The screen stayed black for ten seconds. Then, the low-light camera grain flickered to life. It wasn't Leo’s face. It was his desk, cluttered with coffee mugs and half-finished circuit boards. In the background, the video call window on Leo’s laptop was visible.
The folder popped open, containing a single video file. He hit play. Part 3- Video Call zip
He didn't turn around. He couldn't. He just watched the video as the shadow reached out a hand—long, grey, and translucent—and clicked "Record" on the video call interface. The video ended. The screen stayed black for ten seconds
Elias double-clicked. The extraction bar crawled across the screen with agonizing slowness. 98%... 99%... 100%. It was his desk, cluttered with coffee mugs
Elias froze. In the video, he could see himself sitting at his desk, staring at his screen, just as he was doing now. But there was a three-second delay. He watched his past self reach for a glass of water.