Regret

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Eliza’s Secret

## Static Bloom The chipped Formica countertop felt cold under Leo Maxwell’s forearms. Rain, not the usual Pacific drizzle, but a violet-streaked downpour, hammered against the diner’s window. It smelled like ozone and regret, a sharp tang that clung to…

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The Hummn Weaver

## The Hummn Weaver The dust tasted like rust and regret. Elara spat, the gritty particles clinging to her cracked lips. Above, a canopy of Lumiflor pulsed violet light, their petals unfurling with an almost obscene haste. Overnight blooms, they…

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Skyborn

## Skyborn The wind tasted like rain and rust, a familiar tang that settled on Elara’s tongue. She tightened the leather straps of her harness, watching the kumo vines writhe beneath her boots. These weren’t just plants; they were the…

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The Scent Collector

## The Scent Collector The chipped Formica countertop smelled of disinfectant and regret. Dr. Aris Thorne traced the rim of a lukewarm coffee cup, eyes fixed on the data scrolling across three monitors. Numbers bled into waveforms, chaotic yet meticulously…

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Fragile Echoes

The air tasted like rain and cinnamon. It clung to my skin, a thick, viscous sweetness that made it hard to breathe, yet I didn’t want to. Not really. Because breathing was difficult anyway. Mostly, I just drifted. Drifted through…

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Echoes of Aethelburg

The salt spray tasted like regret on Alure’s lips. Years adrift hadn’t strengthened bone, only honed edges. They traced the glyphs carved into the driftwood, fingers thin as spider silk. The wood warmed under their touch, not from sun, but…

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Broken Visor

The chrome of Neo-Kyoto slicked with perpetual drizzle. Rain wasn’t water anymore—nano-bots, designed to cleanse the air, but leaving a greasy film on everything. I navigated the market, dodging projections shimmering from every storefront. Old Christmases, graduations, first kisses—memories for…

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