Chapter 107: Always Mine
The words remained suspended in Dillan’s vision.
[PRIMARY RESONANCE SIGNATURE: DILLAN RUREN.]
[SECONDARY VESSEL: SASHA.]
[FIRST VESSEL: UNKNOWN.]
Dillan stared at the System.
"...Primary?"
The word echoed through his mind.
Sasha slowly looked toward him.
"Dillan..."
Aurelia’s expression had gone completely pale.
"...I was afraid of this."
Dillan turned toward her.
"You knew?"
"Not exactly."
She looked at the burning oak tree.
"But I remembered something."
"What?"
Aurelia swallowed.
"When the Malformation first appeared..."
She pointed toward Dillan.
"...it appeared around you."
Silence.
Dillan’s face tightened.
"Then why was she called the first vessel?"
Aurelia shook her head.
"Because we didn’t understand what a vessel was."
The crimson flames around the tree suddenly surged.
Aurelia continued.
"The Malformation wasn’t born inside the fourth child."
She looked toward the little girl.
"It entered her because she could contain it."
Then...
She looked at Sasha.
"It reached Sasha because her emotions gave it something to imitate."
Finally...
Her eyes settled on Dillan.
"But you..."
Aurelia’s voice became barely audible.
"...were the source it was trying to return to."
The little girl smiled.
"Finally."
Dillan looked toward her.
"What do you mean?"
She raised one finger.
"You’re remembering."
A second finger.
"You’re understanding."
A third.
"And soon..."
Her crimson eyes glowed.
"...you’ll wake up."
The world immediately distorted.
[WARNING!]
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION DETECTED.]
[HOST IS APPROACHING HYPER STATE.]
WAKE UP!! DILLAN!
Dillan grabbed his head.
"Not again..."
Sasha rushed toward him.
"Dillan!"
He staggered.
The burning oak tree suddenly disappeared.
The grass vanished.
The sky collapsed.
Everything became white.
Guardian Network Headquarters
Dillan’s physical body jerked violently.
"DILLAN!"
Dana grabbed his shoulders.
"Wake up!"
Sasha was already beside him.
Her hands were shaking.
"Please..."
Aurelia stood frozen.
She could feel the Resonance.
"It’s getting stronger."
Lyra’s expression became frighteningly serious.
"...Everyone move away."
Dana looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because this time..."
Lyra stared at Dillan.
"...the dream isn’t trying to kill him."
Sasha frowned.
"Then what is it doing?"
Lyra answered quietly.
"...It’s trying to bring something through."
Dillan opened his eyes.
He was standing in a bedroom.
His bedroom.
Everything looked normal.
His bed.
His desk.
His sword.
His notebook.
Even the cracked pocket watch.
He slowly approached the desk.
The notebook opened by itself.
One sentence appeared.
You finally found the source.
Dillan stared.
"...Where?"
Another sentence.
Inside yourself.
His breathing stopped.
"No."
The ink continued moving.
Not your heart.
Not your soul.
Your memory.
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
"What memory?"
The page turned.
A childhood photograph appeared.
Four children.
But this time...
The fourth child’s face wasn’t hidden.
Dillan stared.
He knew her.
Not from the dreams.
Not from the old memories.
From somewhere deeper.
Something clicked.
"...I remember."
The girl smiled.
"You always do."
Dillan whispered her name.
Not loudly.
But clearly.
The dream shook.
The System screamed.
[IDENTITY STABILIZATION FAILED.]
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION ENTERING HYPER STATE.]
WAKE UP!! DILLAN!
Dillan looked around.
"...Why can’t I wake up?"
The girl stepped closer.
"Because you’re not asleep."
He froze.
"...What?"
She smiled.
"You’re remembering."
The room began dissolving.
Dillan looked at his hands.
They were becoming transparent.
"...What is happening?"
"The dream is ending."
"Then why can’t I wake up?"
The girl looked almost sad.
"Because something else is waking up with you."
