Chapter 109: Dead, Undead
Aurelia couldn’t move.
The figure stood at the end of the hallway.
Still.
Silent.
Watching her.
Aurelia’s fingers trembled.
"...You’re not supposed to be here."
The figure tilted her head.
"Neither are you."
Aurelia swallowed.
"You disappeared."
"I was taken."
"By whom?"
The figure smiled.
"You already know."
Aurelia’s expression hardened.
"The Lock?"
"No."
A pause.
"Something older."
Aurelia took a cautious step backward.
"Why are you here?"
The figure glanced toward Dillan’s room.
"Because he remembered."
Aurelia immediately stepped between her and the door.
"Don’t go near him."
The figure smiled.
"You still protect him."
"I always will."
"Even after what he did?"
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed.
"You don’t understand."
"I understand perfectly."
The figure took one step forward.
"You remember the night beneath the tree."
Aurelia’s breathing stopped.
"You remember what Dillan chose."
Another step.
"And you remember what it cost."
Aurelia clenched her fists.
"Stop."
The figure’s smile disappeared.
"You should be asking yourself something else."
"What?"
"Why did Dillan remember you..."
She pointed toward the bedroom.
"...but not me?"
Aurelia froze.
Inside Dillan’s Room
Dillan stood completely still.
The voice was gone.
But its words remained.
The one who remembers.
He opened the System again.
[MEMORY TRACE.]
[AVAILABLE MEMORY FRAGMENTS: 7.]
[LOCKED FRAGMENTS: 31.]
Dillan stared.
"Thirty-one?"
[CORRECT.]
"Why are there so many?"
[THE HOST’S CHILDHOOD MEMORY WAS ARTIFICIALLY SEGMENTED.]
Dillan’s expression darkened.
"Artificially?"
[YES.]
"By whom?"
Silence.
Dillan sighed.
"Of course."
He selected another fragment.
Memory Fragment
Rain.
Heavy rain.
Young Dillan was running.
Sasha followed behind him.
"Dillan! Wait!"
Aurelia was crying.
"Where are we going?"
Dillan didn’t answer.
They reached the oak tree.
The fourth child was already there.
But she wasn’t alone.
Someone stood behind her.
A tall silhouette.
Young Dillan froze.
"Who are you?"
The silhouette didn’t answer.
The fourth child turned around.
Her face was covered in tears.
"Dillan..."
The silhouette placed a hand on her shoulder.
Then whispered:
"It’s time to choose."
Young Dillan stepped forward.
"No."
The silhouette looked at him.
"You cannot save everyone."
Young Dillan shook his head.
"I can."
"Then sacrifice something."
Sasha grabbed Dillan’s hand.
"Dillan, let’s go!"
Aurelia pulled his other arm.
"Please!"
But Dillan didn’t move.
He stared at the fourth child.
She was crying.
Then...
Young Dillan said something.
Something Dillan couldn’t hear.
The memory distorted.
The sound vanished.
Dillan desperately tried to recover it.
"What did I say?"
The System flashed.
[MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED.]
[AUDIO DATA: DESTROYED.]
"No!"
Dillan slammed his fist against the wall.
"Show me!"
[UNABLE.]
"Then reconstruct it!"
[UNABLE.]
"Why?!"
The System remained silent.
Then...
[BECAUSE THE HOST HIMSELF DESTROYED THE MEMORY.]
Dillan froze.
"...I did?"
[YES.]
His anger disappeared.
"What did I say?"
No response.
Dillan whispered:
"...What was I trying to forget?"
The Hallway
Aurelia continued staring at the impossible figure.
"You said he saved us."
The figure nodded.
"He did."
"Then why are you blaming him?"
"I’m not."
Her eyes became cold.
"I’m blaming the choice."
Aurelia’s expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
The figure stepped closer.
"The choice wasn’t supposed to exist."
Aurelia’s eyes widened.
"...What?"
"The First Choice wasn’t a choice."
Silence.
"It was a creation point."
Aurelia felt the blood drain from her face.
"What did Dillan create?"
The figure smiled.
"You’ve forgotten."
Aurelia whispered:
"No..."
"You forgot because he made you forget."
Aurelia’s breathing became shaky.
"He wouldn’t."
"He did."
The figure looked toward Dillan’s room.
"He sacrificed his own memories."
Aurelia’s eyes widened.
