Karl stared at the crumpled note for a while before finally shoving it aside. His mind felt like a murky pool of contradictions, and no amount of sarcastic banter from Emily was going to change that.
He needed a distraction.
With a sigh, Karl pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over the screen before he hesitated.
He didn't want to check the app.
Not right now.
Not when his head was still tangled with doubts and emotions that felt too raw, too unsettling.
But before he could talk himself out of it, the screen flickered, and the familiar blue interface appeared. The app had opened by itself.
And there, waiting for him, was Chillie Jean.
Except… something was off.
Her usual bubbly demeanor, the playful text tone she used to guide him through his "quests," was gone.
Instead, the words on the screen felt sharper. Colder.
"You look like shit, Karl."
Karl narrowed his eyes.
