Chapter 136: Escape

The stranger remained motionless.

Only those yellow eyes could be seen clearly in the darkness.

Eryndor stepped forward, placing himself between Rin and the unknown figure.

"Who are you?"

The stranger tilted his head.

"That is the question you should be asking yourself."

Eryndor frowned.

"I asked you a question."

"And I heard you."

The voice was calm, almost gentle. That somehow made it worse.

Rin stared at the figure.

Aelion?

No answer.

Aelion, do you know him?

Silence.

Rin swallowed.

The stranger took another step.

Light from the room finally reached his face.

He looked young. Perhaps only a few years older than Rin’s current appearance.

His hair was pale, almost silver, and his eyes carried the same strange color that Rin had seen before.

But there was something wrong with him.

He looked like someone who had been waiting for a very long time.

"You shouldn’t be here," the stranger said.

Eryndor’s expression hardened.

"We could say the same about you."

The stranger smiled.

"I was here before this city existed."

Rin’s eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

The stranger looked directly at him.

For the first time, his expression changed.

Recognition. Not surprise. Recognition.

"You really don’t remember?"

Rin’s heart began to pound.

"Remember what?"

The stranger didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Eryndor.

"And you still protect him."

Eryndor’s hand tightened.

"Protect who?"

The stranger looked back at Rin.

"Aelion."

Rin froze. Eryndor turned toward him.

Rin quickly looked away. The stranger noticed.

"You’re afraid."

"No."

"You are, is something that him do not know?"

The stranger stepped closer.

Rin said nothing.

"You’re afraid he’ll discover that you aren’t who he thinks you are."

Rin’s blood went cold. Eryndor looked at him.

"What does he mean?"

Rin’s mind went blank. The stranger smiled.

"Interesting."

Eryndor turned toward the stranger.

"Explain yourself."

"There is nothing to explain."

"You just accused him of hiding something."

"I said nothing of the sort."

"You implied it."

The stranger shrugged.

"You are still impatient."

Eryndor stared at him.

"Still?"

The stranger’s smile faded. For a moment, the room became completely silent.

Then he whispered,

"Yes."

Eryndor stepped closer.

"Have we met before?"

The stranger looked at him for a long moment.

"Not in the way you remember."

Rin’s stomach tightened.

The words reminded him of everything that had happened since entering the city.

Names that had been erased. Memories that didn’t belong to the present.

Aelion’s silence.

And now this stranger.

Rin looked at the wall.

"Aelion and Eryndor’s names were written here."

"Yes."

"Why?"

The stranger walked past them.

He stopped before the wall and touched Eryndor’s name.

The stone immediately glowed.

"Because this room was created to remember what the world tried to erase."

Rin stared.

"The world?"

The stranger nodded.

"Not the Gods."

Eryndor looked confused.

"Then what?"

"The World itself."

Rin’s breathing slowed.

The stranger continued.

"Before this city fell, there were things that even the Gods were forbidden to change."

He pointed toward their names.

"Promises."

Then toward another faded name.

"Names."

Then toward the empty space beneath Eryndor.

"And choices."

Rin stared at the blank space.

"What was written there?"

The stranger looked at him.

"You already know."

Rin’s heart skipped.

"No, I don’t."

"You do."

The stranger stepped closer.

"Your mind refuses to accept it."

Rin clenched his fists.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

The stranger’s eyes softened.

"That is because your memories were never supposed to return all at once."

Eryndor immediately stepped forward.

"What memories?"

The stranger looked at him.

"Not yours."

Rin felt a chill. Eryndor’s expression changed.

"What does that mean?"

The stranger didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked toward the doorway.

"Come."

Eryndor didn’t move.

"Why should we follow you?"

"Because the room is no longer safe."

As if responding to his words, the stone walls suddenly shook.

A deep rumble came from somewhere below.

Dust fell from the ceiling. Rin looked down.

"What was that?"

"The city waking up."

Eryndor’s face tightened.

"What happens when it wakes?"

The stranger looked at him.

"It remembers everyone who died here."

The room went silent. Then the walls began to glow.

Thousands of faint lights appeared across the chamber.

One after another, shapes formed.

People. Men. Women. Children. They appeared like shadows, moving through the room without seeing Rin or Eryndor.

A market. A street. A temple. A school. A family eating together.

The city before its destruction. Rin stared in silence.

"This is a memory."

The stranger nodded.

"The last memory the city preserved."

