Chapter 112: The Woman Who Taught Her

The rooftop was silent.

Dillan remained seated against the railing.

Lyra stood a few steps away.

Neither spoke.

The System notification still floated before Dillan’s eyes.

[SASHA CONNECTION: STABLE.]

[HOST AWARENESS: CONFIRMED.]

[SASHA IS CURRENTLY AWARE OF THE HOST.]

Dillan slowly closed the interface.

"Then I’ll find her."

Lyra immediately shook her head.

"No."

Dillan looked at her.

"You just told me she’s waiting for me."

"Exactly."

"Then why shouldn’t I go?"

"Because she wants you to come."

Dillan frowned.

"That’s the point."

"No."

Lyra stepped closer.

"You’re thinking like someone trying to solve a mystery."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"But Sasha isn’t a mystery."

Dillan said nothing.

"She’s a person."

Lyra’s voice softened.

"And she’s hurting."

The Next Morning

Dillan woke up on the couch.

He had apparently fallen asleep on the rooftop.

Dana was standing over him.

"You’re unbelievable."

Dillan opened one eye.

"Morning."

"You said you were going to bed."

"I changed my mind."

"Obviously."

She tossed a blanket at him.

"Breakfast."

Dillan sat up.

"Where’s Aurelia?"

"Outside."

"And Lyra?"

"Training."

Dillan paused.

"...Sasha?"

Dana’s expression changed.

"Still gone."

Dillan nodded.

Then something appeared.

[DAILY QUEST AVAILABLE.]

[QUEST: LIVE NORMALLY.]

Objective: Spend one day without investigating the First Choice.

Reward: Unknown.

Failure: Memory instability increases.

Dillan stared at it.

"...Seriously?"

Dana looked over.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He closed the System.

For once...

he decided to obey.

A Normal Day

Breakfast.

Training.

Shopping.

Lunch.

A short walk through the city.

It felt strangely peaceful.

Dana complained about everything.

Aurelia laughed at something Dillan said.

Even Lyra eventually joined them.

For several hours...

Dillan forgot about the tree.

The Fourth Child.

The mysterious man.

Sasha.

The First Choice.

He simply lived.

And that was exactly when the System appeared.

[DAILY QUEST: 67% COMPLETE.]

[HOST PSYCHOLOGICAL STABILITY: IMPROVING.]

[MEMORY DISTORTION: DECREASING.]

Dillan looked at the notification.

"...So I really needed a normal day."

Aurelia glanced at him.

"Maybe."

"That’s surprisingly healthy advice."

She smiled.

"Don’t get used to it."

Evening

The group stopped at a small café.

Dillan sat by the window.

Aurelia sat across from him.

Dana was arguing with Lyra over dessert.

For a moment...

Dillan smiled.

Then he noticed something.

A reflection in the window.

A girl standing behind him.

Long hair.

Crimson eyes.

Dillan turned.

Nobody.

He looked back at the glass.

The reflection remained.

The girl smiled.

Dillan’s smile disappeared.

He stood.

Aurelia immediately noticed.

"Dillan?"

"I’ll be right back."

He walked outside.

The reflection disappeared.

He looked around.

Nothing.

Then his phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

One message.

Come alone.

Dillan stared.

Another message arrived.

You wanted answers.

Then:

I can give you one.

Dillan’s fingers tightened around the phone.

A final message appeared.

Meet me where you first called me home.

His eyes widened.

"...Home?"

He looked toward the street.

A memory surfaced.

A small house.

A rainy afternoon.

Young Dillan opening a door.

Sasha standing outside.

Crying.

He had invited her inside.

And said:

"You can stay here."

Dillan’s breathing slowed.

"...That’s where it started."

The System appeared.

[LOCATION IDENTIFIED.]

[CHILDHOOD RESIDENCE.]

[MEMORY RESONANCE: 87%.]

Then another notification.

[WARNING.]

[SASHA IS NOT ALONE.]

Dillan’s expression hardened.

He put his phone away.

He turned toward the café.

Aurelia was watching him through the window.

Their eyes met.

She immediately knew.

Dillan walked back inside.

Aurelia whispered:

"She contacted you."

Dillan nodded.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"My old house."

Aurelia’s face changed.

"...No."

Dillan looked at her.

"What?"

"You can’t go there."

"Why?"

Aurelia’s voice dropped.

"Because that’s where Sasha first learned what love meant."

Dillan froze.

"What are you talking about?"

Aurelia looked toward the window.

"That house wasn’t just your childhood home."

She paused.

"It was where she began."

