MIDNIGHT CALLER

In a neon-drenched city where reality is filtered through screens and mirrors hold more than reflections, a glitch is born. Her name is Skye — an unregistered orphan, tech-savvy, emotionally guarded, and haunted by a childhood she can’t fully recall. All she knows is this: she doesn’t fit. Not in the foster system, not in the digital landscape of Elowen, and definitely not in a world where The Circle, a shadowy techno-cult, decides who matters and who vanishes. Skye's life begins to spiral the moment she survives a system crash that kills dozens — including people standing right next to her — leaving her untouched and… changed. --- Volume 1: Into the Mirror (Chapters 1–10) Skye’s transformation isn’t immediate — it’s subtle. She starts seeing fragments of code overlaying people’s faces, hearing voices in the static, and feeling drawn to a place that doesn’t exist on any map: The Mirror Tower. Each chapter in this first arc functions like a standalone thriller short story, building a mosaic of tension, identity, and discovery. Through close calls with street gangs, corrupt AI enforcers, and haunted tech devices, Skye begins to realize she isn’t entirely human anymore. The “ghost” inside her — later revealed as Ilyra, a sentient remnant from an older digital realm — begins to awaken. But is Ilyra friend or foe? Skye’s only real connection is Nova, a sarcastic, ride-or-die hacker who thinks Skye is just "a cute mess with trust issues and bad taste in headphones." Their banter hides a growing bond. Nova helps Skye navigate the strange visions and decode the truth behind the Circle’s hidden agenda: they’re rebooting the world. And Skye is the key. By Chapter 10, Skye uncovers a memory fragment: a flicker of a girl — her — inside a white room of mirrors. A voice warns: "If you glitch the world, it will glitch you back." It’s unclear whether Skye is the weapon… or the firewall. --- Volume 2: Root Access (Chapters 11–20) The second volume dials the tension up. Skye learns that the Mirror System isn’t just software — it’s a living, thinking framework that’s kept Elowen functioning for centuries. The Circle didn’t create it. They only learned to speak its language. But now, the language is speaking back. Through Skye. Chapter 11 introduces Eren Kai, a disillusioned ex-architect of the Mirror System who believes Skye’s existence threatens the balance of everything. He builds a mirror-nullifier — a device designed to wipe out all reflective anomalies… including Skye herself. As the reboot countdown ticks down, factions form: those who want to destroy Skye, those who want to use her, and those — like Nova — who just want to save her. Skye faces betrayal, loss, and the terrifying truth: Ilyra is not just a ghost. She’s Skye’s original self, split during a past reboot cycle and now attempting to recombine. If they merge, Skye will either ascend to root user status — capable of rewriting all reality — or collapse into digital madness. In Chapter 19, Skye walks into the Signal Core, absorbing the nullifier and transforming it into a codex key — unlocking the Archive of All Paths, a multiverse library showing every version of herself. Warrior, villain, victim, queen. But one thing is constant: each path ends in destruction… or Nova’s death. Skye makes a third choice. She rewrites the code, not to rule it — but to release it. In Chapter 20, Elowen reboots. Not into control. Not into chaos. But into freedom. The Mirror System is no longer a surveillance tool. It’s an interaction-based learning mirror, reflecting identity, possibility, and potential. Skye disappears. But her legacy remains — not as a myth, or a program, but as a symbol. Of what? Of a girl who glitched the world… and made it better.