Chapter 161: The Boy Beneath the Tree

Eden couldn’t take his eyes off the photograph. The rain continued falling around him, cold drops striking his face and running down his cheeks, but he barely noticed. His attention was fixed on the eight figures standing beneath the tree. Seven of them had faces, and seven of them were familiar. The eighth stood directly behind him, its head tilted slightly to one side, its faceless features somehow more unsettling than any expression could have been.

The little boy holding the photograph smiled and said that he remembered everything now. Eden slowly stood and asked who he was. The boy looked almost offended, insisting that Eden already knew. When Eden denied it and claimed he had never seen him before, the boy’s smile vanished. He lowered the photograph and told Eden that wasn’t true, saying he had seen him every time he looked in a mirror.

The boy stepped forward. He had the same black hair, the same eyes, the same face, and even the same small scar beneath the left side of his chin. Eden instinctively touched his own chin, and the boy immediately noticed. He claimed Eden remembered that scar and explained it came from falling out of the tree. Eden denied ever falling from the tree, but the boy calmly replied that it had happened before he was born. The statement left Eden speechless.

Aria remained beneath the tree, silently watching. Eden turned toward her and accused her of knowing this would happen. She admitted she had always known he would eventually find the boy. When Eden demanded to know who he was, Aria stayed silent. The boy answered instead, introducing himself as Eden. Eden immediately rejected that claim, insisting the boy wasn’t him. The boy shrugged and replied that technically Eden wasn’t him either.

Frustration began building inside Eden as he demanded answers instead of riddles. The boy laughed and remarked that he really hadn’t changed. When Eden finally demanded to know what he was, the boy’s smile faded. He explained that he was the part of Eden that never became human. Instantly, the words from the white space returned to Eden’s mind: You were never human.

Eden looked toward Aria and asked if it was true. She quietly nodded. Swallowing hard, he asked what that made him. The boy stepped closer and answered that he was a story. Eden insisted he already knew that, but the boy shook his head and explained that Eden only knew what others had told him. Pointing toward the sky, he said he knew what Eden truly was. After a long pause, he revealed the answer: Eden was the First Story.

The moment those words left his mouth, the rain stopped. Every drop froze in midair, hanging motionless around them. Aria closed her eyes while the boy continued speaking. He explained that before there were worlds, there had only been a thought. When Eden demanded to know whose thought it was, the boy answered that it belonged to him. Eden insisted he hadn’t existed then, but the boy explained that he hadn’t been born because he had been imagined.

A knot formed in Eden’s stomach as he demanded to know who imagined him. The boy smiled and answered that Eden had imagined himself. The world fell silent. Eden stared at him, unable to make sense of the answer. The boy raised his hand, and the frozen raindrops began glowing. One by one they transformed into memories.

Eden watched a hospital room appear inside a drop. A young boy lay in bed while Aria sat beside him and his mother cried nearby as doctors moved around the room. Another drop showed the same boy beneath the tree. Another revealed the white room. Another displayed the boy standing before an empty page. Then came a voice asking what he would create if nothing could ever leave him. The boy’s answer was simple: a world.

The memory shifted. The voice asked what he would sacrifice for that world, and the boy answered with a single word: everything. Eden felt his breath catch. Another memory appeared, showing a door and a faceless man standing behind it. The same creature. The boy told the figure he wanted everyone to stay. The faceless man answered that someone would have to forget. When the boy asked who, the creature answered that it would be him. After a moment of hesitation, the boy agreed.

Eden’s chest tightened as he stared at the vision. He refused to believe it, but the boy calmly insisted it was true. When Eden accused him of claiming he had chosen all of this, the boy agreed. Eden protested, insisting he hadn’t chosen to lose Luna, Mira, or Cael. Yet each time, the boy gave the same answer. He had chosen it. Confused and angry, Eden demanded to know why. The boy’s expression softened as he explained that Eden had chosen those losses because he wanted them to live.

Eden shook his head, insisting none of it made sense. The boy slowly approached him and explained that he had created a world where everyone he loved could exist forever. When Eden pointed out that they had all disappeared anyway, the boy answered that it happened because Eden kept changing the rules. The reason was simple: he had forgotten why he built the world in the first place.

Stopping directly in front of him, the boy explained that the world had never been meant to be perfect. It was supposed to be alive. Something shifted inside Eden as the boy placed a hand against his chest. He explained that Eden created everyone because he feared being alone. He gave them choices, personalities, and memories. Then he made a single mistake. When Eden whispered what that mistake was, the boy looked him directly in the eye and answered that he gave them the ability to leave.

The world cracked around them. Aria immediately rose to her feet and shouted for Eden not to let him finish. The boy turned toward her and remarked that she had always known this would happen. Aria admitted she knew what he would try to do and had come specifically to stop him. The boy laughed and claimed she couldn’t. Determined, Aria raised a hand and split the ground beneath him.

