Author's Preface
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Chapter 3 — Outstanding Balance
The white space disappeared as if it had never existed.
Kael blinked several times, his brain still reeling from what he'd just witnessed.
"..."
The once-noisy university courtyard was now empty. Not a single student could be found.
Vehicles passed hurriedly outside the campus gates as staff hurried to their various destinations.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face, waking him up.
"Huh?"
He looked around carefully, genuinely confused. Everything seemed normal.
He looked ahead. The black door was nowhere to be found — only the vending machines.
"...A dream?"
His fingers unconsciously reached toward the empty space. Nothing at all, just air.
"But it felt real."
"..."
Kael laughed awkwardly. "Okay, seriously, I need more sleep."
Seemed like his sleepless nights had finally caught up with him in the form of hallucinations.
"Hey! Who are you? Don't you know school's over? Get home, kid!" the school security guard shouted at him, fingers twitching strangely at his sides.
"Oh, sorry, sir. I got a bit lost."
The old man turned and spat, hands in his pockets. "Why don't you get lost and die. School's over. Stop standing around like a scarecrow. If I come back and you're still here, I'll drag you out myself."
Kael adjusted his backpack and walked toward the campus exit.
Halfway there, his vision flickered. A transparent number momentarily appeared above a passing student.
7.
Then it vanished.
Kael stared at the empty air above the student's head. He stopped walking.
"...What was that?"
He looked around. Nothing — just ordinary people passing by.
He shook his head and kept walking. "I think I need to see a doctor."
Three steps later, another number appeared, startling him.
19.
It floated above a middle-aged man talking on the phone.
Then another appeared above a little girl holding her mother's hand.
3.
Kael paused. His breathing turned ragged.
The numbers weren't random. Every single person he saw had one.
He slowly turned around and froze, eyes widening in horror. The bustling street had transformed into a sea of invisible balances.
11. 26. 4. 31.
Hundreds of numbers hovered silently above people's heads. No one else noticed. Only he could see them.
"...What..."
He rubbed his eyes, trying to convince himself it was nothing but an illusion.
The numbers remained.
"No... I'm definitely hallucinating."
He hurried away from the crowd as fast as he could.
The farther he walked, the fewer people there were. Finally reaching a quieter street, he leaned against a wall for support and took a deep breath.
"This can't be real."
He peeked cautiously around the corner. An elderly woman walked past him. Above her head: 0.
Kael frowned. "Zero?"
A teenager followed moments later, a number floating above his head as well.
Kael tried to make sense of it. "...What do these numbers even mean?"
His heart pounded — not with anticipation, but confusion. Then his gaze landed on a young woman waiting for a taxi.
No number floated above her head.
He sighed in relief. "Finally... my signal's back."
But the relief was brief. A single word floated above her head instead.
*PAID*
"..."
Kael stared blankly, unsure what to make of it. *Paid? Paid for what, exactly?*
Before he could think further, the word disappeared as the woman got into a taxi and drove off.
A cold sensation washed over him. This wasn't random — there was a pattern. He just couldn't understand it yet.
Something clicked in his mind. Almost on instinct, he pulled out his phone and opened the front camera.
His own reflection stared back — but that wasn't what he was looking for. He slowly raised his eyes to the space above his own head.
There was nothing there. No number. No word. Absolutely nothing.
"..."
His smile faded. "Everyone else has one. So... why don't I?"
As if in answer, something clicked. His vision blurred as a transparent window flashed before him, then vanished almost instantly.
:Inspection Authority Activated:
:Access Restricted:
:Administrator Permission Required:
"...Administrator? Who's that?"
No response came. The window vanished before he could read anything else.
Kael stood motionless, staring at the blue sky. "...I'm definitely not dreaming anymore."
---
Far away, inside a dimly lit office lined with dusty shelves, several ledgers sat awaiting their contracts.
An old ledger, lying apart from the rest on a wooden desk, suddenly opened on its own.
A single line slowly appeared across its yellowed pages, catching the attention of an old man.
:Unauthorized Inspection Authority Detected:
The old man closed the book quietly, his expression calm as a still sea.
"A glitch...?"
He stood, reached for the weathered coat hanging beside the door, and picked up the black cane resting against the wall.
"Interesting."
Without another word, he left.
Somewhere in Noctis City, someone had been contracted.
But for the first time in a thousand years, a name that doesn't exist had been accepted.
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