The road opened wider.Buildings stood taller now — less ruin, more memory of what humanity once looked like.
Aaryan walked ahead with effortless confidence, hands in pockets, humming a tune like he had never tasted fear.
The girl walked beside me — lighter than yesterday, but still holding my sleeve from time to time like grounding herself.
The world watched.
Not loud, but constant.A presence between breaths.
[ System Notice: Observation level — stable but present. ][ Rival Arc — active. ]
We walked past crushed cars and half-burnt billboards.Some signs flickered — old advertisements restored partially by narrative pressure.
In one display, a smiling family held ice-cream.
Too normal for this place.
"Do you think this city remembers what it was?" she asked.
"Cities remember everything," I replied."Even what we forget."
Aaryan slowed, turning his head just enough to speak without stopping.
"That's poetic. Careful — the Reader likes poetry."
