Chapter 110: Sasha’s Fear

The world had gone silent.

Dillan stood beneath the dead streetlight.

Across from him…

Sasha stared at the mysterious girl.

Neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Dillan looked between them.

"…You know each other?"

Sasha didn't answer.

Her eyes remained fixed on the girl.

The girl smiled.

"Hello, Sasha."

Sasha's expression tightened.

"…Don't call me that."

Dillan's eyes narrowed.

"Sasha."

She finally looked at him.

"Don't ask."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know how to explain it."

The mysterious girl laughed softly.

"You've always been terrible at explaining things."

Sasha's hands trembled.

"Shut up."

Dillan noticed.

Sasha was afraid.

Not nervous.

Not uncomfortable.

Afraid.

He stepped toward her.

"Sasha, what's going on?"

She backed away.

"Dillan…"

"What is she?"

Sasha swallowed.

"I don't know."

The girl smiled.

"That's a lie."

Sasha suddenly snapped.

"I SAID I DON'T KNOW!"

Her voice echoed across the empty playground.

Dillan froze.

Sasha immediately lowered her head.

"…Sorry."

She took a breath.

"I didn't mean to yell."

Dillan slowly approached.

"You don't have to apologize."

Sasha looked at him.

Her eyes were strangely vulnerable.

"I thought she was gone."

The girl tilted her head.

"You thought wrong."

Sasha's face went pale.

The Girl's Name

Dillan turned toward the mysterious girl.

"Enough."

She looked at him.

"Tell me your name."

Silence.

Dillan held up the bracelet.

"This belonged to you."

Her eyes dropped to it.

For the first time…

her smile disappeared.

Dillan noticed.

"You recognize it."

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Then tell me."

She looked at him.

"…My name is—"

The world suddenly distorted.

CRACK.

Dillan's vision fractured.

The System appeared.

[MEMORY TRACE INTERFERENCE.]

[IDENTITY DATA CORRUPTED.]

[WARNING.]

[ATTEMPTING TO RESTORE RESTRICTED INFORMATION.]

Dillan gritted his teeth.

"System, don't stop."

[WARNING.]

"Continue."

[MEMORY RESTORATION MAY CAUSE HOST PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE.]

"Do it."

Sasha grabbed his arm.

"No!"

Dillan looked at her.

"What?"

"Don't force it."

"Why?"

"Because I remember what happened last time."

Dillan's expression changed.

"What happened?"

Sasha's lips trembled.

"You screamed."

He stared.

"You were a child."

She nodded.

"You screamed for hours."

Aurelia's name suddenly came to Dillan's mind.

"Aurelia was there?"

Sasha nodded.

"Yes."

"And the fourth child?"

Sasha looked toward the girl.

Silence.

Dillan understood.

"You remember her."

Sasha didn't deny it.

The Forgotten Night

Sasha closed her eyes.

"I remember the night."

Her voice became quiet.

"The night beneath the tree."

Dillan listened.

"You created something."

She looked at him.

"Something that wasn't supposed to exist."

Dillan's chest tightened.

"You said it would protect us."

The mysterious girl interrupted.

"No."

Sasha looked at her.

"You said it would protect her."

The girl smiled.

"That's right."

Dillan's eyes widened.

"Her?"

Sasha looked at him.

"You don't remember."

"No."

"You were crying."

Dillan clenched his fists.

"What did I say?"

Sasha hesitated.

Then whispered:

"If she stays, nobody has to die."

Dillan's eyes widened.

The memory returned.

The oak.

The rain.

The shadow.

The girl.

His younger self.

And something else.

A fourth presence.

Something watching them from beyond the tree.

Dillan suddenly grabbed his head.

"Wait…"

Sasha rushed toward him.

"Dillan!"

He stumbled backward.

"I remember…"

The mysterious girl watched silently.

Dillan whispered:

"…There was someone else."

Sasha froze.

Aurelia wasn't there.

The mysterious girl wasn't there.

Sasha wasn't the one he meant.

There had been…

someone standing behind the tree.

Someone watching.

