The distance between them didn't close.
Even though they stood only a few steps apart, something invisible had already shifted. Luna could feel it—like a thin line had been drawn between them. Before, it was confusion. Now, it was doubt.
And doubt was far more dangerous.
Ethan didn't move immediately after her words. His gaze stayed on her, steady but sharper than before, as if he was trying to see past what she said and understand what she was feeling underneath it.
"You don't know if you can trust me," he said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
Luna's fingers tightened around her arms, holding herself together as the weight of that statement settled in. "I don't know what to trust anymore," she replied. Her voice wasn't defensive. It was tired. Honest.
That made it worse.
Because if she had been angry, it would've been easier to deal with. But this—this uncertainty—was something he couldn't fight directly.
"The voice isn't you," Ethan said again, more firmly this time. "It's trying to manipulate you."
Luna shook her head slowly. "You don't know that for sure."
"And neither do you."
Silence followed, but it wasn't empty. It was heavy with everything they weren't saying.
Luna looked away first. The streetlights cast faint shadows across the ground, and for a brief moment, she focused on something simple—something real. But even that didn't help.
Because the voice hadn't left.
It was quiet now.
Watching.
Waiting.
"…What if it's not manipulation?" she said after a moment.
Ethan's gaze didn't shift. "Then what is it?"
Luna hesitated. Saying it out loud made it more real, more dangerous. But she couldn't keep it inside anymore.
"What if it's me… trying to tell myself something I forgot?"
That possibility hung in the air.
Ethan didn't dismiss it immediately this time. And that alone said a lot.
Luna noticed.
"You're thinking about it too," she said.
"I'm considering every possibility," he replied.
"That includes me being the problem."
"That includes you being in danger," he corrected.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. "From myself."
Ethan didn't answer.
Because right now—he couldn't rule that out.
The silence stretched again, longer this time, until Luna finally took a slow step back.
"I need space," she said quietly.
Ethan's expression tightened slightly. "Now?"
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in her voice this time.
And that was what made it harder.
"Alone?" he asked.
Luna held his gaze. "…Yes."
For a moment, it looked like he would argue. Like he would step in, refuse, take control of the situation the way he usually did.
But he didn't.
Because forcing her now would only push her further away.
"…Fine," he said finally.
That one word carried more weight than anything else.
Luna didn't respond. She simply nodded once and turned away, walking down the quiet street without looking back.
Ethan stayed where he was.
Watching.
Waiting.
But not following.
For the first time since everything began—
He let her go.
Luna didn't know how long she walked.
Minutes. Maybe longer.
The streets grew quieter, emptier, until even the distant sounds of the city faded into nothing. It was just her now. Her thoughts. Her breathing.
And the voice.
It didn't come immediately.
But she knew it would.
She stopped under a dim streetlight, closing her eyes as she tried to steady herself. "If you're real…" she whispered softly, "…then say something."
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
You shouldn't have left him.
Her eyes snapped open.
Her heart started racing instantly.
"…Why?" she whispered.
The answer came slower this time.
Because he's the only one who knows the truth.
Luna's breath caught. "Then why tell me not to trust him?"
Silence.
Then—
Because he's also the one hiding it.
That contradiction hit hard.
Her mind tried to process it, but it didn't make sense. It couldn't. One statement canceled the other. One truth destroyed the other.
"…You're lying," Luna said, her voice shaking slightly.
No response.
But the silence itself felt like a reaction.
Her chest tightened as she looked around, as if expecting someone—or something—to appear. But there was nothing. Just the empty street.
"This isn't real," she whispered to herself. "This can't be real."
But deep down—
She knew it was.
Because it felt real.
Too real.
Her hands trembled slightly as she pressed them against her temples. "What do you want from me?"
This time—
The answer came immediately.
To remember.
Her breath hitched.
"…Everything?"
A pause.
Then—
Even the part you're afraid of.
Luna's eyes widened slowly.
Because that meant—
There was something worse than what she already knew.
Something she hadn't faced yet.
And something that voice wanted her to see.
"No…" she whispered, shaking her head slightly.
"I'm not ready."
Silence.
Then—
You don't get to choose that.
That line sent a chill down her spine.
Before she could react—
A sharp pain hit her head.
Stronger than before.
Her vision blurred instantly, her knees weakening as another memory forced its way through—
Not fragments this time.
Clear.
Too clear.
Darkness.
Rain.
Her own voice—
Cold.
Unfamiliar.
"If he finds it… everything ends."
Luna gasped, stumbling forward as the memory snapped.
Her breathing became uneven, her heart racing uncontrollably.
"…No…"
That wasn't fear.
That was realization.
Because that voice—
Was hers.
But not the version of her she knew.
Luna stood frozen, her mind spinning, her thoughts collapsing into something she couldn't control anymore.
Because now—
The line between her and that voice—
Was starting to disappear.