Chapter 104: The Face Behind Sasha
Nobody spoke.
The broken remains of the classroom drifted through the black void around them.
A desk floated upside down.
Sheets of paper moved through the darkness like pale insects.
Somewhere far away...
A school bell continued ringing.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
Dillan stared at Sasha.
"The girl in the dreams isn’t me."
Her words remained between them.
Heavy.
Impossible.
Dana was the first to move.
"What do you mean... using you?"
Sasha looked down at her hands.
Her fingers were trembling.
"I didn’t know at first."
Dillan’s eyes narrowed.
"...At first?"
Sasha swallowed.
"Sometimes I would wake up somewhere else."
Aurelia stiffened.
Sasha continued.
"I’d fall asleep in my apartment."
Her voice became quieter.
"Then wake up standing in front of Dillan’s building."
Dana’s expression changed.
"...What?"
"I didn’t remember going there."
Dillan stared at her.
Sasha gave a small, humorless laugh.
"I thought I was sleepwalking."
Her crimson eyes lifted.
"But then..."
She looked directly at him.
"...I started dreaming too."
The darkness around them shifted.
A memory appeared.
Sasha.
Alone in a white room.
A younger Sasha sat on the floor with her knees against her chest.
A woman stood in the corner.
Her face hidden by darkness.
Young Sasha whispered:
"Who are you?"
The woman slowly tilted her head.
"Someone who knows what you want."
Young Sasha frowned.
"I don’t want anything."
The woman laughed.
Softly.
"Everyone wants something."
She stepped closer.
"Especially lonely children."
The memory disappeared.
Dillan’s fists tightened.
"...How old were you?"
Sasha looked away.
"I don’t know."
Aurelia’s face became pale.
"No..."
Everyone turned toward her.
Aurelia took a step backward.
"...I remember this."
Dillan stared.
"You do?"
She pressed both hands against her head.
"...Not clearly."
The void trembled.
"...After I disappeared..."
Aurelia looked toward Sasha.
"...You started having nightmares."
Sasha froze.
Aurelia’s voice became unsteady.
"...Didn’t you?"
Sasha didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Dana looked between them.
"Wait."
Her eyes narrowed.
"So this thing..."
She pointed toward the darkness.
"...Has been connected to Sasha since you were children?"
Aurelia nodded slowly.
"...I think so."
Dillan’s expression hardened.
"And nobody thought to mention this?"
Sasha flinched.
"I didn’t remember."
Aurelia immediately added,
"Neither did I."
Dillan stopped.
The anger left his face.
Sasha looked at him.
"...I’m sorry."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"For being scared."
Dillan said nothing.
Sasha’s smile trembled.
"I kept thinking..."
She lowered her head.
"...If I told you what I was seeing..."
"...you’d think I was insane."
Dana quietly muttered,
"Given our current situation, that would’ve been pretty normal."
Nobody laughed.
Dana cleared her throat.
"...Sorry."
The Fifth Lock ticked.
Once.
Tick.
The darkness beneath them pulsed.
Twice.
Tick.
Aurelia suddenly looked toward the distance.
"...It’s listening."
Dillan’s hand moved toward his weapon.
"Let it."
Aurelia shook her head.
"No."
Her voice sharpened.
"...That’s exactly what it wants."
Another tick.
Tick.
The floating fragments around them began moving.
Slowly.
They gathered together.
Desk legs.
Books.
Pieces of walls.
Broken windows.
Everything rebuilt itself.
The classroom returned.
But something was different.
Only one desk stood inside.
Sasha’s.
A name had been carved into the surface.
DILLAN.
Sasha stared at it.
Her breathing stopped.
"...No."
Dillan looked at her.
"What?"
She didn’t answer.
Instead...
She walked toward the desk.
Very slowly.
Her hand hovered above the carving.
Then touched it.
The entire Gate screamed.
SCREEEEEEEE!
Dillan grabbed his ears.
Dana fell to her knees.
Aurelia screamed Sasha’s name.
The lights burst on.
And suddenly...
They weren’t inside the classroom anymore.
They were standing inside Sasha’s memory.
Rain.
A playground.
Night.
A young Sasha stood beneath the old oak tree.
She couldn’t have been older than nine.
Her clothes were soaked.
She was crying.
"Dillan?"
Nobody answered.
"Aurelia?"
Silence.
Young Sasha looked around.
She was alone.
Then...
Someone spoke behind her.
"You’re always looking for them."
Young Sasha froze.
The woman stood beneath the tree.
Long hair.
White dress.
Bare feet.
The same woman.
Young Sasha whispered:
"...Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"You know me."
"I don’t."
The woman’s head tilted.
"Not yet."
She stepped closer.
"But you will."
Young Sasha backed away.
"Stay away from me!"
The woman stopped.
Her hidden face turned toward the darkness.
Then she laughed.
"Why?"
Her voice softened.
"Don’t you want him to stay?"
Young Sasha froze.
The woman continued.
"Don’t you want Dillan to always come back?"
"...What?"
