The fog wrapped around her like wet silk
Each breath tasted like old data like forgotten dreams
Aya moved carefully every step sinking into a floor that didn't exist
Then the voices began
Whispers of choices never made
She heard Azel's laugh
Then her own scream
The mist shifted and formed a room
It looked like the academy dorm from years ago before the war before the rewrite
Azel sat at the edge of the bed smiling like nothing had happened
You made it
Aya froze hand on her blade
You're not real
He tilted his head same grin same voice
Maybe not but I remember what we were
She closed her eyes forced the memory down
This is the archive playing tricks
Suddenly the room changed
It became a battlefield
Azel was on the ground again fading
But this time he reached out and said
Save me
Aya flinched stepped back
The vision broke apart and the mist hissed
More illusions rose from the ground
Friends who had died enemies who had begged
Each stepped forward demanding her attention
You failed me
You chose him over us
You rewrote fate but not guilt
Aya screamed and swung her blade
The illusions shattered but the voices echoed louder
Then silence
Only the shard pulsed at her waist steady true
Aya gritted her teeth and held it high
I'm not here to mourn
I'm here to finish what he started
The mist pulled back like it feared her now
Revealing a black spire in the distance
Cracked ancient covered in code chains
The center of the archive
Aya stepped toward it blade ready
One more test
One more battle
She whispered
Wait for me Azel