Game of Higher Hands - I Found My Ability

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The moment I step into the dead city, the sound behind me disappears.

Not slowly. Not softly.

It just cuts off.

Like someone pressed mute on the world.

I look back.

The entrance is still there. The broken street. The soldiers. The “good people”.

But they are far away now.

Too far.

Like a video with bad signal.

“Shift zone effect,” I say to myself.

I’ve been here before, but every time feels a little different.

This place is not just empty.

It is edited.

Like reality is changing the rules inside it.

I walk forward.

The street is broken. Cars are flipped. Buildings lean like they are tired.

No wind. No birds. No life sound.

Only my footsteps.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Too clear.

Then I see the first sign that things are not normal.

A man is standing in the road.

Still.

Not moving.

I stop.

He does not look at me.

He is just… there.

I wave my hand.

No reaction.

“Hello?” I say.

Still nothing.

I walk closer.

His eyes are open.

But there is no focus.

Like he is paused.

I smile a little.

“Okay. That’s new.”

I touch his shoulder.

Cold.

Not dead. Not alive.

Just… stuck.

Then I feel it.

Something inside my head reacts.

Like a small line of text appears in my mind.

Not words. Not language.

More like meaning.

“Object state: paused.”

I blink.

“…what?”

This is new.

Before today, I never had this.

I step back and look at the man again.

Paused.

Like a game character.

Like time forgot him.

I close my eyes for a second.

I try to focus.

And then it happens again.

More “text” appears in my mind.

But this time, it is not about him.

It is about me.

“User state: unstable observer.”

“Interaction level: high compatibility.”

I open my eyes fast.

“Okay,” I say. “That is definitely not normal.”

I should be scared.

But I’m not.

I feel… interested.

That is my problem.

When something is strange, I don’t run.

I get closer.

I keep walking.

And now I start noticing more things.

Some buildings look “broken”, but not physically.

Like parts of them are missing from reality.

Like someone erased pieces.

And in those empty parts, I feel pressure.

Like something is watching me back.

Then I test something.

I pick up a small stone from the ground.

I look at it.

And I think:

“Move.”

Nothing happens.

I laugh.

“Yeah, okay. Not that kind of power.”

Then I try something else.

I focus on the paused man behind me.

I think:

“Resume.”

For one second, nothing changes.

Then his finger moves.

Just a small twitch.

But it happens.

I stop smiling.

Now I’m paying attention.

So it is like this.

I can see “states”.

And maybe… I can influence them.

Not fully.

Not strong.

But real.

I look around the dead city.

“Great,” I say. “I enter one broken world and now I start getting system bugs in my brain.”

Still, I keep walking.

Because this is interesting.

After a few minutes, I find another person.

A girl.

She is sitting near a broken bus stop.

Alive.

Not paused.

She looks at me immediately.

Alert eyes.

Not scared.

Careful.

That is better.

She speaks first.

“You are not from here.”

I nod.

“Correct.”

“You are alone.”

I nod again.

“Also correct.”

She studies me.

“You should leave.”

I tilt my head.

“Why?”

She points behind me.

“Because things here… copy people. Then replace them.”

I look back.

The paused man is gone.

No trace.

I smile.

“Oh. That is fun.”

She frowns.

“This is not a joke.”

I shrug.

“It usually is.”

She stands up slowly.

“You don’t understand this place.”

I point at my head.

“I’m starting to understand more than I want.”

Then I decide something.

Time to test my ability properly.

I look at her.

I focus.

I try to read her “state”.

And it comes.

“Entity: active.”

“Threat level: low.”

“Unknown layer detected.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“Unknown layer?”

She notices my reaction.

“What did you just do?”

I smile.

“Nothing important.”

But inside, I already know.

This is not just a broken city.

This place has layers.

And I can see them.

Maybe not all.

But enough to start trouble.

A loud sound comes from far away.

A building collapses.

Not normal collapse.

It folds inward.

Like reality is swallowing itself.

The girl turns fast.

“That started,” she says.

I stretch my arms.

“Perfect timing.”

She looks at me again.

“You are still smiling.”

I nod.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

I look at the collapsing city and answer honestly.

“Because now I finally understand what kind of game I’m playing.”

I start walking again.

She follows after a short pause.

Not because she trusts me.

But because staying alone here is worse.

Smart choice.

As we move deeper, I test more.

I focus on broken objects.

I see “states” more clearly now.

Door: broken

Road: unstable

Building: half-real

Air: thin layer / heavy layer mixed

It is like reading a system log.

And slowly, I realize something bigger.

I am not just seeing this world.

I am reading how it is built.

I laugh quietly.

“This is going to be a problem.”

The girl asks, “What is funny?”

I point forward.

“Nothing. Just thinking I might be the only person here who can see the system menu.”

She doesn’t understand.

That is fine.

Most people don’t understand me anyway.

We walk deeper into the dead city.

And I already know one thing.

This ability is not small.

It is not normal.

And if anyone else knows about it…

They will either want to study me.

Or delete me.

I smile again.

“Let’s see who comes first.”

And I keep walking.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhpcweIGBf

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