Accidentally Became the Most Wanted Entity in the Multiverse

The morning hit like a glitch in reality.

One moment, Dae was asleep in his bed. bathed in the soft, flickering blue glow of ocean light pouring through the glass wall, and the next, the room ceiling began to hum.

Not a sound, exactly. More like pressure vibrating against his bones.

Then: a voice.

"Wake up, precious larval-stage humans. It's 0600. And if you think I'll let you sleep through orientation again, I assure you.. I have no moral code strong enough to stop me from using… more inventive alarms."

The voice came from a small metallic orb hovering just above the ceiling. It had one blinking eye, two spindly antennae, and the personality of a retired sarcastic war veteran forced into daycare duty.

Kio groaned and pulled his blanket over his head.

An sat up wordlessly and reached for his pen like it had been surgically fused to his soul.

Dae blinked blearily at the orb.

"…You're the AI, aren't you."

The orb whirred, zooming down into view. "How wonderful. Logic functions intact. Observation skills: somewhere between 'sleep-deprived mouse' and 'half-baked potato.' Yes, I'm PIX. Short for Protocol Interface for eXistence."

It spun midair with a mock bow. "At your service, much to my dismay."

Dae raised an eyebrow. "You… were designed by someone?"

PIX paused for a fraction of a second too long. Then: "Probably. My memory between years 972,438 and 976,901 is mysteriously corrupted. No idea why. Definitely not suspicious."

An looked up. "Someone tampered with your memory core."

"Glad someone here passed the 'basic deduction' level of existence," PIX said dryly. "Gold star. Please don't make me give you one."

Kio finally sat up. "Do you have, like, a mute button?"

"I have a self-destruct function," PIX replied brightly. "Shall we try it together? A bonding exercise?"

Dae smirked. He didn't want to… but he liked this strange, snarky little orb.

He didn't trust it yet.

But he liked it.

.....

They gathered in the central atrium twenty minutes later.

PIX floated alongside them like an anxious tour guide pretending not to care. "Today, you'll be discovering your Affinity Profiles. Also: lunch is terrible, don't get your hopes up."

The atrium was different today. reconfigured. The circular glass platforms now floated mid-air, each pulsing with a faint, personalized hue.

Twenty students. Twenty platforms.

Each called to its own.

"Step onto your platform," Sera commanded, appearing at the far end like a summoned shadow. "It will scan your potential source and project an Affinity reading. You'll also receive basic training instructions."

Kio clapped his hands together. "Finally."

An stepped up without hesitation.

Dae's ring hummed again and his platform flared obsidian with streaks of white.

One by one, students stepped forward and one by one, names were whispered through the air as the platforms lit up and Affinities began to form.

And this time, they had names.

…..

1. Rea – floated effortlessly to her station, her cape fluttering as though underwater.

• Affinity: Air and Spatial Lightness

• Resonance: 89%

• Traits: Quiet. Observant. Hates noise. Rumored to be able to float in her sleep. Always watching but never judged.

…..

2. An – stepped into his without a blink. His platform emitted a cold, surgical blue.

• Affinity: Mind Precision and Temporal Echo

• Resonance: 91%

• Traits: Calculating. Always writing. Never forgets. Speaks little but when he does, it cuts.

...

3. Kio – leaped onto his with zero grace but full confidence. His platform flared molten gold.

• Affinity: Kinetic Strength and Reinforced Bodyfield

• Resonance: 82%

• Traits: Loud. Loyal. Brawns before brains. Surprisingly gentle under the muscle.

….

4. Selene – emerged from the crowd without sound. Her black hair was braided with silver threads.

• Affinity: Shadow Manipulation and Illusory Flame

• Resonance: 94%

• Traits: Mysterious. Elusive. Eyes that say too much. For some reason, Dae's ring pulsed slightly when she passed.

...

5. Dae – his turn came last.

He stepped forward.

Kairoth pulsed.

His platform didn't glow. It erupted.

Black flame shot upwards before coiling back into a glass-like prism of shifting color.

Everyone turned.

Even Sera tilted her head slightly.

• Affinity: Creation | Forbidden | Lightbound Construct

• Resonance: 97%

• Traits: Unknown. Classified. Reaction: unstable.

PIX, who had been floating above lazily, sputtered mid-air.

"What in the multiple forgotten realms of protocol violation…."

Dae stepped back, blinking.

Sera walked up to him, leaned in, and said softly: "We'll speak… privately."

Dae didn't reply.

But the silence that followed made something clear:

He had just made himself a target.

...

The rest of the session passed like fog. Dae barely heard the others' Affinities being announced, though fragments echoed in his ears:

•Varo: Blue fire.

•Isha: Water/healing.

•Zane: Electricity/speed.

•Nira: Ice/cryomancer.

•Aro: Nature merging.

•Riven: Toxic aura.

•Vera: Crystal amplification.

•Elio: Mist/invisibility.

•Lune: Sound distortion.

•Kai: Pressure waves.

•Drayk: Dragon fire/transformation.

•Noor: Light illusion.

•Ash: Decay/time-rot.

•Syra: Mirror realm.

•Jin: Chains/binding.

Each one stranger than the last.

Each one dangerous.

And every one of them now knew that Dae's was different.

Too different.

....

That night, as they ate dinner in the atrium mess, PIX floated between tables, humming a strange, broken tune.

He drifted by Dae, paused, and said quietly, "There are old systems inside you. Systems even I can't read. And that… is saying something."

"You scared?" Dae muttered.

PIX turned slowly.

Then, softer than usual: "I'm not sure if I should be."

....

[To Be Continued in Chapter 8: "The Mirror room"]