Eryndor watched the figures.

"What happened to them?"

The stranger didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.

The images changed.

The peaceful city became chaotic. People ran through the streets. Buildings burned. The temple doors closed.

Guards gathered around the central tower.

And then Rin saw two figures.

Aelion. And Eryndor.

They were older than the children from the previous memory, but still young.

Eryndor was injured. Aelion stood in front of him.

Someone was shouting at them. The image had no sound. Rin stepped closer.

"What happened?"

The stranger answered quietly.

"They discovered the mark."

Rin looked at Eryndor.

Eryndor stared at his younger self.

"What did they discover?"

"That the mark did not belong to you."

Eryndor turned.

"What?"

The stranger pointed toward the image.

"It was placed on you because someone needed a bearer."

Rin’s eyes narrowed.

"A bearer for what?"

The stranger looked at Aelion.

"For something that should never have been separated from its owner."

The memory shifted. Aelion placed his hand against Eryndor’s shoulder.

The mark on Eryndor’s body reacted.

Light spread between them. Rin’s heart tightened. He knew what he was seeing.

Their souls were connected. Not romantically. Not magically in the way he had imagined.

Something deeper. A bond created by someone else. A connection that had been forced upon them.

Then the image shattered. Eryndor looked at the stranger.

"Did Aelion do this to me?"

"No."

"Then who did?"

"The people who believed they could control fate."

Eryndor’s jaw tightened.

"And what happened to them?"

The stranger looked toward the ceiling.

"They failed."

A loud crack echoed through the chamber.

The floor split. Rin stumbled. Eryndor grabbed his arm.

"Careful!"

The stranger moved toward the exit.

"Enough."

Eryndor looked at him.

"Enough what?"

"Memories."

The stranger turned.

"If you stay here, the city will show you everything."

Rin stared at him.

"Isn’t that what we need?"

"No."

The stranger’s expression became serious.

"Because not every memory is true."

Rin froze.

"What?"

"A memory can be changed."

Eryndor frowned.

"Then how do we know what to believe?"

"You don’t."

The stranger looked directly at Rin.

"You must decide what deserves to be remembered."

Before Rin could respond, another tremor shook the room.

This time, the ceiling cracked. Stone began falling. Eryndor grabbed Rin and pulled him toward the exit.

"Move!"

They ran.

The stranger disappeared ahead of them. Rin followed Eryndor through the passage. Behind them, the room began collapsing.

They reached the previous chamber just as the doorway shattered.

Eryndor looked around. The ancient stone door they had entered through was gone.

There was only a wall.

"We’re trapped."

Rin looked toward the stranger. He stood several meters away.

"You knew this would happen."

"Yes."

"Then why bring us here?"

The stranger’s eyes settled on Eryndor.

"Because he needed to remember one thing."

Eryndor frowned.

"What?"

The stranger pointed at the black mark on his arm.

"You were never the curse."

Eryndor froze. The stranger continued.

"You were the one carrying it."

Rin felt something shift inside his mind.

Aelion finally spoke.

He is telling the truth.

Rin’s eyes widened.

How do you know?

Aelion was silent.

Then he whispered,

Because I was the one who asked them to save him.

Rin stared ahead. His heart pounded.

You asked them?

Yes.

Why didn’t you tell me?

Aelion’s voice became painfully quiet.

Because I was ashamed.

Rin closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, Eryndor was looking at him.

"Aelion?"

"I’m fine."

"You keep saying that."

Rin forced a smile.

"I know."

The stranger watched them carefully. Then he walked toward the wall.

He pressed his palm against the stone. A hidden passage opened. Beyond it was a narrow tunnel illuminated by faint blue light.

"This path leads to the heart of the city."

Eryndor looked at him.

"And what is there?"

"The answer."

"To what?"

The stranger looked at Rin.

"To why Aelion returned."

Rin went still. Eryndor noticed.

"Returned?"

The stranger nodded.

"Yes."

Eryndor looked at Rin.

"What does he mean?"

Rin couldn’t answer, was really the past like this?

The stranger stepped into the tunnel.

"Come."

Eryndor hesitated. Then he followed. Rin remained behind for one second.

Aelion.

Yes.

What is at the heart of the city?

Aelion’s answer was almost inaudible.

The place where I made my first mistake.

Rin swallowed. Then he followed Eryndor into the darkness. Behind them, the passage closed.

And far beneath the city, something enormous opened its eyes.