The silence that followed Lydia's revelation felt heavier than the chaos outside the planet.
Jayden did not speak immediately. He stood there in the familiar living room of his family home in Cloudbridge City, the walls that had once witnessed laughter and arguments now bearing the weight of truths that felt far too large to belong in a place so human. His mind moved quickly, but his heart lagged behind, trying to reconcile the calm woman standing before him with the implications of what she had just said.
"You're not human," he repeated slowly, not as disbelief, but as confirmation. "Then what are you."
Lydia did not rush to answer. She looked around the room first, at the couch with its slightly faded fabric, at the framed photos on the wall, at the window where the sky outside glowed faintly with distant emergency shields. When she finally spoke, her voice was softer than before, layered with something that sounded almost like nostalgia.
