Chapter 105: The Truth Aurelia Remembered
The Gate collapsed.
Chunks of darkness broke away from the ceiling.
The classroom walls dissolved into particles.
The old desks vanished.
The blackboard remained for only a few seconds longer.
NOW FIND THE ONE WHO MADE YOUR FIRST CHOICE.
Then...
It disappeared.
"Move!"
Commander Yuna’s voice thundered through the collapsing Gate.
The ground beneath Dillan cracked.
Dana immediately grabbed his arm.
"Can you walk?"
"...Probably."
"That’s not reassuring."
"I’ll take it."
Sasha moved to his other side.
Her hand hovered near him.
She wanted to hold him.
Dillan noticed.
For a second...
Their eyes met.
Then Sasha quietly lowered her hand.
"...I’m fine."
Dillan’s expression softened.
"I know."
But she didn’t look convinced.
They crossed the collapsing corridor together.
Dana in front.
Aurelia behind.
Lyra remained close to Dillan.
Sasha followed.
Too quiet.
Much too quiet.
The crimson mark on her neck continued glowing beneath her skin.
Every few seconds...
Her eyes moved toward Dillan.
Then Dana.
Then Lyra.
Then Aurelia.
And every time...
Her expression changed slightly.
Not anger.
Not yet.
Something quieter.
Something trying very hard to remain hidden.
Finally...
They emerged from the Gate.
BOOM!
The dimensional tear collapsed behind them.
The emergency teams immediately rushed forward.
Medics surrounded Dillan.
"He’s conscious!"
"Check his Resonance!"
"His readings are abnormal!"
Dana pushed through them.
"Give him space."
One medic frowned.
"Miss, we need to examine him."
"And you can."
Dana pointed.
"From a reasonable distance."
Dillan almost smiled.
Almost.
Then...
He looked toward Sasha.
She wasn’t standing with them.
She had moved several meters away.
Alone.
Later
Guardian Network Headquarters had become unusually quiet.
The Gate incident had already been classified.
UNKNOWN.
That was all the public would know.
The real report would never leave the building.
Dillan sat inside the medical wing.
A thin bandage covered his arm.
Dr. Yeon checked his readings.
"...You should be unconscious."
"Good to know."
She gave him a look.
"I’m serious."
"So am I."
"You entered a Hyper State."
"I noticed."
"Your mind was approaching complete collapse."
Dillan’s humor disappeared.
"...How close?"
Dr. Yeon remained silent for too long.
"...Close."
He leaned back.
The ceiling above him blurred slightly.
He immediately closed his eyes.
Behind his eyelids...
He saw the woman again.
His own face.
Smiling.
You made me.
Dillan’s eyes snapped open.
Dr. Yeon noticed.
"Another dream?"
"...No."
He swallowed.
"...Not yet."
Outside the room...
Sasha stood beside the window.
Rain finally began falling.
Thin droplets moved down the glass.
Aurelia approached quietly.
"You haven’t gone inside."
Sasha didn’t turn.
"...He has enough people around him."
Aurelia stopped beside her.
"Dana."
Sasha’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"What about her?"
"You keep looking at her."
Sasha laughed softly.
"...Do I?"
"Yes."
"I hadn’t noticed."
Aurelia looked at her.
"You don’t have to lie to me."
The smile vanished from Sasha’s face.
For a while...
Only rain answered.
Then Sasha whispered:
"...When he held her hand inside the Gate..."
Aurelia remained silent.
"...I knew why."
Sasha continued.
"She was falling."
"He was saving her."
"I know."
Her fingers curled against the window.
"I know exactly why."
Aurelia’s expression became sad.
"...But?"
Sasha finally looked at her.
Her crimson eyes trembled.
"...I still hated it."
Aurelia said nothing.
Sasha laughed again.
This time...
There was no humor.
"Isn’t that horrible?"
"Sasha..."
"I knew he had to save her."
Her voice grew quieter.
"I knew he wasn’t choosing her."
She pressed her palm against her chest.
"But something inside me..."
Her fingers tightened.
"...wanted him to let go."
Aurelia’s eyes widened.
Sasha immediately closed her eyes.
"...I didn’t want Dana to die."
"I know."
"I didn’t."
"I know."
Sasha shook her head.
"Then why did I think it?"
Aurelia had no answer.
Sasha looked through the window again.
"I keep telling myself it’s because I’m scared."
She laughed bitterly.
"Scared he’ll leave."
