Chapter 116: Evelyn

The voice echoed through the Preservation Core.

"You forgot me first."

Dillan couldn’t move.

He knew that voice.

Not completely.

Not consciously.

But somewhere deep inside him...

he knew it.

His chest tightened.

"Who are you?"

The sixth silhouette didn’t answer.

Instead, she stepped into the light.

Long hair.

Pale skin.

A familiar expression.

But her face remained strangely blurred, as if reality itself refused to let Dillan remember her.

The System immediately reacted.

[CRITICAL MEMORY ANOMALY.]

[IDENTIFICATION ATTEMPT: FAILED.]

[FACIAL DATA: CORRUPTED.]

[VOCAL DATA: MATCH FOUND.]

[MATCH CONFIDENCE: 99.97%.]

Dillan swallowed.

"Where have I heard your voice?"

The woman smiled.

"Everywhere."

"What?"

"In your dreams."

Dillan’s pupils contracted.

The Oneiric Malformation.

The dreams.

The whispers.

The warnings.

The strange voice that had sometimes sounded almost like Sasha.

But not quite.

Dillan took a step backward.

"You’re the voice."

The woman tilted her head.

"One of them."

Not Sasha

Sasha appeared inside the memory.

She looked frightened.

"Don’t listen to her."

The sixth woman glanced at Sasha.

"Still pretending?"

Sasha’s expression hardened.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing."

She smiled.

"I only reminded him."

Dillan looked between them.

"Reminded me of what?"

Neither answered.

Dillan’s patience snapped.

"ANSWER ME!"

The Preservation Core shook.

The System flashed violently.

[HOST EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED.]

[CORE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 82%.]

[RECOMMENDATION: REMAIN CALM.]

Dillan laughed bitterly.

"Remain calm?"

The notifications continued appearing.

[MEMORY TRACE: ACTIVE.]

[UNKNOWN FEMALE: MEMORY SIGNATURE MATCHING.]

[WARNING.]

[SUBJECT WAS PRESENT BEFORE THE FIRST CHOICE.]

Dillan’s laughter stopped.

Before the First Choice.

That meant...

she wasn’t created afterward.

She had been there from the beginning.

The Sixth Child

A memory suddenly surfaced.

A playground.

Six children.

Dillan.

Sasha.

Aurelia.

Alina.

And two others.

Dillan stared.

"Six..."

His head throbbed.

He saw himself as a child.

Running.

Laughing.

Holding someone’s hand.

But the person’s face remained hidden.

Then another memory.

Rain.

The oak tree.

Five children standing beneath it.

Dillan looked around.

"Where’s the sixth?"

The memory answered.

She wasn’t there.

She had already disappeared.

Dillan’s breathing became shallow.

"That’s why I couldn’t remember."

The sixth woman smiled.

"Exactly."

"What happened to you?"

Her smile vanished.

"You chose."

Dillan froze.

"What?"

"The First Choice."

She pointed toward young Dillan.

"You chose to make sure nobody disappeared."

Her eyes became strangely sad.

"Except me."

Silence.

The Forgotten Person

Dillan stared at young himself.

"Why?"

Young Dillan didn’t answer.

The sixth woman did.

"Because you couldn’t save everyone."

Aurelia looked down.

Alina’s expression became tense.

Even Sasha remained silent.

Dillan shook his head.

"No."

"You were a child."

"No."

"You were scared."

"I said no."

"And someone had to be left behind."

Dillan’s memories began flooding back.

The oak tree.

The black crystal.

Alina crying.

Sasha screaming.

Aurelia holding his hand.

And...

someone standing behind him.

Someone he had promised:

"I’ll come back."

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"I promised you."

The sixth woman smiled.

"Yes."

"I promised I’d come back."

"Yes."

"But I didn’t."

"No."

The smile became heartbreaking.

"You forgot me."

The System’s Answer

Dillan turned toward the System.

"Who is she?"

For several seconds...

nothing happened.

Then the notification appeared.

[IDENTIFICATION PROCESSING.]

[RESTRICTED MEMORY DETECTED.]

[AUTHORITY INTERFERENCE DETECTED.]

[OVERRIDE ATTEMPT...]

[FAILED.]

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"Even you can’t identify her?"

The woman laughed softly.

"It isn’t that simple."

The System appeared again.

[SUBJECT STATUS: UNKNOWN.]

[CLASSIFICATION: PRE-CHOICE ENTITY.]

[RELATION TO HOST: ORIGINAL.]

[RELATION TO FIRST CHOICE: DIRECT.]

[RELATION TO PRESERVATION CORE: FOUNDATIONAL.]

Then one final line appeared.

[SUBJECT WAS THE FIRST PERSON DILLAN RUREN TRIED TO SAVE.]

Dillan stopped breathing.

"Alina..."

Alina looked at him.

"It’s not me."

Aurelia whispered:

"Then who?"

The sixth woman looked directly at Dillan.

"You already know."

Dillan stared at her blurred face.

His heart began pounding.

And suddenly...

one word surfaced.

A name.

A name he hadn’t heard in years.

A name buried beneath every Lock.

Beneath every false memory.

Beneath the First Choice itself.

His lips moved.

"...Evelyn."

The Preservation Core went silent.

The sixth woman smiled.

"There you are."

The System immediately screamed.

[PRIMARY MEMORY RESTORATION: 61.4%.]

[NAME RECOVERED: EVELYN.]

[MEMORY SEAL DESTABILIZING.]

[AUTHORITY RESPONSE DETECTED.]

[EMERGENCY MEMORY PURGE INITIATED.]

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"No."

The woman reached toward him.

"This time..."

Her fingers touched his forehead.

"...don’t forget me."

The entire Preservation Core shattered.

The Preservation Core shattered.

Not exploded.

Not destroyed.

