Salomeh sighed, then turned to Hinata.
— Let me introduce Grafay, Nairo, and Yuki.
— Old friends of Sakolomeh… or, as you like to call him, Melokosa.
Hinata observed them in silence.
Not a smile.
Her gaze slid over them like a blade gauging distance, weight, potential threat.
Nairo averted his eyes toward the park attractions, true to his cold and detached tone.
— By the way… where is Sakolomeh?
— It's been a while since we last saw that one.
Grafay, for his part, didn't take his eyes off Hinata.
— Ah… I get it.
— It's his daughter, right?
He burst into brief laughter.
— Damn, I never thought a guy like him could attract women enough to have a kid.
— Women sometimes have really weird tastes…
PAF.
Yuki gave him a sharp smack on the back of the head.
— You're really talking nonsense.
Grafay clutched his head, grimacing.
— Shit, Yuki!
— That hurt!
He straightened up, then smiled at Hinata again, more curious than mocking this time.
— Tell me…
— Is she as strong as her father was at her age?
His expression grew slightly more serious.
— Because now, it's clear I no longer stand a chance against Sako in combat.
A silence settled.
Yuki rolled his eyes.
— Pff…
— So many memories… since the day we all met in prison.
Hinata's eyes widened.
— In… in prison?
— Melokosa went to prison?
Salomeh let out a small laugh.
— It was a misunderstanding.
— And besides… it was partly my fault too, that day.
She shrugged.
— He had just wanted to defend me.
Grafay leaned slightly toward Hinata, amused.
— Ah… so you do speak.
— I thought you were mute!
Nairo rummaged in his pockets and pulled out some bills.
— How about we go get some food?
— I'll treat.
Grafay threw an arm around his neck, delighted.
— That's why you're my buddy.
— You always know what to say to make me happy!
Salomeh stood up, stretching her arms.
— Honestly, Grafay…
— When it comes to food, you're really predictable.
Yuki shrugged.
— As long as he's not hurting anyone…
Nairo added, laconic:
— Except the food.
The group set off, leaving the bench behind…
still unaware of how fragile this mundane moment was.
In a small restaurant nestled in the heart of the park, everyone was finally eating.
But more than the food, it was the good mood overflowing from the table.
Grafay, Yuki, Salomeh, and Nairo talked nonstop, piling memories upon memories, bursts of laughter upon bursts of laughter. They laughed so loudly that several customers turned toward them, half-annoyed, half-curious.
Yuki wiped a tear of laughter with the back of his hand.
— Seriously… I still think about it.
— The day I met Salomeh for the first time.
Grafay leaned in immediately, interested.
— Oh no… don't tell that one.
— Yes, exactly.
Yuki briefly recounted: an absurd encounter, a monumental blunder, a debt he never should have taken on… and a pathetic escape that ended in a memorable chase.
The table erupted in laughter.
Salomeh shook her head, smiling.
— He had it coming.
— And fortunately, he ended up paying it back.
— Reluctantly! protested Yuki.
— But paid back anyway, she concluded.
The laughter resumed even louder.
Hinata observed them in silence.
She noted, without jealousy but with a strange melancholy, that Melokosa had had a real life in this reality.
Friends. Laughter. Shared memories.
Whereas in hers, he had only worked, fought, survived.
She lowered her head slightly.
It was strange… but that was how it was.
A faint smile brushed her lips.
Despite everything, she was proud.
Proud to be one of his.
Then—
BOOM.
A dull rumble shook the ground, making the walls vibrate and the windows tinkle.
Hinata panicked immediately.
— Wh… what was that?!
Salomeh abruptly turned her head toward the windows.
— It's coming from outside, for sure!
But something abnormal happened.
All the others…
Neiro. Yuki. Grafay.
And even the restaurant customers.
They had frozen.
Their bodies were motionless, their faces empty, and in their eyes reflected a deep darkness, like a bottomless abyss.
Salomeh jumped to her feet.
— Uh… guys…? You okay?
No response.
Hinata ran to the door, flung it open, and shouted:
— Salomeh, come see!!!
Salomeh rushed outside… and stood petrified.
It wasn't just them.
In the park, in the streets, on the benches, on the roads…
Everyone was like that.
Motionless. Empty. Absent.
Salomeh slowly raised her head to the sky.
And she saw it.
A presence.
Not a clear form, not a defined body, but something occupying the center of the sky, as if space itself had curved around it.
An entity.
Without thinking, Salomeh grabbed Hinata by the arm and pulled her back inside the restaurant.
— Hinata… don't move from here. Okay?
Hinata's voice trembled.
— Where… where are you going?
Salomeh sighed, gravely.
— I have to face something... Stay here. Wisely.
Then she turned around and went out again.
Facing the sky.
Facing the silent horror dominating all things.
— What… is this thing…?
It was the Absolute Resonance.
It had erupted to unify all realities.
Its presence was not localized.
It was here…
And yet, it was everywhere.
In every universe.
Every multiverse.
Every reality.
It had neither divided nor multiplied.
Its mere existence sufficed to unify all perceptions.
It had come to abolish all distinction.
Between creature and non-creature.
Between subject and object.
Between existence and inexistence.
The void was no longer void.
Concepts were no longer concepts.
Laws were no longer laws.
Universes, realities, and everything they contained were no longer what they were.
They had become one thing.
"The All"
It didn't matter that appearances still diverged on the surface.
For the Absolute Resonance, every thing was only a variation of itself.
A provisional modulation it could unify, dissolve, then reconfigure into itself.
Oppositions collapsed.
Mutants and humans.
Ants and termites.
Predators and prey.
Sworn enemies.
There were no longer enemies nor allies.
No individual presence.
Only the All.
Without conflict.
Without war.
Without distinction.
For nothing…
Nothing was exterior to the All.
And when animals, plants, or even the void itself contemplated the Absolute Resonance from their respective realities…
They didn't see an entity.
They saw themselves.
Without form.
Without name.
Without difference.