CCTV [NOEL]

Just as they were finishing up their shopping, a distressed voice pierced through the cheerful air.

"Help! Please, someone help me!"

An elderly woman stood near the entrance of the mall, visibly shaken.

"My purse...someone stole my purse!"

A small crowd gathered around her, murmuring amongst themselves. Security personnel rushed forward, but the culprit had already disappeared into the sea of people.

Leon immediately stepped in.

"Ma’am, are you alright?" he asked gently.

The woman clutched her chest, trying to steady her breath. "A man grabbed my purse and ran! I-I didn’t see his face properly..."

"Which direction did he go?" Leon asked, his eyes sharp and focused.

The security officers exchanged glances. "Sir, we’ll handle this..."

"Check the CCTV footage," Leon said with certainty. "You have cameras, don’t you? You’ll find the thief in no time."

The security guards hesitated but eventually nodded, realizing he was right.

Noel, on the other hand, was frozen.

CCTV?

She had seen Leon use a strange device before...phones, television...but this?

This was something different.

A system that recorded everything that happened. A system that stored memories of the past. A system that could reveal the truth.

She followed them to the security control room, her heart pounding.

Would she witness magic?

Or was this another power beyond her world’s understanding?

Inside the control room, screens lined the walls, each displaying different sections of the mall.

Noel’s breath caught in her throat.

This was unreal.

On the screen, people moved exactly as they had outside. Every movement, every step...recorded in time.

"Unbelievable…" she whispered.

Leon, focused on the task, leaned forward. "Rewind the footage to the time she said it was stolen."

One of the officers nodded, tapping on the keyboard.

The image on the screen shifted backwards, time unraveling like a spool of thread.

Noel’s eyes widened in astonishment.

"It can…reverse time?" she murmured.

"Not quite," Leon chuckled. "It just replays what it recorded. You can even use phones to do that."

She barely understood.

But she knew one thing, this changed everything.

The footage soon revealed a hooded figure snatching the woman’s purse before vanishing into the crowd.

Leon analyzed the details with sharp precision, his quick deductions assisting the security in tracking the culprit’s escape route.

Shortly after, the police found the thief hiding in a nearby alley.

The purse was recovered.

Justice was served.

The old woman wept in relief.

"Young man, thank you… If not for you, my precious belongings would have been lost!"

Leon rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn’t do much, really. The security and police did the real work."

Noel, still in a trance, turned to him.

"Leon… does this ‘CCTV’ exist only in the mall?"

Leon blinked at her. "No, it’s everywhere. Streets, stores, buildings… It’s used for security."

Noel’s pulse quickened.

Everywhere?

She had a sudden thought, a revelation so immense it sent shivers down her spine.

If this technology could record the past...

Then she could see it.

Her own murder.

The exact moment she disappeared.

The truth.

A day of bliss…

A fleeting happiness…

But now...

The chase for answers had truly begun.

Unveiling the Impossible

The air grew heavier as the weight of anticipation settled upon Noel’s chest.

Her fingers curled into fists, her voice unwavering as she demanded, “I want to see the CCTV footage of yesterday.”

Leon blinked, taken aback by the sudden intensity in her voice. “Noel, that’s… well, it’s not that simple. Regular citizens like us don’t have unrestricted access to surveillance footage. That kind of thing is heavily monitored.”

She refused to back down. “Manage it somehow.” Her tone carried a rare forcefulness. “I need to know what happened last night. I want to see it for myself.”

Leon hesitated, searching her gaze for answers she refused to give. There was something about the way her eyes that burned with determination...as if she were chasing a ghost, as if the truth were the only thing keeping her sane.

Finally, he sighed. “Fine… I have a contact in the field. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Please.”

Noel’s voice softened, but the fire in her eyes did not.

She had come too far.

This time, she would not let the truth escape.

A Meeting Over Secrets

After a few calls and hushed conversations, Leon arranged for them to meet someone at a restaurant.

The place was modest but lively. A tall, confident man with an easygoing smirk greeted them.

"Yo! Leon, what’s up?" His tone was playful.

