Chapter 7 – The Boy With Black Eyes

Chapter 7 – The Boy With Black Eyes

The hallway buzzed with students.

But Kael heard nothing.

His eyes searched every corner.

"...Where did he go?"

Noah followed his gaze.

"What are you looking at?"

"There was a boy."

"What boy?"

"He was standing right there."

Kael pointed toward the center of the hallway.

"He had black eyes."

Noah's face immediately lost all color.

"...Did he speak to you?"

Kael nodded.

"He said I wasn't supposed to remember."

For the first time since they'd met...

Noah looked genuinely afraid.

"We have to leave."

"Class starts in two minutes."

"I don't care."

"Noah—"

"I'm serious!"

His voice echoed through the hallway.

Students turned to stare.

Noah didn't even notice.

He grabbed Kael's wrist and pulled him outside.

Behind the Gym

Noah finally stopped.

He looked around to make sure no one had followed them.

Then he asked quietly,

"...Did he touch you?"

"No."

"Did he smile?"

"...Yes."

Noah closed his eyes.

"...That's bad."

"What is?"

"The Watchers."

Kael frowned.

"The what?"

"They don't belong to this world."

Noah sat on an old bench.

"I've never seen one appear this early."

"What are they?"

"They're..."

He hesitated.

"...What happens when a timeline refuses to disappear."

Kael blinked.

"I don't understand."

"Imagine writing the same story hundreds of times."

"Each version is erased..."

"...But some pages refuse to burn."

Kael felt a chill run down his spine.

"The Watchers are the pieces left behind."

"They remember every timeline."

"And now..."

"They've noticed you."

A slow clap echoed through the empty courtyard.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Noah shot to his feet.

Elara stepped out from behind a tree.

"You finally told him."

"No."

"I only told him enough."

"You never tell him enough."

Kael looked between them.

"Will someone stop talking in riddles?"

Elara sighed.

"Fine."

She pulled a small, worn notebook from her coat.

Its pages were old and stained with ash.

She handed it to Kael.

"It's yours."

"I've never seen this before."

"You've written it hundreds of times."

Kael slowly opened the first page.

The handwriting was unmistakably his own.

The first line read:

Loop #327

His hands began to shake.

He turned another page.

Each entry was dated differently...

Each described memories he had never lived.

One page caught his attention.

The ink was smeared, as if written in a hurry.

It read:

If you're reading this, then I finally remembered.

Don't trust the memories.

Trust Noah.

Kael looked up.

Noah wasn't smiling anymore.

He looked like he wanted to cry.

Suddenly...

The pages of the notebook flipped on their own.

Faster.

Faster.

Until they stopped at the final page.

Only one sentence was written there.

Fresh.

As if it had appeared just now.

HE CAN SEE YOU NOW.

A cold wind swept through the courtyard.

Kael slowly looked up.

On the roof of the school...

A tall figure stood perfectly still.

Its face hidden in shadow.

Two glowing black eyes stared directly at him.

And then...

It smiled.

End of Chapter 7

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