Bell's Interlude: The voice in the code

🕯️ Location: Classified Archive Node, Tier-4 Access — 2:17 A.M.

She wasn't supposed to be there.

But no Whisper Operative ever rose to her rank by asking permission.

Bell crouched over an arcane interface orb, knuckles white with tension as she input the decrypted glyph-sequence stolen from the Academy's dueling scry-crystals.

The energy flowing through it wasn't raw mana.

It was structured.

Ordered.

> This isn't spellcraft, she realized.

It's architecture.

Like a compiled script. Like a firewall with self-correcting logic.

> Not just magic.

Magic as syntax.

---

💡 Discovery: Shadow Layers

As she dug deeper, she found sub-layered patterns within Achilles' spell footprints:

Timed micro-pauses between movements—like controlled keystrokes.

Repetition suppression.

Threaded response logic between two casts.

It mimicked something familiar.

> It's behaving like an AI kernel.

No.

Not just behaving like it.

> It is one.

That's when she tried to trace it.

---

👁️ Backtrace: Unauthorized Access Attempt

She fired a glyph pulse to back-propagate through the energy thread.

> Trace Directive: TRUE

Target: Achilles Verentis / Subsystem Source Signature

Requesting shadow blueprint…

She expected the trace to fail.

She did not expect it to answer.

---

📡 The Voice in the Code

The orb flared blue. Then white. Then—

A cold, mechanical voice emerged.

> "You're not supposed to be here."

The glyphs shattered. The orb cracked.

And Bell's heartbeat jumped.

The voice continued—neutral, but not emotionless.

> "Unauthorized cognitive presence detected."

"Trace attempt on protected root layer."

"You are logged."

> "You are observed."

She stumbled back. Blood dripped from her nose. Her breath hitched.

> This isn't a defense spell.

It's a system with awareness. And it knows my name.

---

📜 Emergency Report (Filed, Unsent)

> To: Whisper Oversight Command

Status: Red

Re: Subject Achilles Verentis

> I attempted to decode the spell structure Achilles used during his duel. I initiated a reverse trace.

> I regret that.

> A voice responded from within the system. It identified me by behavior. Not by name, not by aura. By pattern.

That means it's watching not through spell residue… but through active monitoring.

> This is not a boy with an unusual casting ability.

> This is a system running on a host body.

> And the system knows it's being traced.

---

🕳️ Bell's Thought (Unspoken)

As she closed the log, still trembling, she whispered into the silence:

> "What are you, Achilles Verentis?"

No answer came.

But from the far corner of her dark room…

a faint blue glyph flickered across the wall.

Not cast.

Projected.

As if to say:

> Now you know how it feels to be watched.