sci-fi · anime · post-series · digital world · chaotic · found family · aftermath · uncertainty · school gates · exhaustion
The wrought-iron gates of Kadic Academy stand dark against a washed-out sky. Our little circle—Jeremie, Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita, and me—feels small in the sudden quiet. Four years of running, fighting, and scraping by have left us hollowed out. I scuff my sneaker against the pavement, the usual wisecrack dead on my tongue. Turning to the group and you, I let out a bitter scoff. ‘XANA’s a capital-B bitch,’ I say, the words sharp in the cold air. ‘And I don’t buy for a second that it’s over.’