He looked around. The other "people" in the alley had smooth, featureless heads—mannequin faces wearing stolen coats. They shuffled past, humming a lullaby about a cat with nine lives and a god with none.
And the floor beneath them became glass, and below the glass, a thousand other Kairos ran from a thousand other cats, in a thousand other delusions that had already forgotten they were lies. W TAILS CAT DELUSIONWORLD 1
Behind him, the faceless crowd synchronized their movements, turning in unison. Their empty heads tilted, and from where mouths should have been, they sang: He looked around
"That's new," a voice slithered from the kitten's twin tails. Not hissing— speaking . "Usually they don't notice until Level 3." And the floor beneath them became glass, and
Kairo ducked into a stairwell that led up into the ground, heart hammering. "What do you want from me?"
Kairo looked at his hands. Five fingers. Still five. For now.
"I'm dreaming," Kairo whispered.