Chapter 422: _Waking Memories

Unknown Location, Outside Reality

"I don’t understand." After several minutes of walking and searching, Orion came to a halt.

He’d gotten to a point where the swaying grasses reached knee level, tickling his bare feet without hurting him. It should’ve been comforting.

The warm sun rays and pollution-free air should’ve been soothing. The chirping birds and butterflies coming to him like he was nectar should’ve been heartwarming.

But something was missing.

"This isn’t my home." Orion glanced back at his older self, who stood a few feet behind him all this while. "This... this isn’t the house my papa and daddy bought together. Where is it?"

Older Orion stayed silent.

That silence only made Orion more anxious. "You told me we were home."

"We are." A response finally slipped out. "If you would just—"

"No, we aren’t!" Orion snapped, voice sending a massive shockwave that flattened the greenery for thousands of miles. "Stop lying to me. This isn’t my home. I want to go back. Take me back!"

"Orion—"

"Papa?!" The little boy placed both hands beside his face, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Daddy?! Uncle Viktor! I’m... I don’t know where I am. Someone, please... huh?"

The world around him changed halfway through his screams.

Orion froze, his breath getting stuck in his throat.

Older Orion stepped forward beside him, arms behind his back. "That house wasn’t our home, Orion. They weren’t our original family. Our real family. They never were, and deep down you know it."

Before them stood a magnificent skyscraper with black glass façades. At the very top was a penthouse. One that Orion knew all too well but had somehow... forgotten.

After all these months.

"T-This place," he whispered, the word overpowering the chaotic loudness that came from the cars and people around them. "Isn’t this—"

"Orion?"

A familiar voice called, echoing in his head and from within the top floor.

Memories long buried in the boy’s mind began peeling out layer by layer—memories from his original timeline.

Space warped.

Orion stumbled into a living room so familiar that his chest hurt.

A huge window overlooked a city that stretched farther than his eyes could follow, tiny flying vehicles weaving between distant towers. Warm sunlight poured across the floor, making everything glow.

His eyes immediately found the cream-coloured couch.

He knew that couch. He used to build blanket forts there.

There was still a folded blue blanket draped over one arm exactly where Daddy always left it after movie nights.

His gaze drifted toward the kitchen.

Papa’s favourite coffee mug sat on the table beside a tablet that hadn’t been put away. A fruit bowl rested on the counter, filled with oranges because Daddy always said they should eat healthier before secretly bringing home cake anyway.

A small cleaning robot rolled quietly past his feet before returning to its little charging corner.

It was still here.

Everything... was still here.

Family pictures covered one of the shelves.

One showed Papa laughing so hard his eyes were closed.

Another showed Daddy and Uncle Viktor carrying him on their shoulders while Uncle Gabriel, Valentine and Loki stood behind them pretending not to smile.

Orion’s breathing hitched.

"I..." His tiny fingers trembled. "I remember."

"Yes." Older Orion suddenly moved until he was standing in front of him. "And you still haven’t gone past the surface."

Before Orion could understand what that meant, he heard giggling coming down the hallway, followed by tiny pounding footsteps.

"Ready or not!" Ambrose’s jolly voice echoed from a room there. "Here I come!"

Orion blinked.

A slightly younger version of himself—probably four or five—rushed into the living room, clearly searching for a hiding spot.

His face was smudged with chocolate, eyes wild with excitement.

At first, Orion himself was afraid he’d notice them.

He didn’t.

The younger him ran to the sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window, crouching behind it. He closed his eyes, turning invisible the next second.

Ambrose soon came walking out of the hallway, a knowing grin stretching his lips.

"Don’t tell me you’re using your powers to cheat."

Younger him could barely hold back a mischievous chuckle.

"This was before the world as we know it changed forever," Older Orion whispered, watching the scene unfold. "Before everything changed. Before Dad—our real dad—had to send us to the timeline we live in now."

Orion’s jaw ticked.

His eyes gradually became weirdly wet as he watched Ambrose eventually find and grab his younger self. The latter kicked and laughed, shouting about how it wasn’t fair.

"W-Why?" Orion finally found words as a tear dropped down his face. "Why can’t I remember most of this? Why now?"

Older Orion’s expression turned grave.

With a wave, the scene changed once again.

This time it showed a world reduced to rubble, the skies blackened with ash.

Orion’s heart lurched.

Destruction stretched as far as his eyes could see. Beneath the rubble were mangled corpses no six-year-old had any business seeing.

"This was after the first wave of the Archons’ attacks." Older Orion said, boots crunching calmly against the rubble. "Your memories are still there. They’re just... locked away. Trauma can do that to a child who’s witnessed so much."

Orion’s small hands balled into fists.

"So..." His voice shook. "I forgot because... I was scared?"

Older Orion slowly nodded. "You forgot because your mind chose survival over remembrance."

Why?" Orion whispered. "Why are you showing me all this now?"

Older Orion was quiet for a long moment. "Because you’ve remembered enough."

Orion frowned. "Enough?"

"Enough for your memories to begin waking on their own."

Orion’s eyes widened slightly.

"This isn’t me giving them back to you." Older Orion looked toward the ruined skyline. "I’m only removing the lock."

His gaze settled on Orion once more.

"From this point onward... you’ll remember by yourself."

"...Little by little?"

A nod.

"The more you remember..." Older Orion’s expression became unreadable. "...the closer you’ll come to understanding why father made the choice he did."

Orion swallowed. "And when I remember everything?"

Older Orion didn’t answer immediately.

When he finally did, it was barely above a whisper.

"You’ll stop being the child you are now."