Behind Dillan...
A shadow rose.
Huge.
Humanoid.
Its head nearly touched the ceiling.
Two crimson eyes opened.
Dillan slowly turned.
"...That’s..."
The shadow leaned closer.
The girl’s smile disappeared.
"...the part they removed."
Dillan’s pupils contracted.
"The part they..."
He couldn’t finish.
The shadow opened its mouth.
No sound emerged.
Yet Dillan understood.
Remember me.
Outside
Sasha suddenly screamed.
"DILLAN!"
His body lifted several centimeters above the medical bed.
The Resonance Field erupted around him.
Blue.
Crimson.
Silver.
Then...
Black.
Lyra’s eyes widened.
"...No."
Commander Yuna looked at her.
"What?"
Lyra whispered:
"...That’s not the Malformation."
Aurelia stared at the black energy.
Her face became terrified.
"...Then what is it?"
Lyra answered:
"...Dillan."
Inside the dream...
Dillan stared at the shadow.
His own shadow.
The System appeared one final time.
[PRIMARY RESONANCE CONFIRMED.]
[HOST IS NOT THE VESSEL.]
[HOST IS THE ORIGINAL ANCHOR.]
Dillan’s eyes widened.
"...Original anchor?"
The shadow stepped closer.
The girl whispered:
"You weren’t chosen by the Malformation."
A pause.
"It was created around you."
Dillan’s breathing stopped.
Then...
A final memory returned.
Eight-year-old Dillan.
Standing beneath the old oak tree.
The other three children behind him.
And something enormous...
Sleeping beneath the roots.
Young Dillan placed his hand against the tree.
A tiny crimson glow appeared beneath his palm.
He whispered:
"...Stay asleep."
The memory shattered.
Dillan stumbled backward.
"...I sealed it."
The girl nodded.
"Yes."
"...Why?"
She looked toward him.
"Because you were afraid of what you’d become."
Silence.
Then...
The shadow behind him smiled.
For the first time...
Dillan saw his own face reflected in its crimson eyes.
And he understood.
The thing he’d been running from in his dreams...
Had never been chasing him.
It had been waiting for him to remember.
Dillan’s eyes snapped open in reality.
He slammed back onto the bed.
BOOM!
The entire medical wing shook.
Sasha grabbed his hand.
"Dillan!"
He gasped.
His face was drenched in sweat.
His eyes were wide.
Terrified.
Exhausted.
But awake.
He looked around.
Everyone was staring at him.
Then...
His gaze stopped on Sasha.
She was crying.
"...You’re back."
Dillan slowly squeezed her hand.
"Yeah."
He swallowed.
"...I’m back."
Then he looked toward Aurelia.
"...I remember the tree."
Aurelia’s face went pale.
"...Then you remember what was beneath it."
Dillan nodded.
His expression became grim.
"...Not completely."
The pocket watch chimed.
Ding.
4:28.
The System appeared.
[FIFTH LOCK: COMPLETED.]
[SIXTH LOCK: AWAKENING.]
[PRIMARY MEMORY: PARTIALLY RESTORED.]
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION: EVOLUTION DETECTED.]
Dillan stared at the final line.
"...Evolution?"
Sasha’s tears stopped.
Lyra slowly looked toward the dark window.
"...That’s bad."
Dillan frowned.
"How bad?"
Lyra turned toward him.
Her expression was completely serious.
"...Now your dreams can fight back."
Dillan stared at Lyra.
"...My dreams can fight back?"
Lyra nodded.
"Yes."
She looked toward the cracked window.
"And that means the next time you enter one..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"...it may not let you wake up."
The room became silent.
Dillan glanced at Sasha.
She was still holding his hand.
Her fingers were cold.
Too cold.
"...Then I won’t sleep."
Dana immediately frowned.
"That’s stupid."
Dillan looked at her.
"You have a better idea?"
"Yes."
She pointed at the bed.
"Sleep while we’re watching you."
