Chapter 138: No Wait, Just Truth

The oak tree split wider.

Not cracked.

Not broken.

Opened.

A pale light poured through the wound in the trunk, illuminating the seven people beneath its branches.

Dillan didn’t move.

Neither did Sasha.

The name carved into the bark glowed softly.

AURELIA.

Then the Witness Record appeared.

[SECOND ENTRY DETECTED.]

[SUBJECT: AURELIA.]

[STATUS: UNRESOLVED.]

[FIRST CHOICE: PENDING.]

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"Aurelia..."

The name felt strangely heavy.

Like something he had carried for years without knowing its weight.

Aurelia stood several steps away.

She stared at the tree.

Her expression wasn’t afraid.

It was confused.

"I don’t understand."

The light beneath the oak intensified.

A doorway formed.

But unlike the previous doors, this one had no handle.

No lock.

No inscription.

Only darkness beyond it.

Sasha stepped closer to Dillan.

"That’s different."

"I know."

Aurelia looked at him.

"Dillan."

He turned.

Her eyes trembled.

"What am I supposed to choose?"

Dillan didn’t answer immediately.

Because he remembered.

Every time someone had been given a choice in this place, something had been waiting to punish them for making it.

He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

"I don’t know."

Aurelia blinked.

"You don’t?"

"No."

Dillan looked at the doorway.

"And I’m not going to tell you."

Silence.

Then Aurelia smiled faintly.

"Good."

Dillan looked at her.

She walked toward the doorway.

"I think I would’ve hated you if you did."

The moment she stepped inside, the world disappeared.

Aurelia stood alone.

No oak tree.

No Sasha.

No Dillan.

No sky.

Only an endless white space.

Then something appeared in front of her.

A memory.

A little girl.

Dark hair.

A nervous smile.

Standing beneath the same oak tree.

A younger Dillan stood beside her.

And Sasha was there too.

Aurelia watched herself.

Then she heard young Dillan speak.

"Promise me you won’t disappear."

Young Aurelia smiled.

"I won’t."

Sasha looked away.

Something was wrong.

Aurelia could feel it.

The memory changed.

Another scene.

Aurelia was crying.

Dillan was holding her hand.

Sasha stood behind them.

Then came another.

Aurelia was gone.

Another.

Dillan couldn’t remember her.

Another.

Sasha couldn’t remember her either.

Aurelia’s breathing stopped.

"No..."

The memories accelerated.

Childhood.

The oak tree.

The bracelet.

The preservation mechanism.

The Locks.

The sacrifice.

Her disappearance.

Everything.

Then one final memory appeared.

Aurelia saw herself standing before young Dillan.

But this time, she wasn’t crying.

She was smiling.

And she was holding something.

A small white envelope.

She handed it to him.

"Dillan."

Young Dillan looked up.

"If you remember me..."

She paused.

"...you’ll have to choose."

The memory ended.

Aurelia stared into the white emptiness.

"What choice?"

A voice answered.

Her own.

"Me."

Aurelia froze.

A second Aurelia appeared across from her.

Same face.

Same voice.

But completely emotionless.

The second Aurelia smiled.

"You were always going to choose him."

Aurelia stepped back.

"Who are you?"

"I’m the Aurelia who stayed."

The room darkened.

"You?"

"I chose Dillan."

The second Aurelia pointed toward the darkness behind her.

"And you chose to disappear."

Aurelia’s eyes widened.

"I didn’t choose that."

The other Aurelia smiled.

"Then prove it."

A System-like notification appeared.

[MEMORY CONFLICT DETECTED.]

[SUBJECT: AURELIA.]

[TWO OUTCOMES IDENTIFIED.]

[OUTCOME A: REMAIN WITH DILLAN.]

[OUTCOME B: ALLOW DILLAN TO FORGET YOU.]

Aurelia stared at the two options.

Then laughed quietly.

Not because it was funny.

Because she finally understood.

"This isn’t my choice."

The other Aurelia’s smile vanished.

Aurelia stepped forward.

"You already decided the choices."

The white room trembled.

"I don’t want either."

The notifications flickered.

[INVALID RESPONSE.]

Aurelia shook her head.

"No."

The room cracked.

"I said I don’t want either."

She looked directly at her other self.

"I don’t want to stay because I’m afraid he’ll forget me."

She took another step.

"And I don’t want to disappear just because that’s what everyone expects me to do."

