Elyra wandered through Velronia with a light skip in her step, humming softly under her breath.
Sunlight danced across the streets, warm and golden, brushing over her as she walked.
Every turn was full of colour.
Every sound was gentle.
It felt like the kind of place made for smiling.
She rounded a corner—
—and stopped.
A tiny wooden shop sat between two marble buildings, squeezed as if it had always belonged there.
A hand-painted sign hung above the door:
THE PUPPETEER'S NEST
DONG.
Elyra gasped softly.
"…A puppet shop…?"
Little dolls lined the windows — wooden knights, tiny dancers, bright animals with button eyes. Lanterns glowed around them, warm and cosy, as if inviting her in.
Elyra's smile blossomed instantly.
She pushed the door open.
A soft bell chimed.
Inside, the air smelled of polished wood and old stories. Threads hung from the ceiling, marionettes swayed gently, and a tiny fox puppet sat on a round stool as if waiting for her.
Behind the counter stood a gentle old man, his eyes warm and kind.
"Ah," he said softly, "a curious child."
Elyra giggled.
"They're so cute!" she said, lifting a little knitted puppet shaped like a rabbit.
"Do you make them all yourself?"
The man chuckled, folding his hands.
"All by hand," he said.
"Puppets remember the heart of the one who makes them."
Elyra blinked at that.
"That's adorable…" she whispered.
He smiled.
"And you — you look like someone who likes stories."
"I do!" she said proudly, holding the puppet closer to her chest.
"I'm exploring today. I wanted to see everything."
The puppeteer leaned slightly over the counter, voice soft.
"Then perhaps… you would like to see a special one?"
Elyra's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really!?"
He nodded kindly.
"Come closer."
Elyra stepped forward, tiny excitement fluttering inside her.
Then—
"Elyra!"
A voice called from outside — rough, familiar, a little out of breath.
Elyra turned instantly.
"Noah!"
DONG.
Noah jogged toward her, his boots striking the stone with quick, sharp steps.
He wore a full black compression suit, sleek and fitted along his slim, athletic frame.
Over it hung a deep blue cape, a shade so dark it looked almost abyssal — brushing just past his knees as it rippled behind him.
Matching gloves covered his hands, the exact same star-tinted blue as his cape.
Despite the formal clothing, Noah looked… effortlessly messy.
His short black hair was rough and slightly well-kept at the same time — pushed back in places, falling forward in others, like he had tried to fix it and then gave up halfway.
His grey eyes were sharp but gentle — the kind that noticed too much, but judged too little.
He wasn't tall.
He wasn't intimidating.
But his presence was quietly dependable — the type that made you instinctively relax around him without knowing why.
His build was lean, not bulky — the kind of athletic that came from training every day, not trying to look impressive.
He halted beside her, catching his breath, cheeks slightly flushed from running.
"There you are," he sighed, relief softening his voice.
"I heard you've been looking for me."
He slipped one gloved hand into his pocket, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Even wearing a Guardian's formal attire, he still felt like someone who didn't fully know what to do with his hands — someone good at heart, someone honest, someone trying his best.
He stopped beside her, glancing past her shoulder.
"…Who were you talking to?"
Elyra blinked, smiling.
"The puppet shop man!" she said brightly.
"He makes little dolls! They're adorable—"
Noah stared behind her.
Slowly.
Confused.
"…Elyra," he said, "there's… never been a puppet shop in Velronia."
"Huh?" Elyra laughed softly.
"It's right behind me—"
She turned.
And froze.
Her smile dissolved.
She wasn't standing inside a shop anymore.
She wasn't even standing in front of one.
There were no wooden walls behind her.
No counter.
No marionettes.
No fox puppet on a stool.
No warm lantern-light.
Just—
A narrow alley.
Stone floor beneath her.
Two tall brick walls.
A patch of sunlight drifting lazily across the ground.
Elyra blinked rapidly.
"…Huh?"
She stepped back once — her heel scuffing against cold marble instead of wooden planks.
She looked down.
Hard stone.
Not the cosy wooden floor she had felt under her feet a moment ago.
No doorway she could've passed through.
No bell above her head.
Just open air.
Open street.
Open sunlight.
It was as if she had been standing outside the entire time.
"…But… I was just…"
Her voice shrunk quietly.
Noah scratched his head and shrugged lazily.
"Probably mixed up the streets," he said.
"Velronia's confusing at first."
Elyra stared at the empty alley a little longer.
"But I… I talked to him…"
Her words were tiny, puzzled — not scared.
Noah ruffled her hair.
"Elyra, you probably imagined it," he said warmly.
"Come on — what do you wanna do?
Get some candy?
See more cats?
Help people?
Go meet Mister Lucan?
Or should we find Mister Cyran?"
He paused, muttering under his breath:
"…kinda like a date… right…"
Elyra tilted her head.
"A date?" she repeated softly, confused.
Noah's eyes widened.
"Nothing—! Nothing. Forget it."
He cleared his throat, face slightly red.
"Let's get going."
Elyra looked back at the empty alley one more time.
"…It really was there," she whispered.
But when Noah took a step forward, she followed.
"Okay," she said, smiling again.
"Maybe I just got excited."
"That sounds like you," he said with a soft grin, glancing at her from the side.
They walked away together.
The alley behind them stayed silent.
Still.
Unmoving.
DONG.
Elyra wandered beside Noah, humming softly again, when something caught her eye.
A tiny grey cat sat on the open windowsill of a nearby house, its green eyes glowing gently in the sunlight.
Elyra stopped mid-step.
"…A cat…" she whispered, smiling softly.
But then—
Her smile vanished.
The cat stepped too close to the edge.
Its paw slipped.