Someone who had spoken the words that started everything.

Dillan's eyes widened.

"The choice wasn't mine."

Sasha looked terrified.

"What?"

Dillan stared at the mysterious girl.

"You said someone had to remain."

She nodded.

"You told me I couldn't save everyone."

Her expression became unreadable.

"And then…"

Dillan's voice dropped.

"…someone else told me what to create."

Silence.

Sasha whispered:

"Who?"

Dillan slowly turned toward the darkness behind the oak tree.

"I don't know."

The System appeared.

[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 27.3%.]

[EXTERNAL INFLUENCE DETECTED.]

[FIRST CHOICE WAS NOT ENTIRELY SELF-GENERATED.]

Dillan stared.

"External influence…"

The mysterious girl looked toward the darkness.

Her expression changed.

For the first time…

she looked afraid too.

Dillan noticed.

"You know who it was."

She didn't answer.

"Tell me."

Still nothing.

Dillan stepped forward.

"Who was behind the tree?"

The girl whispered:

"…The person who wanted you to make the choice."

Sasha's face went white.

"That's impossible."

Dillan looked at her.

"Why?"

Sasha shook her head.

"Because…"

Her voice trembled.

"…that person wasn't supposed to exist."

The wind suddenly stopped.

The playground lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then every light turned crimson.

The System appeared one final time.

[EXTERNAL PRESENCE DETECTED.]

[LOCATION: BEHIND HOST.]

Dillan's body went rigid.

Sasha whispered:

"…Don't turn around."

Dillan slowly looked over his shoulder.

A silhouette stood beneath the oak tree.

Tall.

Motionless.

Watching him.

Then it spoke.

"You finally remembered me."

Dillan didn't turn around.

The voice behind him was enough.

His entire body had gone rigid.

Sasha stood several steps away.

Her face had lost all color.

The mysterious girl was completely still.

Even the wind had stopped.

Dillan tightened his grip around the old bracelet.

"…Who are you?"

The silhouette didn't answer.

Instead, it took one step forward.

Crunch.

A dry branch broke beneath its foot.

Dillan finally turned.

A man stood beneath the oak tree.

Tall.

Black coat.

Dark hair.

His face was hidden beneath the shadow of the branches.

But his eyes…

Dillan recognized them.

Not from his childhood.

From his dreams.

Crimson.

The same crimson that had appeared in the eyes of the Oneiric Malformation.

Dillan's breathing became heavier.

"…You."

The man smiled.

"You remember my eyes."

Sasha immediately moved between them.

"Don't look at him."

Dillan stared at her.

"Why?"

"Because he isn't real."

The man laughed.

A quiet, almost amused laugh.

"Still protecting him."

Sasha's fists clenched.

"Stay away from him."

The man tilted his head.

"You said the same thing that night."

Dillan's eyes widened.

"You were there."

"Yes."

"At the oak tree."

"Yes."

"Then you know what happened."

The man's smile disappeared.

"I know what you did."

The First Choice

Dillan stepped forward.

"What did I create?"

The man looked at him.

"You created a possibility."

"That's not an answer."

"It is."

"No."

Dillan's voice hardened.

"I created something."

"Correct."

"What?"

The man glanced toward the mysterious girl.

She lowered her eyes.

Then he looked at Sasha.

Sasha looked away.

Finally, he looked at Dillan.

"You created something capable of carrying a person's existence after that person should have disappeared."

Dillan froze.

"…A vessel?"

The man's smile returned.

"Closer."

Aurelia's name suddenly flashed through Dillan's mind.

He looked at the mysterious girl.

"Was it her?"

The girl shook her head.

"No."

Dillan's eyes widened.

"Then who?"

The man answered.

"You."

Silence.

Dillan's face went blank.

"What?"

"You created something that could preserve you."

Sasha immediately shouted:

"He's lying!"

The man looked at her.

"Am I?"

Sasha didn't respond.

Dillan looked at her.

"…Sasha."

She shook her head.

"Dillan, don't listen to him."

"Then tell me the truth."

"I…"

She couldn't.

That hesitation was enough.