The second Aurelia began to fracture.

"Then what do you want?"

Aurelia closed her eyes.

For the first time, there was no fear in her expression.

"I want to live."

The entire white room went silent.

Then...

[THIRD OUTCOME DETECTED.]

Aurelia opened her eyes.

[OUTCOME C: AURELIA CHOOSES A LIFE THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE DILLAN RUREN.]

The second Aurelia stared at her.

Then smiled.

Not bitterly.

Almost proudly.

"So that’s your answer."

Aurelia nodded.

"Yes."

The other Aurelia touched her chest.

Light spread through her body.

Before disappearing, she whispered:

"Then don’t become someone who needs to be remembered."

She vanished.

Aurelia stood alone.

Then the Witness Record appeared.

[SECOND ENTRY: RESOLUTION DETECTED.]

[SUBJECT: AURELIA.]

[AUTONOMY GRANTED.]

[DEPENDENCY CONDITION: REJECTED.]

[FIRST CHOICE: COMPLETE.]

Aurelia smiled.

But then another message appeared.

One that wasn’t part of the Record.

[WARNING.]

Her smile disappeared.

[AURELIA’S FIRST CHOICE WAS NEVER THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM.]

Aurelia stared at the message.

Another line appeared.

[THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM WAS WHO GAVE HER THE CHOICE.]

The white room went black.

And somewhere beyond it...

A woman’s voice whispered.

"Dillan was never the one who created the choices."

Aurelia’s eyes widened.

The voice continued.

"He only inherited them."

Back beneath the oak tree, Dillan suddenly grabbed his chest.

Sasha looked at him.

"Dillan?"

He couldn’t breathe.

The Witness Record appeared above them.

[SECOND ENTRY COMPLETE.]

Then the letters changed.

[AURELIA: AUTONOMOUS.]

Dillan exhaled.

Aurelia stepped out of the oak.

Alive.

Whole.

Free.

She looked at Dillan.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then she smiled.

"I chose myself."

Dillan nodded.

"I’m glad."

Aurelia walked past him.

Then stopped.

She glanced back.

"But there’s something you should know."

Dillan turned.

"What?"

Aurelia’s expression became serious.

"I remembered something."

The wind stopped.

Sasha’s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Aurelia looked toward the oak.

"Someone was there before all of us."

The bark began to bleed black.

A new name slowly appeared.

Not Aurelia.

Not Sasha.

Not Dillan.

A name none of them recognized.

ELARA.

Aurelia whispered:

"She was watching."

The Witness Record flickered.

[THIRD ENTRY DETECTED.]

Dillan stared at the name.

Then another message appeared.

[SUBJECT: UNKNOWN.]

A pause.

Then:

[FIRST CHOICE: ALREADY MADE.]

Dillan’s blood ran cold.

Because beneath the name ELARA, another sentence appeared.

[AND SHE CHOSE DILLAN RUREN.]

The name remained carved into the oak.

ELARA.

Dillan couldn’t look away.

The letters pulsed once.

Then again.

Like a heartbeat buried inside the tree.

Sasha stepped closer.

"That name..."

Her voice was barely audible.

"You remember it?"

Dillan shook his head.

"No."

Aurelia looked at him.

"But your face says otherwise."

Dillan touched his chest.

Something hurt there.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

A memory trying to surface.

Then the Witness Record appeared.

[THIRD ENTRY: UNSTABLE.]

[SUBJECT: ELARA.]

[CHOICE STATUS: ALREADY COMPLETED.]

[MEMORY STATUS: RESTRICTED.]

Dillan frowned.

"Already completed?"

Aurelia nodded.

"That’s what it said."

Sasha stared at the tree.

"Then why are we seeing it now?"

No answer.

The oak creaked.

A single leaf fell.

It landed at Dillan’s feet.

The moment he touched it...

Everything disappeared.

A little boy stood beneath the oak.

Four years old.

Dillan.

But this memory was different.

There was no System.

No Locks.

No Preservation Core.

No girls.

Only the tree.

And a little girl sitting beneath it.

She had her knees against her chest.

Her face was hidden.

Young Dillan approached her.

"Are you crying?"

The girl looked up.

"No."

"You are."

"I’m not."

"You are."

She wiped her eyes.

Dillan sat beside her.

Neither spoke.

After a while, the girl asked:

"What’s your name?"

"Dillan."

She smiled.

