Chapter 9 - 3rd Floor
I set my phone down on the counter, watching as the screen faded to black and left me staring at my own reflection once more.
[Time until reentry: 15 minutes, 03 seconds]
'Almost time.'
I walked out, tossing on a plain black hoodie and slipping into my worn-out sneakers. And I grabbed my phone and keys, sliding both into my jacket as I stepped out of the apartment.
The city was quiet. Early evening. The kind of quiet that buzzed with the low hum of electricity from streetlamps, cars in the distance, and the murmuring of the Astral Community still active on my phone.
No one looked up when I passed them by. I liked it that way. Even with my name trending again in the Hall of Firsts, no one knew it was me. Blank was a mask, and Nile Santos was just another face in the crowd.
[Time until reentry: 12 minutes, 57 seconds]
I sat down near the Rift, away from the others, my back against a rusted metal pillar. The chill of the evening settled into my skin, but it was nothing compared to the cold that waited inside.
My thoughts wandered—not to the third floor, not to the challenges waiting beyond, but to him.