Aurenya stood alone in the bathroom, door half-closed, morning light catching in her hair.

  Steam drifted up from the basin as she let cold water run over her hands. She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there. Long enough for her fingers to go numb. Long enough to feel real.

  She looked up into the mirror.

  Still the same face.

  Still the younger form she’d woken up in weeks ago — too soft, too small. A child’s echo of someone who had once stood tall in other worlds.

  The mark on her wrist was quiet now. No glow. No warning. But she felt it, like something beneath her skin. Like it was breathing with her.

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  “You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered to her reflection. “But they let you stay.”

  She didn’t know if she meant Earth.

  Or this apartment.

  Or Rin.

  Maybe all of it.

  Maybe none.

  She ran a hand through her hair — then paused.

  Lowered it.

  Her fingers were still trembling.

  Outside, she could hear soft voices. Laughter, even. The others were up. Maybe breakfast. Maybe fighting over toothpaste.

  She smiled — barely — then blinked it away.

  For now, they were still together.

  And that had to be enough.

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