"That’s a nice name."

"What about yours?"

The girl looked away.

"I don’t have one."

Dillan frowned.

"Everyone has a name."

"Not me."

"Why?"

She shrugged.

"Because nobody chose one."

Dillan thought about it.

Then smiled.

"I’ll choose one."

The girl’s eyes widened.

"You?"

"Yeah."

"What will you call me?"

Dillan opened his mouth.

But the memory distorted.

The girl’s face disappeared.

Her voice became distant.

"Don’t."

Dillan froze.

"Don’t what?"

"Don’t give me a name."

The memory cracked.

Another voice appeared.

Older.

Female.

Cold.

"If you name her, she becomes yours."

Young Dillan looked around.

"Who said that?"

The girl grabbed his hand.

"Don’t listen."

The voice returned.

"If she becomes yours, you will have to choose her."

The little girl began trembling.

Young Dillan squeezed her hand.

"I’ll choose her."

The world went silent.

Then the voice asked:

"Even if choosing her means losing everyone else?"

Young Dillan didn’t hesitate.

"Yes."

The memory shattered.

Dillan returned beneath the oak.

He stumbled backward.

Sasha caught him.

"Dillan!"

He breathed heavily.

Aurelia stared at him.

"What did you see?"

Dillan looked at the name carved into the tree.

"Elara."

Sasha’s expression changed.

"You remembered?"

"Not everything."

He looked down.

"But I remember choosing someone."

The Witness Record appeared.

[MEMORY FRAGMENT RESTORED.]

[ORIGINAL SUBJECT: ELARA.]

[AGE AT FIRST ENCOUNTER: FOUR.]

[RELATIONSHIP: UNDEFINED.]

[INITIAL CHOICE: DILLAN RUREN.]

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"Initial choice?"

Aurelia stepped closer.

"There’s more."

The Record flickered.

[WARNING.]

[THE SUBJECT KNOWN AS ELARA MAY NOT BE THE ORIGINAL NAME.]

Sasha’s face went pale.

"Then who is Elara?"

The oak answered.

Not with words.

With a sound.

A child’s laughter.

Dillan slowly turned toward the darkness beyond the tree.

A small figure stood there.

A girl.

Her face was hidden beneath a hood.

She raised one hand.

And pointed directly at Sasha.

Sasha froze.

The girl spoke.

"She remembers me."

Dillan stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

The girl tilted her head.

"You already know."

"No."

"You just forgot."

Aurelia whispered:

"Dillan..."

The girl’s hood slipped slightly.

Only one eye became visible.

Crimson.

Sasha’s breathing stopped.

The girl smiled.

"I’m the reason Sasha was chosen."

Silence.

Then the Witness Record erupted across the sky.

[THIRD ENTRY: OVERRIDDEN.]

[SUBJECT: ELARA.]

[STATUS: FALSE IDENTIFICATION.]

[ORIGINAL SUBJECT: UNKNOWN.]

Dillan’s heart dropped.

The girl lowered her hand.

"And now..."

Her crimson eye opened completely.

"...you finally get to remember who chose you first."

The oak tree screamed.

And every Lock beneath the world began opening at once.

The oak tree screamed.

Not like wood splitting.

Like something alive had been trapped inside it for centuries.

Cracks spread across the ground.

One after another.

Seven.

Then nine.

Then more.

Dillan looked around.

The earth beneath his feet was opening.

Not physically.

Memorically.

Fragments of forgotten moments began rising from the darkness.

Aurelia saw herself as a child.

Dana saw a room she had never entered.

Lyra saw a door she had never opened.

Evelyn saw the oak tree burning.

Sasha saw herself standing inside the Preservation Core.

And Dillan...

Dillan saw himself.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Hundreds of versions.

Every one of them choosing something different.

The Witness Record appeared.

[MASS MEMORY RELEASE DETECTED.]

[LOCK STRUCTURE: DESTABILIZING.]

[FIRST LOCK.]

[SECOND LOCK.]

[THIRD LOCK.]

[FOURTH LOCK.]

[FIFTH LOCK.]

[SIXTH LOCK.]

[SEVENTH LOCK.]

[NINTH LOCK.]

[ZERO LOCK.]

[ALL LOCKS: OPENING.]

Dillan clenched his fists.

"Stop."

The girl in the hood didn’t move.

"Why?"

"Because you’re hurting everyone."

She smiled.

