Akshay covered his face.
---
Alice stared at the ceiling.
---
Because she remembered.
---
Brennan had somehow managed to burn soup.
---
Soup.
---
Nobody knew how.
---
"Akari laughed for an hour."
Tchoco added.
---
That earned a few smiles.
---
Small ones.
Painful ones.
But smiles nonetheless.
---
"And Chocomint."
Tchoco continued.
"Spent three days researching how soup could catch fire."
---
That one finally broke Taai.
He laughed loudly.
---
For the first time since Oheyo—
The room didn't feel suffocating.
---
Not because the pain disappeared.
---
Because they remembered.
---
The good parts.
---
The stupid parts.
---
The parts worth keeping.
---
A few days later—
The situation in Yggdrasil stabilized slightly.
Not enough.
But enough.
---
Food production increased.
Refugees were organized.
Patrols expanded.
Trade routes adjusted.