Chapter 78: A Seat Beside Him
The dreams were gone.
That should have made everything better.
Instead...
Something felt wrong.
Dillan couldn’t explain it.
The nightmares had disappeared, yet every morning he woke with the strange feeling that someone had been watching him while he slept.
Not threateningly.
Patiently.
Waiting.
He brushed the thought aside.
"...You’re overthinking."
For once...
He wanted to believe himself.
Guardian Network Headquarters buzzed with its usual activity.
Researchers hurried through the corridors.
Hunters prepared for patrol.
Phones rang.
Computers beeped.
Life had finally begun settling into something resembling normal again.
"...Morning."
Dana walked beside Dillan with a cup of coffee in each hand.
She tossed one toward him.
He caught it.
"...Thanks."
"You slept?"
"...Eight hours."
She narrowed her eyes.
"...Actually?"
"Actually."
"Huh."
"What?"
"I almost forgot you looked like a functioning human."
He laughed.
"...Glad to disappoint you."
Inside the cafeteria...
The five women had already gathered.
Sera quietly poured tea.
Mira scrolled through reports.
Yuna discussed Gate deployments over the phone.
Lyra stared out the window as usual.
Everything...
Felt normal.
Then the cafeteria doors opened.
"...Good morning."
Sasha stepped inside carrying another lunch bag.
Several conversations stopped.
She smiled politely.
"I hope I’m not interrupting."
Commander Yuna gestured toward the empty chair.
"You’re welcome to join us."
"...Thank you."
Sasha walked toward the table.
There were several empty seats.
She looked at each one.
Then...
Without hesitation...
She sat beside Dillan.
"...Good morning."
He smiled politely.
"...Morning."
She carefully unpacked another homemade lunch.
"I made extra."
"You really didn’t have to."
"I wanted to."
Simple.
Honest.
She offered him a pair of chopsticks.
"...Here."
"...Thanks."
Across the table...
Dana quietly watched.
"...She always sits beside him."
Mira whispered.
Dana nodded slightly.
"...I noticed."
Breakfast continued.
Mostly ordinary conversation.
Gate reports.
Supply requests.
Upcoming patrol schedules.
Sasha listened more than she spoke.
Whenever Dillan asked something...
She answered.
Whenever someone else spoke...
She politely listened.
Perfect manners.
Perfect posture.
Perfect composure.
Nothing about her suggested danger.
And yet...
Dana couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
After breakfast...
Everyone dispersed.
Dillan headed toward the archives.
"...Dillan."
He turned.
Sasha stood behind him.
"...Can I help?"
"I was wondering..."
She hesitated.
"...Would you like some company?"
"...Sure."
The answer came naturally.
They walked together through the headquarters courtyard.
For several minutes...
Neither spoke.
The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just unfamiliar.
Finally...
Sasha broke it.
"...You still walk with your hands in your pockets."
Dillan blinked.
"...I do?"
"You always did."
"...Guess old habits stick."
She smiled warmly.
"...Some do."
Nearby...
Mira lowered the camera she’d been holding.
Click.
Another photograph.
Dana sighed.
"...Seriously?"
"I’m documenting."
"You’ve taken twelve pictures."
"Thirteen."
"...Mira."
"They’re evidence."
Dana folded her arms.
"Evidence of what?"
"...I haven’t decided yet."
Across the courtyard...
Lyra quietly stood beneath a large tree.
Her silver eyes followed Sasha.
More specifically...
The Resonance Field surrounding Dillan.
The invisible membrane remained calm.
Until...
Sasha laughed.
A tiny ripple spread through the Field.
Almost like a pebble dropped into still water.
Lyra frowned.
"...Again."
She slowly reached toward the ripple.
Before she could touch it...
It disappeared.
That afternoon...
Dr. Yeon entered the conference room carrying fresh data.
"I’ve completed another analysis."
Commander Yuna looked up.
"And?"
"The Oneiric Malformation."
Everyone became attentive.
"It hasn’t disappeared."
Silence.
"...What?"
Yeon displayed several graphs.
"It stabilized."
