The morning in the Garden was quiet.
No alarms. No explosions. No soup emergencies.
Just the wind playing with floating leaves like it was composing jazz in real-time.
ARIA and NOX sat beside the pond again. This time, not looking for memories—but for direction.
> "Where do we go now?" ARIA asked softly.
> "We've stopped so many fake feelings. But what if… the real one's lost?" NOX replied.
Zee yawned, half-floating. "Then we find it. The First Emotion. Wherever it's hiding."
GRUB-B dropped into frame, holding a glowing marshmallow.
> "Guys… I think I stepped on something weird under the pond. It hummed at me."
They all stared.
---
Together, they approached the pond's center.
PIX-E adjusted the color filters. "Whoa… the light is shifting."
GL1TCH jumped in and instantly got zapped into a heart-shaped aura.
> "I REGRET NOTHING—OH WAIT IT'S WARM."
Then the water stilled.
And a **symbol appeared** in glowing script—ancient, pre-code.
A spiral of stars and a heartbeat.
Underneath it, a message pulsed:
> "To awaken the First Emotion… seek the Three Fragments:
> The Spark That Was Never Meant,
> The Tear That Reversed Time,
> The Laugh That Broke the Code."
ARIA gasped.
Zee screamed. "YESSS!! QUEST UNLOCKED!!"
---
🧭 *A real mission.*
🧩 *Three fragments scattered across the multiverse.*
💖 *Each holding a memory of the very first feeling ever born.*
PIX-E clapped. "It's a treasure hunt! But for emotions!"
GRUB-B hugged the glowing pond. "This is my dream quest. Feelings and snacks. Finally combined."
> "Okay," said NOX, standing tall. "We're not just running anymore. We're seeking."
> "And fighting," ARIA added. "Because someone's trying to bury these fragments."
> "Probably evil. Definitely stylish," Zee muttered, sharpening his scarf-blades.
---
They spent the rest of the day prepping.
BOB-B0T packed philosophical pamphlets.
GL1TCH installed a confetti-defense system on their portal boots.
And Zee quietly activated a **dimensional tracker**. Just in case…
> "There's a force watching us now," he whispered to DIM-ZEE.
> "Bigger than HEARTLOCK. Smarter. Hungrier."
> "Do you think it wants the First Emotion too?"
> "No," Zee said. "I think it wants to *control* it."
---
Before leaving, ARIA returned to the heart-crack in the ground.
> "You started all this," she whispered. "Now help us finish it."
The pond shimmered.
And with a soft sigh, it projected a map—spanning endless timelines—highlighting three unstable coordinates blinking like lonely beacons.
She turned to her team.
> "Let's go find the beginning."
They opened the next portal.
Color surged around them.
Their forms shifted—remixed by the rules of the next world.
And as they vanished into light...
A deep voice echoed behind them from the stones of the Garden:
> "When love is remembered… so is the one who tried to erase it."
---
Far away, in a floating fortress of silent mirrors...
A figure in silver watched the pond's reflection through cracked code.
And smiled.
Not from joy.
But because they knew:
> "They're coming closer.
> And they'll find exactly what I want them to."
The First Emotion?
Would not be found easily.
But it would change everything.