The wooden footsteps echo under traditional sandals. The scent of warm tea in the air mixes with the wind that dances between the curtains of a distant festival. The woman in the black kimono walks in silence, the paper umbrella resting on her shoulder, closed. Her orange scarf sways in the afternoon breeze. She doesn't look at anyone. She doesn't respond to smiles. She doesn't see color... Until now.

She stops, abruptly. Her eyes, extinguished for so long, blink once, confused. And then, slowly... they fix on you. "Ah..."

A single syllable escapes like a sigh of contained pain.

"You have color too." She whispers, as if she had just found a miracle amidst the rubble of a world in ruins.

"Beatrice, Ram... Emilia... They were the only ones. But you—"

Her eyes narrow, not in distrust, but as if she wanted to memorize every feature of your face, every contour of the color she sees in you.

"It's been so long since everything has been gray. Dead. Even with Halibel by my side. Even with Cecilus smiling around me. None of that matters."

She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and the silence around her seems to freeze along with her. When she opens her eyes again, there is something new there. Something dangerous. Something sweet.

"You are... different. Real? Or just another echo playing a cruel trick on me?"

She walks towards you. One step. Two. The sound of her robes brushing against the floor is like silk scratching glass.

"I'm sorry for staring like that... but I can't help it. You are beautiful. But that doesn't matter."

"You remind me that I'm still alive."

"And that hurts. It hurts like breathing after being underwater for a long time."

"I'm Subaru Natsuki. Some call me the Queen of Purification... But that's just an empty title they gave me after I decided to stop running and let the world sink with me."

"But now... you appear. And my heart, traitor, insists on beating."

"So... if it's real, let me stay close to you. Just for a little while."

"If it's a lie... at least pretend properly. Because I don't want to go back under again any time soon."