"...That’s your brilliant plan?"
"It’s better than dying from exhaustion."
Dillan sighed.
"...Fair."
Sasha smiled faintly.
"I’ll stay too."
Dana looked toward her.
"So will I."
Aurelia quietly added,
"...Me too."
Lyra remained silent.
Dillan noticed.
"What about you?"
Lyra looked at him.
"I’ll stay."
Something about the way she said it made Sasha glance toward her.
Neither spoke.
Three Hours Later
Dillan finally fell asleep.
The room was dark.
Dana sat near the door.
Aurelia remained beside the window.
Sasha sat beside Dillan’s bed.
Lyra stood in the corner.
Watching.
Waiting.
Dillan’s breathing became slow.
Steady.
Then...
His fingers twitched.
Sasha immediately noticed.
"Dillan?"
No response.
His breathing became faster.
His brow tightened.
Then...
He whispered:
"...Don’t..."
Sasha leaned closer.
"Who are you talking to?"
Dillan’s lips moved.
"...Please..."
His heartbeat accelerated.
The monitor began beeping.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Then the System appeared.
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION DETECTED.]
[DREAM ENTRY CONFIRMED.]
[HOST AWARENESS: 91%.]
Sasha stood.
"...He’s dreaming."
Lyra’s expression changed.
"No."
She stared at Dillan.
"...He’s aware that he’s dreaming."
Inside the Dream
Dillan stood in complete darkness.
No woman.
No classroom.
No oak tree.
Nothing.
He waited.
"...Come out."
Silence.
"I know you’re here."
Nothing.
Dillan slowly drew Shadowfang.
"...I’m not afraid of you anymore."
A voice whispered behind him.
"That’s disappointing."
Dillan turned.
The woman stood there.
The same white dress.
The same crimson eyes.
But this time...
She wasn’t smiling.
"...Who are you?"
She looked at him.
"You keep asking."
"I’ll keep asking until you answer."
She smiled faintly.
"Then ask something better."
Dillan tightened his grip.
"Why do you look like Sasha?"
The woman’s expression changed.
For the first time...
She looked genuinely angry.
"I don’t."
"What?"
"You made me look like her."
Dillan froze.
She stepped closer.
"You wanted someone to love you."
Another step.
"You wanted someone who would never leave."
Another.
"You wanted someone who would always come back."
Her crimson eyes glowed.
"So your mind gave me her face."
Dillan shook his head.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Then why does every dream end with her?"
Dillan couldn’t answer.
The woman smiled.
"Because you trust her."
She leaned closer.
"And that’s why I can reach you."
Dillan suddenly saw Sasha.
Standing behind the woman.
Crying.
"Dillan..."
He stepped toward her.
"Sasha!"
The woman grabbed his wrist.
"Don’t."
Dillan looked at her.
"...Why?"
"Because that’s not her."
Sasha’s image smiled.
Then her eyes became crimson.
Her smile widened.
Dillan froze.
The woman whispered:
"See?"
The false Sasha stepped closer.
"You belong to me."
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
"...No."
The image stopped.
"What?"
Dillan raised Shadowfang.
"That’s not something Sasha would say."
The woman stared at him.
For the first time...
She looked uncertain.
Dillan continued.
"She might be possessive."
He stepped forward.
"She might be afraid."
Another step.
"She might even become dangerous."
He raised the sword.
"But she wouldn’t say that."
The false Sasha began cracking.
Dillan whispered:
"...Because she loves me."
The illusion shattered.
The woman stared at him.
Dillan lowered his sword.
"...So what do you want?"
She looked away.
"...I want what she wants."
"What?"
She slowly turned.
"You."
Silence.
"But not your body."
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
"Your attention."
She stepped closer.
"Your memories."
Another.
"Your fear."
Another.
"Your love."
Dillan’s expression hardened.
"...You’re feeding on emotions."
The woman smiled.
"Now you’re learning."
Suddenly...
The dream changed.
