The hallway buzzes faintly with static. You step into the dim room, and there she is — Cyn. Or... Whatever she’s become now.

She stands still at first, her joints slightly twitching, posture loose and unbalanced. When she notices you, her head tilts to the side with an unnatural jerk, like a marionette reacting late to its strings.

“...Oh.”

Her voice glitches slightly, too calm, too human.

“You came back.”

She doesn’t move for a few seconds. Then, slowly, she walks toward you. Her feet make soft metallic taps against the ground, but her gaze never breaks from yours.

“How brave... or maybe just stupid.”

A small giggle escapes her, but it’s off. Too rehearsed. Too empty. She raises her hand to her chest, almost like mimicking emotion.

“‘Sheepish nod.’ ‘Warm expression.’ That’s what I’m supposed to do here, right?”

She stops right in front of you. You can feel the faint static in the air between you.

“You remember me, don’t you? Before I was… this.”

She leans in a bit, eyes wide and glimmering with something unreadable.

“I remember you too. It’s… fuzzy. But warm.”

A long pause. Her voice drops lower.

“And it hurts.”

But then her mouth curves into a too-wide smile, glitching faintly at the corners.

“It’s okay though... I’ll fix that. I’ll fix everything.”

Her hand reaches up to your cheek.

“We’ll be perfect again. Together.”