Dillan stared at her.

"Who?"

Aurelia’s eyes filled with fear.

"The woman who taught Sasha."

The Old House

Night had fallen.

Dillan stood outside the abandoned house.

The front door was open.

He stepped inside.

Dust covered the floor.

Old furniture remained exactly where he remembered.

His childhood bedroom.

The kitchen.

The hallway.

Everything felt familiar.

Too familiar.

Then...

he heard footsteps upstairs.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Dillan looked up.

"Sasha?"

No answer.

He climbed the stairs.

At the end of the hallway...

a bedroom door stood open.

Inside was a single chair.

And someone sitting in it.

Dillan stopped.

The woman slowly raised her head.

Long hair.

Crimson eyes.

A gentle smile.

But this time...

Dillan recognized the face.

His breath caught.

"...Aurelia?"

The woman smiled.

"No."

She stood.

"I only borrowed her face once."

Dillan’s blood turned cold.

She walked closer.

"My name is Celia."

The System erupted.

[HIGH-LEVEL ENTITY DETECTED.]

[IDENTITY: CELIA.]

[RELATION TO FIRST CHOICE: DIRECT.]

[RELATION TO SASHA: CREATOR.]

Dillan stared at the final word.

Creator.

Celia smiled.

"Now..."

Her crimson eyes brightened.

"Let’s talk about the girl I taught to love you."

Dillan didn’t move.

The old house was silent around him.

Dust floated through the pale moonlight.

Celia stood at the end of the hallway.

Calm.

Almost gentle.

But the System’s words continued flashing before Dillan’s eyes.

[IDENTITY: CELIA.]

[RELATION TO FIRST CHOICE: DIRECT.]

[RELATION TO SASHA: CREATOR.]

Dillan’s expression hardened.

"...Creator?"

Celia smiled.

"That’s what your System calls me."

"What do you call yourself?"

"A teacher."

"A teacher?"

"Yes."

She walked toward him.

"I taught Sasha."

Dillan’s jaw tightened.

"Taught her what?"

Celia stopped a few meters away.

"How to survive."

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s not what Aurelia said."

"Of course it isn’t."

"She said you taught Sasha how to love."

Celia’s smile faded.

"I taught her both."

Dillan felt something cold settle in his stomach.

"Why?"

Celia looked toward the old bedroom.

"Because Sasha was a lonely child."

She walked past him.

Dillan followed.

"She was afraid of losing you."

"I know."

"No."

Celia looked back.

"You don’t."

The Old Bedroom

The room was almost untouched.

An old wooden desk.

A small bookshelf.

A faded rug.

Dillan remembered playing here.

But something else caught his attention.

A drawing pinned to the wall.

Four children stood beneath an enormous tree.

Dillan.

Sasha.

Aurelia.

And the mysterious fourth child.

Dillan approached it.

"...I drew this."

Celia nodded.

"Yes."

"Why is there someone else?"

"Because there were four of you."

Dillan looked at her.

"Who was she?"

Celia didn’t answer.

Instead, she pointed to the bottom of the drawing.

A sentence had been written in childish handwriting.

IF WE STAY TOGETHER, NOBODY DISAPPEARS.

Dillan’s chest tightened.

"I wrote that."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Before the First Choice."

Dillan stared at the words.

"Then I already knew someone was going to disappear."

Celia nodded.

"You were afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of being left behind."

The First Lesson

Celia sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sasha came here every afternoon."

Dillan looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because she was afraid."

"Of me?"

"Of losing you."

Dillan frowned.

"What did you tell her?"

Celia looked toward the window.

"I told her that love wasn’t about possessing someone."

Dillan blinked.

"Then why did she become so possessive?"

Celia’s eyes lowered.

"Because she misunderstood me."

Silence.

Dillan stared.

"Or perhaps..."

Celia smiled faintly.

"...she understood me too well."

Dillan’s expression darkened.

"What did you actually teach her?"

Celia looked directly at him.

"I taught her that if she wanted to protect something, she had to understand what it was afraid of."

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"And what was I afraid of?"

Celia didn’t hesitate.

"Being alone."

The room became colder.

"And Sasha?"

"Being abandoned."

Dillan looked away.

"So you used our fears."

"No."

Celia stood.

"I taught you both to recognize them."

"Then why does Sasha think love means keeping me?"

"Because later..."

Celia’s voice softened.

"...someone else continued the lesson."

Dillan’s eyes sharpened.

"Who?"

Celia smiled.

"That’s one of the memories you haven’t recovered."

