Claire didn't speak to him the next day.
She didn't yell.
She didn't cry.
She just… kept her distance.
And that hurt more than any blade.
Lucius sat by the fire, the Blade of the Last Name glowing faintly in its sheath.
He hadn't summoned Arielle's echo.
Not yet.
Because the moment he did?
Something would change.
And he wasn't sure if the others would survive it.
Zara broke the silence.
"Are we gonna talk about the fact that our leader's haunted by the girl he used to love?"
Velda sipped tea. "We've been talking about that since chapter ten."
Lilith was quiet. Her eyes were on Claire.
"She's not mad," she said softly. "She's… unraveling."
Claire sat alone at the cliff.
Lucius approached.
He didn't say her name.
He just stood beside her.
Claire finally spoke.
But her voice didn't shake.
"I know I'm not her."
Lucius stayed silent.
"I know you didn't choose me. Not first. Maybe not ever."
Still, silence.
"But do you want to know what hurts the most?"
She turned. Eyes glassy.
"I loved you before I knew her name. And I still lost."
Lucius looked at her.
And—for the first time—he didn't know what to say.
Because Claire's love hadn't been loud. Or obsessive. Or demanding.
It had just been there.
And he hadn't realized how much it cost her to stay silent this whole time.
[System Prompt: Emotional Rift Detected – Claire's Bond Status has shifted]Trait Gained: Silent Devotion – Claire will continue to protect Lucius… even when she no longer believes she's the one who should.
She stood.
Brushed past him.
And whispered:
"She died loving you. I'm alive… doing the same."
Back at camp, the others sensed it.
The shift.
The crack.
Velda didn't joke.
Zara didn't ask.
Lilith didn't smirk.
Because Claire had been the softest.
And now? She walked like a woman who had nothing left to lose.
That night, Lucius summoned Arielle's echo for the first time.
She appeared quietly.
Not in glory.
Not in flame.
Just a girl.
With fire in her hair.
And sadness in her smile.
"Hello," she whispered. "You remembered me."
Lucius looked at her.
Eyes soft.
But behind him, he heard footsteps.
Lilith.
Velda.
Zara.
And Claire.
All watching.
All realizing the same truth:
She's not just a memory anymore.