"Not ours."
She whispered:
"...His."
The figure nodded.
"Every memory he sacrificed became something else."
Aurelia stared at her.
"What?"
The figure’s eyes turned crimson.
"A life."
Dillan
Dillan suddenly felt something.
A presence.
He opened the bedroom door.
"Aurelia?"
The hallway was empty.
He stepped outside.
"Aurelia?"
Nothing.
He looked toward the end of the corridor.
A faint wet footprint marked the floor.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
Dillan followed them.
They stopped beside the front door.
He looked down.
A small object lay on the floor.
A child’s bracelet.
Old.
Damaged.
And carved into its surface were four names.
Dillan.
Sasha.
Aurelia.
And...
The fourth name had been scratched away.
Dillan picked it up.
The System appeared immediately.
[UNKNOWN OBJECT DETECTED.]
[MEMORY RESONANCE: EXTREME.]
[ORIGIN: CHILDHOOD EVENT.]
[OWNER: UNKNOWN.]
Dillan stared at the damaged name.
"...Who were you?"
Behind him...
A voice whispered:
"You really don’t remember me."
Dillan spun around.
Nobody.
Then the front door slowly opened by itself.
Cold air entered the house.
And somewhere outside...
a girl’s laughter echoed through the darkness.
Dillan stepped toward the doorway.
The System flashed.
[WARNING.]
[HOST.]
[DO NOT FOLLOW.]
Dillan stopped.
For once...
he listened.
But then another notification appeared.
[CORRECTION.]
[FOLLOWING HER MAY BE THE ONLY WAY TO RESTORE THE NEXT MEMORY.]
Dillan stared at the contradictory messages.
"...Which one am I supposed to believe?"
The System didn’t answer.
From somewhere beyond the door...
the girl whispered:
"Choose."
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
The same word.
The same word from his childhood.
Choose.
His hand tightened around the bracelet.
"...Not this time."
He stepped outside.
Cold air brushed against Dillan’s face.
He stood outside the house.
The street was empty.
No cars.
No pedestrians.
Not even the distant sound of traffic.
Dillan looked behind him.
The house was still there.
The lights were on.
Everything appeared normal.
Yet...
the moment he looked forward again, a narrow trail of wet footprints appeared across the pavement.
One.
Two.
Three.
Leading into the darkness.
Dillan looked at the bracelet in his hand.
The damaged fourth name seemed to almost glow beneath the streetlight.
"...You want me to follow."
Nothing answered.
Dillan started walking.
The Empty Street
He followed the footprints for several minutes.
The farther he went, the stranger the city became.
Buildings disappeared.
Streetlights became fewer.
Eventually, Dillan realized something.
He had never seen this road before.
Yet his feet knew exactly where to go.
He stopped.
"...I’ve been here."
The System appeared.
[MEMORY TRACE DETECTED.]
[LOCATION RECOGNIZED.]
[CHILDHOOD MEMORY: 4.8% MATCH.]
Dillan stared.
"This place..."
He looked ahead.
A small playground stood beneath an old streetlight.
The swings moved gently despite the absence of wind.
Dillan walked toward them.
One swing was occupied.
A little girl sat there.
Her back faced him.
Dillan stopped.
"...You."
The girl slowly stopped swinging.
"You came."
Dillan tightened his grip around the bracelet.
"Who are you?"
She turned her head slightly.
"You really don’t remember."
"I’ve heard that before."
"You used to remember everything."
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
"Then tell me."
The girl jumped from the swing.
She landed softly.
"That’s not how memories work."
"Then how do they work?"
"You don’t get them."
She walked toward him.
"You earn them."
Dillan stared at her.
"You sound like the System."
The girl smiled.
"Maybe the System learned from me."
Dillan’s expression changed.
"...What?"
She walked past him.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"To the place where you made your first mistake."
The Playground
Dillan followed.
The girl stopped beside a rusted metal slide.
She placed her hand against it.
The world flickered.
Suddenly...
the playground was filled with children.
Dillan watched his younger self running around.
Sasha was chasing him.
Aurelia was laughing.
And another girl was sitting alone beneath the slide.
Dillan stared.
"That’s..."
The girl beside him whispered:
"Yes."
Dillan looked at the child.
"I know her."
"You should."
"What’s her name?"
The girl didn’t answer.
Dillan watched the memory.
Young Dillan walked toward the lonely girl.
