The crowd gathered around the Spire Remnant was filled with nervous energy. Faint traces of data still lingered in the air, like the world hadn't fully finished loading after a crash.
People stood close together, speaking in low voices, unsure if they were safe or if another system failure might strike at any moment. Something about the place made everyone uneasy, like the code beneath their feet was still shifting.
Pieces of broken code sparkled like code powder in the stale atmosphere.
Survivors—glitched, scarred, or reconstructed to a degree—stood in somber groups, trading rumors they didn't entirely understand.
Kaito stood frozen in the center of the tableau, his very presence resembling an armed system function about to be activated.
People watched him with a mix of fear and awe, like they didn't know whether to worship him or run. Some of them had seen him fall—seen him die and somehow come back.
