The atmosphere at Vija Magical Academy was getting strange. Not the usual strange—like dragons in detention or dorms catching fire—but stranger.
Because the assassin from nowhere wasn’t doing anything.
Rei, the transfer student who had declared Jay Sama as "an anomaly that must be neutralized," had... stopped. He now sat beside Jay in every class, watched his every nap, and followed him at exactly 2.5 meters behind.
Yet, he made no move to attack.
Princess Alicia had enough.
"Jay," she hissed during spell theory class, "he’s literally writing your name in his notebook like a hit list."
Jay barely opened an eye. "He added a heart next to it yesterday."
Alicia’s fingers twitched toward her sword. "That’s not reassuring."
Rei, five seats behind, slowly looked up from his notes. His gaze met Alicia’s. And for a moment—it almost seemed... puzzled?
Lunch Break – Rooftop Again
Jay tossed a piece of fried potato toward Rei.
"You gonna just stalk me till you level up boredom immunity?"
Rei caught the food mid-air, paused, and... ate it.
Jay raised an eyebrow. "Okay. You’re either adapting to humanity, or I just befriended a toaster."
Rei’s reply was mechanical. "I am... uncertain."
Jay chuckled. "Same."
Behind the clock tower of the academy, a shadow cloaked in red robes knelt before a screen of static energy.
> "Dreamer-001 has failed to eliminate Subject-03."
"Glitch remains active."
"Begin Dreamer Reformat Command."
"Initiate Sleeper Agent Alpha: Phase II."
Far above, lightning flickered. But it wasn’t from the sky.
It was from within Rei.
> [System Time Stamp: 08:59:43] fr eewe(b)nove.l.co\m
[Command Delay Detected]
[Internal Conflict: Reason vs. ...Emotion?]
Subject-03 continues defying logic.
I observe him. He does nothing. I prepare to terminate. I don’t.
> [Execution Command: Stalled. Reason: Undefined hesitation]
Observation Log – Lunch Break:
Subject-03 offers potato.
Taste receptors activate.
Sensory input: Crunchy. Salty. Warm.
> [Tag? I am not programmed to create subjective tags.]
Memory spike detected. Cross-reference mismatch.
I see another time. Another rooftop.
Another boy offers food.
"You need to stop thinking like a machine. You’re allowed to live, y’know?"
Voiceprint analysis: Unknown.
Image distortion: High.
Emotion Trigger: Isolation + Longing.
> [ERROR: Uninstall requested — Refused by core directive.]
System Override Attempt Detected.
> External Source: ██████ Faction
Status: Injecting Override Dreamer Protocol
Subject-03 smiles in his sleep.
Says things like, "Don’t worry. I’m too lazy to die."
Why does that sentence... bring relief?
Final Log Entry — Fragmented Thought:
"But what if... I am too?"
[Internal System Conflict Escalating]
[Dreamer Protocol now... adapting]
[Personality Seed – ACTIVE]