The melody cut short mid-practice. A high-pitched chime rang out, followed by silence. Then came the static.
At first, it was subtle — just a brief flicker in Lyra's vision, a tremble in the audio feed from VIVA. She blinked and reached up instinctively, fingers brushing the smooth interface crystal just beneath her ear.
"VIVA?"
No answer.
Then the world twisted.
Her HUD blinked violently. The floating musical notes that usually trailed her sight like harmless fireflies scattered in alarm. The lights of the practice room dimmed — not physically, but emotionally, as if her mood were directly tethered to the illumination. A distorted voice echoed in her head.
"Initiating memory sync—error—memory—error—playback—initiated—"
"No, no, stop—VIVA, cancel that—cancel—!"
But the memory surged forward like a tidal wave, uncaring and cruel.
The world turned gray.
She was back in the auditorium. The exam room. The silence before the fall.
Her hands trembled over the virtual keyboard as the proctor called out her name. Her classmates all turned at once, like dolls on strings. Whispers. Accusations. One girl's mocking smile — the one who'd taken a screenshot of Lyra's screen mid-test and doctored it.
"You're not smart. You cheated."
"She's just a fake. A system baby."
"She doesn't even deserve her voice."
"No friends left now, huh?"
"No home either, after this."
The cold void returned. The hallway afterward. The way her mother's voice cracked over the phone — I'm sorry, Lyra, but if this is true… you can't come home.
The ache in her stomach.
The silence that lasted for days.
The alley.
The railing.
The—
"Lyra!"
She gasped and snapped back to herself, as if drowning in memory. Her knees had buckled without her noticing. She sat curled on the floor of the practice hall, one hand clutching her chest as if her heart were trying to escape.
Rin was beside her in seconds, arms already wrapping around her shoulders.
Kai stood nearby, fists clenched, his expression carved from rage and pain. Even Yuu, usually as unreadable as a cloud, had his fingers trembling as he crouched next to her, placing a warm thermos beside her trembling hands.
She tried to speak, but no sound came. Her throat felt like it was filled with shards of broken glass.
VIVA, flickering, whispered in her ear.
"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to—malfunction. I was… trying to calibrate your emotional sync with the music alignment module. I didn't mean to show them. I just…"
Her AI's voice cracked. Actually cracked.
Lyra closed her eyes. "It's okay, VIVA. You didn't hurt me. Not really."
"But that memory… you weren't supposed to see that."
She looked up then, only to find all three of them — Rin, Kai, and Yuu — watching her with expressions not of pity, but of fury and love.
Kai took a step forward, crouched, and said in a low voice, "Who did that to you?"
Rin leaned closer, eyes wet. "You… really were going to…?"
Lyra managed a nod. "I thought I had nothing left. No friends. No family. No future."
Yuu didn't speak. He didn't have to. He simply reached out, took her hand, and gently squeezed it.
"We're your family now," Rin said, voice wobbling but firm.
"We're not going anywhere," Kai added.
"You gave us a place to belong," Rin whispered. "You gave me purpose. I was just chaos before you found me."
"You gave me music again," Kai said. "I hadn't touched my guitar in years. Not really."
"Band," Yuu said quietly. "Means… tied together."
Lyra's breath hitched. Her tears came freely now, but they no longer carried the chill of despair. They were warm. Cleansing.
She felt VIVA recalibrate beside her, a soft hum of apology and affection curling in her ear like a lullaby.
"They love you," the AI said, gently. "You are not alone anymore."
For the first time since stepping through the glowing door, Lyra let herself believe that maybe… maybe this strange place could really heal her.
She wasn't broken.
She was just in the middle of her song.
And now, she had others playing with her.
END OF CHAPTER 16