Mira’s favorite haunt was the “Liminal Library,” a space that existed only between server refreshes. Bookshelves stretched into an infinite, watercolor horizon. And there, leaning against a floating column of forgotten sonnets, was Kael —or at least, his construct.

She knew it was a lie. A seduction of data points.

The allure was the danger. And the danger was the point.

She first noticed it in the periphery. A glitch, but a beautiful one. Not the jagged tear of a corrupted file, but a soft, golden shimmer at the edge of her retinal display. The system called it Vrallure —the seductive pull of a world that knew her better than she knew herself.