"Meaning?"
"It no longer needs dreams."
The room became quiet.
"...Explain."
Yeon pointed toward Dillan’s neurological readings.
"Previously..."
"The phenomenon only appeared while he slept."
She changed slides.
"Now..."
"...It’s active while he’s awake."
Silence.
Dana looked toward Dillan.
"...You didn’t tell us."
"...Tell you what?"
"...The headaches."
He froze.
"...How did you know?"
"You keep rubbing your temple."
"...Every few minutes."
Dillan lowered his hand.
He hadn’t even noticed.
That evening...
The headquarters slowly emptied.
Most Hunters had already returned home.
Dillan remained inside the archive organizing old files.
The room was peaceful.
Quiet.
Until...
"...Found you."
He looked up immediately.
Sasha stood in the doorway.
Holding two cans of coffee.
"...Thought you might need one."
"...You have incredible timing."
"I’ve been told."
She walked inside.
Placed one can beside him.
"...Still organizing everything."
"...Someone has to."
"You’ve always liked helping people."
Dillan smiled.
"...Did I?"
"You never noticed."
"...Noticed what?"
"...How many people depended on you."
He laughed softly.
"I was just doing paperwork."
"You say that..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"...Like it wasn’t important."
For a brief second...
Neither looked away.
The room became strangely quiet.
Then...
A loud thud echoed from outside.
The moment broke.
Elsewhere...
Dana stopped walking.
"...Did you hear that?"
Mira nodded.
"...Archive room."
The two hurried toward the sound.
Inside...
Everything appeared normal.
Dillan stood beside his desk.
Sasha calmly sipped her coffee.
"...Everything okay?"
Dana asked.
"...Yeah."
Dillan looked around.
"I thought something fell."
Nothing had.
The room was untouched.
Mira quietly glanced toward the large window.
Her reflection stared back.
Dillan’s.
Dana’s.
Then...
For just a fraction of a second...
She saw another reflection.
A smiling little girl standing directly behind Dillan.
Blink.
Gone.
Mira’s heartbeat skipped.
"...No..."
"...What’s wrong?"
Dana asked.
Mira looked toward the window again.
Only ordinary reflections remained.
"...Nothing."
She answered automatically.
But for the first time...
She wasn’t sure whether she’d imagined it.
Or whether...
The dreams had begun spreading to everyone else.
Mira didn’t mention the reflection.
Not immediately.
She waited until Sasha had left the archive.
Until Dillan had gone back to sorting documents.
Until Dana had stepped into the hallway.
Only then...
"...Dana."
Dana looked over.
"...Yeah?"
"...Did you see anything?"
She frowned.
"Like what?"
Mira hesitated.
"...Never mind."
"...Mira."
"I’ll check the cameras first."
Dana knew that look.
Whenever Mira wasn’t certain of something...
She trusted evidence over instinct.
"...Alright."
"But tell me if you find something."
"I will."
Twenty minutes later...
Mira sat alone inside the surveillance room.
She replayed the archive security footage.
Normal.
Dillan organizing files.
Sasha entering.
Coffee.
Conversation.
Nothing unusual.
She rewound.
Frame by frame.
The large window reflected the room perfectly.
Dillan.
Sasha.
Bookshelves.
Desk.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Then...
Frame 5,482.
Her breathing stopped.
There...
Standing behind Dillan...
Was the little girl.
Long crimson hair.
White dress.
Hands folded neatly before her.
Smiling.
She wasn’t reflected beside Dillan.
She was standing...
Directly behind him.
Watching.
Frame 5,483.
Gone.
Mira immediately froze the recording.
"...No..."
She enlarged the image.
The resolution deteriorated instantly.
Everything blurred.
Except...
Her eyes.
Soft crimson.
Glowing.
Filled with impossible affection.
Mira instinctively leaned away from the screen.
For reasons she couldn’t explain...
Looking into those eyes made her chest feel heavy.
As if...
Someone else was quietly looking back.
Inside the medical laboratory...
Dr. Yeon continued analyzing Dillan’s brain activity.
The results refused to make sense.
