Seina woke up before the alarm. It was a quiet morning like any other—except for the pain in her shoulders. She rolled over in bed until she found her phone, grabbed it with fingers still half-numb, and almost unconsciously opened the notes app and began typing.
Day 7 of Cycle 6: around midnight, I found a dead girl, between Yuan Street and the abandoned market.
Silver hair. A face way too serene for someone who had died. Still… she was beautiful.
I was hypnotized by her, until I noticed something moving near her. A bizarre creature. Skin dark, almost like soot. The face… if it even had one.
White eyes, unmoving. It didn't blink.
Estimated height: 2 meters. Slow movement, but way too quiet.
The creature saw me, but I was saved by the Reset that happened right after.
It's already Cycle 7 now, and something feels… different. The silver-haired girl appeared alive. She came back. Thalya. As if she hadn't died.
And the craziest part? I'd never seen her before. Not at school. Not on the streets. Nowhere. How did someone so… striking, so alive, go unnoticed by me all this time?
Seina dropped her phone and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember anything else. A moment later, she sat up and kept writing.
She said the cycle only has 6 days, even though there are 7… so she forgets the 7th day? If that's true…
"She doesn't know she died," Seina said out loud, to no one.
Does she forget the entire 7th day? I need to test it. But we're only on the 3rd day…
Seina finished typing, locked her phone, and sat still for a few seconds, staring into nothing.
The sun had barely risen, but she was already in uniform, ready to leave. I mean… as ready as someone can be when their heads in chaos and their heart's racing because of a girl she doesn't even really know.
She went down the stairs silently. The house was quiet, her parents still asleep. Better that way, less fighting, less wear. She grabbed a piece of yesterday's bread and left without saying a word.
On her way to school, her steps were nearly automatic, but her mind was far away. All of it focused on Thalya. Her face, the way the light touched her, her silver hair, her voice, the song… and of course, the memory of the body lying on the ground that night.
"She doesn't know she died", Seina kept repeating to herself.
At school, she walked in without looking at anyone and went up to the second floor, where some of the different classes took place. And there she was.
Thalya.
Leaning near the window, talking to two girls. Laughing at something one of them said.
Seina hid behind a pillar, pretending to check her phone.
Thalya flipped her hair back in a fluid motion, and Seina bit her lip without realizing.
"God, even that she does beautifully," she muttered, annoyed with herself.
She tried to casually get closer, pretending she was heading to the stairs. But out of the corner of her eye, she tracked every move, every expression. Thalya's eyes were different from that night. Alive. Happy. Like nothing had happened.
Seina felt a chill in her stomach. Not fear—just nerves. Curiosity. That stupid little voice whispering: Go on, talk to her.
Ask her.
Something like: "Hey, I saw you dead the other day?"
Yep. Perfect. Straight to the psych ward.
Then Thalya stepped away from her friends and walked toward the courtyard.
Without thinking, Seina followed.
Every step was careful. Disguised.
But she was so focused, she almost bumped into a student coming out of a classroom with a snack bag in his hand.
"Watch where you're going!" the guy grumbled.
Seina muttered a quick "Sorry" and swerved out of the way, but when she looked back… Thalya was gone.
She spun around, looking for that silver blur in the busy courtyard.
Nothing.
Her heart skipped.
"Shit… where is she?"
She glanced at the emergency stairs and saw a shadow calmly going up.
Alone again. Wrong place, wrong time… again?
Seina hesitated for a second before deciding to follow. She crept up the stairs, step by step, like she was entering forbidden territory. The upper floor was barely used—just locked rooms, a small storage space, and the exit to the rooftop, which was technically off-limits. Technically.
She reached the top and stopped. The silence there was almost oppressive. Only the distant hum of school life below.
The rooftop door handle still swayed slightly.
Seina took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open. A cold wind hit her face as she stepped out.
There she was.
The silver-haired girl.
Alone on the rooftop, leaning against the railing, staring at the gray morning sky. The breeze made her silver hair dance like a moving painting. She didn't even seem real—more like part of the wind, part of the world, drifting in another reality.
Seina felt her throat go dry.
She wanted to leave. But she stayed.
Quiet. Watching.
Thalya didn't seem to notice her. Or if she did, she didn't react. She just stayed there, like a living painting in cold tones, still, almost untouchable.
For a moment, Seina doubted everything. Her memory. What she saw that night. The body. The blood.
The creature's gaze.
She stepped forward, hesitating, but stopped when Thalya's eyes vaguely shifted toward the horizon—like she saw something that wasn't there. It wasn't for Seina. It wasn't for anyone.
It was like she was listening to something else. Something Seina couldn't hear.
Or maybe… remembering.
"Who are you?" Seina whispered to herself, not expecting an answer.
Then she turned and walked back down the stairs, without Thalya saying a word.