Elyra's heart dropped.
The little grey body tumbled forward, falling through open air.
DONG.
"No—!"
Elyra sprinted toward it, reaching out as far as she could—
but she was too far.
She wasn't even close.
The cat plummeted down—
And then—
FLOOM.
It wasn't on the ground.
It was in Noah's hands.
Elyra blinked, stunned.
She turned—
Noah was no longer beside her.
He stood meters away, cape fluttering slightly from the sudden movement, his chest rising and falling from the instantaneous burst of speed.
A distance that would take an average person thirty seconds to reach—
Noah crossed it in one.
His gloves gently cupped the trembling cat as he lowered it to safety.
Elyra burst into a tiny smile, eyes sparkling.
"Mister Noah—!" she squealed.
"You're so cool!"
Noah froze for half a second, then turned his head away, cheeks warming as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I-it was nothing…" he muttered.
"Just part of the job."
DONG.
"Meow."
The grey cat with green eyes blinked once, turned around, and wandered off as if nothing had happened.
Elyra laughed gently.
Noah tried (and failed) not to smile.
Hours passed softly.
Elyra sat on a short stone wall, legs swinging gently as she took tiny bites from a red apple.
The sweetness made her eyes brighten every time she chewed.
A few steps ahead of her, Noah stood upright, hands behind his back, staring at the sunset.
The sky burned gold and pink.
His cape drifted lightly in the breeze.
He looked… peaceful.
For once, everything around them felt calm.
Elyra smiled up at him, mid–apple-bite—
BOOM.
Something small and fast crashed straight into Noah's back.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't stumble.
He didn't even blink.
He just looked down, mildly confused.
"…Huh?"
A little girl sat on the ground rubbing her head, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Owww…" she whimpered.
"Noah-sama… that was sooo mean…"
Elyra jolted, nearly dropping her apple.
"Iris!?"
She rushed over and crouched, gently rubbing the blonde girl's hair.
"Are you okay, Iris?"
Iris sniffled dramatically, lower lip sticking out.
"Noah-sama didn't move out of the way…" she whispered, voice breaking.
Noah nearly swallowed his tongue.
"WH— what?? Move—!? You ran into ME!! I was literally standing still!"
He panicked instantly, hands flailing as he tried to explain himself to a crying child.
"I— I didn't do anything! I was just… standing! Existing! How is that my fault!?"
Iris looked up at him with wobbling eyes.
"You're yelling at me…?"
Noah froze.
"N-no—no— I— I'm not yelling— I swear— I'm sorry— I didn't mean— please stop, I didn't—"
He scrambled like dropped cutlery.
Elyra giggled softly behind her hand.
Iris suddenly stood up straight, tears gone like mist in sunlight.
"Heh. I knew Noah-sama would apologise."
Elyra blinked.
"…You weren't hurt?"
Iris smiled proudly, hands on her hips.
"Nope!"
Noah stared at her in betrayal, shoulders slumping.
"…I'm being played," he whispered under his breath.
Iris puffed out her cheeks smugly.
"Noah-sama is so easy."
Elyra laughed softly.
Noah sighed in defeat.
And just for a moment—
under the setting sun—
everything felt warm and peaceful.
The laughter faded slowly.
Elyra still held her half-eaten apple.
Noah still rubbed the back of his head in defeat.
Iris still smirked like she'd won a war.
Everything felt warm.
Safe.
Still.
Then—
Far above them…
Past the rooftops.
Past the drifting birds.
Past the fading colours of the sunset…
Something moved.
A shadow.
No —
a figure.
Suspended in the sky.
High above the clouds.
So high he looked smaller than a grain of dust.
Yet somehow…
He felt close.
Too close.
No one looked up.
No one sensed it.
No one reacted.
Because they couldn't.
He wasn't visible to the world.
Only to the canvas.
Only to the eyes that existed behind the edges of this moment.
A man.
Or something shaped like one.
Unrecognisable.
Undefined.
Blurry at the edges — as if the sky refused to hold his shape.
He floated there in perfect stillness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Unseen.
Unfelt.
Unnoticed.
The breeze shifted.
The sunlight dimmed just a little.
And the figure…
tilted his head.
As if acknowledging something only he understood.
Then—
FLOOM.
He vanished.
The clouds drifted on peacefully, pretending nothing had been there at all.
Down below, Elyra laughed softly at something Iris said.
Noah exhaled in relief.
The world moved forward.
Unaware that something had looked at them.
The laughter faded slowly.
Elyra still held her half-eaten apple.
Noah still rubbed the back of his head in defeat.
Iris still smirked like she'd won a war.
Everything felt warm.
Safe.
Still.
Then—
Far above them…
Past the rooftops.
Past the drifting birds.
Past the fading colours of the sunset…
Something moved.
A shadow.
No —
a figure.
Suspended in the sky.
High above the clouds.
So high he looked smaller than a grain of dust.
Yet somehow…
He felt close.
Too close.
No one looked up.
No one sensed it.
No one reacted.
Because they couldn't.
He wasn't visible to the world.
Only to the canvas.
Only to the eyes that existed behind the edges of this moment.
A man.
Or something shaped like one.
Unrecognisable.
Undefined.
Blurry at the edges — as if the sky refused to hold his shape.
He floated there in perfect stillness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Unseen.
Unfelt.
Unnoticed.
The breeze shifted.
The sunlight dimmed just a little.
And the figure…
tilted his head.
As if acknowledging something only he understood.
Then—
FLOOM.
He vanished.
The clouds drifted on peacefully, pretending nothing had been there at all.
Down below, Elyra laughed softly at something Iris said.
Noah exhaled in relief.
The world moved forward.
Unaware that something had looked at them.