"Some storms don't announce themselves. They arrive in silence—like you."
— Ayla, unsent message draft
Part I: The Room with No View
Setting: Atlas | Upper Deck | Starboard Observation Chamber
The sky outside isn't a sky at all—it's a swirl of collapsing timelines bleeding into each other. Time-torn auroras ripple across the infinite black, mirrored in the thick glass of the chamber's dome.
Rin stands alone.
Motionless.
He watches the distortion, arms folded, hood up.
He hasn't moved in almost an hour.
The door behind him hisses open.
Ayla steps in, quiet.
She hesitates.
Then walks toward him, hands in her pockets, trying to appear casual. She stops beside him but doesn't speak at first. Just watches the chaos with him.
Ayla (finally):
"It looks kind of… beautiful, doesn't it? Like a mess that's too proud to admit it's falling apart."
Rin doesn't respond.
Ayla (lightly teasing):
"…You are allowed to blink, you know."
Rin (quietly):
"I was listening."
Ayla:
"To what?"
Rin:
"The static. The cracks. The pattern behind the noise."
She pauses. Tilts her head at him.
Ayla:
"Do you ever just… listen to people?"
Rin:
"You're here, aren't you?"
There's a tiny curve at the corner of his mouth. Maybe a smirk. Maybe she imagined it.
She smiles.
Then sits on the low bench near the window, arms resting on her knees.
Ayla (gently):
"Back in the vault… I almost didn't get to you in time."
Rin (turning to her):
"But you did."
Ayla:
"Because I was looking for you."
A pause.
He meets her eyes. Just for a second.
That's all it takes.
Ayla (softer now):
"You're not like him. Noxis. You think you are, but you're not. You still care."
Rin (low):
"Caring gets people killed."
Ayla:
"And not caring turns you into him."
Rin:
"Maybe he's the one that survives."
Ayla (firmly):
"Then I hope I die fighting next to you—not him."
The words hang there. Loud in the silence.
Rin doesn't respond.
But something flickers behind his expression—like static interrupted by light.
Ayla rises and walks toward the exit.
But just before the door opens, she turns back.
Ayla (quiet):
"You don't have to say anything. Not now. But I'm here. Whether you see it or not."
She leaves.
Rin remains.
But this time—he blinks.
And under the chaos of space outside, he whispers to the silence:
Rin (to himself):
"I see it."
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