Yona turned to his mother, his voice heavy but calm.
"I'm sorry… but I've changed my mind. I'm going back with my friends, Mama."
His mother's eyes widened, a quiet sadness filling them. He looked away for a moment, then spoke again, more firmly:
"I thought he had changed. Not you."
"But he hasn't. He's still the same man who never cared about what I wanted. He'll never understand my happiness..only his pride."
A tear slipped down her cheek, but she stepped closer and pulled him into her arms.
"I support your decision, Yona," she whispered, her voice full of emotion. "Just be happy… That's all I've ever wanted for you."
Yona nodded and buried his face in her shoulder, holding her tightly, as if trying to take in every bit of comfort she'd ever given him.
Across the room, Lira stood frozen. Watching them. Feeling something ache deep in her chest.
She remembered her mother..her scent, her warmth, her voice that was now only an echo in memory. Her heart clenched, and her eyes welled up.
Yona's mother turned, seeing Lira's silent grief. Without a word, she opened her other arm gently toward her. Lira stood still… just for a breath. Then her feet moved. Slowly. Almost unsure.Until she stepped into the embrace.
Yona's mother held them both..tight, loving, protective. She leaned close to Lira and whispered warmly,
"Take care of him."
Lira nodded, a tear falling as she closed her eyes.
"I will," she whispered."I promise."
---------------------
The train hummed steadily beneath them as the landscape blurred past the windows. The group sat together, sharing soft conversations and occasional laughter. The weight of the past days still lingered, but being together gave a sense of ease.
Daiki was playfully teasing Lira about how much she ate at Yona's house. Yona leaned his head back, listening quietly with a faint smile.
Ayumi sat beside Noir, asking him about the new book he'd started reading, her voice low and warm. He answered, eyes occasionally glancing at her with a soft calmness.
But Aria… she wasn't part of the moment. She sat silently by the window, her chin resting in her hand as her gaze drifted outside.
Her reflection shimmered faintly on the glass, but she didn't notice it. Her mind was somewhere else. With someone else.
"What are you doing now, Mia?" she wondered quietly to herself.
"Are we going to meet again? Are you feeling lonely… or maybe with your friend Aleria?"
A breath left her lips.
"I hope you're okay, my bestie…"
Ayumi noticed her silence. Her words to Noir trailed off for a second, her eyes drifting toward Aria.
She saw the distant look in her friend's eyes, the quiet stillness that didn't belong in the noisy chatter of the group. But Ayumi didn't say anything..just gave a gentle look before returning to her conversation, deciding to wait for the right time.
Outside, the sky was streaked with orange and soft blues as the day moved toward dusk. The train kept rolling forward..toward the town, toward the next step of their journey.
And inside the quiet of her heart, Aria held on to Mia's memory… wondering when their paths would cross again.
The gentle hum of the train and the soft clatter of tracks filled the cabin as the group sat together, some chatting, some simply watching the passing landscape. It was peaceful..on the surface.
Noir sat with one arm resting on the window, his gaze distant, Ayumi's voice beside him barely registering. Then it hit him again. That strange, sharp pull in his chest.
A quiet gasp escaped him as he clutched the left side of his chest..just over his heart. A rush of cold ran through his body, his breath catching.
A vision.
Quick and sharp...Aleria appeared in front of his eyes. Standing in a dark place, her face pale, her eyes wide with fear. Her lips were moving. Saying something. Urgently.
But… there was no sound.
Noir froze, trying to focus..desperate to hear, to understand. But just as quickly as it came…it vanished. His eyes blinked back to reality, his hand still gripping his chest. He exhaled shakily.
And then..his eyes shifted toward Aria. She was gazing quietly out the window, a solemn expression on her face, lost in her own thoughts. Her reflection in the glass flickered against the moonlight.
Noir stared at her.
And the question whispered in his mind, shaken and low:
"What… was… that?"
He turned away, trying to ground himself. He scanned the train cabin. Everyone else was immersed in conversation. Laughing. Talking. Moving on.
No one had noticed.
He clenched his jaw, forcing a breath out slowly.
