Current Age: Sakamoto – 4.5 years
Season: Early Winter
Location: Village of Velduin
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They said the girl fell from the sky.
But Ireina didn't fall.
She arrived — like something that was meant to return.
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Morning After the Crash
She stood barefoot in the snow.
Eyes violet. Hair white. Her breath left frost in the air even though she radiated warmth.
She wasn't afraid of us. Not quite.
But she looked at everything like it had changed from the way she remembered it.
> "The trees are smaller," she said.
> "You've been sealed a long time," I replied.
> "I wasn't sealed. I was protected. Buried in a memory. A failing one."
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Party Dynamics Shift
Aelira didn't like her.
She didn't say it, of course.
But I saw it in the way she tightened her grip on her spellbook when Ireina spoke.
Ravian noticed too.
> "Jealous?" he asked.
> "Don't be stupid," Aelira muttered.
> "I'm not. I'm observant. Big difference."
> "She's too calm. Too smooth. Nobody wakes up from a stasis pod talking in riddles and smiling."
> "You did when you summoned a fire bunny and blamed it on your emotions."
> "That bunny had a temper."
> "Like you."
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Sakamoto's Core Starts Stirring
Later that night, I stared into the fire.
Niris leaned against my knee, silent.
But I felt something in my chest.
Not just mana.
A rhythm. A pulse.
Like something hidden in me was watching Ireina — waiting for her to remember something.
> "She's tied to your class," Niris finally whispered.
> "My Core Class?"
> "Yes."
> "What is it?"
> "Still forming. But her presence… speeds it up."
> "Why?"
> "Because she's the one who killed your last version."
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Marev Returns
Marev returned that same evening.
He didn't knock. Just stepped through the frost like he belonged there.
His seer robes dragged through the snow. He carried a scroll bound in obsidian thread.
> "The girl is the last guardian," he said. "Of the lost word."
> "What word?" Ravian asked.
> "The one that sealed the blade."
> "You mean Niris?" I said.
> "I mean you."
He gave me the scroll. It was warm.
> "Don't open it yet. When the second moon bleeds, you'll know."
> "What if I open it early?"
> "Then you'll forget who you are."
He left before we could ask more.
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Final Scene – Northern Vision
That night Ireina stood in the field, alone.
The sky turned violet.
The second moon flickered.
And then, in silence, a symbol burned across the stars.
An eye. A sword. A spiral.
She whispered:
> "He's waking up. The true cursed one."