The air was too heavy for an ordinary night. When the man vanished, leaving his words lodged inside me like barbs, the world went unnaturally still. The trees didn't move. The street made no sound. Even my own breathing felt like an echo that shouldn't exist.
"The second Predator."
It didn't sound like information.
It sounded like a sentence.
For several seconds, the Predator System remained silent—as if it, too, needed time to digest what had just happened. Then the interface burst into my vision, harsh and bright.
[WARNING: SYSTEM INTRUSION ATTEMPT – BLOCKED]
[ATTACKER IDENTITY: UNKNOWN]
[STATUS: HIGHER-CLASS PREDATOR]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE ANALYSIS OF TEAM "SILVER BLADES"]
I exhaled slowly.
Not from fear.
From focus.
A second Predator… inside my team.
I didn't know who yet. But I knew one thing: I couldn't react impulsively. Any predator knows that when two face each other, the first careless move is a death sentence.
I headed back toward the dormitory. The city grew quiet—too quiet. As if someone pressed their hands over my ears and left only a low, dull pulse behind.
The Predator System stayed silent.
For the first time since my return…
the system hesitated.
⸻
I reached the dorm after several minutes, though the walk felt shorter than it should have. Thoughts accelerated every step, my body unconsciously matching their tempo.
The hallway was quiet. Doors shut. Lights dimmed.
Mira was standing outside my room.
She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, head lowered as if asleep on her feet. The moment my footsteps echoed on the floor, she looked up.
Relief widened her eyes.
Or something very close to relief.
"Eliasz… where were you?" Her voice was soft. Too soft. "I thought that maybe… I don't know. That something happened to you."
Two analyses lit up at once:
[EMOTION ANALYSIS: CONCERN – 68%]
[HIDDEN INTENT DETECTED – 32%]
"I went out," I said, brushing past her and unlocking the door. "I needed to prepare."
"So late?" she asked, stepping half a pace closer—just enough to test my reaction.
System responded instantly.
[ALERT: MICRO-BEHAVIOR DEVIATION]
[SUGGESTION: MAINTAIN DISTANCE. DO NOT PROVOKE.]
I turned to face her.
"Yes."
She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.
"Mira, it's late. We have a dungeon tomorrow."
For a split second, her expression cracked—like a plan interrupted halfway.
"I know," she said quietly. "That's why I wanted you to sleep. I want you in shape tomorrow."
[EMOTION: SINCERITY? – 41%]
[EMOTION: TENSION – 59%]
The system wasn't sure.
Neither was I.
"I will be," I replied. "Good night."
I closed the door.
Only then did I hear her leave. Her footsteps were light, measured—but their rhythm was different from the one I remembered before my first death.
Something a normal person would ignore.
Something a predator never does.
⸻
The room was dark. I sat on the bed and placed the First-Edge Blade on the table. Its edge glimmered faintly in the shadows, as if pleased with its new purpose.
The system spoke first.
[CURRENT PRIORITY: IDENTIFY SECOND PREDATOR]
[POTENTIAL CANDIDATES:]
– ARMIN KORCZYK (PROBABILITY: 21%)
– MIRA SZEWSKA (PROBABILITY: 34%)
– LIDERLINEK (PROBABILITY: 17%)
– OTHERS (28%)
Thirty-four percent.
The highest.
Still not enough.
"System," I murmured. "What do you know about the second Predator?"
Silence.
Too long.
[DATA RESTRICTED BY SECURITY PROTOCOLS]
[INSUFFICIENT CLEARANCE]
[SUGGESTION: INCREASE "HUNGER."]
"My hunger?" I repeated.
[HUNGER = EMOTIONAL EXTRACTION FROM TARGETS → SYSTEM AMPLIFICATION.]
[THE MORE FEAR, BETRAYAL, AND HATRED YOU CREATE, THE MORE YOU RECEIVE.]
A system that feeds on conflict wanted more conflict.
Expected.
Logical.
Unsettling.
But useful.
I lay down without closing my eyes. I analyzed.
Armin?
Too chaotic. Too stupid. The system would have devoured him in minutes.
Liderlinek?
Possible. Quiet. Distant. But no direct proximity.
Mira?
Closest to me.
Most access.
Most emotion.
Most… masks.
She was too good at pretending.
And someone who could pretend that well could hide far more than concern.
⸻
I didn't really sleep. My body slipped into a half-state where thoughts kept grinding—slow, precise, relentless.
At 4:58, I opened my eyes.
Someone was standing outside my door. I could hear breathing. Light. Steady. Female.
A knock.
"Eliasz?" Mira.
I opened the door. She stood there in a light jacket, a bag slung over her shoulder.
"I thought…" she began. "That we'd go together."
System fired instantly.
[ANOMALY: MODIFIED BEHAVIOR PATTERN – EARLY ARRIVAL]
[EMOTIONAL TENSION: +41%]
[RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM]
I studied her.
Calm face.
Relaxed hands.
Feet positioned like someone ready to dodge.
She didn't look like the Mira from my previous life.
"All right," I said.
Her relief came too fast.
Too clean.
We walked across the campus together. Dawn was only beginning to paint the sky orange, but people were already gathering—Hunters, candidates, observers.
Mira walked half a step ahead of me. Not too close. Not too far. Perfect distance.
System tracked every movement.
[BEHAVIOR: OVERLY CONTROLLED]
[EMOTIONAL VARIANCE: TOO STABLE]
[POTENTIAL: SUSPICIOUS]
"Today will be fine," she said quietly, without turning her head. "I can feel it."
"What do you feel?" I asked.
She paused—just a fraction of a second.
"So that… we'll make it," she replied.
Too slow.
Too careful.
Mira was smart.
But not this smart.
Not before.
⸻
The Broadwood Gate looked exactly as it did the first time: a massive metal structure wrapped in barrier fields, and beyond it, a forest darker than it should be at this hour.
Armin and the rest of the team were already there.
"Finally!" the Captain laughed when he saw us together. "Did Mira have to wake you up today?"
"No," I said. "I got up on my own."
System analyzed Armin:
[BEHAVIOR: NORMAL]
[INTENT: SELF-CONFIDENCE, UNAWARE OF SECOND PREDATOR]
So not him.
The others arrived as usual—unfocused, excited, reckless. None carried the heavy presence I'd felt in the alley.
That left Mira.
Still no certainty.
Armin clapped my shoulder.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Always," I answered.
And that was the truth.
It didn't matter who the second Predator was.
Inside the dungeon, we'd be trapped together.
And in there…
the truth always surfaces.
The gate began to open.
Metal screamed like a blade dragged across bone.
Mira glanced back at me.
Her eyes were calm, gentle…
but something deep inside them stirred.
Something that wasn't hers.
System alarms shrieked.
[SUDDEN PREDATOR ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED]
[SOURCE: NEAR]
[SECOND PREDATOR PROBABILITY: 87%]
She opened her mouth as if to speak.
And in that exact moment, I understood:
This wasn't the Mira I knew.
Before anyone stepped into the dungeon, the Predator System displayed a single line:
[WARNING: SECOND PREDATOR IS ACTIVATING.]
Too late to retreat.
Too early to strike.
The cliffhanger lit itself.
Because Mira smiled—slowly.
Not her smile.
Not a human one.
But something I recognized from my own system.