Silence followed Sara's revelation.
Inside Daniel's mind, however, it was deafening chaos.
Do they know about the System? About the transmigration?
Thoughts raced, crashing into one another. None of it made sense. I have a passive ability that blocks mind reading. How did they find out? And what, exactly, did they find out?
An even worse idea surfaced. What if the entities that control this place — whatever they are — are more powerful than Kael? If so, my mental shield is worth about as much as wet paper.
His breathing began to speed up, panic clawing at the edges of his consciousness. But in a fraction of a second, a cold, calming wave washed over his brain. The Hunter's Mind kicked in, suppressing the panic, though the fear remained.
"What powers?" Nathan broke the silence. His voice was confused, his eyes shifting between Daniel and Sara. "What are you talking about, Sara?"
Sara shrank back, as if regretting having opened her mouth.
"They saw it... when he made a water bottle disappear. And then appear again," she said, her voice unsteady. Even for someone who heard voices, it sounded absurd.
That was when Daniel remembered storing and retrieving the bottle from his inventory during his run into town to get help.
It must have been that crow. The son of a bitch was probably watching me from the start.
At least what he feared most had not happened. They had seen a magic trick, not the System interface or memories from another life. The main secret — his origin and knowledge — was still safe.
"Sara." Daniel kept his tone firm, but there was an underlying urgency he could not fully hide. "What else did they say?"
"That was it."
"Ask them what they want," he instructed, leaning forward. "Ask if I can help with something. If they want to negotiate."
He was trying to extract as much information as possible to understand what they were and what they wanted.
"I'll try."
Sara closed her eyes. The room fell into absolute silence. Nathan watched his sister with a mix of fear and skepticism, while Daniel counted the seconds in his head.
One minute. Two. Five minutes dragged by.
She opened her eyes and shook her head, frustrated.
"They didn't say anything else. I tried asking mentally, tried whispering... nothing. It's like they left."
I'm at a disadvantage, Daniel thought, feeling a rare discomfort. My primary objective was to grow stronger in the shadows. Now I've got spotlights aimed at my back. Looks like my stealth plan went straight down the drain.
"Do you really have powers?" Sara asked again, curiosity briefly overpowering the terror of the situation.
Nathan shook his head, clearly hoping Daniel would deny it. Laugh it off. Say he had no idea what she was talking about.
Daniel stood still for three seconds, weighing his options.
Denying it would bring no benefit. The voices — the most dangerous part of the equation — already knew. Lying to Nathan and Sara now would only create distrust. If he told a partial truth, he would gain loyalty. They would trust him, and completing the mission to save Sara would be easier.
"I do," he admitted.
"But it's not what you're thinking," Daniel continued quickly, raising a hand to stop any heroic fantasies. "I'm not going to shoot lasers from my eyes, fly, or resurrect the dead. I have... let's say, a pocket dimension."
"A pocket dimension?" Nathan repeated, skeptical.
"Yeah. A separate space where I can store things. But it's small. Limited." Daniel made a vague gesture with his hands, outlining an imaginary cube in the air. "About one cubic meter. It fits a backpack, food, water... it's not as useful in combat as it sounds, but it helps with survival logistics."
A lie. The inventory was not infinite, but it was vast enough to store a lifetime of supplies.
"Prove it," Sara said.
Daniel sighed, stood up, and walked to the table. There was a cup there, with some coffee left in it. He picked it up.
"Watch closely."
In a millisecond, the cup vanished.
There was no sound, no smoke, no flashing lights. The object simply stopped occupying that space in reality. It was such a casual violation of the laws of physics that the brain struggled to process it.
Sara let out a muffled scream, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Nathan stepped back, disbelief written all over his face.
A second later, the cup reappeared in Daniel's hand. He set it back on the table with a soft clack of ceramic against wood.
"Magic trick or miracle?" Daniel asked, sarcasm returning to cover his nerves. "Depends on your faith. To me, it's just a convenient closet."
Nathan kept staring at the cup, as if expecting it to vanish again. "That's... that's impossible."
"In this place?" Daniel raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "Monsters that rip people apart and walk slowly, spatial loops on the road, magical talismans that work like force fields... and this is what you find impossible?"
Nathan blinked, snapping out of it. "My God..." he murmured. "So it's true. All of it is true."
