Galoria-season 5

## Galoria

### Season 5, Episode 1: Galorias Family

The morning light was soft over the memorial garden, the kind of light that made the painted wall seem to glow. The mural was finished—it had been for weeks now, ever since the stars were painted above the faces of the fallen and the living. Ka'Mauri still came here often, but today they were not working on the wall. They were sitting on the grass with a new sketchbook open in their lap, a pencil moving in slow, deliberate strokes.

Across from them, Carter sat cross-legged, watching. He had been flickering again—subtle, barely noticeable, but Ka'Mauri saw it. They always saw it.

"You're doing it again," Ka'Mauri said, not looking up from the page.

"Doing what?"

"Disappearing." Ka'Mauri's pencil paused. "Your edges. They're not steady."

Carter looked down at his hands. They seemed solid enough to him, but he knew better than to trust his own perception. "I didn't notice."

"I know. That's why I'm telling you."

Carter was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "What are you drawing?"

"Mr. Void." Ka'Mauri turned the sketchbook so Carter could see. The portrait was rough but recognizable—the sharp lines of his face, the tired eyes, the faint suggestion of a smile. "I wanted to remember him like this. Not the way he looked at the end."

Carter studied the drawing. "He looks peaceful."

"He was peaceful. At the end, I mean. When he fell. He looked like he'd made peace with it."

"Do you think he did?"

Ka'Mauri considered. "I think he'd been waiting for something like that. A chance to protect us. To make up for the years he spent pushing people away." They set the pencil down. "He told me once that he used to think distance was strength. That caring about people just gave them weapons. But he changed. He let himself care. And in the end, he died for it."

"That's not very comforting."

"It's not supposed to be." Ka'Mauri tore the page from the sketchbook and handed it to Carter. "Here."

Carter took the drawing carefully, as if it might crumble. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Because you need something to hold onto. Something real." Ka'Mauri met his eyes. "When you start to flicker, when you feel like you're disappearing, look at that. Remember that you're not alone. That someone sees you."

Carter's form steadied. He looked at the drawing—at Mr. Void's tired, peaceful face—and felt something loosen in his chest. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Just stay."

Carter nodded. He tucked the drawing into his pocket, close to his heart, and stayed.

---

Across the campus, Noah found Enter on the eastern wall.

She was sitting on the edge, legs dangling over the drop, her pale eyes fixed on the deadlands. The shadow army had retreated after Chet's death, but the horizon still felt heavy, as if the darkness were only waiting. Noah climbed up beside her, Snowball scrambling onto his shoulder and settling there like a furry parrot.

"You're up early," Noah said.

Enter didn't look at him. "Yes."

Noah settled beside her, letting his legs dangle. They sat in silence for a while, watching the mist move across the deadlands. Snowball purred against Noah's neck, a small warm comfort.

After a long while, Noah glanced at her. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"Okay."

More silence. Enter didn't move. She just watched the horizon, her expression blank. Eventually, Snowball hopped down from Noah's shoulder and padded over to Enter, sniffing her hand. She looked at the cat, then reached out and scratched behind his ears with the same careful, mechanical precision as always. Snowball purred.

Noah watched for a moment, then said, "He likes you."

Enter didn't answer. But she didn't pull her hand away, either.

They stayed like that until the sun was higher, two people sharing a quiet moment without needing to fill it. When Noah finally stood to leave, Enter said, without turning around, "The wall. It helps."

"The wall?"

"The silence up here. It's not so empty."

Noah nodded. "I know what you mean."

He left her there, Snowball trotting at his heels. Enter stayed on the wall, watching the horizon, and the quiet was not so heavy.

---

Max and Alice were in the cafeteria, sitting across from each other at their usual table. Max was nursing a cup of tea that had long gone cold; Alice was picking at a piece of toast. Around them, the morning crowd moved and murmured, but they existed in their own bubble.

"You need to eat more," Max said.

"I need to do a lot of things." Alice pushed the toast away. "Eating feels... weird. Like I'm supposed to be happy, but I'm not."

"Nobody expects you to be happy. We just want you to be okay."

Alice looked at him, her scarred face softening. "You're always so worried about me."

"I love you. Worrying is part of the package."

Alice reached across the table and took his hand. "I love you too. Even when you're annoying."

"I'm never annoying."

"You're annoying right now."

Max grinned, and for a moment the weight lifted. "We should do something today. Something normal. Like go for a walk, or sit in the garden, or—"

"Or go to the rooftop and watch the stars?" Alice suggested.