"Don’t you hate it?"
Sasha’s expression twisted.
"Stop."
"When he leaves."
"Stop."
"When he smiles at someone else."
"STOP!"
The woman stepped closer.
"When someone else becomes more important than you."
Young Sasha covered her ears.
"I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOU!"
The woman whispered:
"But you already heard me."
The memory cracked.
Adult Sasha staggered backward.
Dillan caught her.
"Sasha!"
She shoved herself away.
"Don’t!"
Dillan froze.
Sasha immediately realized what she had done.
Her eyes widened.
"...Dillan."
He said nothing.
She looked horrified.
"...I’m sorry."
Dillan slowly stepped closer.
"You don’t have to apologize."
Her voice trembled.
"...Yes, I do."
"For what?"
Sasha looked toward the darkness.
Then back at him.
"...Because some of what she said..."
She stopped.
Dillan waited.
Sasha’s hands clenched.
"...Some of it was already inside me."
Silence.
Dana looked away.
Aurelia’s expression became sad.
Dillan remained still.
Sasha laughed weakly.
"That’s the part I’m scared of."
The woman appeared behind Sasha.
Nobody saw her at first.
Only Dillan.
His eyes widened.
"...Sasha."
Sasha looked at him.
The woman’s pale hand slowly moved toward Sasha’s shoulder.
Dillan drew Shadowfang.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
The blade cut through the darkness.
SHHHK!
The woman vanished.
Sasha stumbled.
A crimson mark appeared on her neck.
Aurelia immediately rushed toward her.
"Sasha!"
Sasha touched the mark.
Her fingers came away glowing crimson.
Then...
The woman spoke.
Not from outside.
From inside Sasha’s mind.
Her voice echoed through the entire Gate.
"You keep blaming me."
The walls began bleeding darkness.
"But I didn’t create your love."
Dillan tightened his grip on Shadowfang.
The voice laughed.
"I simply gave it somewhere to grow."
The Fifth Lock trembled.
A System notification appeared.
[ONEIRIC MALFORMATION RESONANCE IDENTIFIED.]
[SOURCE: UNKNOWN.]
[SECONDARY VESSEL: SASHA.]
Dillan stared at the words.
Secondary Vessel.
Sasha saw them too.
Her face lost all color.
"...Vessel?"
The woman’s laughter returned.
"Now you’re asking the right questions."
The classroom lights turned crimson.
Then...
The blackboard began writing by itself.
One sentence.
Slowly.
Letter by letter.
THE FIRST VESSEL WAS NOT SASHA.
Aurelia stopped breathing.
Dillan looked at her.
She was staring at the board.
Her face had become completely white.
"...Aurelia?"
She whispered:
"...The fourth child."
The chalk snapped.
A final message appeared.
SHE WAS.
Everything went silent.
Then Aurelia screamed.
A memory that had been buried for twenty-two years had finally begun clawing its way back.
Aurelia screamed.
The sound tore through the classroom.
The windows shattered.
The lights exploded.
Dillan instinctively moved toward her.
"Aurelia!"
She stumbled backward.
Her hands pressed against her head.
"No..."
Her voice broke.
"No, no, no..."
Sasha reached for her.
"Aurelia, look at me."
"Don’t touch me!"
Sasha froze.
Aurelia’s eyes widened.
She immediately looked horrified.
"...I’m sorry."
Her breathing became uneven.
"I..."
She looked toward the blackboard.
The message remained.
THE FIRST VESSEL WAS NOT SASHA.
SHE WAS.
Dillan slowly looked at Aurelia.
"...What does that mean?"
Aurelia shook her head.
"I don’t know."
But her voice betrayed her.
She knew something.
Maybe not consciously.
Maybe the memory hadn’t fully returned.
Yet something inside her was terrified of remembering.
Tick.
The Fifth Lock moved.
The sound came from everywhere.
Tick.
The classroom distorted.
The desks disappeared.
The walls stretched outward.
The ceiling became a dark sky.
Then...
The old oak tree appeared.
Dillan froze.
The others did too.
They were back at the place where everything had begun.
But this time...
It wasn’t peaceful.
The tree was burning.
Silver flames climbed across its ancient branches.
Beneath it stood four children.
Young Dillan.
Young Sasha.
Young Aurelia.
And...
A fourth child.
Dillan stopped breathing.
The fourth child stood with her back toward them.
Long dark hair.
A small white dress.
Bare feet.
Exactly like the woman from his dreams.
Sasha grabbed Dillan’s arm.
"...Don’t go closer."
He stared at the child.
"...That’s her."
Aurelia whispered,
"...I remember."
Everyone looked toward her.
Aurelia’s eyes filled with tears.
"I remember now."
Twenty-Two Years Earlier
The memory became clear.
Four children sat beneath the old oak tree.
Dillan held a paper crane.
Sasha was complaining about something.
Aurelia laughed.
And the fourth girl...
Sat quietly beside them.
Dillan looked at her.
Her face remained blurred.
"Why can’t I see her?"