Dillan's stomach sank.

The System

The System suddenly appeared.

[EXTERNAL ENTITY DETECTED.]

[IDENTIFICATION: FAILED.]

[THREAT LEVEL: UNDEFINED.]

[MEMORY COMPATIBILITY: 99.8%.]

Dillan stared at the final percentage.

"…99.8?"

The man smiled.

"Your System remembers me."

Dillan looked toward him.

"But it can't identify you."

"Because I don't belong to the present version of your memory."

"What does that mean?"

"You erased me."

Dillan's expression changed.

"…I did?"

The man nodded.

"Along with the First Choice."

Sasha's Secret

Sasha suddenly stepped toward Dillan.

"Come with me."

Dillan didn't move.

"Sasha."

"Please."

"Tell me the truth."

She stared at him.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because you made me promise."

Dillan froze.

"…I made you promise?"

Sasha nodded.

"When we were children."

"What did I make you promise?"

Her eyes filled with tears.

"That if you ever remembered…"

She swallowed.

"…I would stop you."

Dillan's heart sank.

"Stop me from what?"

Sasha looked directly into his eyes.

"From making the same choice again."

The mysterious girl lowered her head.

The man beneath the tree smiled.

And Dillan suddenly understood.

This wasn't just about remembering the past.

Something was waiting for him to repeat it.

The Girl

Dillan looked toward the mysterious girl.

"You said I created something."

"Yes."

"Was it meant to protect someone?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Who?"

She looked at Sasha.

Then Aurelia's empty space.

Then finally…

herself.

Dillan's eyes widened.

"…You?"

The girl smiled sadly.

"Yes."

Sasha closed her eyes.

Dillan whispered:

"Then why did you disappear?"

The girl didn't answer.

The man did.

"Because you succeeded."

Dillan stared at him.

"What?"

"You protected her."

The man pointed toward the girl.

"But protection always has a price."

Dillan felt a cold sensation crawl through his body.

"What price?"

The man's eyes glowed.

"Someone had to become the thing that could never leave."

The black ground beneath the tree began cracking.

Dillan took a step back.

The mysterious girl looked at him.

Her eyes filled with tears.

"…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She whispered:

"For being the reason you made the First Choice."

The world suddenly shattered.

CRACK!

Dillan's vision went black.

Reality

Dillan's eyes snapped open.

He was lying on the couch.

Dana was standing over him.

"Dillan!"

He sat up violently.

"Where's Sasha?"

Dana froze.

"…What?"

"Sasha. Where is she?"

"Dillan, calm down."

"Where is she?!"

Aurelia rushed into the room.

"What happened?"

Dillan looked around.

The house.

The couch.

The windows.

Everything was normal.

But his hand was still holding the bracelet.

Aurelia saw it.

Her face changed.

"…Where did you get that?"

Dillan stared at her.

"That's what I want to know."

Aurelia slowly sat down.

"Dillan…"

He leaned forward.

"Who was the fourth child?"

Aurelia didn't answer.

"Who was the man beneath the tree?"

Still nothing.

Dillan's voice became colder.

"And why does Sasha remember something I don't?"

Aurelia closed her eyes.

Then whispered:

"…Because she was the one who asked you to make the First Choice."

Dillan's heart stopped.

"What?"

Aurelia opened her eyes.

But before she could continue…

The System appeared.

[MEMORY TRACE UPDATE.]

[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 31.4%.]

[FIRST CHOICE: 42% RESTORED.]

[NEW FACT CONFIRMED.]

[SASHA WAS PRESENT AT THE CREATION.]

Dillan stared at the final notification.

Then another appeared.

[WARNING.]

[THE PERSON YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR IS NOT THE FOURTH CHILD.]

Dillan's pupils contracted.

"…Then who am I searching for?"

The System remained silent.

Aurelia looked toward the window.

Her voice was barely audible.

"…The person who taught Sasha how to love you."

Dillan slowly turned toward her.

Outside the window…

a familiar crimson-eyed silhouette stood across the street.

Watching.

Smiling.

Then it disappeared.