Leon nodded. "Hey. What about the thing I asked?"

The man jerked his chin toward a monitor on the desk. "It’s all set up. Take a look." Then, noticing Noel for the first time, he raised a brow and smirked. "Ohhh? Finally bringing a date along, huh? I was starting to thin—"

“Shut it.”

Leon’s sharp retort came a second too fast, his ears tinged pink.

Noel would have found it amusing if her mind weren’t entirely focused on the screen before her.

"We have a small camera attached outside, in case of accidents or evidence." The man gestured toward the footage. "Let’s see what really happened last night."

This was it.

Noel felt her heartbeat against her ribs like a war drum.

She held her breath.

The footage played.

Her chest tightened.

The time matched perfectly.

The location matched perfectly.

But… there was nothing.

Noel’s heart stopped.

The footage showed only the usual night scene.

A bustling crowd. Passersby going about their business.

No red-eyed shadow.

No screaming.

Neither Noel.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Noel’s breath hitched.

She leaned forward, her eyes scanning the footage desperately. "This...this isn’t right. This isn’t possible. I was there. I saw it. I felt it."

Leon’s brows furrowed. He wanted to believe her. But the evidence...the cold, unfeeling footage...showed nothing.

"Noel," Leon said gently, his concern deepening. "I don’t know what made you think we’d find something, but… maybe it’s time to let it go."

Noel’s hands trembled.

She could feel Leon’s worry.

He wasn’t dismissing her. He just wanted her to be okay.

But how could she let it go when the truth itself was being erased?

The restaurant manager scratched his head. “So, uh… did you find what you were looking for?”

Leon glanced at Noel, then back at him. "Just a little misunderstanding. It’s fine now."

Noel wasn’t listening anymore.

If the world refused to show her the truth,

She would find another way.

"Leon," she asked suddenly. "Where do I appear when I wake up here?"

Leon raised a brow. "The same place, always.”

"Then tomorrow… let’s investigate it."

Leon sighed, rubbing his temples. "Noel, it's getting late. Maybe we should—"

"Tomorrow."

Leon looked at her for a long moment before relenting. "Alright. Tomorrow."

A Desperate Measure

Dinner was uneventful.

But Noel could barely eat.

Her mind was a storm.

Why?

Why was the footage empty?

Why was the world trying to convince her that nothing had happened?

By the time they reached the apartment, she could hardly sit still.

Leon noticed.

"Noel, you should rest. Clear your mind for tomorrow."

Noel suddenly jolted.

A thought struck her like lightning.

"The phone!"

Leon blinked. "Huh?"

"You said phones can record, just like CCTV, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Then let me borrow yours tonight."

Leon frowned, hesitating. "Noel, what are you—"

"Please."

Her voice was steady. Determined.

Leon exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Fine."

Noel immediately began learning the recording function, testing it out a few times before setting it up properly.

Tonight...

She would capture the truth with her own hands.

No more illusions.

No more doubts.

No more lies.

The night was silent.

A thick darkness crept into the room.

Noel lay still, waiting. The phone rested on a nearby surface, its camera pointed directly at her. Recording.

The air grew colder.

Then...

A presence.

Noel’s eyes snapped open.

The same red-eyed killer.

The same entity that had erased itself from reality.

Noel’s breath was shallow, but her hands did not tremble.

She sat up slowly, eyes locking onto the figure.

"I knew it," she whispered. "I knew it wasn’t fake."

The shadow’s gaze was unreadable. Unfathomable.

Noel narrowed her eyes.

"I don’t know what you did before…" she murmured, rage flickering beneath her calm voice.

"But I will uncover your secrets."

She stood her ground, defiant.

"Now, come on."

She spread her arms fearlessly.

"Kill me."

The figure did not hesitate.

It pierced through her chest.

Blood filled her lungs.

Darkness devoured everything.

The Truth Will Be Known

The phone...

The phone was still recording.

Would the truth finally be captured?

Or would even this memory be erased?

As her consciousness faded, only one thought echoed in Noel’s mind,

“No matter how many times I die...”

“I will not let uncover your mystery...”

Blackness consumed her.