Max's explanation faded into background noise as Ethan's clone stood motionless, his gaze locked onto Erina. The corridor seemed to narrow around them, the other four members of Team Ragnarok becoming distant silhouettes.
Erina tilted her head slightly, her silver hair catching the corridor's ambient light. "Do I know you?" she asked, her voice carrying a note of genuine curiosity. "You're staring."
Ethan's clone exhaled slowly, forcing his expression to relax. "No," he said, his voice steady despite the storm within. "You just remind me of someone I hold very dear to me."
Erina's eyes lingered on him for a moment longer, something flickering behind her calm facade--recognition without memory, the ghost of familiarity that she could not place. Then she looked away.
"Let's go," Max interjected, gesturing toward the spacecraft visible through the corridor windows. "We have a schedule to keep."