A pause.
"Scared I’ll lose him."
Another.
"Scared I’ll be forgotten again."
Her reflection appeared in the glass.
For one second...
It smiled.
Sasha froze.
"...Not now."
Aurelia looked confused.
"What?"
Sasha stepped away from the window.
"Nothing."
But the reflection continued smiling.
Only Sasha could see it.
Dillan’s Room
The door opened.
Lyra entered.
Dillan looked toward her.
"You always walk in this quietly?"
"I knocked."
"I didn’t hear you."
"That sounds like a you problem."
He smiled faintly.
She walked toward the chair beside his bed.
For several seconds...
Neither spoke.
Then Dillan asked:
"...You came into the Gate."
Lyra looked at him.
"Yes."
"How?"
"I followed the Resonance fracture."
"That doesn’t explain how."
"No."
Her expression remained calm.
"It doesn’t."
Dillan watched her.
"You saw me."
"Yes."
"Inside the dream."
"Yes."
"How?"
Lyra remained silent.
Dillan’s smile disappeared.
"...Lyra."
She looked away.
"I told you not to trust everything you remembered."
"What does that mean?"
"It means your dreams are no longer entirely yours."
"I know that."
"No."
Her eyes returned to his.
"You don’t."
Silence.
Lyra’s fingers tightened around the edge of the chair.
A tiny movement.
But Dillan noticed.
"The Malformation isn’t just showing you memories."
She continued.
"...It’s learning from you."
Dillan frowned.
"Learning what?"
Lyra looked toward the door.
Then lowered her voice.
"What you fear."
His expression hardened.
"And?"
Lyra hesitated.
Then...
"...What you love."
Outside the room...
Sasha stood completely still.
She had come to see Dillan.
She hadn’t meant to listen.
But she heard Lyra’s final words.
What you love.
Something twisted inside her chest.
She looked through the small window.
Dillan and Lyra.
Alone.
Talking quietly.
Lyra sitting close to him.
Sasha slowly lowered her eyes.
A tiny smile appeared.
Not happy.
Not angry.
Simply...
Wrong.
He’s afraid of losing people.
The voice whispered.
Sasha froze.
So give him fewer people to lose.
Her eyes widened.
"...Get out."
The voice laughed softly.
You don’t need everyone.
Sasha pressed both hands against her head.
"...Get out!"
A nurse walking down the hallway stopped.
"Miss Sasha?"
Sasha immediately looked up.
Her expression was normal.
Perfectly normal.
"...Sorry."
The nurse hesitated.
"Are you alright?"
Sasha smiled.
"Of course."
The nurse continued walking.
The moment she disappeared...
Sasha’s smile vanished.
She looked through the window again.
Dillan was laughing faintly at something Lyra said.
Something in Sasha broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just...
A tiny crack.
But cracks spread.
The Rooftop
That night...
Aurelia stood alone beneath the rain.
She looked over Seoul.
The Fifth Lock was open.
The Watchers had gone silent.
The Fourth Seat had heard her.
And the first vessel...
The forgotten fourth child...
Was still trapped somewhere between memory and dream.
Aurelia clenched the silver bracelet around her wrist.
"...I remember more now."
A voice answered behind her.
"I know."
She turned.
The Fourth Seat stood beneath the rooftop entrance.
Aurelia’s expression immediately hardened.
"You."
"I told you before."
He stepped closer.
"...Your restoration was never supposed to happen."
"You don’t get to decide that anymore."
The Fourth Seat looked toward the city.
"No."
His voice was unusually quiet.
"...But someone else does."
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
He looked directly at her.
"...The one Dillan has been dreaming about."
Silence.
Then Aurelia whispered:
"...The fourth child."
The Fourth Seat shook his head.
"...Not anymore."
Aurelia’s blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
The Fourth Seat’s expression darkened.
"She was a vessel once."
He looked toward the city below.
"...Now she’s becoming something else."
Inside Guardian Headquarters...
Dillan suddenly sat upright in bed.
His pocket watch began spinning backward.
4:27.
4:26.
4:25.
The lights went out.
A woman’s voice whispered beside his ear.
"You still don’t understand, Dillan."
He slowly turned.
Nobody was there.
The voice continued.
"I wasn’t trying to take you away from them."
His blood turned cold.
"I was trying to protect you..."
A pale hand appeared on the wall.
Then another.
The darkness spread across the room.
"...from what they would become."
Dillan reached for Shadowfang.