Shattered.

Like glass thrown against the floor of reality.

Dillan fell through darkness.

He couldn’t feel his body.

Couldn’t hear the System.

Couldn’t remember where he was.

Then...

A hand grabbed his.

Small.

Warm.

Familiar.

"Dillan."

His eyes opened.

A little girl stood beside him.

Long dark hair.

A white dress.

A tiny red ribbon around her wrist.

Dillan stared.

"Evelyn..."

She smiled.

"You remembered."

The First Memory

They were beneath the oak tree.

The sky was bright.

No rain.

No shadows.

No System.

Just children.

Evelyn sat beside Dillan, swinging her legs.

"You promised."

Dillan frowned.

"Promised what?"

Her cheeks puffed.

"You forgot already?"

"I didn’t!"

"You did."

"I didn’t!"

Evelyn giggled.

Then she held out her little finger.

"Promise me again."

Dillan hooked his finger around hers.

"I promise."

"Promise what?"

Dillan thought for a moment.

Then smiled.

"If you disappear, I’ll find you."

Evelyn’s smile faded.

"Even if you forget me?"

Dillan laughed.

"That’s impossible."

Evelyn looked at him strangely.

"Nothing is impossible."

The memory froze.

Dillan stared at the scene.

His stomach twisted.

That conversation...

He remembered it.

Not vaguely.

Perfectly.

And then another memory surfaced.

Evelyn standing beneath the oak tree.

Alina crying.

Sasha screaming.

Aurelia holding Dillan back.

And the mysterious man saying:

"You can’t save all of them."

Dillan clenched his teeth.

"No..."

Evelyn looked at him.

"You remember now."

"I remember you."

"Do you remember what you did?"

Dillan couldn’t answer.

Evelyn’s expression became sad.

"You chose Alina."

The First Choice

Dillan looked toward Alina.

She was standing several meters away.

Crying.

Young Sasha stood beside her.

Young Aurelia was kneeling on the ground.

And Evelyn...

was disappearing.

Dillan watched his younger self scream.

"I’ll save her!"

The man beneath the tree shook his head.

"You cannot."

"Then I’ll make something!"

"Something capable of preserving her existence?"

"Yes!"

The black crystal appeared.

Dillan remembered.

The Preservation Core.

The rule.

Nobody disappears without leaving something behind.

But now he saw the part he’d forgotten.

The rule required a sacrifice.

Not Alina.

Not Sasha.

Evelyn.

Dillan’s face went pale.

"You..."

Evelyn nodded.

"I was the cost."

The Lie

Dillan turned toward the mysterious man.

"You knew."

The man smiled.

"Of course."

"You made me choose."

"No."

"You told me someone had to disappear."

"You decided that yourself."

Dillan’s fists trembled.

"But you knew what I would choose."

"Yes."

"Why?"

The man didn’t answer.

Evelyn did.

"Because he wanted to see what you would create."

Dillan looked at her.

"What?"

Evelyn’s eyes darkened.

"He wasn’t interested in Alina."

Silence.

"He wasn’t interested in Sasha."

A pause.

"He wasn’t even interested in you."

Dillan stared at the man.

"Then what did you want?"

The figure smiled.

"Proof."

Proof

The darkness behind the man opened.

Hundreds of memories appeared.

Different children.

Different families.

Different choices.

Some chose themselves.

Some chose their parents.

Some chose their friends.

Some chose to sacrifice another person.

And some...

created something.

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"How many?"

The man answered calmly.

"Before you?"

A pause.

"Thirty-seven."

Dillan felt cold.

"Children?"

"Hosts."

"Hosts for what?"

The man smiled.

"Possibility."

The System suddenly returned.

[SYSTEM RESTORED.]

[HOST LOCATION: PRESERVATION CORE.]

[CORE INTEGRITY: 31%.]

[EXTERNAL AUTHORITY: SUPPRESSED.]

[MEMORY RESTORATION: 63.9%.]

Then another notification appeared.

[IMPORTANT.]

[THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS NOT THE ORIGINAL SYSTEM.]

Dillan stared.

The words continued.

[ORIGINAL SYSTEM WAS CREATED FROM HOST’S FIRST RULE.]

His breathing stopped.

"What?"

Evelyn smiled.

"You finally understand."

Dillan looked at her.

"The System..."

She nodded.

"Wasn’t given to you."

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"It came from me?"

"Yes."

The System flickered.

[ORIGINAL CREATION CONFIRMED.]

[CREATOR: DILLAN RUREN.]

[CREATION TYPE: RULE-BASED PRESERVATION SYSTEM.]

[PRIMARY DIRECTIVE:]

[NO EXISTENCE SHALL DISAPPEAR WITHOUT LEAVING A TRACE.]

Dillan stared at the notification.

Everything suddenly connected.

The Memory Trace.

The Locks.

The Preservation Core.

The Oneiric Malformation.

The strange System warnings.

All of it.

His own creation.

His own rule.

His own choice.

But then...

a final notification appeared.

[ERROR.]

[CREATOR AUTHORITY: DENIED.]

[REASON: CREATOR NO LONGER RECOGNIZES HIMSELF.]

Dillan’s blood ran cold.

"What does that mean?"

Evelyn looked at him.

"It means..."

She stepped closer.

"...someone took your place."

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

Evelyn pointed toward the darkness.

A figure slowly emerged.

The same silhouette from beneath the oak tree.

But this time...

Dillan could see its face.

His own face.

Older.

Colder.

Smiling.

The figure looked directly at him.

"Hello, Dillan."

Dillan couldn’t move.

The man smiled.

"I’m the version of you who made the choice you were too afraid to make."

Author’s note: If you like the arc so far don’t forget to contribute power stone it will really help with the book’s growth and even Golden tickets and gifts will also motivate me.