The announcement came during lunch.
Not over the speakers.
Not in anyone's voice.
It appeared—quietly, politely—inside every screen on campus.
Phones. Tablets. Smartboards.
Even the old digital clock above the cafeteria doors flickered, its numbers dissolving into unfamiliar symbols.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Zone Designation Updated.
Location: East District High School
Status: MONITORED ANOMALY
Students stared.
Someone laughed nervously.
"Is this, like, a prank?"
The text vanished.
Life resumed.
But the air didn't.
Ren stood near the cafeteria window, tray untouched.
"So it's official," he murmured.
"They've put a circle around us."
Abinaya sat across from him, slowly stirring her drink though she wasn't drinking it.
"I can feel it," she said.
"Like the building is being… remembered too hard."
Ren nodded.
A marked zone meant one thing:
containment before erasure.
Hunters would return.
Observers would be upgraded.
And if that failed—
A layer wipe.
"People will start getting headaches," Ren said.
"Memory gaps. Déjà vu."
As if summoned by the words, a student nearby pressed his hand to his forehead.
"…Did anyone else feel dizzy just now?"
Abinaya looked away.
"This is my fault."
Ren shook his head immediately.
"No. This is what happens when control systems panic."
The cafeteria lights dimmed for half a second.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for them.
[BACKGROUND PROCESS ACTIVE]
Stability sampling in progress.
Abinaya's fingers clenched.
"They're counting us."
Ren's wrist burned.
"Error Archive" — Passive Sync Detected
Zone pressure increasing
"Okay," Ren said calmly, standing up.
"Then we stop being easy to count."
Abinaya blinked.
"…That sounds ominous."
"It is."
After School
Classes ended without incident.
Which meant the incident was waiting.
The moment the last bell rang, the sky above the school shifted—just slightly, like a layer of glass had been slid into place.
No one else noticed.
Ren and Abinaya did.
The gate wouldn't open.
Not locked.
Excluded.
[ZONE SEAL CONFIRMED]
Non-essential entities released.
Essential variables retained.
Students walked through the gate freely.
Ren and Abinaya bounced back as if hitting invisible water.
Abinaya laughed once.
"…Wow. That's rude."
Ren clenched his jaw.
"So we're essential now."
The courtyard emptied.
The world grew quiet.
Too quiet.
Then—
Someone clapped.
Slowly.
Once.
Twice.
A figure stepped out from beneath the old banyan tree at the edge of campus.
An adult.
Mid-thirties, maybe.
Casual clothes. Hands in pockets.
But his shadow lagged behind him by half a second.
"That was impressive," the man said cheerfully.
"Taking down CULL-7 with a Witness who hasn't fully awakened?"
Ren's stomach dropped.
This wasn't a Hunter.
This was worse.
The man smiled at Abinaya.
"And you," he added.
"You really shouldn't exist anymore."
Abinaya met his gaze.
Her voice was steady.
"…Who are you?"
The man bowed slightly.
"Designation?" he said thoughtfully.
"Let's see…"
His eyes flickered gold.
[ENFORCER CLASS — AUTHORIZED]
"Call me Rakesh," he said.
"I clean up stories that refuse to end."
Ren stepped forward, every instinct screaming.
An Enforcer.
Not sent to test.
Sent to finish.
The school gates dissolved into light behind them.
The sky sealed shut.
Rakesh smiled wider.
"Now," he said pleasantly,
"Which one of you would like to be erased first?"