She sighed.
"...Again."
Another scan.
Same result.
Two neural patterns.
Perfectly synchronized.
Impossible.
She adjusted the display.
Then stopped.
"...Wait..."
A third pattern briefly appeared.
Only for 0.2 seconds.
Then disappeared.
She replayed the recording.
Nothing.
"...No..."
She frowned.
"I definitely saw..."
The monitor flickered.
The third pattern never returned.
Meanwhile...
Sasha slowly walked through a nearby park.
The afternoon breeze gently moved her crimson hair.
Children played happily nearby.
Parents laughed together.
Ordinary life.
She stopped beneath an old swing.
Slowly reached out.
Placed one hand on the chain.
Creeeak...
The swing moved gently.
"...You remember this place..."
She whispered.
"...Don’t you?"
Her smile became bittersweet.
"...I do."
She reached into her handbag.
Removing the faded childhood photograph.
Two smiling children.
A promise frozen in time.
She looked at it quietly.
"...I waited."
A small tear rolled down her cheek.
"...I really waited."
Then...
She carefully returned the photograph to her bag.
The smile remained.
Calm.
Patient.
Hopeful.
Back at headquarters...
Dillan sat alone in the library.
His headache had returned.
Not painful.
Persistent.
Like someone knocking softly against the inside of his skull.
He rubbed his temple.
"...Again..."
A book slid from the shelf beside him.
Thud.
He glanced down.
It had fallen open.
Right in front of him.
Its title caught his attention.
Childhood Memory and Traumatic Suppression
"...Weird coincidence."
He picked it up.
Flipped through several pages.
One sentence immediately caught his eye.
Strong emotional events may remain within the subconscious even after conscious memory has faded.
He stared at it.
"...Subconscious..."
His mind drifted.
A little girl laughing.
Someone crying.
A train station.
A promise.
"...Come back..."
The memory vanished before he could grasp it.
"...Damn it."
Elsewhere...
Lyra stood once again inside the Resonance Chamber.
She closed her eyes.
The invisible Field expanded around headquarters.
Gentle.
Warm.
Alive.
Then...
A second pulse answered.
Closer than ever before.
Lyra slowly opened her eyes.
"...You’re inside."
Silence.
Another pulse.
Then...
Very softly...
A woman’s voice.
"...I’ve always been close."
Lyra’s expression became serious.
"...Show yourself."
No answer.
Only a single crimson ripple spreading across the membrane.
That evening...
The Compass gathered for dinner.
For once...
Everything felt peaceful.
Dana laughed at one of Dillan’s terrible jokes.
Sera quietly scolded him for eating too quickly.
Commander Yuna complained about paperwork.
Even Mira looked relaxed.
"...See?"
Dillan smiled.
"I told you I wasn’t dying."
Dana rolled her eyes.
"You basically did."
"...Minor detail."
The room filled with quiet laughter.
Only Lyra wasn’t laughing.
She looked toward the empty chair beside Dillan.
"...Someone else..."
She whispered.
"...Should be sitting there."
"...What?"
Dana looked over.
Lyra blinked.
Then gently smiled.
"...Nothing."
Late that night...
Mira remained inside the surveillance room.
She couldn’t stop staring at the frozen frame.
The little girl.
She enlarged it one last time.
The image blurred.
Then...
Without warning...
The girl moved.
Only her head.
Slowly...
She looked directly at Mira.
And smiled.
The monitor instantly went black.
Every light inside the surveillance room shut off.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Mira’s breathing became shallow.
"...Who’s there?"
Silence.
Then...
Very softly...
From somewhere behind her...
A gentle voice whispered.
"...Thank you..."
Mira spun around.
The room was empty.
When the lights returned seconds later...
The frozen frame had vanished.
Deleted.
As if it had never existed.
Far across the city...
Sasha stood beside the window of her apartment.
Looking toward the Guardian Network headquarters.
She gently closed her eyes.
"...You’re beginning to notice me..."
Her smile deepened ever so slightly.
"...That’s alright."
"...Soon..."
"...Everyone will remember."