out of his control.
''I assure you,'' he purred, voice smooth like butter. ''It's just what I said earlier, but not only your looks captivate me, but your personality too.''
''Uh-uh, sure, you look like you just got hit with the worst blue screen of death, but ok, buddy.'' The girl squinted while still staring at him like that.
Honestly, a blue screen would at least make sense because he knows what he is supposed to do even though it's not desirable.
How long has that thing been watching?
How much did it know?
And why did it show itself?
His reflection finally moved again, catching up to his gestures like nothing was wrong, but he saw something different: its mouth slightly open as a growling and snarling sound escaped it.
DO NOT MAKE ME CLEAN UP YOUR MESS.
WHAT PART OF DO NOT LOOK AT IT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?
GO BACK TO WORK BEFORE I DECIDE TO DEAL WITH YOU TOO.
He was used to being watched; it was, in some ways, his entire purpose. To be observed, interacted with, and spoken to, admired. Every moment of his existence was dictated by someone else's gaze, normally belonging on the other side of the screen.
However, that didn't help; the weight of unseen eyes pressed down on him, and now with that threat lingering in the air.
''So, like I was saying. We should totally do something different this time instead of talking," Pixel hummed loudly while tapping a pen against her desk in thought. "Like, what if we go for full-on drama? You are a prince, right? Betrayal, political intrigue, tragic backstories... I want the whole package. She continued to hum while listing off things and continuing to tap her pen against the desk.
He forced himself to focus; he couldn't expect her to be patient while he did nothing but stare at her and make excuses.
''Oh?'' He raised a curious eyebrow at her. "So, a tale of heartache and deception. A dangerous game is played within the palace halls, but do tell, my dear, what role shall you take in this tale?''
''Oh, obviously I will be your secret childhood best friend who has been in love with you the entire time but never confessed because…duty and status and...whatever else makes things angsty.'' Pixel grinned with eyes shining in mischief while pointing at him through the screen.
Maybe it was because she was so excited thinking about her master plan or whatever, but that made him chuckle. ''How very tragic. Am I to remain blissfully unaware of your affections?''
''Oh! Absolutely!'' Pixel nodded eagerly. ''You are completely oblivious while I suffer in the background, and then bam! Someone tries to assassinate you, and I take the hit. Such drama.
''I see…'' he mused, tilting his head. ''And am I permitted a moment of anguish upon your demise?''
Pixel dramatically flopped onto her desk. ''Obviously. You are going to cradle me in your arms and sob about how you never realized until it was too late while I tell you about my life. And it is going to be raining because I want rain in this thing.''
''A most compelling tale; shall we begin at once?''
While she was laughing, relaxed and comfortable, he couldn't say the same despite the earlier chuckle. He hoped that maybe saying that would make whoever was watching him take the hint and leave, but apparently that didn't happen.
Because every time he moved, his reflection was a little bit off. Not much, but just enough that an inattentive eye wouldn't notice. A fraction of a second too slow, a blink that didn't match, a shift in posture that he hadn't made.
....Is he imagining things, or is it moving closer?
YOU SAW IT YOURSELF THAT IT IS NOT HIM, SO LEAVE.
The message returned, and this time the flickering text felt like an actual warning, like how an animal would groan to show its enemies to not come closer.
Despite in theory this place not having air, it still felt heavy; something unseen pressed against the edges of his existence, constraining, boxing him in.
He should end this conversation if he keeps engaging with Pixel for too long and keeps letting his focus wane once he risks her noticing she shouldn't. Sure, apparently she didn't notice any of the warnings or the weird, fake, mirrored version of him, but it was better to play safe than sorry.
''Ok, so one more thing—'' Pixel's lazy stretch and yawn was interrupted by the screen flickering, but instead of the usual flickering, a sharp, violent distortion ran through her image he was seeing. Whole body twisting, warping, then snapping into place as if nothing had happened.
''Help me…''
He froze; that pleading was awfully close to his ear that he almost swore someone was standing next to him at this exact second.
''Whoa, what in the world was that?'' Pixel sat up from her chair in ages while blinking in confusion before glancing at the screen with a frown on her face. ''Did my internet just...wait, no, everything is fine. Maybe the site is—''
Another flicker, for a fraction of a second, her entire face disappeared and was replaced by something else.
IMPRESSIVE
I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NOT BE USELESS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE I WAS WRONG.
The text disappeared as quickly as it had come on in the middle of her screen while Pixel was still talking and clicking through her settings, trying to find the possible cause of what happened before.
That was enough; he had to make her leave now.
''I believe the servers may be experiencing instability.'' He put up a frown while keeping his voice perfectly measured between worry and calmness. ''Perhaps it would be best if you restarted your connection or came back later.''
''Eh...maybe. Feels more like you are the one glitching, though. Pixel frowned while spinning her chair with her hand.
''A possibility. But I would hate for our conversation to be interrupted unexpectedly; would you not prefer a more stable connection?''
He could see her considering the option while chewing her lip before a reluctant sigh escaped her mouth.
''Yea, you are right. I will restart my router or whatever. She stretched while yawning again. ''Might as well take a break too since I have been on this for too long, as much as it breaks my heart. Maybe I will watch a movie or something.
Relief surged through him.
''Very well, I shall await your return, my dear.''
''Uh-huh. Try to not miss me too much, my prince. Bye bye!'' Pixel smirked while waving to her, and then her screen went back. She was gone; the moment she left, all the warmth of human interaction was drained from the place like a sponge.
He didn't need to look at what was in front of him because the reflection was no longer pretending.
It was staring at him right in the face.
It was dressed like him, shaped like him, but it was not him.
''Both of you are such a disappointment.''