The festival aftermath felt peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Lights came down. Booths emptied. Laughter faded into memory.
It felt like an ending.
Luca, Marc, Aria, and Hana stood near the school gates, watching students disperse.
Hana smiled — a real one this time. "I think… I want to try again. Track. Not because I have to. Because I want to."
Luca felt warmth in his chest. "That's enough."
Marc nodded. "More than enough."
Aria listened quietly.
Something inside her stirred.
A pressure — gentle, but undeniable.
She blinked.
The world didn't glitch.
Didn't shake.
Didn't break.
It simply… paused around her.
Not frozen — just distant.
Aria's expression changed.
Her posture straightened. Her eyes lost focus — not empty, but elsewhere.
Luca noticed first. "Aria?"
She turned to them slowly.
Her voice was calm. Neutral. Not hers.
"The sequence has concluded."
Marc's blood ran cold.
"What?" he demanded.
Aria looked at them — through them.
"Conditions have been met. Progress recorded."
Luca stepped forward. "Aria, listen to me."
Her gaze softened — just for a second.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"I didn't know I was waiting."
The world rewrote itself.
No pain.
No light.
No warning.
Just a smooth, inevitable return.
Luca and Marc felt the pull instantly.
The save point snapped into place.
And somewhere between moments, Aria's last thought echoed:
So this is what I am.