Chapter Twenty-Nine: Three Again
The bridge groaned under the weight of fate.
Its arches stretched endlessly into nothing. Beneath them: void. Above them: glitching stars. And in the middle, three players—walking toward each other, for the first time since Death Land tore them apart.
Sora's steps were calm.
Matthew's were limping, but steady.
Rin came last—eyes low, unsure if she'd be welcomed or judged.
No one spoke at first.
Just the wind.
Then Matthew reached her.
"Still breathing," he said, not unkindly.
"Barely," she murmured.
Sora didn't smile. She didn't frown either.
She just looked between the two of them and nodded once.
"We're not whole," she said. "But we're here."
Silence.
Until Rin broke it. "You don't have to forgive me."
Matthew shrugged. "I already did. Doesn't mean I trust you."
Sora's eyes flicked sideways. "Good. Because trust isn't automatic anymore."
It could've ended there.
But Rin took a step forward.
And held out her hand.
Neither of them moved.
For a full five seconds.
Then Matthew clasped it—roughly, like it hurt. Sora followed, her fingers tightening briefly.
They were three again.
And Death Land noticed.
From beneath the bridge, the wind stilled.
Then reversed.
The shadows twisted along the arches.
And somewhere above them, between cracks in the false stars, a fourth presence blinked into being.
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
UNSEEN PARTICIPANT: OBSERVING
SYNCHRONICITY REACHED. THREAT LEVEL RISING.
Sora flinched.
"I felt that," she whispered.
Rin looked up. "What?"
"We're not alone."
Matthew turned. "Another player?"
"No," Sora said, voice distant. "Something older. Not the King."
Behind them, a chain from the bridge groaned and snapped loose—no cause, no reason. Just… decay.
The void pulsed beneath.
Something in the dark smiled.
The trio had reunited.
But now the rules were changing.
Again.
And this time, the system wasn't the only one that was in control.