"I ask that you don't tell anyone," Daniel said, his tone turning serious. "This could cause real problems for me. If people think I can conjure food out of thin air — which I can't — they'll milk me dry or burn me at the stake. Humans get stupid when they're scared."
Nathan nodded vigorously, understanding the gravity of it. "No one will know. I promise."
Sara agreed with her brother. "How long have you had this?" Her eyes shone with something between fascination and fear.
"Since I was born. I never really understood it. I just learned how to use it."
"That's why you weren't so scared when you arrived here," Sara murmured, more to herself. "You already knew impossible things exist."
"Something like that," Daniel deflected.
"Let's get back to the main focus," he said, clapping his hands once to change the subject. "Which is keeping Sara alive."
He turned to her.
"Even if you seem to be controlling the voices now, we can't let our guard down. Nathan, you need to keep an eye on her. If she starts acting strange, you call me."
"Obviously," Nathan agreed immediately. "And the sheriff? He might find out. He investigates everything."
Daniel began pacing back and forth. "First, we need to see how he handles Frank."
"Even though it's different from your case," he looked at Sara, "if Boyd shows him mercy... if he doesn't send him to the Box... he might do the same for you. Once the situation is explained."
"No." Sara shook her head vehemently, panic overtaking her features again. "We can't tell the sheriff. He won't understand. He'll..."
"Easy." Daniel raised his hands in a calming gesture. "That's why I'm saying we wait. We see how Boyd reacts to Frank first. We assess the terrain. If he shows mercy... that's a good sign. If not..."
"If not, we run," Nathan finished, his tone making it clear he was not joking.
"If not, we find another solution," Daniel corrected. "But we won't make rash decisions. Agreed?"
Both nodded, reluctant but trusting him.
"And Sara," Daniel added, looking her straight in the eyes. "If the voices — any voices — say anything about hurting someone, you block them immediately. You don't listen. No matter how convincing, logical, or gentle they sound."
Sara nodded again.
"And if they say something useful," he continued, "information about this place, about how to leave, about the monsters' weaknesses... you tell Nathan. And me. Immediately."
"Agreed."
"If there's any problem, you call me. No matter the time. No matter the circumstances. Understood?"
"Understood," they answered in unison.
They thanked him, and Daniel left the house, feeling their eyes on his back.
He walked toward the motorhome with steady steps, nodding to Kenny as he passed at a distance, maintaining the mask of absolute control.
But when he stepped inside the vehicle and locked the door behind him, the calm façade collapsed.
"System," he hissed into the empty air, anger bubbling over. "What the hell is this mess? Why didn't you warn me there was something watching me back on the road?"
[Because you didn't ask?]
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!"
Daniel punched the wall, the impact echoing through the confined space. The pain shooting through his knuckles was almost welcome. Something concrete. Real.
He took three deep breaths, forcing his heart to slow.
"You said," he began again, his voice more controlled but vibrating with cold accusation, "that if it were any information that could cause my death, you would tell me."
[Correct.]
"These things — whatever they are — are now interested in me. They know about the inventory. They know I'm different." He gestured violently at the ceiling. "That can absolutely cause my death!"
[Technically, I am only required to inform you in situations with a one hundred percent probability of imminent death.]
Daniel blinked, incredulous. "What?"
[If there is a 0.01% chance of survival, the situation is not classified as 'guaranteed fatal risk.' Therefore, mandatory notification is not required.]
The twisted logic left Daniel speechless.
"Zero point zero one percent," he repeated, his tone dangerously low. "You're telling me that a one-in-ten-thousand chance is enough for you to do nothing? To leave me blind in the middle of a minefield?"
[Technically, it is a chance. Mathematically valid.]
"You've got to be kidding me."
[Negative. These are the parameters established by Kael. Complaints may be directed to the celestial customer support department. Estimated wait time: eternity.]
He opened his mouth to curse, then closed it. There was no point. Arguing with the System was like arguing with a wall that occasionally made bad jokes.
And deep down, he knew the fault was his. He had been careless. He had underestimated the scenario. A rookie mistake.
He let out a slow breath, feeling the adrenaline begin to drain from his body, leaving only a heavy exhaustion behind.
He needed to think. Figure out how he would act now that he was a marked piece on the board.
Daniel looked out the window. The sun was slowly lowering, painting the sky in orange hues that, anywhere else, would have been beautiful. Here, it looked like blood.
The Choosing Ceremony was still to come. And after that... night.
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