Chapter 140: Roulette

The word remained on every screen.

REMEMBER.

David stared at it.

Nothing else happened.

No alarms.

No voices.

No sudden revelation.

Just that single word glowing across dozens of screens.

Samuel was still standing behind him.

David could hear his breathing.

Fast.

Controlled.

Barely.

That alone told David more than the word did.

He turned.

"You knew this would happen."

Samuel didn’t answer.

David waited.

Samuel looked older than he had a moment ago.

Not physically.

Something in his expression had changed.

The certainty was gone.

David took another step toward him.

"You knew."

"I suspected."

"That’s different."

"Not tonight."

David’s eyes narrowed.

"Then explain."

Samuel glanced toward the screens.

"The moment the seventh door opened, the containment system recognized you."

"Recognized me as what?"

Samuel hesitated.

David’s expression hardened.

"As the lock?"

Samuel shook his head.

"No."

"As the thing behind it?"

"No."

David waited.

Samuel finally looked directly at him.

"As the person who built it."

Silence.

David didn’t move.

For several seconds, even the hum of the facility seemed distant.

Then he laughed once.

It was short.

Dry.

Completely humorless.

"I was five."

"Yes."

"You expect me to believe I built whatever is underneath this place when I was five?"

"I expect you to understand that the word built doesn’t mean what you think it means."

David’s eyes narrowed.

"Then what does it mean?"

Samuel opened his mouth.

Every screen went black.

The facility plunged into darkness.

David’s body reacted before his thoughts did.

His shoulders lowered.

His weight shifted.

His right hand moved slightly.

Samuel noticed.

"You still do that."

"Do what?"

"Prepare for something to attack you."

David looked into the darkness.

"It’s usually useful."

A faint metallic sound came from somewhere ahead.

Then another.

Something was moving through the corridor.

Samuel whispered.

"It’s coming."

David didn’t look at him.

"What?"

"The facility."

David’s brow furrowed.

"The facility?"

"It isn’t just a building."

A low vibration passed through the floor.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Somewhere far below them, massive machinery groaned awake.

Samuel’s voice dropped.

"It was designed around you."

David finally looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because nothing else could contain what was inside you."

David stared at him.

"You’re still talking like there’s something inside me."

"There is."

"My memories?"

"No."

David waited.

Samuel swallowed.

"Your origin."

The lights returned.

But the facility was different.

The corridor walls had changed.

Thin black lines ran across them now, spreading outward from the place where the seventh door had been.

They resembled veins.

Or cracks.

David walked toward one.

He touched it.

The instant his fingers made contact—

The corridor disappeared.

He was standing in a field.

Grass moved beneath a gray sky.

A small boy stood several meters away.

Five years old.

Barefoot.

Wearing a white shirt.

David stared at him.

The boy turned.

It was him.

But there was something wrong with the expression.

He wasn’t frightened.

He wasn’t confused.

He looked annoyed.

The boy crossed his arms.

"You’re late."

David blinked.

"Late for what?"

The boy sighed.

"You always ask questions first."

"That’s because you’re not exactly giving me much information."

The boy smiled.

A small, familiar smile.

David’s smile.

"That’s better."

David stared at him.

"Who are you?"

The boy’s expression changed.

For the first time, something like sadness appeared in his eyes.

"You."

"I’ve already established that."

"No."

The boy stepped closer.

"I’m the part you buried before they taught you how to forget."

David’s eyes narrowed.

"What did they bury?"

The boy pointed toward the sky.

David looked up.

Seven black shapes were hanging above the clouds.

Doors.

Seven of them.

All closed.

The boy spoke quietly.

"Your choices."

David looked back at him.

"My choices?"

"Every time they divided you, they didn’t take a piece of your mind."

The boy touched his chest.

"They took a choice."

David’s expression tightened.

"Why?"

"Because you kept choosing the wrong thing."

"According to who?"

The boy smiled.

"Everyone."

The field began trembling.

David looked around.

The grass was turning black.

The sky was cracking.

"What’s happening?"

"They found us."

"Who?"

The boy’s smile disappeared.

"The ones who were afraid you’d remember."

David turned.

Figures stood along the horizon.

Samuel.

Elaine.

His mother.

Scientists.

Guards.

People David recognized.

People he didn’t.

All watching.

None approaching.

Then one figure stepped forward.

A woman.

David couldn’t see her face.

But he knew her.

His body knew her before his mind did.

His chest tightened.

"Who is that?"

The boy didn’t answer.

David looked at him.

"Who?"

The boy whispered.

"She gave you your first name."

David froze.

The woman lifted her head.

For one impossible second, David saw her face.

Then the vision shattered.

He was back in the facility.

He stumbled.

Samuel caught his shoulder.

David immediately pulled away.

"What did I just see?"

Samuel looked pale.

"The memory is starting to reconnect."

"Who was the woman?"

Samuel said nothing.

David stepped closer.

"Who was she?"

"You don’t remember her?"

"I asked you."

Samuel looked away.

That was enough.

David’s voice became quieter.

"You do."

Samuel closed his eyes.

"Yes."

"Then tell me."

"I can’t."

David’s jaw tightened.

"Can’t?"

"Won’t."

A beat.

David nodded slowly.

"That’s more honest."

He turned away.

Samuel watched him.

"You should leave."

David stopped.

"Leave?"

"Now."

"Why?"

"Because this facility is no longer containing anything."

The walls groaned.

A distant impact shook the corridor.

Samuel looked toward the floor.

