The Mirror World collapsed around them like a fragile snow globe shattered in slow motion. Glass petals floated through the void, harmless now—no longer whispering, no longer showing what-ifs or never-wases.
Renji, Aoi, and Kuro stood at the center of it all, surrounded by silence.
And then…
A light.
Warm. Familiar.
The rooftop mirror shimmered and stretched.
A doorway home.
> "Guess it's now or never," Kuro muttered, dusting glass from his shoulder.
"Time to go back."
Aoi didn't move immediately. She glanced at the falling shards one last time.
> "So many versions of us… lost, twisted…" she whispered.
"But we made it out."
Renji stepped beside her, offering his hand.
> "We remember who we are. That's how we win."
---
Crossing the Threshold
As they stepped through the mirror, there was no fanfare. No dramatic surge. Just a strange lightness—a pulling sensation, like being untangled from something you didn't realize had wrapped around your soul.
They emerged onto the rooftop of Yukihama High.
Morning sun kissed the sky in gold and coral.
Birds chirped.
The air smelled like dew and chalk dust.
It felt real.
More real than anything in the last few months.
---
The World They Saved
Below them, Yukihama was waking up.
Students poured into the school gate.
No one looked haunted.
No one's reflection lagged behind.
Renji leaned against the rail, taking it all in.
> "Feels… normal."
Kuro grinned. "Let's not jinx it."
They turned as Aoi approached the rooftop mirror—the real one now, scarless and still.
She reached out, gently touching the frame.
> "Do you think it remembers?" she asked softly.
Renji shook his head. "It doesn't have to. We do."
---
The Ghost in the Glass
Just then, the mirror shimmered faintly.
Not violently. Not darkly.
Just a soft pulse—like a heartbeat.
A reflection flickered behind Aoi for half a second.
Not hers.
Not anyone's from this world.
A girl with silver eyes. Watching.
Smiling faintly.
Peacefully.
Then gone.
Kuro whispered, "Shiori…"
Aoi nodded. "She wasn't just the Spiral's queen. She was its soul. Maybe now… she's finally free too."
They stood in silence a moment longer.
And then Renji said what none of them had dared:
> "We're alive. We made it. We're still us."
---
The Promise of Normal
Later that day, as classes began and the rooftop cleared, the mirror was returned to the storage closet. Covered. Untouched.
Life resumed.
Renji returned to his part-time job at the bookstore.
Kuro finally joined the school band he'd been too afraid to audition for.
Aoi applied for art school—and even smiled when she talked about the future.
But at lunch, the three always met on the roof. Always together.
Because normal didn't mean forgetting.
It meant choosing to live—even after seeing what could've been.
---
End of Chapter 73
---
To Be Continue