For the first time in days, the house was quiet.
Not eerily.Not threateningly.
Just… peacefully still.
Shi Mu sat on the floor beneath the now-whole mirror, her back against the wall, heart calm. Her legs were numb, but her mind—finally—wasn't.
The reflection she saw now?
It was hers.No mimicry.No shadow echoing behind it.
Just Shi Mu.
She looked around at the room.
The furniture.The worn carpet.The chipped edges of memory tucked into corners no one else could see.
It had all once felt haunted.
But maybe it wasn't the house that was haunted.
Maybe it was her.
She stood and walked room to room.
Not to search.
To thank.
Each space that had held her.Each object that had waited.Each floorboard that had remembered the weight of her steps.
In her mother's old drawer, she found a box she hadn't noticed before.
It was small. Lacquered. Tied with twine that had nearly disintegrated.
Inside: a faded photo.
Her mother.Her real mother.
Holding a baby—newborn, eyes wide, mouth mid-cry.
The back read:
"Shi Mu. April 12th. First breath."
Her fingers trembled.
Not from fear.
From connection.
She held the photo to her chest.
Closed her eyes.
And said softly, "I'm still breathing."
[System Notification]
Core Identity Anchor Recovered – First Breath Photo
Emotional Signature Fully Reintegrated
System Alignment: 100% Restored
Brotherhood Value +295 (Memory of Origin Accepted + Emotional Core Reclaimed)
Current Total: 12,950 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu left the box where she found it.
Not because she was leaving anything behind—but because it belonged to the house.
The house that had remembered everything she thought she'd forgotten.
She opened every window.
Light spilled in.
This time, it didn't burn.
It warmed.