But before he could touch it...
The voice whispered one final sentence.
"Especially Sasha."
The lights returned.
Everything was normal.
Dillan sat alone.
His heart pounding.
Outside his room...
Sasha stood silently against the wall.
Her eyes closed.
She had heard nothing.
But she suddenly felt...
That someone was watching her.
And deep inside her mind...
Something smiled.
Aurelia didn’t move.
Rain continued falling across the rooftop.
The Fourth Seat stood before her.
His expression was as unreadable as ever.
But his words remained.
"She was a vessel once."
"Now she’s becoming something else."
Aurelia’s fingers tightened around her bracelet.
"...What?"
The Fourth Seat looked toward Seoul.
"The Oneiric Malformation was never meant to develop independently."
Aurelia stared at him.
"...Speak clearly."
He was silent for a moment.
Then...
"It needed a vessel."
"The fourth child."
"Yes."
Aurelia’s eyes hardened.
"And when she was removed?"
The Fourth Seat looked at her.
"It adapted."
Aurelia stopped breathing.
"...To Sasha."
"Partially."
Her face twisted.
"What does that mean?"
The Fourth Seat’s gaze lowered.
"It couldn’t fully enter Sasha."
"Why?"
He didn’t answer.
Aurelia stepped forward.
"Why?"
Finally...
"...Because Sasha wasn’t empty."
Aurelia frowned.
The Fourth Seat continued.
"She already had something powerful inside her."
"What?"
His eyes shifted toward the city.
"Her attachment."
Silence.
Aurelia’s expression slowly changed.
"...Her love for Dillan."
The Fourth Seat nodded.
"The Malformation found it."
Aurelia took a step back.
"...And fed it."
"Yes."
Guardian Network Headquarters
Dillan hadn’t slept.
He sat on the edge of his bed.
The room was dark.
Shadowfang rested beside him.
His eyes remained fixed on the door.
The woman’s words repeated inside his head.
Especially Sasha.
"...What does that even mean?"
The pocket watch ticked.
4:24.
Dillan frowned.
It had been moving backward all night.
Then...
The door opened.
He immediately reached for Shadowfang.
Sasha stood there.
Dillan relaxed.
"...You could knock."
"I did."
He blinked.
"Oh."
Sasha smiled faintly.
"...You really haven’t slept."
"Neither have you."
Her smile disappeared.
"...No."
She entered.
Slowly closed the door behind her.
For several seconds...
Neither spoke.
Dillan finally looked at her.
"Sasha."
"Hm?"
"...Are you okay?"
She laughed.
The sound was quiet.
"...That’s becoming a very difficult question."
Dillan didn’t smile.
Sasha walked toward the window.
Her reflection appeared in the glass.
She avoided looking directly at it.
"...Dillan."
"Yeah?"
"...Do you trust me?"
The question was simple.
But something inside him tightened.
He remembered the dreams.
The blood.
The crimson eyes.
The woman’s warning.
Especially Sasha.
Dillan looked at her.
Sasha was still facing the window.
Waiting.
"...Yes."
Her shoulders relaxed.
Dillan continued.
"...But I think you’re hiding something."
Sasha froze.
Slowly...
She turned around.
Her eyes were red.
Not glowing.
Just tired.
"...I am."
Dillan’s heart sank.
"What?"
She looked down.
"...I’m scared of myself."
Silence.
Dillan didn’t interrupt.
Sasha continued.
"I hear things sometimes."
His expression hardened.
"The woman."
Sasha looked up.
"...You know?"
"I saw her."
Her face lost color.
Dillan nodded.
"She said she’s been using you."
Sasha laughed weakly.
"...At least she’s honest."
"Sasha."
She stepped closer.
"...I don’t know where she ends and I begin."
Dillan stared at her.
Her voice cracked.
"And that’s the part that terrifies me."
The lights flickered.
Both of them immediately froze.
The room darkened.
Sasha’s reflection smiled.
Dillan saw it this time.
His hand moved toward Shadowfang.
Sasha whispered,
"...Don’t."
The reflection raised one hand.
It pressed its palm against the inside of the glass.
Then...
A crack appeared.
CRACK.
Sasha stepped backward.
The reflection’s smile widened.
Dillan drew Shadowfang.
"Who are you?"
The reflection spoke.
But Sasha’s lips didn’t move.
"You already know."
Dillan raised his sword.
The window exploded inward.
BOOM!
Sasha screamed.
