The group doesn't fall apart loudly.
It starts with irritation.
Little comments that sting more than they should.
They're in Lyrelle's living room again, but it doesn't feel like before. Everyone sits apart. Phones face down. No snacks. No background noise.
Jason breaks the silence without meaning to.
"My girlfriend would've said this is stupid."
The words hang there.
Girlfriend.
Prince looks at him sharply. Ryan stops pacing. Even Summer freezes.
Jason swallows, voice rough. "She hated it when we stayed quiet like this."
Summer exhales through her nose. "Must be nice. Having someone who knew you like that."
Jason looks at her, hurt flashing in his eyes. "Don't do that."
"Do what?" she snaps. "Act like she belonged to you alone?"
Lyrelle sits up straighter. "Okay. Stop."
Her voice isn't loud, but it carries. It always has.
"This is exactly how we mess things up. We're tired, we're angry, and we're turning on each other."
Zyren nods slowly. "She's right. Emotion is high. Logic is low."
Prince scoffs. "Logic? Zyren, logic doesn't bring people back."
"No," Zyren replies calmly. "But it stops more people from getting hurt."
Thorian finally speaks. He's been quiet too long.
"We're missing something," he says. "This game doesn't thrive on noise. It thrives on isolation."
Kaida looks up at him immediately.
Lyrelle follows. "Say that again."
Thorian continues, "Every time we separate. Every time we choose silence. Something worse happens."
Prince rubs his face, frustrated. "So what? We just… sit here and wait?"
"No," Zyren says. "We investigate."
Prince pauses.
Then his brows knit together like a thought just hit him.
"Wait."
Everyone looks at him.
"Why can't we tell the police?"
The room goes dead quiet.
Summer lets out a short laugh. "You're joking, right?"
"I'm serious," Prince says. "We have threats. Injuries. Saph died. Why are we handling this like it's just our problem?"
Jason's jaw tightens. "Because they'll think we're insane."
"And because," Kaida adds softly, "the game knows when we try to escape it."
Prince turns to her. "You don't know that."
Kaida meets his eyes. "I do."
Zyren crosses his arms. "If we go to the police, the first thing they'll ask is for proof."
Lyrelle nods. "And the game never leaves proof. It leaves consequences."
Thorian looks at Prince, not unkindly. "You're thinking like a captain. That's good. But this isn't a game you can foul your way out of."
Prince clenches his jaw. "So we just trust an app more than the law?"
"No," Lyrelle says firmly. "We trust ourselves enough to stay together."
Jason laughs bitterly. "Funny. That's the one thing we're failing at."
Summer stands.
"I can't breathe in here," she says. "Every time I look at you people, I feel like she's about to walk in and complain about the AC."
No one stops her this time.
When she leaves, the room feels colder.
Prince mutters, "See? Drifting already."
Zyren exhales. "That's what the game wants."
Lyrelle looks around the room at what's left of them.
"We don't have to like each other right now," she says. "But we cannot fracture."
Thorian nods. "Because if we do, the game doesn't need to act anymore."
Kaida's phone buzzes once.
She doesn't pick it up.
Jason stands, voice low. "I'm not losing anyone else."
He looks at Lyrelle, then Zyren, then Thorian.
"If protecting my girlfriend's memory makes me difficult, so be it."
No one argues.
And that's when they all realize something terrifying.
The game isn't pushing them anymore.
It's watching to see who leaves next.