For the first time in weeks, Kael woke up to silence. Not the oppressive kind that echoed with whispering shadows or distorted laughter. No.
This silence was clean. Empty.
Almost… peaceful.
He sat up in a bed he didn't recognize, inside a room that looked far too neat. White walls. Folded sheets. A single window letting in morning light that didn't flicker. Birds chirped outside. Birds. As if nothing had ever happened. As if the Pulse never existed.
He stared at his hands. No blood. No shaking. His watch… it wasn't glitching anymore.
"Was it a dream?"
A girl's voice came from the hallway. Light. Cheerful. Familiar.
His heartbeat picked up.
She stepped into the room. Her. Smiling. Wearing a school uniform like they were just classmates. Like none of it ever happened.
"You're finally awake," she said, beaming. "You've been out for a while, sleepyhead."
Kael didn't know what to say. Everything in him wanted to scream. To cry. But… her voice was warm. Her eyes weren't hollow. She was here. Real.
"I made breakfast. You still like strawberry jam, right?"
He blinked.
Yes. He did. He used to.
She laughed at his silence, twirled around, and walked away.
Kael sat there, unmoving.
What was this?
He slowly got out of bed and followed her into a kitchen that shouldn't exist. Photos lined the fridge—them, smiling, on trips, in uniforms, holding umbrellas in the rain.
"None of this is real," Kael muttered.
"Of course it is," she replied from the counter, without turning.
"You died."
She paused. Her hand trembled slightly on the kettle handle. The smile stayed on her face, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Don't be silly, Kael."
He stepped closer. Everything in the room was too perfect. The fruit in the bowl gleamed. The sunlight had no shadows. No dust.
His fingers touched the photograph stuck to the fridge. They were both smiling in it. His fingers trembled.
He didn't remember ever smiling like that.
The girl walked up behind him and hugged him from behind.
"Don't ruin it," she whispered. "Please. Just stay. Let it be normal. Just for a while."
Kael turned to face her.
"Who are you?"
Her eyes didn't blink.
Then, ever so softly, her smile cracked. Literally. A fissure ran through her cheek, and beneath it—static.
The lights flickered.
"Don't wake up again, Kael."
And then—darkness swallowed everything.
No more kitchen.
No more home.
Just… the Pulse, breathing against his neck again.
And somewhere far away, something began to laugh.
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End of Chapter 21.
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