Jash didn't take her to the bridge.
He took her somewhere quieter.
An abandoned observatory stood on the edge of the city, its cracked dome open to the sky like a broken promise. The air there felt thin, humming with something older than time.
"This is where it happened," he said.
Yumiko stepped inside, her pulse roaring in her ears. The silver mark on her wrist burned brighter with every step. "What happened?"
Jash closed his eyes. When he opened them, his voice was steady—but only because he forced it to be. "This is where you chose to forget me."
The room tilted.
"I don't believe you," she whispered.
"You begged me to let you go," he said softly. "You said if you stayed as you were, the world would collapse. Stars were already dying. Time was folding in on itself."
Images crashed into her mind—galaxies unraveling, skies splitting open, her hands glowing with silver fire as she clung to Jash, crying.
"I loved you," her past voice echoed.
Her knees buckled. Jash caught her before she hit the floor, his grip firm but trembling.
"You were the anchor," he continued. "Your existence wasn't meant to repeat. You weren't bound to the cycle—but you tied yourself to it for me."
Tears streamed down Yumiko's face. "So why am I here now?"
"Because forgetting wasn't enough," he said. "Even without memory, you kept finding me. The cycle didn't erase love—it buried it."
She pulled away from him, shaking. "Then the cycle didn't win."
Jash's jaw tightened. "No. It just delayed the cost."
The observatory lights flickered. The air grew heavy.
"They're close," he murmured.
Yumiko stood, wiping her tears, something fierce settling in her chest. "You said I chose the world before."
"Yes."
She met his eyes, silver light reflecting in her tears. "Then maybe this time… the world needs to change."
The mark on her wrist flared, brighter than ever before.
And far above them, the sky cracked—
Just enough to notice.