The resort clock ticked down the last seconds.
One hour.
Exactly one hour.
Naoya stood there.
Stiffer than before, but in a different way now.
Less anger.
More exhaustion.
Like he'd just survived an emotional endurance trial.
The girls were… calmer too.
Not friendly.
But less tense.
More like they had collectively decided not to explode the situation.
Yuji leaned over to Megumi.
"…He's still alive."
Megumi nodded.
"…Impressive."
Hakari stretched.
"…So what happened in there?"
Kirara shook their head.
"…I don't think we're allowed to know."
Takeru walked back into view.
Without warning—
he removed his haori.
Then peeled off his black shirt slightly to loosen it, rolling his shoulders like he'd just finished training.
The air shifted slightly as he tossed the fabric aside.
Completely relaxed.
Like nothing important had just happened.
Naoya watched him.
"…You're just ignoring what happened, aren't you."
Takeru blinked.
"…What?"
Silence.
Fred slowly raised a sign from the sand.
"Emotional processing pending."
Takeru grabbed a volleyball from nearby.
Spun it once in his hand.
Then casually tossed it toward Naoya.
Not hard.
Not aggressive.
Almost gentle.
Naoya caught it automatically.
"…What is this supposed to be."
Takeru pointed at him.
"Reset."
A pause.
"…Reset?"
Takeru nodded.
"Yeah."
Yuji tilted his head.
"…Why does that feel important?"
Megumi frowned slightly.
"…Because it is."
Gojo grinned from the side.
Satoru Gojo
"…He's doing the thing again."
Geto sighed.
Suguru Geto
"…Yes. He's resetting people again."
Naoya looked at the volleyball in his hands.
Then back at Takeru.
"…You're weird."
Takeru shrugged.
"Correct."
A beat.
Then—
he smiled slightly.
"But you didn't break."
Silence.
Naoya didn't respond immediately.
Just stared at the ball.
Then at the group.
Then at the island.
Finally—
he clicked his tongue.
But quieter than before.
"…Tch."
Fred raised one last sign.
"Progress confirmed."
And for the first time—
no one argued.