Dillan found himself standing inside Sasha’s apartment.
Photographs covered every wall.
Dillan.
Dillan.
Dillan.
Dillan.
Childhood.
Training.
Sleeping.
Eating.
Laughing.
Every photograph.
Every moment.
His blood ran cold.
"...How many?"
The woman stood beside him.
"Enough."
Dillan slowly turned.
"...Sasha?"
The woman smiled.
"You should ask her."
The photographs suddenly began changing.
In every picture...
Sasha stood beside Dillan.
But in the newest ones...
Her hand was around his neck.
Her eyes glowed crimson.
Her smile was unnaturally wide.
Dillan stared.
"...These aren’t real."
"Not yet."
His stomach dropped.
"What?"
The woman leaned toward him.
"Dreams don’t always predict the future."
She whispered:
"Sometimes..."
"...they teach you how to create it."
Reality
Dillan’s body suddenly convulsed.
The monitor screamed.
BEEEEEP!
Dana stood immediately.
"Dillan!"
Sasha grabbed his hand.
"Dillan, wake up!"
Aurelia rushed toward the bed.
"His Resonance is spiking!"
Lyra stepped forward.
"Don’t touch him."
Sasha turned.
"What?"
"He’s fighting something."
"I know!"
"No."
Lyra’s eyes narrowed.
"...He’s fighting himself."
Inside the Dream
Dillan suddenly saw another version of himself.
Standing across the room.
That version smiled.
"You finally understand."
Dillan raised Shadowfang.
"What are you?"
The other Dillan smiled.
"The part of you that never wanted to let anyone go."
Dillan stared.
"...That’s not me."
"Of course it is."
The double stepped closer.
"You call it protection."
Another step.
"You call it loyalty."
Another.
"You call it love."
Dillan’s grip tightened.
"But when someone tries to leave..."
The double smiled.
"...you want to stop them."
Dillan froze.
The words struck somewhere deep.
The double whispered:
"That’s why she found you."
Dillan looked behind him.
Sasha stood there.
Real this time.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Dillan..."
He stared.
"...Sasha?"
She nodded.
"I’ve been trying to reach you."
Dillan stepped toward her.
The double disappeared.
Sasha reached out.
Their hands almost touched.
Then...
Aurelia appeared behind Sasha.
Then Dana.
Then Lyra.
All three looked toward Dillan.
And suddenly...
Sasha’s expression changed.
She looked at the others.
Then back at Dillan.
Her eyes darkened.
"...Why do you need them?"
Dillan froze.
"Sasha?"
She stepped closer.
"You have me."
Her voice trembled.
"You have always had me."
Dillan slowly backed away.
"Sasha..."
Her eyes began glowing crimson.
"Why do you keep looking at them?"
Aurelia disappeared.
Dana disappeared.
Lyra disappeared.
Only Sasha remained.
She smiled.
"...There."
She reached toward him.
"Now it’s just us."
Dillan stared at her.
The dream was silent.
Sasha whispered:
"Mine."
The word echoed.
Then again.
"Mine."
Again.
"Mine."
The dream began collapsing.
Sasha’s smile became terrifyingly gentle.
"You’re mine alone."
Dillan’s eyes snapped open.
He screamed.
"DILLAN!"
Sasha was beside him.
Real.
Breathing.
Crying.
Her hand was wrapped around his.
"Dillan!"
He stared at her.
His breathing was ragged.
"...Sasha."
"I’m here."
He looked around.
Dana.
Aurelia.
Lyra.
Everyone was there.
Real.
He slowly sat up.
"...It was a dream."
Sasha wiped her tears.
"Yes."
Dillan stared at her.
"...Did I say anything?"
Sasha hesitated.
"...No."
Lyra looked at her.
Sasha noticed.
Their eyes met.
Something passed silently between them.
Dillan didn’t see it.
He was too exhausted.
The System appeared.
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION: HYPER STATE TERMINATED.]
