Chapter 5: Dissonance

The rain cleared the next morning, leaving the city washed in silver light and damp pavement. Miyu arrived at work a little early, humming to herself as she tucked away her umbrella. Her coworker Rika greeted her with a smirk, coffee in hand.

“So,” Rika started casually, leaning against Miyu’s desk. “Ren, huh?”

Miyu blinked. “What?”

“You two were... kinda in sync during the meetup. He never even talks to anyone else. You know him outside the game or something?”

Miyu shook her head, carefully neutral. “No. Just... we’ve raided together a few times.”

Rika raised an eyebrow, then smiled a little too knowingly. “Cute. I didn’t expect him to be your type though.”

She walked away before Miyu could ask what that meant.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but a faint tension followed Miyu—an unease she couldn’t name.

That night, Miyu logged into Eclipsia earlier than usual, only to find OblivionHeart already online.

She messaged first: “Hey. Rough day?”

He replied almost instantly. “Not really. Just... needed to be somewhere quiet.”

She smiled to herself. “Do you want to farm or hang out?”

“Hang out. Got something to show you.”

They teleported to a zone Miyu had never seen—one of those hidden areas players only found through obscure quests and word-of-mouth. A crumbling tower stood at the center of a ghostly lake, lit by dying starlight.

“It’s called the Watchtower of Forgotten Echoes,” Ren typed. “No mobs. Just music and sky.”

She stood still, letting the in-game music play: a haunting piano piece, soft as breath.

“This place reminds me of a night I tried to run away from home,” he typed after a pause.

Miyu waited.

“I was sixteen. Took my guitar, my phone, and some snacks. Got maybe four blocks. Sat in a park all night pretending I had somewhere better to go.”

Her response was quiet. “Why did you want to leave?”

“My mom. My dad. Me. We all lived in the same house, but I don’t think we ever spoke the same language.”

Miyu swallowed the knot rising in her throat. “I used to lock myself in the bathroom and sing into my hairbrush to drown out my parents fighting.”

They stood there, surrounded by pixelated ruins and unspoken words.

Then came the system ping: Player AyaneSoul has joined the zone.

Ren’s avatar turned before Miyu could react.

“Hey!” a new message popped up in a local chat. “Ren! Fancy seeing you here.”

The avatar was flashy—too many cosmetics, a halo effect trailing behind her robes. She walked right up to them, her avatar’s pose too familiar.

“Oh. And you must be HanaLune,” AyaneSoul added. “Heard a lot about you.”

Miyu didn’t type immediately. Something twisted inside her.

“She’s... a friend,” Ren typed quickly, but his delay spoke volumes.

AyaneSoul laughed. “Just a friend, huh? You used to bring me here too, remember?”

Miyu forced a response. “Nice to meet you.”

She logged out five minutes later.

No goodbye. No explanation.

Just silence.