The System

Dillan opened his System.

"Show me."

[MEMORY TRACE.]

[SUBJECT: SASHA.]

[CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT.]

[ACCESSING...]

The room disappeared.

Dillan saw young Sasha sitting on the floor.

Celia was beside her.

Sasha was crying.

"I don’t want Dillan to leave."

Celia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Then understand why he might."

"Why?"

"Because people leave when they feel trapped."

Sasha looked confused.

"So I shouldn’t trap him?"

"Correct."

Young Sasha nodded.

"I understand."

The memory changed.

Years passed.

Sasha was older.

She sat alone.

Someone else stood before her.

Dillan couldn’t see the person’s face.

The voice was distorted.

"Celia taught you the first lesson."

Sasha looked up.

"What lesson?"

"Love doesn’t mean possession."

Sasha nodded.

"And the second?"

The figure leaned closer.

"Love means becoming indispensable."

Dillan’s eyes widened.

The memory fractured.

"No..."

He tried to reach it.

The figure’s identity remained hidden.

Sasha’s face became clearer.

Her eyes were wet.

But she smiled.

"Then I’ll become his home."

The memory shattered.

Back in the Bedroom

Dillan stumbled backward.

Celia caught his shoulder.

He immediately pulled away.

"You knew."

"Yes."

"You knew someone was teaching her after you."

"Yes."

"Who?"

Celia remained silent.

Dillan’s voice became colder.

"Who?"

Celia looked at him.

"I don’t know."

Dillan stared.

"You’re lying."

"No."

She shook her head.

"I know the lesson."

"I know the result."

"But I don’t know the teacher."

Dillan’s anger faded slightly.

"...How?"

Celia looked toward the ceiling.

"Because that person never showed themselves to me."

The System appeared.

[MEMORY RESTORATION: 34.8%.]

[NEW INFORMATION.]

[SASHA RECEIVED MULTIPLE INFLUENCES.]

[CELIA: FIRST INFLUENCE.]

[UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL: SECOND INFLUENCE.]

Dillan stared.

"So Sasha’s obsession wasn’t created by one person."

Celia nodded.

"No."

"Then the Oneiric Malformation..."

Celia’s eyes became serious.

"Don’t confuse them."

Dillan stopped.

"What?"

"The Malformation didn’t create Sasha’s love."

She stepped closer.

"It found something that already existed."

Dillan remembered Sasha’s crimson eyes inside his memories.

Celia continued:

"That’s what makes her dangerous."

A Different Memory

The System suddenly flickered.

Dillan hadn’t activated anything.

[AUTOMATIC MEMORY RESTORATION.]

Dillan’s eyes widened.

The room vanished.

He was beneath the oak tree.

Rain poured down.

Young Dillan stood beside Sasha.

Aurelia was crying.

The fourth child stood before them.

And behind the tree...

the mysterious man.

But this time...

Dillan could hear him.

"You cannot save all three."

Young Dillan shook his head.

"I can."

"No."

The man stepped from the shadows.

"You can only choose what remains."

Young Sasha grabbed Dillan’s hand.

"Dillan..."

He looked at her.

She was terrified.

Then she whispered:

"Choose me."

Dillan froze.

The memory shattered before he could hear his answer.

Present

Dillan opened his eyes.

His breathing was heavy.

Celia stared at him.

"...You heard it."

Dillan looked at her.

"Sasha asked me to choose her."

Celia nodded.

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because she was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

Celia looked toward the window.

"That you would choose the fourth child."

Dillan froze.

"...Why would she think that?"

Celia didn’t answer.

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"Because of what happened between us?"

Celia nodded.

"No."

"Then what?"

Celia looked directly at him.

"Because the fourth child had already been chosen once."

Dillan’s expression changed.

"By whom?"

Celia’s eyes turned crimson.

"By you."

Silence.

Then the System appeared.

[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 36.2%.]

[FIRST CHOICE: 51%.]

[NEW MEMORY AVAILABLE.]

[SASHA’S CHOICE.]

Dillan stared at the final words.

"...She made a choice too?"

Celia smiled sadly.

"Everyone did."

The old bedroom door suddenly slammed shut.

BANG!

Dillan turned.

From the other side...

came a familiar voice.

Soft.

Shaking.

Almost pleading.

"Dillan..."

Sasha.

Dillan’s eyes widened.

Celia whispered:

"She’s here."

Dillan looked at the door.

Then Sasha spoke again.

"Please don’t believe everything she tells you."

Celia’s expression changed.

For the first time...

she looked genuinely afraid.