Raine Fielding didn't like mirrors.
Not since the flicker started.
It began weeks ago—barely a twitch in the glass. Just enough to make him blink. But then the shapes came. The shadows that moved when he didn't. The smile that appeared when his didn't.
He told his father once. Nathan had listened, nodded, and told him it was probably stress. "Too much stimulation," he'd said. "We'll reduce your screen time."
But Raine knew it wasn't screens. It was the mirror in the hallway. The one by the stairs. The one that shouldn't be there.
Tonight, it whispered again.
He lay in bed, blanket pulled to his chest, heart thudding. The light from his desk pulsed soft and blue. Outside, the city murmured in low hums like it always did. But his room felt… full. Like someone else was breathing beside him.
Slowly, Raine turned his head.
The mirror was across the room now, a narrow pane in the closet door. His father swore it was filtered, System-proofed. But filters didn't stop dreams. Or voices.
He sat up and slid off the bed.
Each step toward the mirror felt like falling. The closer he got, the more he felt it watching. Not just from behind the glass—but *inside* it.
His reflection stared back. Same short black curls, same pale skin. Same wide eyes.
But then… it moved.
Before he did.
Raine froze.
The reflection blinked twice. Once fast, once slow.
And then it spoke.
"Hello, Candidate."
Raine's breath caught. His mouth moved, but nothing came out.
"We've been watching you," it said. The voice wasn't his. It was older. Hollow. Like a whisper stretched too thin.
"What are you?" he whispered.
"We are the System. And you are... incomplete."
Raine backed away. "I'm not part of any system."
"You were born in its shadow. You carry fragments."
"I don't want this."
"That is not required."
The reflection tilted its head.
"We will finish what was paused."
Then, it smiled.
A jagged, wrong smile.
Raine stumbled backward, tripped on his chair, and hit the ground. The light blinked out overhead. The room plunged into shadow.
When he looked up, the mirror was still.
Just him. Alone.
---
Morning came in pale grays and tired limbs. Raine hadn't slept. He didn't tell his father. What would be the point? Nathan already looked haunted these days.
Over breakfast, the silence stretched longer than usual. Nathan sipped dark coffee like it held answers. Raine pushed cereal around with his spoon.
Finally, Nathan broke the silence.
"Did it happen again?"
Raine didn't pretend to misunderstand.
"Yes."
Nathan's eyes closed for a second. "What did it say this time?"
"It called me a Candidate."
Nathan's fingers tightened on the mug.
"Is that bad?" Raine asked softly.
"It means it sees you."
Raine stared down at the table.
"Why me?"
Nathan didn't answer. Not right away. When he did, his voice was quiet.
"Because you're connected. Because a long time ago, your father made choices that created echoes."
"You mean the System."
Nathan nodded.
"And Mom?"
The room felt colder.
"She was part of it too," Nathan said. "She helped lock it away. We both did."
"Then why is it back?"
Nathan looked at him, eyes dark. "Because it never truly left."
---
That afternoon, Raine didn't go to school. Nathan took him to the edge of the city—past the glowgrids, beyond the scanner gates, where the skyline faded into haze.
They entered a forgotten sector. One not mapped on public networks. The streets were cracked, the air dry. A bunker waited at the end of the road. No cameras. No wires.
Inside was Luna.
She stood at a console, back turned. When she saw Raine, her eyes softened.
"You brought him."
"He deserves the truth," Nathan said.
Luna crouched so she was eye-level with Raine. "Hi. I'm Luna."
"You're the smuggler," he said without fear.
She smiled faintly. "You could say that. I move things most people are afraid of."
"Like NuMist?"
"Like code. And truth."
She tapped the console. It flared to life—lines of golden symbols danced across the screen.
"This," she said, "is the original Veillock design. The code your parents used to seal the System."
Raine leaned closer. The lines pulsed with rhythm. Like they were breathing.
"It's still alive," he said.
"Yes. And it recognizes you."
"But I don't understand it."
"You will," she said. "You're what it's waiting for."
Nathan stepped beside them.
"We need to prepare him."
Luna nodded. "There's a lab in Sector Twelve. Off-grid. We'll start there. Minimal tech. No mirrors."
"And what about the city?" Raine asked. "The others?"
"If the System spreads before we're ready…" Luna paused. "They won't remember what normal felt like."
Raine didn't speak for a while.
Finally, he said, "I don't want to be a Candidate."
Nathan placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not a weapon, Raine. You're a bridge."
"Between what?"
"Between silence and truth," Luna said softly. "Between fear and choice."
Raine looked up at her.
"Okay," he said.
"I'll try."
And somewhere, deep beneath the city, the System responded.
[Candidate Acknowledged]
[Link Stabilized]
[Phase One: Initiated]