The road east was silent.
No monsters.
No storms.
No divine fury from the sky.
Just the kind of silence that didn't come from peace—
But from everything left unsaid.
---
Lucius walked behind them all.
Not because he was tired.
Not because he didn't want to lead.
But because his legs moved slower when his heart felt like it was dragging a mountain behind it.
---
Claire glanced back every few steps.
Zara didn't.
Velda looked, once—but quickly turned away.
Lilith?
She didn't look back at all.
And somehow, that hurt the most.
---
They made camp by dusk.
A dying patch of forest, brittle from drought.
Zara chopped wood without speaking.
Velda lit the fire without a word.
Claire tried to make food with shaking hands.
Lilith stood watch facing the dark.
---
Lucius sat by the fire.
Sword across his knees.
And the voice came again.
---
> "You couldn't save me either."
> "Just like her."
> "Just like all of us."
---
He dropped the blade.
Breathing hard.
Hands shaking.
Velda noticed first.
Then Claire.
But before either could move—
Lucius collapsed.
---
> [Memory Cascade – Critical Threshold Surpassed]
Lucius Nachtveil is experiencing a Tier 3 Recall Event.
Initiating full memory bleed… Locking motor functions…
---
He wasn't unconscious.
He was awake in his mind.
And drowning.
---
The fire vanished.
The forest, gone.
Only dark.
And voices.
So many voices.
Girls laughing.
Girls screaming.
Girls whispering:
> "You said you'd remember."
> "You promised."
> "You failed."
---
One voice pierced through.
Familiar.
But older.
Younger.
Real.
> "You weren't even born here, were you?"
Lucius spun.
There—at the edge of the void—
stood a younger version of himself.
A boy.
Human.
No sword.
No magic.
No girls.
No gods.
Just a hoodie.
A cracked phone.
And eyes that had already seen too much.
---
Lucius fell to his knees.
The boy looked at him.
"Are you finally ready to remember why you came here?"
Lucius swallowed.
"…No."
The boy smiled.
"Too bad."
---
> [Unlocked: Pre-Reincarnation Memory Thread – Lucien Vale]
Emotion: Isolation.
Trauma: Abandonment.
Catalyst: "No one will remember me when I'm gone."
Sync: 19%
---
Back in the real world—
Lucius's body twitched violently.
Claire rushed to his side.
Zara dropped her axe.
Velda's scrolls burned from overcharge.
Lilith hesitated.
Then ran.
Faster than she ever had.
---
Lucius's eyes opened.
But he wasn't there.
Not yet.
He whispered:
> "Lucien…?"
Lilith caught him as he slumped.
And she didn't let go.
Not even when the fire flared to life.
Not even when the Blade of the Last Name began to glow.
Not even when Claire started crying.
Not even when Velda said:
"…He's not just remembering Sovarion anymore."
---
And far, far away—
where no gods dared tread,
a woman opened her eyes in the dark.
Her voice like silk over razors:
> "So... the mortal remembers."
> "Let's see if he remembers me."