Kael hoped for peace today.
Naturally, he did not get it.
Lyra approached him after class, as bright as the morning sun.
"Kael! Want to walk home together?"
Kael blinked.
"N-no."
"Yes you do," she said confidently.
Kael almost stumbled. "I really don't—"
"Yes, you do," she repeated softly.
Kael stared.
Lyra's eyes shimmered with light—gentle, warm, but unfathomable. Something ancient slept behind them.
The system glitched.
[Error: Unable to analyze subject.]
[Error: Unable to read timeline presence.]
[Warning: Existence anomaly detected.]
Kael stepped back instinctively.
Lyra smiled. "Why do you look scared?"
"I don't," Kael lied.
"You do." She poked his cheek. "You always look like someone carrying the world."
Kael's breath caught.
Always?
"How would you know that…?"
Lyra tilted her head innocently. "I don't know. I just do."
Kael stared deeply into her eyes.
She wasn't lying.
But she wasn't normal.
He tried again.
"Lyra… who are you?"
Her expression softened into something fragile.
"I wish I knew."
That answer only made things worse.
Then her face brightened again. "Come on! I'll buy you bread!"
Kael sighed. "Why would you buy me anything?"
"Because you're lonely," she said simply.
Kael's chest tightened.
A strange warmth entered his life—a warmth he feared would become his greatest weakness.
He walked with her anyway.