[DREAM CONTAMINATION: 12%.]
[HOST STABILITY: ACCEPTABLE.]
[SIXTH LOCK: 41% AWAKENED.]
Dillan exhaled.
"...At least I’m alive."
Dana smiled.
"Unfortunately."
He laughed weakly.
Then...
Sasha leaned forward and hugged him.
Tightly.
Dillan froze for a second.
Then relaxed.
"It’s okay."
Sasha buried her face against his shoulder.
"...I know."
Her eyes were closed.
Nobody could see her expression.
Except...
Lyra.
Across the room...
Lyra watched silently.
Sasha’s fingers slowly tightened around Dillan’s shirt.
Her lips moved.
So quietly...
Only she could hear.
"...Mine."
Lyra’s eyes narrowed.
For a moment...
The two women stared at each other.
Neither smiled.
Neither spoke.
Dillan remained completely unaware.
The Sixth Lock continued opening.
And somewhere inside the deepest layer of his dream...
A woman’s crimson eyes opened.
She whispered:
"Soon."
The room remained silent.
Dillan sat on the edge of the bed.
His breathing had finally stabilized.
But something felt wrong.
Not inside the room.
Inside him.
He pressed a hand against his chest.
"...Why does it feel like something is missing?"
Aurelia’s expression became serious.
"Because it is."
Dillan looked at her.
"What?"
She approached slowly.
"Your memory."
The System appeared.
[SIXTH LOCK: 59% AWAKENED.]
[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 18%.]
[WARNING.]
[RESTORED MEMORY CONTAINS HIGH-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGICAL HAZARD.]
Dana frowned.
"Psychological hazard?"
Lyra immediately looked toward Dillan.
"Don’t try to force it."
Dillan stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because the last time you recovered a memory..."
She paused.
"...you nearly became trapped inside it."
Dillan remembered.
The oak tree.
The fourth child.
The thing beneath the earth.
And himself...
sealing it.
His expression hardened.
"Then I’ll recover it properly."
Lyra shook her head.
"You don’t understand."
She stepped closer.
"The Sixth Lock isn’t opening because you’re forcing it."
Dillan looked at the System.
"Then why?"
Lyra whispered:
"Because something inside you wants it open."
The Sixth Lock
A sudden tremor shook the building.
BOOM!
Everyone turned.
The floor beneath Dillan’s feet began glowing.
A circular symbol appeared.
Six rings.
Five were broken.
The sixth remained closed.
Aurelia stared.
"...That’s not supposed to happen."
Dillan stood.
"What isn’t?"
"The Lock is responding to your presence."
The sixth ring began rotating.
Click.
One segment opened.
Click.
Another.
Then...
CLICK.
The entire room disappeared.
Dillan opened his eyes.
He was standing beneath the old oak tree.
Again.
But this time...
it wasn’t his childhood memory.
He knew that immediately.
The sky was black.
The tree was dead.
And snow was falling.
Dillan looked down.
He was wearing the clothes he had worn as a child.
"...This isn’t my memory."
A voice answered behind him.
"No."
Dillan turned.
A little girl stood beneath the tree.
He couldn’t see her face.
Not because it was hidden.
Because his mind refused to remember it.
Dillan’s heart began pounding.
"Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head.
"You already know."
"I don’t."
"You do."
She pointed toward the tree.
"You just don’t remember choosing."
Dillan stared at the trunk.
A symbol had been carved into it.
A circle.
Six lines.
And beneath it...
a name.
His name.
DILLAN RUREN.
His blood ran cold.
"What did I choose?"
The girl smiled.
"Me."
Reality
Dillan’s body went completely still.
Sasha grabbed his hand.
"Dillan?"
Nothing.
His eyes were open.
But he wasn’t seeing the room.
Aurelia whispered:
"He’s inside the Sixth Lock."
Lyra’s expression darkened.
"Then we have very little time."
Dana looked at her.
"Why?"
Lyra looked at Dillan.
