When I arrived at school, the familiar hum of bustling students greeted me. As I made my way through the crowded hallway, I spotted Aaron leaning casually against the locker next to mine, a smirk playing on his lips. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what brought him here.
"Hey, man," I greeted, twisting the combination on my locker.
Aaron didn't respond immediately, just stared at me with a peculiar expression, as if sizing me up. "So," he finally said, voice low, "which name do you prefer I call you by?"
I paused mid-turn, the question catching me off guard. My fingers slipped off the locker dial. "What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a knot of unease tighten in my stomach.
Aaron straightened up, arms crossed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do you want me to call you Mr. John or... Rowan?"
The question hit like a punch to the gut. I blinked, trying to process his words. How does he know? My heart raced as I quickly glanced around, hoping no one overheard. "Aaron, how did you find out about... my past?" I asked, my voice tight, barely audible.
"You told me yesterday," Aaron said, shrugging nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. "You told me and Alex everything."
The casualness in his tone only heightened my confusion. I grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the lockers and out of the crowded hallway. "Come with me," I muttered, leading him toward the school's basketball court. We couldn't risk anyone overhearing this conversation.
As we entered the open court, empty and echoing with the distant chatter of students, I let go of his arm. "Are you sure I told you?" I asked, the doubt gnawing at me. I didn't remember any of this.
"Of course," Aaron said, rubbing his ankle absently, his face a mask of calm. "Why would I lie about that?"
I stared at him, the pieces slowly falling into place. My mind raced, then it clicked. "Oh no," I muttered, the weight of realization crashing down on me.
"What?" Aaron asked, eyes narrowing. "What's wrong?"
I started pacing. "The person you spoke to yesterday... that wasn't me."
Aaron's brow furrowed, his confusion deepening. "What do you mean?"
"It was the Diviner," I said, my voice tinged with frustration. "She must've shapeshifted into me and talked to you and Alex. I didn't tell you anything."
Aaron took a step back, eyes wide. "Wait... that actually makes sense. I knew something was off. You weren't acting like yourself. And you—" He stopped abruptly, realization dawning on him. "You didn't even seem to remember we were friends."
"Aaron," I cut him off sharply. I didn't want to hear any more about how convincing the Diviner had been. "What else did she say?"
He glanced away, chewing on his lip. "Not much, honestly. Just that you were reincarnated as your own son and that we needed to help you gain power... to save the world." He met my eyes. "She also said I was special. That she couldn't read my mind."
I snorted despite myself. Aaron being "special" was a stretch. But I knew better than to burst his bubble. "Did she visit Alex too?"
Aaron nodded quickly. "Yeah. We were in the sickbay. Remember? Alex was injured, and I was still in shock from... everything." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "You, or rather she, came in and threatened Alex. Said he shouldn't tell anyone what happened, and that you needed his help to stop Lucius. Afterward, she turned to me."
I absorbed his words, piecing together the events I had no memory of. She was playing a dangerous game, meddling with people close to me. I gestured for Aaron to stop. I had heard enough.
We left the court, walking back toward the classroom in silence.
****
Later that evening, I found myself at Alex's house. He wasn't in school today, so I'd come to clear things up, to apologize for something I hadn't even done.
"Alex, I'm sorry about yesterday," I said quietly, sitting on the edge of his bed. His face was pale, and his eyes darted nervously, like a cornered animal. I almost laughed at how terrified he looked, but I held it in. "That wasn't me you talked to yesterday. It was the Diviner. She pretended to be me."
Alex barely nodded, clearly still shaken by the encounter. I could see it in his eyes. I tried explaining things, but he was too afraid to really listen. I couldn't blame him. The fight and the encounter he had with the Diviner had probably rattled him more than I knew.
When Aaron and I left his house, we couldn't help but burst into laughter, the tension finally breaking. "Did you see the way he looked at you?" Aaron said between chuckles. We mimicked Alex's horrified expression as we strolled down the street toward my place, the fear he had radiated almost comical now that it was over.
"Aaron, there's something I need to show you," I said once we reached my house. We headed straight to my room, my mind racing.
"What is it?" Aaron asked, his curiosity piqued.
