The wind was real.
Valerian felt it brush against his skin as though it were the first time. No system filters. No buffering. No recalculated impact force.
It felt like the world had texture again.
Selene crashed into him first.
"Don't ever do that again," she said, her voice cracking against his shoulder. "You bastard."
Lira followed a second later, her arms tight around both of them. Kael approached slower, arms crossed—but even he couldn't suppress a shaky smile.
"You're alive," Kael said. "And somehow… more smug than before."
Valerian didn't speak for a moment.
His eyes lifted to the horizon. A strange crackling shimmer was etched across the sky—barely visible. Like a digital scar healing slowly.
> [System Status: ROOT USER CONFIRMED]
[Warning: World Layer 0 collapsing into Layer 1]
[Reality Anchoring Required to prevent data purge]
[Please designate a World Seed]
"System," Valerian whispered mentally. "What does that mean?"
---
System Response