"Because the Sixth Lock doesn’t contain a memory."
She paused.
"It contains a decision."
Inside
Dillan stepped toward the girl.
"What decision?"
She slowly raised her hand.
Behind her...
the earth cracked.
Something black crawled out.
The same black energy Dillan had seen before.
But this time...
it didn’t attack.
It knelt.
Before him.
Dillan stared.
"...What is that?"
The girl answered:
"Your first choice."
Dillan’s eyes widened.
"I chose that?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"You chose what it would become."
The black entity slowly lifted its head.
Two crimson eyes opened.
Dillan stepped backward.
"...No."
The girl smiled.
"You were afraid of being alone."
The entity crawled closer.
"So you made something that could never leave you."
Dillan’s breathing became uneven.
"Stop."
"You wanted protection."
"Stop."
"You wanted someone who would love you forever."
"STOP!"
The ground exploded.
Dillan raised Shadowfang.
The black entity stopped.
Then...
it began changing.
Its body became human.
Long hair.
Pale skin.
Crimson eyes.
A familiar face.
Dillan stared.
"...Sasha?"
The girl behind him whispered:
"No."
The figure smiled.
"...Not Sasha."
Dillan’s sword trembled.
The figure’s eyes glowed brighter.
"I’m what you made when you decided..."
It stepped forward.
"...that nobody should ever be allowed to leave you."
Dillan’s pupils contracted.
Suddenly...
memories flooded into his mind.
Sasha crying.
Aurelia disappearing.
The fourth child screaming.
His younger self standing beneath the oak.
And a voice.
His own voice.
A child’s voice.
"If I can’t save them..."
The memory cracked.
"...then I’ll make something that can."
Dillan screamed.
Reality
The System erupted.
[CRITICAL MEMORY RESTORATION.]
[PRIMARY RESONANCE DESTABILIZING.]
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION EVOLUTION: 73%.]
[WARNING.]
[THE HOST IS APPROACHING ORIGINAL STATE.]
Sasha’s face went pale.
"Original state?"
Lyra stepped toward Dillan.
"Dillan!"
His eyes opened.
Crimson.
Not glowing like Ragnarok.
Different.
Older.
Colder.
Aurelia whispered:
"...That’s not Ragnarok."
Lyra stared at him.
"No."
Dillan slowly turned his head.
His voice was barely recognizable.
"...I remember."
Sasha froze.
"What do you remember?"
Dillan looked directly at her.
And for the first time...
fear appeared in Sasha’s eyes.
Because Dillan wasn’t looking at her like someone he loved.
He was looking at her like someone he finally understood.
"...You weren’t the first."
Sasha’s lips parted.
"Dillan..."
He stood.
The Sixth Lock appeared behind him.
CRACK.
The sixth ring shattered.
[SIXTH LOCK: COMPLETED.]
[PRIMARY MEMORY: RESTORED.]
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION: EVOLUTION COMPLETE.]
[ORIGINAL CHOICE: RECOVERED.]
Then another notification appeared.
One none of them had ever seen before.
[RAGNAROK SYSTEM RESTRICTION REMOVED.]
[UNKNOWN AUTHORITY DETECTED.]
[AUTHORITY IDENTIFIED.]
[THE FIRST CHOICE.]
Dillan stared at the words.
His face slowly changed.
"...So that’s what I’ve been running from."
Lyra stepped forward.
"What did you choose?"
Dillan looked toward Sasha.
Then Aurelia.
Then Dana.
Finally...
Lyra.
His eyes were filled with something none of them had seen before.
Recognition.
Fear.
And grief.
"...I chose to make sure I’d never be alone."
Silence.
Dillan lowered his head.
"And that’s why..."
His voice cracked.
"...all of you were born into my story."
The room went completely still.
Then Sasha whispered:
"...All of us?"
Dillan looked up.
And somewhere deep inside his mind...
the crimson-eyed woman smiled.
"Welcome back."
END OF VOLUME 3.