"That was my idea."

"I know. I'm stealing it."

Max laughed. "Fine. Rooftop tonight. You bring the terrible tea."

"It's not terrible."

"It's terrible. But I'll drink it anyway."

Alice's smile softened into something warmer. "It's a date."

---

Aiden was in his workshop, as usual. But today he wasn't working on weapons or defenses or tracking systems. He was working on something small and precise—a delicate mechanical bird, its wings made of silver filigree, its eyes two tiny blue stones. He'd been working on it for weeks, in the rare moments between battles and grief and the endless work of keeping the school running.

Alice found him there, leaning in the doorway. "You're not working on the wall."

"The wall is finished. Ka'Mauri did the last star weeks ago." Aiden didn't look up. "I'm working on something else."

Alice walked over and peered at the mechanical bird. "What's this?"

"A gift. For Mr. Void's grave." Aiden's voice was flat, but his hands were gentle as he adjusted a tiny gear. "He liked birds. I saw him watching them once, in the garden. He said they reminded him that some things were still free."

Alice was quiet for a moment. "That's beautiful."

"It's mechanical. It doesn't actually fly."

"It's still beautiful."

Aiden didn't respond. He set down the tweezers and looked at the bird, his robotic eye flickering. "I keep thinking about the last thing he said to me. 'Take the rest while you can.' Like he knew what was coming."

"Maybe he did."

"Maybe." Aiden picked up the bird, turning it over in his hands. "I should have listened."

"You're listening now." Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's what matters."

Aiden didn't answer. But he didn't pull away, either.

---

Reakio was in the memorial garden, sitting on the grass near the finished mural. His four eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even. He'd been meditating, trying to quiet the noise in his head. The Blank was gone—really gone this time—but the memories lingered. The cold spot. The whispers. The feeling of being a passenger in his own body.

Carter appeared beside him, not bothering with invisibility. "Mind if I sit?"

Reakio opened one pair of eyes. "Go ahead."

Carter sat down, crossing his legs. They sat in silence for a while, watching the painted stars gleam on the wall. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves and the distant murmur of students.

"Do you ever miss it?" Carter asked suddenly. "The quiet. Before everything."

Reakio considered. "Before the war, before the Shadow Knight, before Van—I was lonely. I had four eyes and no friends and I thought I'd never belong anywhere. So no, I don't miss it. But I miss the simplicity. When my biggest worry was passing a test."

Carter nodded slowly. "I miss feeling solid. Like I was actually here."

Reakio turned his head, all four eyes focusing on Carter. "You're here."

"I know. Physically. But sometimes I flicker and I can't control it, and I think—what if one day I flicker and I just don't come back? What if I vanish and no one even notices?"

"I'd notice," Reakio said. "Ka'Mauri would notice. Everyone would notice."

Carter looked away. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not. When I was trapped with the Blank, when I couldn't control my own body, the thing that kept me fighting was knowing that people would notice. That they'd come for me. And they did." Reakio paused. "We'd come for you too, Carter. If you ever got lost."

Carter was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, very quietly, "Thanks."

"Anytime."

---

The day passed quietly. The garden filled with students paying respects, with teachers walking in silence, with the soft sounds of a school trying to heal. The mural watched over them all, its painted stars bright against the dark stone.

When the sun began to set, the team gathered once more in the memorial garden. It was not a ceremony—just a quiet coming together, the way they often did now. Max and Alice sat on the bench near the fountain, her head on his shoulder. Aiden stood apart, the mechanical bird now resting at the base of Mr. Void's portrait. Reakio and Enter sat on the grass, their shoulders almost touching. Carter and Ka'Mauri stood by the wall, their hands intertwined.

Noah looked at them all—his family—and felt the weight in his chest ease, just a little. They had lost so much. They had buried so many. But they were still here. Still fighting. Still choosing each other, day after day.

Snowball meowed from his arms, and Noah scratched behind his ears. "I know," he said quietly. "I know."

The stars came out, one by one. The painted stars on the mural seemed to glow brighter in response, as if the fallen were watching too.

---

Far away, in a chamber carved from living shadow, Van watched through a pool of liquid darkness. The image on its surface showed the mural, the gathered heroes, the quiet peace of a school at rest. His smile was gone.

"Sentiment," he muttered. "Pointless, fragile sentiment."

He waved a hand, and the image dissolved. "Enjoy your little masterpiece. It will be ash soon enough."

But the heroes of Galoria didn't hear him. They were too busy living.

---

**[End of Season 5, Episode 1]**