Location: Simulation Residue – Echo Stream
The simulation didn't shut down. It fractured.
Somewhere along the edges of unreality, a fragment of Rei— untethered from time and anchored only by instinct— stood upon a pathway of flickering code and glass-like memories.
> "I remember this sunset. But… I never lived it."
He reached out to touch it. His fingers phased through the light, scattering data motes like fireflies in reverse. Behind him, an Observer Fragment, now corrupted beyond its original purpose, hovered— no longer watching, only feeling.
> "He is rewriting the outcome," it whispered. "And yet, nothing resets. There is no return.
Rei turned, not startled, but accepting.
> "Good. Because I'm not the same either."
Somewhere, the echoes of Alicia's heartbeat in the code rippled toward them —warm, defiant, and real.
_____
The world was still.
