Those Who Remember

The city's rhythm had shifted.

Su Chen felt it—not just in the people or the whispers on the wind, but in the way his steps now carried weight. The world didn't feel quite as mundane. It was as if the curtain between reality and something deeper had been drawn back just a little.

He didn't go straight home.

Instead, his feet carried him to a quiet street near his old university. The trees lining the sidewalk had grown thicker, their branches reaching like arms overhead. Memories stirred with each step—of youth, of dreams… of regrets.

And then, a voice.

"You still walk like you're carrying the world."

He froze.

Turning, his eyes widened slightly.

A woman leaned against a railing, arms folded. Her hair was shorter now, jet black and tied messily behind her head. She wore a worn hoodie over a simple blouse, and a small pendant hung around her neck.

Nan Ishue.

But not the one from last week's humiliation at the hotel. Not the preening socialite who had once looked down on him.

This was the real one.

The version from his memories.

The girl who had once stood in the rain with him after a failed exam, swearing they'd both rise no matter what the world threw at them.

"…You look different," Su Chen said cautiously.

"So do you," she replied, her gaze sharp.

"How did you find me?"

"I didn't," she said with a shrug. "I was just… drawn here. I know it sounds crazy. But lately I've been remembering things I shouldn't."

Su Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. "What kind of things?"

She hesitated, then pulled out a small notebook from her bag. Flipping through it, she handed it to him.

Written across the pages were dreams.

Battles in golden skies. Gods descending in pillars of flame. His name—Su Chen—repeated more times than he could count.

His heart skipped.

> "The gods watch through mortal dreams…"

"You've seen them too," he murmured.

She nodded. "I thought I was going mad. Then I saw you on the news. At the hospital. I knew I had to find you."

Su Chen exhaled slowly.

> [Fame +3]

[Fragment of Memory Resonance Detected.]

Nan Ishue's dream fragments are resonating with your timeline. Unlockable potential present.

The system's notification flashed behind his eyes, but he ignored it for now.

"What else do you remember?" he asked.

She leaned in slightly. "Not memories, exactly. Feelings. Loyalty. Rage. Something important was taken from us. From me. And somehow… you're the key to remembering."

Su Chen closed the notebook.

He looked into her eyes, and for a flicker of a second, he saw it—her past self, standing beside him on a ruined battlefield, bloodied but defiant.

The bond wasn't complete. But it was there.

A thread, stretching across lifetimes.

"You're not crazy," he finally said.

She smiled faintly. "Neither are you."

---

They walked in silence for a while, the city around them humming like distant thunder.

Su Chen knew this wasn't coincidence. The gods' descent, the cult, the awakening powers—everything was accelerating.

But now, he wasn't alone.

Someone from the past had remembered. Maybe more would follow.

Maybe fate had allies hidden in memory.