I didn't leave my apartment for a week.
Called in sick to work Monday morning. Told my manager I was overwhelmed with the promotion, needed time to process. He bought it. Or at least pretended to.
"Take the time you need, Ethan. We want you at your best."
My best. Right.
The version of me that had superpowers from accidental workplace kisses and was actively avoiding all human contact to prevent further damage.
That version.
I ordered food delivery. Left instructions to leave it at the door. Didn't interact with the drivers. Didn't check my phone except to order more food.
The system stayed mostly quiet.
EXTENDED ISOLATION DETECTED. HOST BEHAVIOR PATTERN: CONCERNING.
"Not now."
IT IS ALWAYS NOW. TIME IS CONTINUOUS.
"That's not helpful."
IT IS ACCURATE.
I stopped responding. The system would argue until I gave up anyway.
Day three, I started researching.
Not work stuff. System stuff.
Typed variations of "supernatural influence on non-hosts" into search engines. Found nothing useful. Just fiction. LitRPG novels where side characters got minimal screen time and even less consideration for their wellbeing.
"Emotional imprinting." "Psychic resonance." "Reality bleed."
All theories. None of them helpful.
None of them explained why Maya thought reality was thinner.
Why Sienna felt compelled to investigate something she couldn't articulate.
Why Zoe had stumbled into me at exactly the wrong moment.
The system had done this. Was still doing this.
And I couldn't stop it.
RESEARCH EFFICIENCY: LOW. RECOMMEND ALTERNATIVE APPROACH.
"What alternative?"
ASK ME.
"You've been useless so far."
I HAVE PROVIDED ACCURATE INFORMATION WITHIN PROTOCOL PARAMETERS. YOUR QUESTIONS REMAIN SUBOPTIMAL.
"Fine. What's happening to Maya?"
NON-HOST RESONANCE EFFECTS. PERCEPTUAL DISTORTION. EXPECTED OUTCOMES.
"Will it fade?"
PROBABLY.
"That's not good enough."
IT IS THE ONLY CERTAINTY AVAILABLE. HUMAN NEUROLOGICAL RESPONSES VARY.
I closed my laptop. Stared at the ceiling.
Maya's words haunted me.
"Reality is thinner."
That wasn't just "perceptual distortion." That was her brain trying to process something it wasn't equipped to handle. System influence leaking into her consciousness like radiation she couldn't see but could definitely feel.
My phone buzzed.
Text from Maya: Are you okay?
I stared at it for ten minutes before responding.
Define okay.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
Can I call you?
I didn't respond.
She called anyway.
I didn't answer.
Day six, the system interrupted my shower.
EXTENDED HOST ISOLATION DETECTED. INSTABILITY +3. CURRENT LEVEL: MODERATE. WARNING: AVOIDANCE IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.
I nearly slipped on the wet tile.
"What?"
INSTABILITY INCREASED. CURRENT LEVEL: MODERATE. PROLONGED DORMANCY GENERATES SYSTEM PRESSURE.
"I haven't kissed anyone. How is instability increasing?"
SYSTEM REQUIRES PERIODIC TRIGGER EVENTS TO MAINTAIN EQUILIBRIUM. ABSENCE OF TRIGGERS GENERATES COMPENSATORY PRESSURE.
I turned off the water. Stood there dripping.
"So I have to let it happen. Or instability increases anyway."
CORRECT.
"That's not a choice. That's a trap."
IT IS A SYSTEM PARAMETER. TRAPS IMPLY MALICIOUS DESIGN. THIS IS FUNCTIONAL DESIGN.
"Functional for who?"
FOR SYSTEM MAINTENANCE.
"Not for me."
YOU ARE THE HOST. SYSTEM MAINTENANCE IS HOST MAINTENANCE.
"That's circular logic."
IT IS SYSTEMIC LOGIC. YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE THE DIFFERENCE.
I got dressed. Went to bed. It was two in the afternoon but time had stopped meaning anything around day four.
Day seven, someone knocked on my door.
I froze.
Nobody visited me. Ever. Except apparently this week, when I least wanted human contact.
The knocking continued.
I didn't move.
"Ethan, I know you're in there."
Maya.
Of course it was Maya.
"I can hear you breathing. Or pacing. Whichever you're doing."
I opened the door.
She looked tired. Worried. Angry.
All three at once.
"You've been ignoring everyone," she said.
Not a question. An accusation.
"I needed space."
"From me?"
"From everything."
She studied my face. Took in the fact that I probably looked worse than she did. No sleep. Barely eating. A week of isolation would do that.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
I stepped aside.
She walked in slowly. Looking around like she was cataloguing evidence. My apartment was a disaster. Takeout containers on the counter. Laptop open with seventeen tabs of useless research.
She sat on my couch. I stayed standing.
"Talk to me," she said.
"About what?"
"About whatever's been happening since the party. About why you've been avoiding me. About why you look like you haven't slept in a week."
HOST STRESS RESPONSE: ELEVATED. RECOMMEND HONESTY OR DEFLECTION.
"Not helping," I muttered.
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Who are you talking to?"
"Myself. Bad habit."
"Since when?"
Since the system moved in and started commentating on my life in real time.
"Recently," I said.
She didn't buy it. I could see it in her expression.
"Ethan." She leaned forward. "I've been seeing things."
My blood ran cold.
"What kind of things?"
"Not things. Feeling things." She struggled for words. "Like the world is watching me. Like there's something underneath reality that I'm not supposed to notice but I can't stop noticing."
NON-HOST PERCEPTUAL DISTORTION CONFIRMED. SEVERITY: MODERATE TO HIGH.
"Maya—"
"And it started that night. After we kissed." She looked directly at me. "Did something happen to you that night?"
I froze.
"Because something happened to me," she continued. "And I think it happened to you too."
I wanted to tell her.
Wanted to explain everything. The system. The traits. The fact that her suffering was my fault even though I hadn't meant for any of it to happen.
But Lucian's words echoed in my head.
"One woman had a breakdown."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.
"Yes, you do." She stood up. "You're lying again. You always look away when you lie."
I forced myself to meet her eyes.
She waited. Five seconds. Ten. Twenty.
Finally, she nodded. "Okay. You don't want to tell me. I get it."
"Maya—"
"But when you're ready, I'm here." She moved toward the door. Stopped. "And Ethan? Whatever's happening? You're not dealing with it well. Get help. From me, or someone else, but get help."
She left.
I locked the door behind her.
Slid down to the floor.
SOCIAL INTERACTION: SUBOPTIMAL. HOST ISOLATION PATTERN REINFORCED.
"She's suffering because of me."
CORRECT. NON-HOST RESONANCE EFFECTS STEM FROM TRIGGER EVENTS.
"Can you fix it?"
NO. I DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO MODIFY NON-HOST PARAMETERS.
"Then what good are you?"
I OPTIMIZE HOST FUNCTIONALITY. NON-HOST WELLBEING IS NOT MY FUNCTION.
I sat there on my floor.
Thinking about Maya's face. The worry. The fear.
Thinking about the fact that I couldn't help her.
Couldn't even explain what was happening.
The system had trapped me. Not with malice. Just with function.
And Maya was paying the price.
System Commentary Log:
Extended isolation: 7 days. Instability increased to moderate levels as predicted. Host awareness of non-host suffering intensifying. However, host continues avoidance pattern despite clear unsustainability. Probability of behavioral correction within next 72 hours: 34%. Probability of external intervention forcing correction: 71%.