Darkness surged upward from the crack, but the boy remained perfectly still. The darkness stopped inches from his feet. Looking directly at Aria, he explained that she was still relying on the old rules. Before she could react, he snapped his fingers. The darkness vanished instantly, causing Aria to stumble backward.

Eden demanded to know what she was doing. Aria answered that she was trying to keep him alive. The boy laughed and mocked her concern, but Aria ignored him. She revealed the truth: if Eden remembered everything, he would disappear from the story. Shocked, Eden demanded an explanation. Aria explained that remembering everything would force him to remember the moment before the story began.

When Eden asked what happened after that, the boy answered quietly that he would wake up. Confused, Eden asked where. The boy pointed toward the sky and answered that he would wake up outside the story itself.

Eden looked upward as the clouds slowly separated. Beyond them was not a blue sky but endless darkness. Suspended within it were countless glowing points. Eyes. Watching. The Witnesses. Yet there were far more than the Witnesses. Millions. Billions. More than Eden could possibly comprehend.

The boy looked toward them and explained that they had been waiting. When Eden asked who they were, the answer came immediately. The Readers. A chill spread through him. Aria stepped closer and insisted they were never supposed to see him. The boy laughed and pointed out that they already had.

One glowing point moved closer, then another, then hundreds more. Eventually a massive eye opened above the clouds. Eden felt an unbearable pressure press against his thoughts as millions of voices flooded his mind at once. They remembered him. They had watched him die. They had watched him create the world. They had watched him forget. They had watched him become Eden.

Overwhelmed, Eden covered his ears and begged the voices to stop. Aria grabbed him and warned him not to listen, but the voices continued. Finally he demanded to know what they wanted. The boy answered with a single word: him. When Eden asked why, the boy explained that he was no longer their story.

Confused, Eden demanded an explanation. The boy pointed toward the enormous eye and explained that the Readers could no longer control something that knew it was being written. Understanding slowly dawned on him. That was why everyone had tried to make him forget. Eve. Cael. Aria. All of them. When he confronted Aria, she admitted it. She had only wanted to protect him. Eden bitterly asked if everyone planned on repeating the same excuse forever. Aria simply replied that it was the truth.

The boy suddenly reached toward Eden and warned him not to listen to her. Eden stepped back and demanded a reason. The boy accused Aria of wanting him to remain inside the story. She denied it, insisting she only wanted him alive. The boy argued that he could be alive outside as well. Aria answered that he had no idea what existed outside. The boy smiled and pointed out that neither did she.

As Eden looked between them, he noticed movement inside the photograph. The eighth figure had shifted positions. It was no longer standing behind him. Instead, it stood beside the boy. Realization struck instantly. The faceless figure was holding the boy’s hand.

Eden’s eyes widened as he demanded answers. The boy had claimed Eden created everything. If that was true, who created him? For the first time, fear crossed the boy’s face. Aria quietly warned Eden, but he ignored her. He continued pressing for an answer. The boy finally admitted he didn’t know. When Eden reminded him that he supposedly remembered everything, the boy confessed that this memory wasn’t his.

Suddenly the faceless figure inside the photograph turned toward them. The picture ignited in black flames. Eden dropped it immediately. The photograph struck the ground, and dark fire spread across the grass. Aria whispered in horror as they watched. Moments later the flames vanished. The photograph was gone.

In its place, three words had been carved into the earth.

THE FIRST STORY WAS NOT EDEN.

Eden stared at the message while his heart pounded violently. The boy whispered that it was impossible. Aria’s face had become completely pale. When Eden demanded to know who came first, she couldn’t answer.

A new voice interrupted them. It belonged to an older man, calm and almost amused. He stood at the edge of the forest wearing an ordinary black suit. Nothing about him appeared unusual. Yet his smile immediately unsettled Eden. The man explained that the First Story was the person who imagined Eden. Then he pointed toward the boy and revealed that he had only been the first character.

Eden looked from the boy to Aria and then back to the stranger. When he demanded to know who imagined him, the man’s smile widened. The answer, he claimed, was Eden himself. Frustrated, Eden insisted that made no sense. The stranger calmly assured him that it would eventually.

Stepping closer, the man revealed something far worse. Eden had imagined himself after he was already dead. He had created the child, Aria, Luna, Mira, Cael, and everyone else. But despite all that, someone had still created him.

Above them, the sky split apart as the giant eye opened even wider. The stranger pointed directly behind Eden and calmly explained that the person responsible was standing there.

Slowly, Eden turned.

At first there was nobody there.

Then a hand settled gently on his shoulder.

A familiar voice whispered into his ear.

"Hello, Eden."

His entire body went cold. He knew that voice instantly.

Luna.

She was no longer inside his chest. She was standing behind him, alive once more. Tears filled her eyes even as she smiled at him.

"I told you not to choose me."