"No."

Her crimson eye narrowed.

"I’m showing them what you hid."

Dillan stepped toward her.

"What did I hide?"

The girl pointed toward the oak.

"Not what."

A pause.

"Who."

The tree split apart.

Inside it was a room.

A room Dillan had never seen.

White walls.

A small wooden table.

Two chairs.

And on the table...

A photograph.

Dillan walked toward it.

Sasha grabbed his wrist.

"Dillan, wait."

He stopped.

Aurelia stared at the room.

"I remember this."

Everyone turned toward her.

Aurelia’s face had gone pale.

"I’ve never been here."

She swallowed.

"But I remember being here."

Dillan slowly entered.

The photograph was face down.

He reached for it.

The hooded girl spoke.

"Don’t."

Dillan stopped.

"Why?"

"Because once you see it..."

Her smile disappeared.

"...you can’t pretend you don’t know."

Dillan turned the photograph over.

His breath caught.

There were three children in it.

Young Dillan.

Young Sasha.

And a third girl.

The same girl from the white room.

But she wasn’t smiling.

She was looking directly at the camera.

On the back of the photograph were five words.

SHE WAS HERE FIRST.

Sasha stared at it.

"Who is she?"

The hooded girl answered.

"That’s the question."

The Witness Record flickered.

[PHOTOGRAPH AUTHENTICATED.]

[SUBJECTS DETECTED: 3.]

[DILLAN RUREN.]

[SASHA RUREN.]

[UNKNOWN.]

Then another line appeared.

[NAME: ELARA.]

Dillan stared.

"But you said Elara was a false identification."

The girl nodded.

"It is."

"Then why does the Record recognize her?"

"Because the Record is remembering what you remembered."

Dillan’s eyes narrowed.

"So Elara is real."

"Yes."

"Then who are you?"

The girl lowered her hood.

Her face became visible.

Dillan froze.

Sasha froze.

Aurelia’s lips parted.

The girl looked almost exactly like the child in the photograph.

But there was something wrong.

Her eyes were crimson.

And a thin black line ran from her left eye to her jaw.

She smiled.

"My name isn’t important."

Dillan stared at her.

"It is if you were here before Elara."

The girl’s expression changed.

For the first time...

She looked afraid.

Only for a second.

Then it vanished.

"I was here before names."

The room went silent.

Dillan’s heart sank.

The Witness Record appeared.

[ENTITY DETECTED.]

[CLASSIFICATION: PRE-NAMING EXISTENCE.]

[AGE: UNKNOWN.]

[ORIGIN: UNKNOWN.]

[RELATION TO DILLAN RUREN: ORIGINAL.]

Dillan whispered:

"Original..."

The girl walked closer.

"You were not born with a name."

She touched the photograph.

"You were not born with a System."

Her finger moved toward young Dillan.

"And you weren’t born wanting Sasha."

Sasha stiffened.

The girl’s crimson eyes moved toward her.

"You were taught to want."

Sasha’s expression hardened.

"By whom?"

The girl smiled.

"That’s what your next Lock contains."

The ground suddenly shook.

A massive door emerged beneath them.

Not seven doors.

Not nine.

One.

A door without a number.

Without a name.

Without a handle.

Dillan stared at it.

The Witness Record appeared.

[UNNUMBERED LOCK DETECTED.]

[DESIGNATION: ORIGIN LOCK.]

[CREATION TIME: BEFORE MEMORY.]

[CREATOR: UNKNOWN.]

[ACCESS CONDITION: THE HOST MUST REMEMBER HIS FIRST DESIRE.]

Dillan’s face went cold.

"My first desire..."

The girl nodded.

"You wanted someone."

She leaned closer.

"But you don’t remember what happened after you asked."

Dillan stared at the door.

A faint sound came from behind it.

A child’s voice.

His own.

"I don’t want to be alone."

Then another voice answered.

A woman’s voice.

Soft.

Familiar.

Terrifyingly calm.

"Then choose me."

Dillan’s eyes widened.

Sasha stepped backward.

Aurelia whispered:

"Dillan..."

The door opened by itself.

Darkness waited beyond it.

And from somewhere inside...

A woman began humming the same lullaby Dillan had heard beneath the oak tree.

The hooded girl smiled.

"Now you’ll finally meet the person who taught you how to choose."

The door opened wider.

And Dillan heard his own childhood voice whisper:

"Mother?"