The reset hit me harder this time.
Same gates.Same crown.Same cheers.
But I didn't care about the noise anymore.
All I could hear was the soldier's whisper:"Why can't I leave…?"
That wasn't a glitch.That was a cry.
---
I walked past the king.Past the crown.Straight to the baker's stall.
Her smile was waiting for me.
I leaned in close, close enough to see the shine on her teeth."Say it," I whispered.
She smiled wider.Too wide.
"Say it," I hissed again."You know what I mean."
---
Her lips trembled.
For the first time, she didn't speak her line.She made a sound instead.
Not words.Not laughter.
A broken sob.
---
I froze.
The crowd still cheered behind me.The king still recited his script.But the baker…
Her smile stayed stretched across her face,and tears rolled down her cheeks.
---
I stumbled back, sword shaking in my grip.
This wasn't just an error.This wasn't random.
Someone was inside.
---
The knight came marching through the crowd then, as flawless as always.But this time, when he raised his sword and declared my destiny,his voice cracked on one word.
"Together we will… s-save… the kingdom!"
Save.Not "defeat."
His eyes flickered.For a moment, his polished helmet reflected something wrong—not the crowd, not the city.Darkness.
---
I knew then.
They weren't just masks.They were prisons.
And whatever was inside them was bleeding through.
---
The mage appeared, grinning wide.But this time, he leaned closer, closer than he should have.His whisper was low, just for me.
"Stop breaking it."
Then his grin snapped back, voice loud and cheery:"The kingdom will rise again!"
---
My pulse hammered in my throat.
The more I pushed,the more the masks cracked.
And behind those cracks,there was something alive.
Something trapped.