The last quiet morning came without warning.
No birds.
No wind.
No dog barking.
Just silence.
The kind that rings in your ears.
Law woke to the sound of his own heartbeat.
Too loud.
He sat up.
The room was the same.
But the light was wrong.
Grey.
Like the world had forgotten colour.
He stood.
Walked to the window.
Outside, the grass was grey.
The sky was grey.
The little girl was standing in the yard.
Not drawing.
Just standing.
Looking at the house.
Her chalk was on the ground.
Broken.
She looked up.
Met Law's eyes.
Her mouth moved.
No sound.
Just shape.
IT'S TIME
Law's hand found the window frame.
It was cold.
He opened the window.
The air was cold.
Heavy.
Like breathing water.
The girl smiled.
It wasn't her smile.
It was his.
Older.
Tired.
Broken.
She raised one hand.
Pointed at the sky.
Law looked up.
The grey was moving.
Shapes in the grey.
Familiar shapes.
Five figures.
Perfect.
Unbroken.
Unscarred.
Wearing their faces.
Standing in the sky.
Waiting.
The perfect Laura waved.
The perfect Liora tilted her head.
The perfect Nysera had no wolf.
The perfect Zero's hands were clean.
The perfect Law wore no crown.
He looked rested.
He looked like peace.
The girl looked at Law.
"You can go with them," she said.
Her voice was inside his head.
"Or stay here."
Law looked at the perfect Five.
At the life without weight.
Without choice.
Without them.
He looked at the girl.
At the grey.
At the house that was starting to fade.
And spoke.
Quiet.
Certain.
Final.
"I'm staying."
The girl's smile faltered.
The perfect Five's smiles faltered.
The grey screamed.
Not wind.
Screamed.
The perfect Five began to crack.
Not from violence.
From grief.
From being refused one last time.
One by one, they shattered into grey ash.
The girl began to fade.
But before she did, she looked at Law.
And spoke with the Mirror's voice.
Soft.
Grateful.
Final.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For choosing the hard path one more time."
Then she was gone.
The grey dissolved.
The sky was blue again.
The house was warm.
The dog barked once.
Happy.
The Four were in the kitchen.
Making breakfast.
Burnt toast.
Cold coffee.
Laughing.
Law stood in the doorway.
They looked up.
Laura's smile was soft.
"Morning."
Law sat.
They ate.
No one spoke.
They didn't need to.
Outside, the little girl was gone.
The chalk was gone.
The sky was blue.
The sun was smiling.
And for the last quiet morning,
the world stayed ordinary.
But the quiet was over.
Because in the distance,
on the horizon,
something was walking toward them.
Slow.
Patient.
Certain.
And it was wearing Philip Habsburg's smile.