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LIGHT 14: Selection

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LIGHT 14: Selection Around the unobservable zone, the frequency of distortions had begun to rise sharply. White particles appeared at several points in the passage at once, and the outlines of the walls and floor sank inward at short intervals. What had been isolated moments before was now happening without pause. Each time the light trembled, the shadows on the floor slid late, and the depth of the passage seemed to shrink by a fraction. Close. Lumira tightened her arm slightly around Elia. Within that unrest, the management display along the passage wall began classifying the exceptional person as a dangerous target. A warning glow ran through the identification field. New processing was layered over the record that had once been impossible to classify. Danger reaction. Spatial anomaly. High-priority surveillance. The display would not remain stable. Pale strings of text surfaced, trembled, broke apart, and assembled themselves again. Eve...

LIGHT 13: The Growing Shift

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LIGHT 13: The Growing Shift Lumira and the others had stopped near the boundary of the unobservable zone. Deep in the passage, pale white particles drifted without end. The outlines of the crumbling walls would not hold steady, and the scenery continued to sway quietly at short intervals. Delayed shadows remained on the floor, and the light that should have vanished still seemed to bleed faintly into the stone. Only the exceptional person kept looking deeper into the passage. They did not turn back. They did not move. Their gaze stayed fixed, as though waiting for the place where something would happen next. Waiting again. Lumira watched their back while keeping one hand on Elia’s shoulder. Along the passage wall, the management display kept trying to restore the missing records. Faded strings of text surfaced, and after a brief silence, were replaced by different content. Lines of light formed again and again, broke apart, then connected once more...

LIGHT 12: Unobservable

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LIGHT 12: Unobservable Lumira and the others moved deeper into the outer district, as though following the person who existed as an exception. Inside the passage, the distortions were appearing more often now, visibly increasing. Along the walls, white particles rose without pause. They did not vanish immediately, but lingered in the air as faint grains of light. The outlines of the scenery would not hold steady. Distant walls and pillars shifted slightly out of place in the span of a blink. Even the shadows on the floor were no longer singular. The shadows that should have stretched from people’s feet slid behind them with a delay. Another shadow slipped briefly in a different direction. The residents continued walking, but their shadows no longer followed properly. The management displays along the passage were beginning to lose stability as well. Minor fluctuation. The words stopped halfway through. Several seconds later, they rewrote themselves into...

LIGHT 11: The Appearance of an Exception

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LIGHT11 — The Appearance of an Exception Lumira and the others moved deeper into the passageways of the outer district. The collapse had spread further here than in the resting corridor. Cracks ran wider through the stone walls, and small distortions flickered endlessly along the edges of the passage. Pale white particles drifted into the air before dissolving soundlessly. Shadows lagged slightly behind the objects that cast them, and even the distant scenery shifted position every so often, almost gently. Even so, the residents never stopped walking. Some carried cargo. Some continued quiet conversations. Others moved forward with management records held in their arms. No one looked toward the distortions. They passed beside them as though nothing unusual existed there at all. Something was wrong. And yet even that wrongness had already begun to dissolve into the flow of this place. The management displays lining the corridor never changed...

LIGHT 10: The Reason It Cannot Be Stopped

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LIGHT 10: The Reason It Cannot Be Stopped Lumira and the others were moving through the passage that led toward the management area. It should have been more structurally stable than the rest passage, but the wavering of space had only grown stronger. Along the walls, small distortions appeared intermittently, pale white particles rising faintly before fading away. Even the shadows falling across the floor lagged slightly, slipping out of their proper positions in silence. And still, the residents did not stop walking. People carrying supplies. Administrators holding record boards. Others continuing low conversations beside the passage. Even when they passed close to a distortion, almost no one showed any special reaction. They did not stop. That had become common sense in this place. Lumira looked around while supporting Elia. Elia’s gaze was still turned toward the direction where distortions were occurring. Each time space trembled faintly, ...

LIGHT 09: Sharing the Unease

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LIGHT 09: Sharing the Unease Lumira and the others moved through the rest passage in the outer edge area. They should have been some distance from the collapsed zone, but the instability in space had not disappeared. Fine cracks ran through the stone walls, and near the ceiling, white dust drifted slowly. Along the wall, the air sank faintly inward, and the shadow falling across the floor slid behind its proper position. Small distortions were still occurring intermittently. And yet, no one stopped. Residents crossed the passage with their belongings in their arms, continued speaking in low voices, and passed close beside the distortions as if it were only natural. Some did not even turn their eyes when white particles brushed past their shoulders. Lumira kept walking while supporting Elia by the shoulder. Elia’s steps were not steady yet. Her stride slipped slightly, and even the moment her feet touched the floor came late. Still, only her gaze turned aga...

LIGHT 08: Becoming Used to It

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LIGHT 08: Becoming Used to It Lumira moved through the outer edge passage while supporting Elia. The passage had not completely collapsed. The stone walls were cracked in places, and fine fractures remained across the floor. Even so, people came and went through it as if it were an ordinary road. Small distortions occurred intermittently. The outline of a wall shifted sideways for a single instant, and the shadow cast on the floor followed later than the feet that made it. A pillar that should have been at the far end of the passage looked close for the span of a blink. But no one avoided them. No one stopped walking. Residents carried their belongings, continued their conversations, and passed beside the distortions as if it were only natural. Lumira tightened her hand slightly around Elia’s shoulder. Something was wrong. So many distortions still remained. And yet the response around them was far too quiet. Elia’s steps were still un...