Chapter 1 – The Lock Is Broken. Again.
Kael Vaelen unlocked his building's main door with a thumbprint and a weary sigh. The sensor blinked blue, and the door clicked open with a soft whir. He stepped inside, adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder and brushing a few strands of his dark brown hair out of his eyes.
"Another successful day of pretending college isn't a soul-crushing factory of group assignments and overpriced textbooks," he muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs.
> [Analyzing sarcasm... 93% genuine. Mood: Fatigued.]
[Suggestion: ramen, a nap, and zero people.]
— Nox.
Kael smirked.
"You missed 'turn phone off and ignore reality.' But solid list."
Nox—his ever-present, AI-like inner voice—clicked softly in his mind, like amusement without laughter.
The hall light flickered as he approached his apartment: Unit 3C. Tucked on the third floor of a well-kept, quiet complex on the east edge of Central City. Clean. Modern. Three bedrooms (because rent was oddly cheap the day he signed the lease), a sleek kitchen, and a wide balcony that caught the sunrise just right.
Except today…
Today something was off.
He stopped dead in front of his apartment door.
The keypad was glowing faint red, its display frozen. The frame around the handle? Bent inward. The door was slightly ajar.
> [Alert. Lock integrity: breached. Entry point compromised. No life signs inside. No traps. Caution still advised.]
Kael exhaled through his nose.
"Great. Home invasion. Just what I needed."
He slowly pushed the door open. The hinges creaked slightly—he winced. Despite the silence inside, every instinct told him to go careful.
The apartment was clean. Almost too clean. His jacket was still hung over the couch, the TV off, the balcony doors shut. But the faint scent of citrus shampoo wafted from the bathroom, and the fridge was humming louder than usual.
He stepped inside, dropping his bag by the door. His eyes narrowed.
> [Kitchen drawer: open. Living room: disturbed cushion pattern. Bathroom humidity: elevated. Hallway floor: faint prints, female boot tread.]
"Nox," Kael muttered. "Be real with me. Who do you think broke in?"
> [Probability: 91% — Kira Velden. Reason: recent argument over ramen ownership and her history of violating your lock's personal space.]
Kael groaned and strode down the hall.
"Every time I upgrade the lock, she gets in like it's a damn side quest."
He turned the corner into his kitchen—and sure enough, she was there.
Kira Velden. Orange hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, face halfway into a carton of fried rice she definitely didn't pay for. One leg was propped up on the counter, boots still on, and her ARC-issued hoodie had a new scorch mark across one sleeve.
"Yo," she said, mouth full. "Nice pad. Your security system sucks."
Kael blinked. "You broke the lock. Again."
"Didn't break it. Just… bypassed it. Kind of." She gestured vaguely toward the twisted keypad. "I was hungry."
Kael stared at her. "There's this thing called a phone. You call people before you raid their fridge."
She blinked, then grinned. "Didn't have signal. You know how it is."
> [She had signal. Five bars. Just lazy.]
— Nox, smugly.
Kael closed his eyes for a long moment.
Then opened them and walked to the cooker.
"Fine. But you're doing dishes. And replacing the lock. Again."
Kira smirked and tossed a dumpling into her mouth. "Deal."