The soft morning light spilled through the tall windows, casting a pale glow across the room. Aria lay awake beneath the heavy satin sheets, her golden aura dimmed but still humming faintly beneath her skin. The fever that had gripped her last night had broken, leaving behind a strange emptiness.
Footsteps echoed outside her chamber door—deliberate, certain. The knock came, gentle but firm.
"May I enter?" came Selene's voice, calm and composed, yet laced with something unreadable.
Aria sat up, heart pounding. "Yes," she whispered.
The door opened, and Selene Althaea stepped inside—the Duchess of the South, a woman who had always been more legend than mother to Aria. The heavy emerald robes that bore the sigil of twin phoenixes wrapped around her like armour, but her eyes softened when they met Aria's.
"You look better," Selene said, stepping closer, her gaze never leaving Aria's glowing hands.
Aria swallowed hard. This was the moment she had been waiting for—and dreading.
"Mother," she began, her voice cracking with the weight of everything she carried. "I need to tell you the truth. About everything."
Selene's brow furrowed slightly but she nodded, silent, giving Aria permission to speak.
Aria took a deep breath. "This world," she said slowly, "isn't what it seems. It's… a story. A game."
Selene blinked, disbelief flickering across her face. "A game?"
"Yes," Aria continued, urgency sharpening her tone. "I've lived this life over and over. Killed again and again. Each time, the world resets—like it's rewinding back to the beginning. Everyone forgets what happened. Everyone except me."
Selene's eyes widened, struggling to process.
"The resets wipe memories clean," Aria pressed on. "They erase all evidence that I even existed before the reset. That's why no one remembers. Even you."
Selene's fingers tightened around the edge of the bed. "Why… why would this happen?"
"I don't know." Aria's voice faltered. "But I think it's to keep the story going—keep me trapped. Every time I die, I'm thrown back to the start. And every time, I try to survive longer… to change my fate."
A long silence stretched between them.
Selene's expression softened, a flicker of genuine concern breaking through her usual composed mask. "And the golden light… the aura?"
"It's different this time," Aria whispered. "It's a glitch. The system… it's breaking down. I'm not just a player anymore. I'm part of this world now, for real. But that means I'm a threat to whatever controls this cycle."
Selene reached out, hesitating before brushing a hand over Aria's forehead. "Then you're truly alive."
"Yes," Aria said. "But if anyone finds out—if I tell the wrong person—the system will try to kill me again."
Selene's eyes narrowed, determination settling in them. "Then we keep this secret."
Aria nodded, relief washing over her for the first time.
Suddenly, the room flickered. The walls wavered like a bad reflection in water. The sunlight dimmed and stretched, twisting unnaturally.
A cold dread filled Aria's chest.
"Wait—" she started.
The familiar hush of silence descended.
Selene blinked, her eyes distant and empty.
Aria's breath caught in her throat.
A text flickered before her eyes, stark and urgent:
[SYSTEM WARNING: Temporal Reset Imminent]
[WARNING: Forbidden Knowledge Disclosure Detected]
[INSTRUCTION: Silence Is Survival]
[FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION]
Selene's gaze flicked to Aria's, confused. "What—what were we talking about?"
Aria's throat tightened. "Nothing. Just… a bad dream."
Selene shook her head slightly, the flicker of warmth in her eyes extinguished, replaced by the cold dignity Aria had always known.
Aria reached out, trembling. "Mother, don't forget me again."
Selene gave her a sad smile, one that didn't reach her eyes.
"I won't," she whispered—then turned and left.
The door clicked shut behind her, the sound final and hollow.
Aria was left alone with the fading echoes of the truth—the unbearable knowledge that even when she bared her soul, the system wiped it clean from those she most needed to reach.
Her heartbeat thundered in the quiet room.
She was a prisoner in a story no one else remembered—a prisoner with a golden aura that broke the rules.
And the system was already hunting her.
A shadow moved beyond the door. Footsteps lingered, watching, waiting.
Aria's eyes snapped open.
Someone was coming back.
A figure stepped inside, cloaked in shadow, face hidden beneath a hood.
"You're a stubborn one," the voice was low, cold, and laced with menace.
Aria's fists clenched, aura flaring slightly in defiance. "Who are you?"
"The system doesn't like anomalies," the figure said softly. "And you… are the biggest glitch it's ever encountered."
Before she could react, the figure vanished into a swirl of darkness, leaving behind a whisper that chilled her bones.
"Remember… silence or death."