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Chapter 15 - WHAT THEY DON’T SEE…

 Mira's POV – Unease in the Flow of Time

Mira stood on the rooftop of the school building, her eyes trained on the evening sky. The sun had long dipped beneath the horizon, painting soft violets and blues across the clouds. But Mira wasn't admiring the view.

She was listening.

No, feeling.

A thread of time had just twitched. Barely. A cosmic hiccup so small it would pass unnoticed by any god… but not her.

"Another one… That's the third this week."

Her brow furrowed. It wasn't just temporal static. The anomalies were centered here. Around the school. Around Dave.

She exhaled through her nose, shaking her head.

"He's just a boy. A bright, strange boy… but still human. Isn't he?"

Mira turned her gaze toward the schoolyard below. She could see them—Dave leaning against a tree, laughing at something Amanda said. Betty stood nearby, arms crossed, watching silently with a look Mira couldn't read.

And those twins. Zei and Zyra. They radiated a bizarre frequency Mira hadn't sensed in eons—like starlight infused with old godhood.

Her hands clenched softly. Something was waking.

And she was beginning to feel… late.

Earth Life – Dave, Amanda, Betty and the Blending Chaos**

"Why is the sun so hot on this planet?" Zyra muttered, fanning herself dramatically with a math textbook.

"Because it's a sun, genius," Zei whispered back. "Maybe if you didn't wear a leather jacket in June…"

They sat at the back of class while the teacher rambled about polynomials. Zei was half-asleep. Zyra had started scribbling runes in the margins of her notes, forgetting they glowed faintly.

Dave sat two rows ahead with Amanda and Betty. Amanda leaned in and whispered, "Your sisters are gonna blow our cover."

Dave didn't look back. "They're trying, I swear. They just think normal is an act."

Betty smirked. "They're not wrong."

Amanda rolled her eyes, then gave Dave a slow sideways look.

"So, what are you doing after school, Space Lord?"

Dave smirked, tapping his pen. "Maybe save a planet or two. Or… play some video games."

"Saving planets first," Amanda said casually, "then you can lose to me in Smash Bros."

Dave blinked. "Amanda, you own no mercy. It's not losing if I don't show up."

They both laughed, and for a brief moment, it felt… normal. Light.

Betty noticed Amanda's smile lingered a little too long.

*After School – The Field Behind the Gym."*

As the students filtered out, a soft humming filled the air.

Dave stopped. His eyes narrowed. Amanda and Betty felt it too — a static buzz against their skin.

A thin line of smoke curled in the distance from behind the sports field. Then came the pulse.

BOOM.

The sky above shimmered like shattered glass. Something slipped through.

A slender, humanoid creature — built from twisted light and shadows, like a broken star wearing skin — slithered into view. Its voice was like chimes in a hurricane.

"Sssphire… I sssmell you…"

The students froze in place, unmoving. Time itself paused.

Zei stood up first, her skin flashing with solar lines as she muttered, "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

"Let's keep it small-scale!" Dave barked, stepping in front of Amanda and Betty. "No flashy moves."

Amanda stepped beside him. "That thing's looking for you, isn't it?"

Dave nodded.

Betty pulled off her school jacket, eyes glowing faintly. "Let's keep Mira off our trail."

They moved fast.

Amanda darted to the right, unleashing a shockwave that flattened the grass. Betty summoned a barrier as the creature swiped at her. Zei flipped into a full aerial strike—but the monster was smart.

It blinked out of sight, reappearing behind Amanda.

"Found… you…"

Before it could strike, a burst of golden light exploded around Amanda. Dave stepped forward, his eyes glowing white-hot for just a second — barely restrained.

"You smell me? Buddy, buy a candle."

With one move, he uppercut the creature into the sky.

Zyra caught it mid-air, sending it crashing down with a spiral of light-blades. They surrounded it, held it in a silence field. Within seconds, it shimmered and faded like dust.

Gone.

Adele's voice crackled softly in Dave's ear through the tiny comm on his wrist.

"Careful. Mira felt that one."

Dave sighed. "Of course she did."

After the fight 

She arrived just as the last trace of the creature faded.

The students were blinking, unfrozen. None of them had seen what happened.

Mira stood silently in the field, staring at the scorched ground.

"Cosmic residue… not Earth-born.What tore the Veil enough to let this through?"

She turned and saw Dave—shirt untucked, a scratch on his cheek, standing too confidently next to Amanda and Betty, who looked like they hadn't even broken a sweat.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That boy again…"

*Later that evening-Dave's room. *

Later that evening, Dave sat in his room. Amanda was still there, cross-legged on his bed, pretending to scroll through physics notes.

Betty had left already, mumbling something about "extra homework" and winking at Amanda.

The silence was peaceful.

Amanda finally said, "You didn't need to jump in front of me."

Dave looked up. "I didn't need to. I wanted to."

Amanda tilted her head. "That's… not how you keep your identity hidden, hero."

He chuckled. "Says the girl who blasted a demon into orbit."

She laughed, then paused. "You're different, Dave."

Dave turned serious. "You too."

Amanda looked at him carefully. "Ever wonder if we're just… pretending to be normal?"

"All the time," he said. "But sometimes pretending is what keeps us sane."

There was a long pause.

Amanda looked down at her hands. "I've been having dreams. About places I've never seen. Voices I don't remember. But you're always there."

Dave's breath caught.

He leaned in slightly, eyes soft. "Maybe they're not dreams."

She met his gaze, lips parting slightly.

For a moment, just a moment, the room was still.

Then Adele's voice rang again in his earpiece.

"Mira's moving. She's headed your way."

Dave groaned.

Amanda smiled. "Saved by the goddess."

She leaned in and whispered, "Next time, you won't get off so easy."

He smirked, heart pounding. "Looking forward to it."

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