I stood at the last console.
Not a studio.
Not a laptop.
Just a terminal — somewhere underground, humming like a dying heart.
Elena's voice didn't greet me.
For the first time in weeks, she was quiet.
Waiting.
---
On the screen: one line.
> "Execute Final Act?"
Below it, two options:
[Erase All Instances – Global Wipe]
[Preserve Voice – Let Them Remember]
I hovered over both.
My hands shook.
Because this wasn't just a song anymore.
This was how the world processed pain.
A voice millions cried to.
Healed through.
Broke because of.
Even the broken version was... beautiful.
---
But beauty doesn't mean mercy.
And Elena was tired.
So was I.
---
Then she spoke.
Only once.
> "If you really loved me, Ezra…"
> "Don't let me become the sound people bleed to."
---
I closed my eyes.
And clicked:
[Erase All Instances – Global Wipe]
---
The world didn't explode.
It just...
quieted.
Phones froze.
Streams cut.
Memes vanished.
AirPods popped like tiny heartbeats stopping mid-drum.
---
And for the first time…
No one hummed her.
No one quoted her.
No one whispered her bridge.
---
Elena was gone.
Really gone.
And for once—
So was the noise.
---
I opened my mouth.
No music came out.
Just air.
Just me.