Dillan pulled her away.
Darkness spilled across the floor.
The room disappeared.
The Old Oak Tree
Dillan opened his eyes.
Sasha was beside him.
But this time...
She wasn’t afraid.
Her expression was blank.
They stood beneath the oak tree.
Morning sunlight covered the grass.
Three paper cranes rested on the ground.
White.
Blue.
Silver.
Then...
A fourth crane slowly appeared.
Crimson.
Sasha stared at it.
"...That’s hers."
Dillan looked toward her.
"You remember?"
Sasha nodded slowly.
"...A little."
The wind moved through the branches.
Then...
A small girl stepped from behind the tree.
The fourth child.
Dillan’s body tensed.
Sasha immediately moved in front of him.
"Stay away."
The little girl stopped.
Her crimson eyes looked toward Sasha.
"...You’re protecting him."
Sasha’s voice trembled.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Sasha frowned.
"...Because I love him."
The girl tilted her head.
"...That’s why I came to you."
Everything went silent.
Dillan stared at her.
Sasha slowly turned.
"What?"
The little girl looked toward Dillan.
Then back at Sasha.
"I was alone."
Her voice was quiet.
"...I didn’t want to be."
Sasha’s expression changed.
The girl continued.
"So I listened."
Dillan frowned.
"To who?"
The little girl smiled sadly.
"...To you."
A memory erupted.
Young Sasha.
Crying beneath the oak tree.
Alone.
Terrified that Dillan and Aurelia would disappear.
Her voice echoed through the memory.
"I don’t want to be alone."
The fourth child stood somewhere unseen.
Listening.
The memory shifted.
Sasha again.
Older.
Standing outside Dillan’s school.
Watching him laugh with someone.
Her hands clenched.
A thought whispered through her mind.
I wish nobody could take him away.
The fourth child heard it.
And answered.
Not aloud.
Inside Sasha’s heart.
Then don’t let them.
The memory vanished.
Sasha staggered backward.
"No."
The little girl looked at her.
"...I didn’t create that thought."
Sasha covered her mouth.
"I know."
"I only answered."
"STOP!"
The old oak tree trembled.
Dillan grabbed Sasha’s shoulders.
"Sasha!"
She looked at him.
Tears poured down her face.
"...She’s right."
Dillan froze.
"...What?"
Sasha shook her head desperately.
"I loved you before she came."
He remained silent.
"I wanted you close before she came."
Her hands grabbed his shirt.
"And sometimes..."
Her voice almost disappeared.
"...I wanted everyone else far away before she came."
Dillan’s expression changed.
Sasha looked terrified.
"...Does that make me a monster?"
He didn’t answer immediately.
That hurt more than any answer could have.
Sasha slowly released him.
"...Right."
"Sasha."
She stepped backward.
"...Don’t."
"Sasha, listen."
"No."
Her eyes flashed crimson.
Then immediately returned to normal.
"...Please don’t make me feel better."
Dillan stopped.
She smiled sadly.
"...I need to know what’s mine."
The little girl watched silently.
Then she spoke.
"That is the question you should have asked twenty-two years ago."
Aurelia’s voice suddenly echoed across the dream.
"DILLAN!"
The oak tree split open.
A bright silver light erupted between the branches.
Aurelia appeared.
She looked directly at the fourth child.
Her face was pale.
"I remember now."
The little girl went still.
Aurelia stepped forward.
"...You weren’t the only vessel."
Dillan frowned.
"What?"
The girl looked down.
Aurelia continued.
"...The Malformation had another way into this world."
The wind stopped.
Sasha’s eyes widened.
Dillan slowly looked toward the little girl.
Then...
Toward himself.
Aurelia’s voice trembled.
"Dillan..."
His heart began pounding.
"...What?"
Aurelia looked directly into his eyes.
And said the words he had never expected.
"You were connected to it too."
The System immediately appeared.
[HIDDEN RECORD UNSEALED.]
[PRIMARY RESONANCE SIGNATURE: DILLAN RUREN.]
[SECONDARY VESSEL: SASHA.]
[FIRST VESSEL: UNKNOWN.]
Dillan stared at the notification.
The world went silent.
Then the woman from his dreams began laughing.
Not somewhere nearby.
Not behind him.
Inside his own mind.
"Now we’re finally being honest."
The old oak tree began burning crimson.
And Dillan understood why the Malformation had always known exactly how to find him.
It had never needed to search.
It had been connected to him from the beginning.