(POV: Ren / Ema)
The chamber still quivered from the last recital. Haru's absence hung like a ghost. Ren tightened his grip on his violin, crimson threads flickering erratically.
Ema placed her hand over his. "You can't play while you're breaking," she whispered. "But we can't stop either."
Ren met her gaze. "If this melody demands everything, then I'll give it. Every memory, every heartbeat. I'll finish what Airi began."
Their auras merged, crimson and silver forming a shimmering core. The melody started again—slowly, painfully, echoing Haru's final note as if refusing to forget her.
This time, they weren't playing to survive. They were playing to defy fate itself.