"Why are you always alone?"
The girl shrugged.
"Because nobody likes me."
"I like you."
She looked at him.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Young Dillan smiled.
"You’re my friend."
The girl smiled.
And for one brief moment...
everything looked peaceful.
Then Sasha appeared.
"Dillan!"
Young Dillan turned.
Sasha ran toward him.
"We have to go!"
"Where?"
"The tree."
The fourth girl immediately stood.
"Can I come?"
Sasha stopped.
Her expression changed.
"No."
The girl looked hurt.
"But..."
"Dillan promised."
Young Dillan looked between them.
Then...
he reached for the fourth girl’s hand.
"She comes with us."
Sasha’s eyes narrowed.
The memory distorted.
Dillan blinked.
"...What happened?"
The girl beside him answered:
"That was the first time."
"The first time what?"
"The first time Sasha was afraid of losing you."
Dillan looked at her.
"You know about Sasha."
"Everyone knows about Sasha."
"Who are you?"
The girl smiled.
"You keep asking the wrong question."
Dillan’s patience was thinning.
"Then what’s the right one?"
She pointed toward his younger self.
"Why did you choose her?"
The Memory Changes
The playground vanished.
Dillan was beneath the oak tree again.
But this time...
he could hear everything.
Rain poured from the black sky.
Young Dillan stood in front of the fourth child.
Sasha and Aurelia were behind him.
The shadow beneath the tree grew larger.
A voice emerged from it.
"One must remain."
Young Dillan shook his head.
"No."
"One must remain."
"No!"
The ground shook.
Aurelia cried.
Sasha grabbed Dillan’s arm.
"Dillan, please!"
The fourth child stepped forward.
"I’ll stay."
Young Dillan turned.
"What?"
She smiled through her tears.
"If someone has to stay..."
She looked at him.
"...let it be me."
Dillan’s eyes widened.
The memory suddenly became crystal clear.
Young Dillan screamed:
"NO!"
The shadow surged toward the girl.
And Dillan stepped between them.
Aurelia shouted:
"DILLAN!"
Sasha screamed his name.
Then...
Dillan raised both hands.
Something erupted from his body.
Black.
Crimson.
White.
Three different energies collided.
The entire forest shook.
The System appeared inside the memory.
[UNAUTHORIZED CREATION DETECTED.]
[HOST ATTEMPTING TO ALTER FATE.]
[FAILURE.]
[ALTERNATIVE REQUIRED.]
Young Dillan screamed:
"I don’t want anyone to leave!"
The System responded.
[THEN CREATE SOMETHING THAT CANNOT LEAVE.]
Dillan’s eyes widened.
The girl beside him whispered:
"Now you remember."
The black energy began taking shape.
Not a monster.
Not a weapon.
Not a human.
Something between all three.
Young Dillan stared at it.
The entity looked back.
Then he said:
"Stay with us."
The entity bowed.
And the world went white.
Present
Dillan collapsed to one knee.
His breathing was ragged.
He stared at the pavement.
"...I created it."
The girl nodded.
"Yes."
"Because I refused to sacrifice her."
"Yes."
"Then what happened to her?"
The girl didn’t answer.
Dillan slowly looked up.
"...Where is she?"
The girl smiled sadly.
"You still haven’t understood."
"What?"
"You didn’t create the thing to replace her."
She stepped closer.
"You created it..."
Her eyes turned crimson.
"...to save her."
Dillan froze.
The System appeared.
[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 24.6%.]
[FIRST CHOICE: ADDITIONAL DATA RECOVERED.]
[CREATION PURPOSE: PROTECTION.]
[TARGET: UNKNOWN.]
Dillan stared at the final line.
"...Target unknown?"
The girl whispered:
"Because you never finished."
"What?"
"You created the vessel."
She pointed toward Dillan’s chest.
"But you never decided..."
Her crimson eyes glowed.
"...who it was supposed to protect."
Dillan’s heartbeat stopped.
The girl leaned closer.
Then whispered:
"That’s the choice you erased."
The playground lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
And from somewhere behind Dillan...
a familiar female voice whispered:
"Dillan..."
He turned.
His eyes widened.
Because standing beneath the dead streetlight...
was Sasha.
But she wasn’t looking at him.
She was staring directly at the mysterious girl.
And Sasha’s expression was one Dillan had never seen before.
Pure fear.