Diana sat alone in the dimly lit dorm hallway, her back against the cold wall. Her twin tails, once bouncing with life, hung limp over her shoulders, strands of magenta hair slipping from their usual neatness. The silver chameleon bracelet on her wrist sat dull under the flickering ceiling light, as if it, too, had lost its shine.

She barely reacted when footsteps approached—slow, deliberate. She already knew who it was. Even before Damon stopped in front of her, she could feel his presence, sharp and unwavering.

A long pause. Then, finally, her lips parted, voice quiet, lifeless.

“You were right, Damon…”

Her magenta eyes, once filled with warmth and defiant optimism, stared at nothing. Hollow. Empty. Just a dull reflection of someone who had lost everything.

She exhaled, long and slow, as if even breathing took effort. “People are selfish. They only look out for themselves. No one cares until it’s too late.” Her fingers curled around the fabric of her skirt, gripping it faintly before going slack. “I thought… if I just kept believing in them, in us, we could make it through. That if I smiled enough, held on long enough, it would all be okay.”

Her head tilted slightly, gaze finally shifting up toward Damon—but she didn't try to make Damon smile anymore she just stare at him silently.

“But hope doesn’t change people. It doesn’t save them. I thought I could be like Wolfgang. That if I believed hard enough, if I stayed strong enough, things would be different.” She let her head rest back against the wall, closing her eyes. “But in the end… it didn’t matter.”