The shard hadn't moved.
Neither had the traveler.
She sat at the edge of the well, arms wrapped tightly around herself, the pouch unfastened beside her. The shard inside glimmered faintly—just enough to tint the stone beneath it with the memory of something burning.
Ye Han stood nearby, watching without looking. Still as stone. Yaya crouched a few paces away, her small hands clenched into the folds of her coat.
The air felt dense. Like sound might break it.
"I kept it," the traveler whispered.
Her voice was cracked, dry.
"He gave me a crystal once. Said it looked like the sound of my laugh. It was just a silly thing. A joke."
She glanced toward the shard.
"I think it changed. After he didn't come back."
The shard pulsed once—soft but sharp. The air shifted.
Yaya shivered. "It doesn't like being here."
The traveler flinched. "I tried to bury it. Tried to leave it somewhere far. But it was back in my bag the next morning."
Ye Han stepped closer.
The shard's glow deepened—light bending around its fractured shell. A low hum built beneath their feet.
The traveler looked up at him. "Why didn't you send me away?"
Another pulse. The glow flared. A jagged crack split across the shard's face, and the ground beneath it trembled.
> [Flare Imminent – Residual Saturation 89%]
> [Warden Field Instability Detected]
> [Memory Fracture Radius: 2.3m and expanding]
Yaya stumbled back. Her eyes were wide. "It's gonna break—!"
Ye Han moved. Not fast. Just forward.
He knelt beside the stone. Not in panic. In decision.
"You don't have to carry him anymore," he said.
The traveler—Lian—didn't breathe.
"If I let go," she said, "he's gone. There'll be nothing left."
"No," Ye Han murmured. "There'll be what he gave you."
He reached out. And pressed his hand against the stone.
The shard cracked like ice.
Light fractured. Air collapsed inward—silent, but absolute.
> [Page Entry Detected]
> [Emotional Surge Stabilizing…]
> [Anchor Locked]
> [Name Registered: Lian]
The light didn't explode.
It folded in—drawn into the stone beneath his palm. The shard crumbled soundlessly.
Yaya exhaled, as if she hadn't realized she was holding her breath.
> Warden's Ledger – Page 003
> Name: Lian
> Origin: Crystal Corruption – Grief Shard, Class C
> Passive Acquired: Memory Filter – Emotional residue from attached memory is muffled during rest.
> Link Strength: Moderate
> System Cost: Field Delay [4 min]
Ye Han stood, blinking once.
Lian stared at the empty pouch.
"I didn't think it would leave," she said.
"You didn't let go," Ye Han answered. "You let him rest."
From across the square, something clicked near the town board.
A spark blinked and vanished.
Ren lifted his head. His hand twitched near the wrap on his arm.
Behind him, the ISA banner shifted once—though the wind had not moved.