===== Chapter 7 — Correction ===== The music slows. Not stopping. Not failing. ---- Adjusting. ---- Three empty chairs. Four people standing. ---- The math is wrong. ---- Badger sees it first. ---- “…nah,” he mutters. ---- He steps sideways. Deliberate. Breaking alignment. ---- The room reacts immediately. ---- The nearest table shifts. Not sliding— reassigning position. ---- Still three empty chairs. ---- Badger exhales. ---- “Yeah, okay, that’s cheating.” ---- ---- Mai is already recalculating. ---- “It’s not counting bodies,” she says. ---- “It’s counting roles.” ---- ---- Ace doesn’t look away from Skullker. ---- “Define roles.” ---- ---- Mai gestures slightly toward the stage. ---- “Performer. Observer. Anchor.” ---- A beat. ---- “…and something missing.” ---- ---- Shammy’s eyes narrow. ---- “The one that leaves.” ---- ---- The air tightens hard. ---- The room agrees. ---- ---- One of the empty chairs pulls back. ---- Slow. ---- Inviting. ---- ---- Badger’s voice drops. ---- “Nope.” ---- ---- The chair stops moving. ---- Then— ---- another one shifts. ---- ---- Closer to Ace. ---- ---- Ace doesn’t move. ---- Her blade hums low— steady. ---- ---- Skullker watches her. ---- Perfect stillness. ---- ---- “You are late,” he says again. ---- ---- Ace’s voice is flat. ---- “We’re not part of your show.” ---- ---- The music distorts. ---- Sharp. ---- Wrong. ---- ---- Mai reacts instantly. ---- “Don’t reject it outright,” she snaps. ---- ---- Ace doesn’t look at her. ---- “It’s a trap.” ---- ---- “Yes,” Mai says. ---- A beat. ---- “But it’s a structured one.” ---- ---- The room stabilizes slightly. ---- The music returns to baseline. ---- ---- Shammy exhales. ---- “That helped.” ---- ---- Badger glances between them. ---- “So we… what? Play along?” ---- ---- Mai shakes her head. ---- “No.” ---- A pause. ---- “We align correctly.” ---- ---- Grouse shifts position slightly. ---- Minimal. ---- Controlled. ---- He keeps his distance from the chairs. ---- ---- Jello lowers his device completely. ---- “Signal’s gone,” he says. ---- A beat. ---- “Or it doesn’t need one anymore.” ---- ---- The lights dim. ---- Not dark— focused. ---- ---- The stage becomes the center again. ---- ---- Freddy moves. ---- Slow. ---- Deliberate. ---- He steps forward— toward the empty chairs. ---- ---- Ace’s grip tightens. ---- “Targeting confirmed.” ---- ---- “No,” Mai says. ---- A beat. ---- “He’s assigning.” ---- ---- Freddy reaches the first chair. ---- Pulls it out. ---- Waits. ---- ---- The pressure spikes. ---- Harder than before. ---- ---- Shammy braces. ---- The air around her compresses— visible distortion now. ---- ---- “It’s forcing resolution,” she says. ---- ---- Badger’s voice cuts in. ---- “Yeah, well, it can force someone else.” ---- ---- He turns— half step— ---- and freezes. ---- ---- One of the children is looking at him. ---- ---- Not moving. ---- Not blinking. ---- ---- Just— watching. ---- ---- Badger’s grin fades. ---- “…okay, I don’t like that.” ---- ---- The child stands. ---- Slow. ---- Silent. ---- ---- The chair it sat in— ---- is now empty. ---- ---- The count doesn’t change. ---- ---- Mai’s voice drops. ---- “It’s redistributing.” ---- ---- Ace finally looks away from Skullker— just for a fraction— ---- toward the stage. ---- ---- “Then we break the pattern.” ---- ---- Shammy shakes her head sharply. ---- “No.” ---- ---- The air snaps. ---- Hard. ---- ---- The child is closer now. ---- Too close. ---- ---- Not moving. ---- ---- Just— closer. ---- ---- Mai steps forward. ---- Between Ace and the stage. ---- ---- “We don’t break it,” she says. ---- ---- A beat. ---- ---- “We finish it.” ---- ---- Silence. ---- ---- The music shifts again. ---- This time— softer. ---- ---- Almost— expectant. ---- ---- Freddy remains by the chair. ---- Waiting. ---- ---- Skullker turns his head. ---- Looks at Mai. ---- ---- “Correct,” he says. ---- ---- The room stills. ---- ---- Not stable. ---- ---- Focused. ---- ---- Three chairs. ---- Three roles. ---- One missing piece. ---- ---- Mai closes her eyes. ---- Just for a second. ---- ---- Then opens them. ---- ---- “This never ended,” she says. ---- ---- The lights dim further. ---- ---- The children freeze again. ---- Mid-motion. ---- ---- The stage sharpens— like the rest of the world is being pushed out of relevance. ---- ---- Shammy’s voice is low. ---- “Choose carefully.” ---- ---- Mai nods once. ---- ---- “I will.” ---- ---- She steps forward. ---- Toward the stage. ---- ---- And the moment she crosses the invisible line— ---- the entire room— ---- resets. ---- ---- Hard. ---- ---- Sound drops. ---- Color drains. ---- ---- Everything— ---- goes still. ---- ---- Except for one thing. ---- ---- A single spotlight. ---- ---- Centered— ---- on her.