It was the second time. First Ayumi, or someone like her but not yuima either. Now Aleria.
Why them?..Why now?..And why did it feel like a warning?
He leaned back into his seat, silent again, as the train pressed forward into the town. The rhythm of the train continued its soft clatter as the group settled into a lull. Conversations quieted a little, and the golden glow of the afternoon sun warmed the windows.
Daiki leaned a bit toward Lira, nudging her with a playful smile.
"Hey, Lena..."
He stopped, realizing what he'd said. Lira turned her head, her expression unreadable for a moment. Silence settled around them. Daiki blinked, then quickly added,
"Sorry. I... I didn't mean to..."
But Lira gently shook her head, her voice calm and steady.
"It's okay."
She looked forward, her fingers lightly brushing her lap.
"I used that name for a long time. But now, I've already changed it… to Lira. It's my real name. I want people to know me for who I truly am… without knowing everything else."
Everyone fell quiet, absorbing her words. Ayumi turned her eyes toward her, remembering.
"So that's why…" she said softly. "When we asked your father about 'Lena,' he seemed confused at first. He kept calling you 'Lira' instead…"
She smiled faintly.
"You already made the change. It's like you're stepping into yourself now. Fully."
Lira nodded, the sunlight casting a soft glow across her face.
"Exactly."
Her voice was low, but certain.
"I've hidden behind this name for too long. It's time I live with my own."
Noir, Yona, and the others quietly listened, no one interrupting. Noir leaned forward slightly, his voice thoughtful, low.
"But… you're the copy from the other world."
He paused.
"You were the one who got pulled into our reality… but then, at the last moment..inside the tower..you were somehow placed in the real Lena's position."
Lira didn't answer immediately. She looked down, her expression unreadable. Then, quietly, she replied,
"I think… because Lena stayed trapped in that world for so long, the world itself believed she belonged there. Maybe it accepted her presence… like it rewrote the roles."
She exhaled slowly.
"Maybe that's the reason I was able to stay in her place when the worlds shifted. I… I don't know any other explanation."
A silence fell again. The kind that made the sound of the train even louder. Daiki furrowed his brows, then looked straight at her.
"But Lira… what happened between you two?"
Lira looked up at him sharply, her breath catching. Then her eyes fell once more to her lap. Her fingers gripped the fabric of her skirt, knuckles tightening.
Across the seat, Aria had turned slightly, her expression focused now..quiet, but clearly listening. Even Ayumi stopped flipping the pages of her book. Everyone's attention had settled on Lira.
Yona, sitting beside her, reached out. Gently, reassuringly, he placed his hand over hers. She glanced at him. He gave her a small, quiet smile.
"It's okay."
Lira hesitated for just a moment longer, then gave the faintest shake of her head..more to herself than anyone else, and inhaled deeply. Her voice, when it came, was soft. But steady.
"You have the right to know the truth, guys."
She looked up, meeting their eyes.
"Everything that happened… between me and Lena… I'll tell you."
Lira's voice was quiet but clear as she began.
"Years ago… I don't even know how many years, but I was small. Really small. Maybe four."
She paused, her gaze distant, eyes flicking slightly as though trying to pull the memory from somewhere deep.
"But… not in this world. In the world I was born in.. the one I should've belonged to."
Everyone went still, listening.
"I got lost in a forest. I had wandered away from my parents. I don't even remember why. Just that I was crying… alone."
Her hands slowly unclenched her skirt.
"That's when I met her."
She looked up at them.
"Lena. She was the same age as me. Just a lost little girl. We found each other that day."
Aria's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait… I remember something like that."
Everyone looked at her as she sat up straighter.
"My parents once told me that Lena had gone missing when she was really small… That she just vanished into the woods."
Her voice grew heavier.
"They searched for years. Her mother couldn't handle the grief..she fell into depression and…"
She swallowed, a lump in her throat.
"She ended her life. They never found Lena."
The group fell silent. Even the sound of the train seemed to fade in that moment. Lira closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.
"She stayed with us. My parents didn't know where she came from. But she became part of our family."