"It is becoming a door."

David turned back.

"A door to what?"

Samuel’s face tightened.

"The first place."

David waited.

Samuel finally said it.

"The place they found you."

David’s expression changed slightly.

"Under the facility?"

"No."

"Then where?"

Samuel looked directly at him.

"Before the facility."

The floor trembled again.

This time, something beneath them knocked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

David looked down.

The sound stopped.

Then—

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Exactly three times.

David’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s not random."

"No."

Samuel backed away.

"What is it?"

Samuel’s voice was barely audible.

"Someone answering."

David stared at the floor.

A thin black line appeared beneath his feet.

It spread in a perfect circle.

Symbols began forming around it.

Seven.

Then fourteen.

Then dozens.

David recognized them.

They were the same symbols from the chambers.

The same ones from the first gate.

But now there was something different.

At the center of the circle was a name.

Not David.

Another name.

David stared at it.

He couldn’t read it.

Not because the letters were unfamiliar.

Because his mind refused to recognize them.

He felt something inside his head recoil.

A headache struck him.

He grabbed his temple.

Samuel stepped forward.

"Don’t look at it."

David forced himself to keep his eyes open.

"What is it?"

"Your first name."

The pain intensified.

David’s breathing became uneven.

The letters blurred.

For a moment, he heard a woman’s voice.

Soft.

Close.

Almost affectionate.

A voice he hadn’t heard in years.

Maybe ever.

"Don’t let them take it."

David froze.

Samuel stared at him.

"You heard her."

David slowly lowered his hand.

"Who was that?"

Samuel said nothing.

"Samuel."

Silence.

David’s eyes hardened.

"Who was that?"

Samuel finally answered.

"Your mother."

David went completely still.

"My mother?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

Samuel looked toward the symbol.

"That."

David looked down.

The unknown name was still there.

"What did she mean?"

Samuel shook his head.

"I don’t know."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"No."

David looked at him.

Samuel’s expression was exhausted.

"I expect you to understand that there are things I genuinely don’t know."

The circle suddenly opened.

Not physically.

Reality itself folded inward.

A black opening appeared beneath David.

Samuel lunged forward.

"David!"

David dropped.

His body disappeared through the darkness.

Samuel reached for him.

His fingers caught nothing.

Then the opening closed.

Silence.

David landed on stone.

He didn’t move immediately.

His palms pressed against cold ground.

There was no facility.

No Samuel.

No screens.

No machines.

Only darkness.

Then a light appeared ahead.

A small yellow light.

Like a candle.

David stood.

He walked toward it.

The light revealed a room.

Stone walls.

A wooden table.

A single chair.

And someone sitting in it.

A woman.

Her back was facing him.

David stopped.

He knew her.

He didn’t know how.

But every instinct in his body recognized her.

The woman spoke without turning.

"You took your time."

David’s expression hardened.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled.

"You always hated that question."

David stared at her.

"Turn around."

She didn’t.

"Why?"

"I want to see your face."

"You already know it."

"Not yours."

The woman went silent.

David took another step.

"I saw you before."

"Yes."

"In the memory."

"Yes."

"You gave me my first name."

The woman’s shoulders lowered.

"Yes."

David’s eyes narrowed.

"What was it?"

She finally turned.

David’s breath caught.

She looked exactly like his mother.

But younger.

Much younger.

No fear.

No exhaustion.

No scars.

Just a woman staring at him with unbearable familiarity.

David couldn’t speak.

She smiled.

"My son."

His expression hardened immediately.

"Don’t."

Her smile faded.

"You always did that."

"Did what?"

"Hide behind anger when you were afraid."

"I’m not afraid."

"I know."

She stood.

She walked toward him.

David didn’t move.

She stopped directly in front of him.

Then she raised her hand.

Her fingers touched his forehead.

The world went silent.

A memory entered his mind.

Not an image.

A feeling.

Warmth.

Safety.

A name spoken for the first time.

His name.

David’s eyes widened.

He heard it.

Clearly.

Completely.

And the instant he understood what she had called him—

the entire room began collapsing.

His mother smiled sadly.

"Now you remember."

David stared at her.

"What am I?"

Her expression changed.

Not fear.

Grief.

"You were never supposed to become human."

The stone walls cracked.

Something enormous moved beyond them.

David’s heartbeat stopped for a fraction of a second.

His mother stepped backward.

"They gave you a human name because they were afraid of the one you had."

David’s voice came out low.

"What was it?"

She looked directly into his eyes.

And spoke the name.

The world shattered.

David opened his eyes.

He was back in the facility.

Samuel was kneeling beside him.

Every light had gone out.

The screens were black.

The walls were silent.

For several seconds, Samuel simply stared at him.

Then his face drained of color.

David slowly sat up.

Samuel whispered.

"You remembered."

David looked at him.

"Yes."

"What did she call you?"

David remained silent.

Samuel’s breathing stopped.

He already knew.

David looked toward the seventh door.

It was back.

Standing exactly where it had been.

But this time—

it was open.

And something was standing inside.

David rose.

Samuel grabbed his arm.

"Don’t."

David looked at his hand.

Then at Samuel.

"What?"

Samuel’s voice trembled.

"That isn’t the door."

David turned toward the darkness.

Something inside smiled.

Samuel whispered the truth.

"It’s the first thing you were."

David stared into the doorway.

Then he smiled.

For the first time, there was something unfamiliar in his expression.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Recognition.

"Then let’s see what I was."

The thing inside stepped forward.

And the facility screamed.