The golden flame flickered brighter as if answering her silence. It painted Ahri's face in soft radiance, hiding the fatigue in her eyes and hiding the tremor in her marked hand.
Aya's relief was immediate. "See? The gold wants us to follow it. It's warmth, Ahri. It's safety."
But Ahri didn't speak.
Because the moment she stared deeper into the flame, she saw the lies coiled beneath it.
Within its glow shimmered images too perfect to be true: Hyun-tae alive again, his hand steady on her shoulder; Jin laughing freely without a shadow clinging at his heels; Miran not as an enemy, but as a companion at her side. A world woven back whole, unbroken, unmarred.
Her throat tightened. She wanted to believe. She wanted to step into that warmth and never leave.
But the longer she looked, the more the perfection betrayed itself. Hyun-tae's eyes never blinked. Jin's laughter had no breath behind it. Miran's hand held hers too tightly, crushing instead of comforting.
Aya noticed her shiver. "What do you see?"
Ahri closed her fist, forcing herself to look away. "I see a truth that wants to be loved but isn't real."
Aya looked stricken. "Then… the gold flame lies?"
"Not lies," Ahri corrected, though her voice was heavy. "It tells us the story we want. And that makes it the most dangerous of all."
Behind them, Jin let out a bitter laugh. "Now you're learning. Even the light corrupts."