I took a deep breath. "I forgot to mention the Diviner gave me a gift. She said it would guide me, help me learn to use my powers." I focused, trying to summon the screen again, just as I had done earlier.
It blinked into view, but something strange happened Aaron didn't seem to notice it. I frowned, wondering why. As I mentally sifted through the options, a new menu appeared: Who do you want to see the screen?
Aaron's name popped up among a list of nearby people. I selected him.
"Whoa!" Aaron stumbled back as the screen materialized before him, wide-eyed in shock. "I've read about this in books systems that help people, like, in RPGs or something. I always thought it was fiction!" His excitement was contagious, though I kept my cool.
We spent the next hour talking, the screen disappearing when we shifted to other topics. By the time night fell, Aaron had left, and I lay in bed, headphones on, music filling the quiet.
As I tried to figure out how I could summon the screen,
"You know, you can summon the screen just by thinking about it."
The voice chuckled softly, an unsettling sound that echoed in the silence of my room. I ripped off my headset and bolted upright, heart pounding. I scanned the room, half-expecting to see the Diviner lurking in the shadows. But the room was empty just me, the dim glow of my phone, and the faint hum of the music still playing.
"You won't find me," the voice said, a strange calmness in her tone. "I'm not physically here."
A chill ran down my spine. "Who are you?" I demanded, my voice betraying the fear creeping in. "Where are you?"
The silence stretched for a moment before she spoke again, almost amused by my panic. "I'm part of the system, a guide of sorts. The Diviner gifted me to you. You can think of me as your companion."
Companion? My fists clenched the bed sheets as I tried to keep my breathing steady. "The Diviner never mentioned a… guide," I said, the word feeling foreign on my tongue.
"She wanted you to figure that out on your own," the voice replied smoothly. "A test of your instincts. Besides, where's the fun if she told you everything upfront?"
I sat there, dumbfounded. The Diviner's games never ceased. First, she appears as me and spills half my secrets to Aaron and Alex, and now she's left me with some invisible, disembodied helper?
"So," I started cautiously, "what exactly are you here for? Are you just going to... talk to me out of nowhere whenever you feel like it?"
Her laugh was soft, almost comforting, though it did nothing to ease my nerves. "No, I won't intrude unless necessary. My job is to assist you with the system, help you master your power. You were thinking way too hard about how to make that screen appear earlier that's why I stepped in."
The screen. I'd almost forgotten about it. That bizarre interface had popped up out of nowhere when Aaron was with me. He couldn't even see it until I made him. I shook my head, overwhelmed by the flood of information, too much to process at once.
"Right. The system," I muttered. "So, what do I call you? Do you even have a name?"
"Call me whatever you want. I'm here to help, not to burden you with names, but I'll prefer you call me Edith" she said with a hint of playfulness.
I sighed, leaning back on the bed, my gaze fixed on the ceiling as if it could offer some answers. "A built-in assistant, huh?"
"Exactly. And don't worry, I'll only speak up when you need me or when you're overthinking," she added.
I chuckled despite myself, though the laugh came out more like a nervous breath. This voice was already in my head literally. I had no choice but to accept it.
"Okay," I said, rubbing my face with both hands. "What now? Do I have to prepare for something? Is there some kind of test coming up?"
"For now," she said, her voice softening, "you need rest. You'll need your strength for what's coming."
That cryptic warning didn't sit well with me, but I was too exhausted to push for more. I lay back down, staring at the shadows dancing across the ceiling, trying to will myself to relax. The events of the past few days had my mind spinning: the fight, encounter withe Diviner, a fake me threatening my friends, and now a system inside my head.
I was never a stranger to chaos, but this was something else. The world I thought I understood was unraveling, and I had the unnerving sense that everything was leading up to something bigger something I wasn't ready for.
"Hey," I whispered into the dark. "Are you always listening?"
"Always," she replied, almost like a lullaby.
Great. Just what I needed someone watching my every move. But maybe, just maybe, having a guide wouldn't be the worst thing.
As I drifted off, the voice echoed softly, "Sleep well. Tomorrow holds new challenges."
I closed my eyes, I let the exhaustion win. Whatever tomorrow brought, I'd face it when it came.