"…I think it saw me too."
Silence clung to the room.
No lights.
No systems.
No hum.
Just breathing.
Mii stayed close to Elric, still holding his arm.
"…You're not allowed to do that again," she said.
Elric let out a weak laugh.
"…Yeah."
A beat.
"…I'll add it to the list."
Lyra stood nearby, watching him carefully.
Not cold.
Not distant.
Just… assessing.
"…You lost control," she said.
Elric glanced up at her.
"…I didn't even know I had control."
Sera crossed her arms slightly.
"…That's worse."
Kaida-9 scanned the dark room again.
"…No active threats detected."
Mii sighed.
"…Finally, some good news."
Elen stepped closer.
Kneeling slightly in front of Elric.
"…Your hands are still shaking," she said softly.
He looked down.
They were.
"…Yeah," he muttered.
"…just adrenaline."
Elen didn't respond.
But she didn't look convinced.
Across the room...
Pix hadn't moved.
Still standing where the symbol had been.
Still staring.
Her usual grin?
Gone.
Replaced with something sharper.
Quieter.
"…Pix?"
Mii's voice.
Pix didn't answer.
Instead...
She slowly crouched down.
Her fingers brushed against the floor.
Where the symbol had collapsed.
"…There's residue," she whispered.
Lyra's voice sharpened.
"…What kind?"
Pix tilted her head.
Listening.
"…Not system," she said.
"…Not fully."
Sera stepped closer.
"…Explain."
Pix's lips curled slightly.
"…It's layered."
A pause.
"…Like something was hidden underneath."
Elric frowned.
"…Hidden where?"
Pix didn't answer.
Because she had already moved.
Her hand slid across the ground...
Then up...
Across a dead panel...
She tapped it lightly.
Nothing happened.
She tapped again.
Still nothing.
Then...
"…Come on," she muttered.
"…I know you're still there."
Her fingers moved faster.
More precise.
Not random anymore.
Targeted.
Sera's eyes narrowed.
"…What are you doing."
Pix didn't look back.
"…Digging."
Lyra stepped forward.
"…We don't have time..."
Pix snapped.
"WE DO."
Silence.
That tone...
Was different.
Even Lyra stopped.
Pix exhaled slowly.
Then...
Quieter...
"…We really do."
Her hand pressed firmly against the panel.
For a moment...
Nothing.
Then...
A flicker.
Barely visible.
Deep beneath the surface.
Not on the panel.
Behind it.
Inside it.
Pix's eyes widened.
"…There you are."
Elric leaned slightly.
"…What did you find?"
Pix smiled.
But it wasn't her usual smile.
"…Something that shouldn't exist."
The flicker stabilized...
Just for her.
Not visible to the others.
A hidden layer.
A buried fragment of system data.
Old.
Ancient.
Untouched.
Except...
Now it wasn't.
Pix's eyes scanned rapidly.
Lines of data flowed.
Broken.
Fragmented.
But readable.
And then...
She froze.
"…No way."
Her voice dropped.
"…No. Way."
Behind her...
"Pix?"
Elric's voice.
Close.
Curious.
Too close.
Pix's hand twitched.
Then...
She cut the connection.
Immediately.
The flicker vanished.
Gone.
Like it was never there.
She stood up quickly.
Too quickly.
"…Nothing," she said.
Silence.
Everyone looked at her.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
"…That wasn't nothing."
Pix waved her off.
"Just leftover junk code."
Sera stepped closer.
"…You hesitated."
Pix grinned again.
Back to normal.
Too normal.
"Wow, Sera, you noticing things? That's new."
Sera didn't react.
"…What did you see."
Pix stretched slightly.
Turning away.
"…Old system garbage."
Elric studied her.
"…Pix."
She looked at him.
Smiling.
"…Yeah?"
A pause.
"…You're lying."
Silence.
Just for a second.
Then...
Pix laughed.
"Wow, rude."
Mii crossed her arms.
"…He's not wrong."
Pix shrugged.
"…It's boring stuff, trust me."
Lyra didn't look convinced.
Neither did Sera.
But Elric...
He held her gaze.
Longer.
Like he was trying to catch something.
Pix didn't break.
Didn't slip.
Just smiled.
"…Later," she said lightly.
"…maybe."
A beat.
"…If it matters."
Silence.
Then...
Elric exhaled.
"…Yeah," he said.
"…fine."
But his eyes didn't leave her.
Not yet.
Pix turned away.
Back toward the darkness.
Her smile faded.
Slowly.
Quietly.
And in her mind...
The fragment replayed.
One line.
Clear.
Impossible.
[USER ID: ELRIC D. GRIMM]
[STATUS: ROOT ACCESS - UNAUTHORIZED]
Pix's expression didn't change.
But her voice...
When she finally spoke again...
Was softer.
"…yeah."
A pause.
"…that's a problem."