She gave a small, sad smile.
"We grew up like sisters."
Ayumi's lips parted slightly, her expression soft.
"We had a good life. Laughing. Playing. But…"
Her voice dimmed.
"When we turned twelve… things changed."
Yona kept his eyes on her, silent but steady in his support.
"That's when she started remembering things. Bits and pieces. She told me she had dreams of another world..visions. She remembered a tower."
Lira looked down again.
"She didn't tell anyone else. Just me. I was the only one who knew… about how she came to our world."
She lifted her eyes, calm but filled with quiet weight.
"It was through that tower."
The words hung in the air like a fog, leaving them all unsettled… wondering what other truths were still waiting to be revealed. Lira's voice softened, almost like she was speaking to a memory.
"One day, we were just talking… like kids do. And my eyes were on Daigo."
Everyone's heads turned almost in sync to look at Daiki. He blinked, caught off guard.
"What?" he asked, his brows lifting in surprise.
The others looked back at Lira as she continued, her expression wistful.
"As a child, I confessed to him… told him I liked him. And we stayed together for about a year."
Ayumi let out a small sound of surprise. Aria glanced between them curiously. Lira offered a faint smile before her voice turned quieter.
"That was around the time Yona came to our school… as a new student."
The group slowly turned their eyes to Yona. His gaze never left Lira..soft, focused, as if he was hearing the story for the first time too.
"I fell in love with him the moment I saw him,"
Lira admitted, her voice almost a whisper. Noir's brow furrowed slightly, then he asked,
"You mean… Yona's copy?"
Lira nodded once.
Ayumi leaned in, adding,
"He had the same name, didn't he? That's what confused us at first…"
Lira looked down, her fingers tightening around her skirt.
"I couldn't confess my feelings."
Ayumi tilted her head gently, concerned.
"Why not?"
Lira inhaled deeply. Her shoulders rose and fell.
"Because something happened."
Daiki leaned forward, his voice careful.
"What happened?"
Her hands clenched tighter in her lap. Her voice trembled. Tears slid down her cheeks. Yona immediately placed a steady hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay," he said softly.
"You don't have to talk about it. It's already in the past."
But she shook her head and pressed on.
"He was killed.."
The cabin went still. Even the rhythm of the train felt like it paused. All their eyes widened in disbelief. Ayumi's voice broke the silence.
"Maya killed him… right? I saw it in the mirror… the vision."
Lira began sobbing quietly, her tears dripping silently onto her lap. Then Noir spoke. His voice was low, unsteady:
"No… it wasn't Maya."
Everyone turned to him at once. His eyes were unfocused..like he was seeing something just beyond the edge of memory.
"It was…" he started, but stopped suddenly.
His brows furrowed. His pupils shrank.
"It was…" he said again, barely above a whisper.
"...someone who looked like Maya." His voice cracked. "I can't remember. But… she wasn't her. But someone like her ."
Aria's breath caught. Her eyes widened as something deep within her stirred..recognition. And then she said it. Softly at first. Then louder. Fiercer.
"What are you saying?! Mia would never do something like that!"
The name hung heavy in the air. Everyone looked at her..stunned. And then Noir… froze. His head slowly turned to her. His eyes widened. He whispered the name like it had been hiding in his chest all along:
"Mia…?"
Silence.
Then he looked down..his breath caught in his throat.
"It felt… right," he whispered again. "That girl. Her name… is Mia. But… why do I know that?"
His hand gripped the edge of the seat, his chest rising unevenly. His voice dropped lower, more shaken now.
"Why couldn't I remember her before...? Not just me.." he glanced around at the others, eyes wide, "none of us could. Everyone here… we forgot her."
His gaze slowly turned to Aria.
"But… you didn't."
His hand rested over his heart like something inside had been shaken loose. The whole group stared between Noir and Aria. A fog of confusion and something darker had started to settle in. No one spoke.
Daiki slowly guided Aria back to her seat, his hand on her shoulder as her expression remained shaken. Once she sat, he settled beside her, staying close..offering silent support.
To be continue...