Leaving TESCO didn’t calm me down at all.

My heartbeat stayed strange… not painful, not breathless…
just tight, like something heavy sat inside my chest and refused to move.

The street looked completely normal.

People walked their dogs, carried shopping bags, tapped ashes off cigarettes outside cafés…
Bratislava carried on as if nothing had happened.

Only my mind was still stuck on the moment those two monsters almost tore me apart.

The three of us walked down the street together.

Me, Emilia, and the cat leading in front like it owned the place.

After a while, the silence got too weird.

“…We should probably introduce ourselves, right?” I said.
“Otherwise it feels like I’m speedrunning the main quest with strangers.”

She glanced at me.
Not confused—just evaluating.

“Emilia,” she said.

Her voice was clean and cold, like an unused medical instrument.

“Jeff,” I answered.
“Just call me Jeff.”

She nodded, filing me into some mental drawer.
Not warm, not cold—just precise.

The cat looked back at me,
as if making sure I remembered I was a human being.

I thought the walk home would help me calm down…
but the air suddenly felt thicker.

Not hot.
Not humid.

More like stepping through invisible gel…
every step dragging slightly.

I stopped.

Emilia’s gaze snapped toward me,
not worried—examining.

A few meters ahead…
a shadow lifted itself off the ground.

Actually lifted.
Like someone pinched the corner of a blanket and pulled it upward.

I instinctively stepped back.

The shadow lagged half a step behind too…
as if…

I couldn’t even explain it.

Not mimicking, not copying…
more like it was waiting for data from me.

“It’s following you,” Emilia said quietly.
“That’s not normal…”

“I know it’s not normal…” I whispered.
“But what is it doing… auditioning?”

The shadow twitched violently.

Bulges of transparent mass pushed out and snapped back…
like something shoved into the wrong file format.

Weaker than the ones in TESCO,
so weak it looked unfinished,
but somehow even creepier.

I raised my hand to block the sight.
The shadow raised a warped lump in response,
like broken motion capture.

My heart sank.

That heavy pressure in my chest rose again.

Not fear…
more like something far away pulling me…

Drawing me in.
Pulling at me.

With a hint of something I shouldn’t be feeling—
a faint, inexplicable craving.

The cat returned to my feet, tail puffed up.
Not staring at the monster…
but at me.

As if telling me: get yourself together first.

Then—
a second pale shadow surfaced beside the first.

More faded, like a bad photocopy.

Another monster.

Both of them turned toward me.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Emilia stepped forward.

Her palm lit with a faint glow,
not magical—
more like a medical device powering on.

The air tightened.

Both monsters shuddered, collapsed inward,
their outlines erasing like someone using a rough eraser.

Their bodies melted back into the ground
and vanished completely.

I finally exhaled.

“…So that’s it?” I asked.

Emilia didn’t answer immediately.

She was looking at the spot where the monsters vanished,
as if confirming something she didn’t want to confirm.

“This isn’t their problem,” she said.
“It’s you.”

My heart dropped further.

“…Hold on.
Are you saying I look like a monster candidate…?”

I forced a laugh.
It sounded wrong even to me.

She lifted her gaze and examined me again.

“I have no evidence,” she said.
“And I’m not labeling you as a Corrupted.”

She paused.

“But monsters don’t approach ordinary people.”
“They make their own decisions… and they’re not interested unless there’s a signal.”

She added:
“The formal classification… calls them Abyssals.”

I froze.

“So these monsters… are Abyssals…”

That strange pull inside my chest pulsed again,
clearer than before.

I swallowed.

“…So in your eyes… am I one of the Corrupted you mentioned…?”

She looked at me for a moment.

“I don’t know,” she said.
“But they weren’t trying to attack you.”

“They were searching.
And whatever they’re searching for… is on you.”

My skin went numb.

Emilia lowered her hand,
her expression sliding back into that steady, unreadable shell.

“You should go home first,” she said.
“Don’t approach the center of the park.”

“And you?” I asked.
“…Where are you going?”

“I have business,” she said simply.
“Someone I haven’t found yet.”

I wanted to ask more—
but she shot me a look that meant: stop.
You’re not ready.

She added:

“And if you start seeing more things…
don’t tell anyone.”

“…Why?”

“Because most people will think you’re insane.”
“The ones who don’t think you’re insane…
are the ones you should really fear.”

Then she walked away.

The cat jumped onto my shoulder,
its tail slapping my cheek
like it was mocking me:

See? I told you you were weird.

The street returned to normal.
Completely normal.

Only the heavy pull in my chest kept throbbing…
mixed with fear,
excitement,
and a strange craving I couldn’t explain.

And I realized—

It wasn’t the Abyssals moving toward me.
It was me…
unknowingly moving toward them.