Aurelia’s voice trembled.
"...Because you weren’t supposed to remember her."
The memory continued.
Young Sasha pushed the fourth girl’s shoulder.
"Come on! Say something!"
The girl slowly looked up.
Her face still hidden.
Young Dillan laughed.
"She’s shy."
Aurelia smiled.
"She’s always shy."
The fourth girl looked toward Dillan.
Then...
For one brief second...
Her face became visible.
Dillan’s eyes widened.
The image vanished immediately.
He had almost seen her.
Almost.
The memory suddenly changed.
Night.
The same oak tree.
But now the four children were surrounded.
Seven Watchers.
Seven Seats.
Golden symbols burned across the ground.
Young Sasha was crying.
Young Dillan stood in front of the girls.
Aurelia held the fourth child’s hand.
The First Watcher spoke.
"The Malformation has already chosen a vessel."
Adult Sasha shook her head.
"No..."
The memory continued.
The Fourth Seat stepped forward.
"It cannot remain within this world."
Young Dillan shouted:
"She’s not a monster!"
The Fourth Seat looked at him.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"She is a door."
Dillan felt his blood run cold.
The fourth girl slowly looked down at her hands.
Crimson light leaked between her fingers.
Young Aurelia whispered:
"...She’s scared."
The Watchers said nothing.
Young Sasha stepped in front of the fourth girl.
"Leave her alone!"
The Fourth Seat looked toward Sasha.
"Move aside."
"NO!"
The ground shook.
The fourth girl suddenly screamed.
A wave of darkness exploded outward.
The children were thrown across the grass.
The Watchers raised barriers.
The Seats didn’t move.
Dillan crawled toward the fourth girl.
"Hey!"
She was crying.
Darkness leaked from her eyes.
"I don’t want it!"
Young Dillan grabbed her hand.
"We’ll get rid of it."
The girl looked at him.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Aurelia joined them.
"We all promise."
Sasha nodded through tears.
"Together."
Four small hands came together.
A promise beneath a burning sky.
The memory stopped.
The classroom returned.
Nobody spoke.
Dana was the first to break the silence.
"...She was just a child."
Dillan stared at the darkness.
"...They called her a vessel."
Aurelia slowly shook her head.
"...A door."
The woman’s laughter echoed.
Softly.
"And doors are meant to open."
The Fifth Lock suddenly began moving faster.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The System appeared.
[FIFTH LOCK: ORIGINAL TRIAL RESTORING.]
[CORRUPTION LEVEL: DECLINING.]
Dillan frowned.
"What?"
A new notification appeared.
[TRUE CONDITION DETECTED.]
[NO SACRIFICE REQUIRED.]
[DECISION REQUIRED.]
Dana slowly stood.
"...That’s better."
The floor beneath her immediately vanished.
"DANA!"
She dropped.
Dillan grabbed her hand again.
But this time...
There was no black void.
Below them...
Was a memory.
A hospital room.
Young Dillan lying unconscious.
Young Sasha beside his bed.
Aurelia standing near the window.
And the fourth girl...
Standing outside the room.
Alone.
Dillan stared.
"...Why is she outside?"
Aurelia closed her eyes.
"...Because she wasn’t allowed inside."
The fourth girl placed her hand against the glass.
Young Dillan suddenly woke.
He saw her.
His eyes widened.
The girl smiled.
Then...
She turned around.
And walked away.
Young Dillan screamed her name.
The sound distorted before adult Dillan could hear it.
The System appeared.
[DECISION POINT IDENTIFIED.]
[THE FIFTH LOCK TESTS A SINGLE QUESTION.]
The words appeared slowly.
One at a time.
WHEN SOMEONE IS FORGOTTEN...
...DO YOU LET THEM GO?
Silence.
Then another line.
OR DO YOU FOLLOW THEM?
Dillan stared.
Aurelia whispered,
"...That’s the choice."
Sasha looked toward him.
"What are you going to do?"
The classroom began shaking again.
The Gate was waiting.
Not for a sacrifice.
Not for someone to die.
For Dillan’s answer.
Dana tightened her grip around his wrist.
Aurelia looked afraid.
Sasha looked terrified.
And somewhere behind them...
The woman from the dreams watched silently.
Dillan slowly raised his head.
"...I follow."
Everything stopped.
The woman smiled.
For the first time...
Not lovingly.
Not mockingly.
Sadly.
"Then you still don’t understand."
The crimson lights went out.
The old oak tree vanished.
And Dillan suddenly found himself standing alone...
In a white corridor.
At the end of it...
A small girl stood waiting.
Her back turned toward him.
Dillan took one step forward.
The girl spoke.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
"You promised you’d leave me behind."
Dillan froze.
The corridor lights flickered.
The girl slowly turned.
And for the first time...
Dillan clearly saw her face.
His expression shattered.
"...No."
The Fifth Lock chimed.
Ding.
And the System displayed:
[MEMORY SUPPRESSION FAILURE.]
[THE FIRST VESSEL HAS BEEN FOUND.]