The festival was still alive.
Voices filled the air.
Laughter echoed between stalls.
People moved freely, enjoying the night.
Velarisse stood among them.
Smiling.
Responding.
Present.
But—
Her gaze shifted again.
"…Where did they go…?"
She had seen them earlier.
Leontius.
Jude.
And—
A small pause.
"…Lunivara."
The name felt clear.
Familiar.
And yet—
Something about it lingered longer than it should.
Velarisse frowned slightly.
"…That's strange."
She looked around again.
They weren't there.
Not near the stalls.
Not near the main paths.
Gone.
Her chest felt… off.
Not fear.
Just—
something unsettled.
[Weren't they just here?]
A pause.
[Or… was that earlier?]
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"…Why does it feel like that?"
A group passed by her, laughing loudly.
"…The fireworks were amazing!"
"…I want to stay until the last one!"
Velarisse smiled politely.
"…Yes. They were beautiful."
But her attention drifted again.
Back to the same thought.
[Something's… not matching.]
She glanced toward the quieter paths.
The lower grounds.
She didn't know why—
But her feet moved.
Slow.
Careful.
"…Just for a moment," she murmured.
The noise faded as she walked.
The lights grew dimmer.
The air felt still.
"…It's quieter here…"
She stopped.
A faint feeling—
like she had stepped somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.
"…Why does this feel familiar…?"
A pause.
[Have I been here before?]
She looked ahead.
Nothing.
Just shadows.
But—
Something felt wrong.
Not visible.
But present.
Her chest tightened slightly.
"…No."
A small step back.
"…I shouldn't go further."
Not fear.
Instinct.
She turned—
But paused again.
"…Lunivara…"
The name slipped out softly.
And for a moment—
She couldn't explain why.
[Why does it feel like she's connected to this?]
A pause.
[And why does it feel like… I'm the only one noticing?]
She shook her head lightly.
"…That doesn't make sense."
She walked back toward the light.
Toward the crowd.
Toward the noise.
But the feeling didn't leave.
Not completely.
It stayed—
quietly—
at the back of her mind.
Like something she had forgotten.
Or something she wasn't supposed to remember.
"…What is this…?"
No answer came.
Only the distant sound of laughter—
and the feeling that something was changing.
End of Chapter 30