The end-of-semester exams had arrived… But time hadn't passed without important events.
Three months.
Ninety days where Larissa and Liora had tried everything they could think of to make Ren approach Luna again.
Messages through Mayo… Ignored.
Attempts at casual hallway conversations... Avoided with spatial jumps that left only air where she'd been seconds before.
"Don't say that, there's no way you're an obstacle," Liora had said after her first conversation with Ren following the 'Luna situation'. Her expression had been somber, worried in a way Ren rarely saw in her. "Give me a few days. Surely she just needs to... process some things."
The words had carried hope. Conviction that this was temporary, just a matter of time and the right approach.
When Liora finally returned, it wasn't with good news.
