One by one, the team peeled away—Felicia mumbling something about bath bombs and spicy noodles, Kamaki swearing to find the gym in the next five minutes "because violence is cardio," and even the Operator went silent.
Only Tyrone and Lihanna lingered near the soft-glowing exit pad, framed by virtual stars.
Tyrone: (Glancing over)
"You good?"
Lihanna: (Soft nod)
"Tired. But yeah. Good."
He didn't move right away. Neither did she.
There was still static on the edge of their senses—not danger, just leftover adrenaline. The kind that keeps you floating even after your feet are back on the ground.
Tyrone:
"You heading back to your room?"
Lihanna:
"Mhm."
She adjusted her nodachi across her back, careful and deliberate. Her movements were always like that—precise, like she didn't believe in wasting even one second.
Tyrone stepped beside her.
Tyrone:
"I'll walk with you."
She glanced at him sideways but didn't object. The quiet between them wasn't awkward—it was worn in, comfortable. The kind that comes after surviving something together.
They walked slowly down the simulated hallway as it folded back into reality—walls turning from code to polished marble, flickering torches lighting their path with amber flame.
⸻ [The Prismic Mansion – Midnight Arrival] ⸻
The golden double doors of the Prismic Mansion shut with a weighty thud behind them—like the world locking itself out.
Tyrone and Lihanna walked side by side, silence thick between them. Every step echoed on the marble floors. The once-glorious halls of the Prismic elite felt like a mausoleum tonight.
No laughter from the Vandor wing. No sparring echoes. No arrogant chatter spilling from lounges and velvet staircases.
Even they felt it—that parasite hadn't just glitched their training sim. It had looked at them. Too deeply.
Tyrone: (Trying to cut the silence)
"Weird. I thought the Vandors couldn't shut up even if you paid 'em."
Lihanna: (Eyes scanning corners like blades)
"They're quiet when they're afraid."
Tyrone:
"Guess they're human after all."
Lihanna:
"No. They're not."
That stopped him.
They reached the hallway split—her room to the left, his to the right.
Lihanna paused, one hand on her door handle, the other resting lightly near her nodachi. Not drawn. But ready.
Tyrone: (Watching her closely)
"You think that thing's still here."
Lihanna:
"I think it never left."
And just as the tension tightened like a noose—
CREEEAAAK—
A door halfway down the hall opened, spilling soft gold light into the corridor. Neve stepped out.
Half-dressed, draped in a loose silken robe that clung to one shoulder and left the other bare. Her silver-white hair hung tousled, like moonlight pulled into strands. A thin line of sweat traced her collarbone—either from a nightmare or a late-night workout. Or both.
She blinked once, slowly, unbothered. Then she locked eyes with Tyrone, then Lihanna.
Neve: (Voice low, teasing)
"Either of you planning to kill each other… or should I come back in ten?"
Tyrone didn't look away—but his jaw twitched slightly.
Tyrone:
"If I said we were fighting over you, would it help?"
Neve: (Smirking)
"Would it be a lie?"
The air shifted. Lihanna didn't blink. Her posture didn't change—but her energy sharpened.
Lihanna:
"No one's fighting. Yet."
Neve raised a perfectly arched brow, walking past them slowly—barefoot on cold tile, barely making a sound.
Neve: (Passing Tyrone)
"You've got shadows under your eyes, Ty. Bad dreams? Or guilty conscience?"
Tyrone: (Dryly)
"Wouldn't you like to know."
Neve:
"I would. But I'll be generous and let you keep your secrets. For tonight."
She glanced back at Lihanna, a smile that could cut glass.
Neve:
"You too, sword princess. Sweet dreams."
With a lazy stretch and the faintest hum, she disappeared around the corner.
Silence returned.
Lihanna:
"She's dangerous."
Tyrone:
"Yeah… but only when she's bored."
Lihanna gave one final look down the hall. Her grip on the nodachi's sheath eased.
Lihanna: (Quietly)
"Something's wrong. It's not just the parasite."
Tyrone:
"…I know."
She turned to go.
Lihanna:
"If something moves in the dark again tonight…"
Tyrone:
"I'll be the first to stab it."
She vanished into her room, door closing with a soft hiss.
Tyrone stood there for a beat, alone in a hall as he heard Neve's singing while she grabs a snack, he heads to his room and call it night as he falls asleep watching the latest episode of please put them on Takamine-san.