The city that lay beyond the Maze felt almost like a dream. A place so untouched by the horrors they had endured that it seemed unreal. The sun bathed the streets in a soft, warm light, a sharp contrast to the dark corridors and twisted horrors they had just escaped. But despite the peaceful surroundings, Takumi couldn't shake the unease that gnawed at him. There was something in the air, a lingering weight that followed him wherever he went.
He glanced at Haruka and Ryo, both of them silent as they walked beside him. The silence had been growing thicker between them, a heavy blanket over their every conversation. The pain of what they had faced—the fear, the betrayal, the constant battle against monsters and the Maze itself—still clung to them. The worst part was, they had learned to survive, but in the process, they had lost something, someone.