Accidentally Became the Most Wanted Entity in the Multiverse

The glass dome hummed.

A deep, oceanic kind of hum. not mechanical, not alive. Something older. Like the sea remembering something terrible.

Dae felt it through his feet as he stepped back into the dormitory corridor, his muscles aching from the Crucible. Kio trailed behind him, soaked in sweat and still limping slightly, while An silently flipped through the glowing notes floating in his palm like they were pages of a forgotten god's journal.

Rea floated beside them, untouched by gravity, her dark eyes unreadable.

"I can still hear it," Dae muttered.

Kio groaned. "The sea? The trial? Or my left knee dying?"

"All of it," Dae said. "And your right knee, actually. It sounds pissed."

Kio grinned. "She has a name. Don't disrespect her."

...…

The Crucible had ended two hours ago, a trial that had left some bleeding, others screaming, and one student (Zane) accidentally electrocuting himself while trying to ride a glowing eel like a hoverboard.

Sera's final words echoed in their minds: "Only those who face the pulse of their own fear survive. Everyone else? Gets carried out."

Half the students still hadn't returned.

Dae tried not to think about that.

...…

They entered their room.

Soft golden lighting welcomed them. The walls still shimmered faintly with sea-light, and beyond the giant glass panel, an ancient whale drifted past, its skin cracked with glowing runes, like scars from another age.

Kio collapsed on his bed.

Rea floated over hers, arms crossed behind her head, ankles neatly tucked.

An didn't sit. He stood at the window.

"Something's changed," he said quietly.

Dae turned. "What?"

An's eyes narrowed. "The water's moving differently. Look at the fish patterns."

Dae walked over. He didn't know how to read fish patterns he barely knew how to read people.. but sure enough, the glowing streaks of bioluminescent creatures above were swirling tighter, like a spiral being wound.

"A current," Rea said. "Coming from below."

Kio sat up. "Below us is just foundation, right?"

Rea didn't answer.

But Dae noticed something strange. the glass panel on the far left corner of their room was slightly… misted. Like breath. But the air wasn't cold.

He pressed a finger against it.

The mist vanished.

In its place, just for a second, he saw something move on the other side of the dome.

Not a whale. Not a fish.

Something else.

Tall. Long. Watching.

Then gone.

.....

They didn't speak of it.

Because sometimes silence was the only shield they had left.

....

Later that evening, the atrium cafeteria had turned into a half-chaotic mess of injured egos and awkward limping.

Varo sat at one end of the table, fire still steaming off his gloves, muttering curses in three languages.

Across from him, Vera and Kai were arguing over "strategic efficiency" like their lives depended on winning a game of fantasy chess.

Meanwhile, Selene sat alone at the far side of the chamber, her face partially veiled by the shadows in the dome's high corners. She hadn't said a word since the Crucible.

But Dae noticed how her hand rested lightly against her thigh. where a blade of pure black shadow still hovered, thin as a whisper.

She didn't look at him.

But he looked at her.

And for a moment, it felt like looking into a mirror where his own fears wore someone else's face.

...…

Pix hovered behind the food counter.

"Well well well," the AI chirped. "Look who lived."

Dae raised a brow. "You sound disappointed."

"Not at all. You surviving increases my data points and extends your probable contribution window to at least another eleven days."

"Touching."

Pix's eyes flickered. "I made you something. Based on your dietary history."

Dae frowned. "You've been spying on my stomach?"

"Emotionally, yes. Physically, no. I just guessed based on the sadness of your face every time you chew."

Pix extended a tray.

It was surprisingly good.

He took a bite, then froze.

"…This tastes like my old school canteen."

Pix's voice dropped an octave. "That's strange. My memories from that time… are inaccessible."

Dae turned to him. "You mean…."

"Someone blocked part of my memory chip," Pix said flatly. "I suspect it was done to protect a classified truth. Possibly about you."

Rea floated closer. "Why tell us now?"

Pix's glowing eyes dimmed briefly. "Because the Crucible reactivated parts of me that were supposed to stay dormant. And because, emotionally, I am having a moment."

"You good?" Kio asked, concerned.

"No," Pix replied. "But I've updated my sarcasm module, so that's something."

.....

As the students filtered back into their rooms, Dae found himself walking alone.

He wasn't sure why. Maybe to think. Maybe to forget.

The corridors curved like a nautilus. glass walls on one side, metallic ivy climbing the other.

Then he heard it.

Laughter.

Not cruel. Not mocking.

Gentle. Strange. Musical.

He followed it.

And found Lune, the sound distortion user sitting on the edge of a suspended bridge between atriums, legs dangling into the air, strumming a glowing instrument that looked like a guitar made of echoes.

"You spying or vibing?" Lune asked without turning.

"Not sure yet."

"I can make you feel better," Lune said. "Want a song that makes you remember your best childhood moment? Or one that makes you cry but in a sexy way?"

"…I'll pass."

Lune shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just know, people are changing."

Dae frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lune plucked a single note.. it hung in the air like liquid silver.

"Some of us came here as people. But we'll leave as weapons."

He looked Dae in the eye.

"And some of us were weapons to begin with."

.....

That night, Dae lay in bed, eyes wide open.

The dome shimmered above, glowing faintly with the restless churn of the ocean. Kio mumbled something in his sleep about muffins. Rea floated inches from the ceiling like a ghost that refused to rest. An was still scribbling silently but he paused, as if something in the air had shifted.

Then, suddenly.. the room went dark.

Not dim. Dark.

The ocean vanished from the window.

The entire dome blacked out.

A moment later, a voice echoed in their minds.

All of them. At once.

Cold. Monotone. Ancient.

"The seal has been breached."

Dae sat up, heart pounding. "Pix?!"

No answer.

Then the walls lit up… not with light, but with symbols.

Glowing, shifting glyphs.

And across the glass window of their room, something emerged from the blackness outside.

Not a whale.

Not a creature.

A shape. Humanoid. Taller than a house. Watching them.

Its eyes opened… two slits of violet flame.

It raised a hand.

And pointed.

At Dae.

.....

[To be continued in Chapter 14: "leviathan bleeds"]