“Kaito…”
“You let me die…”
“You wanted me…”
“Touch me again…”
He clenched his fists. Each voice tugged at a different piece of him—Rose’s pain, Lyla’s loyalty, Lia’s betrayal, even the twisted affection of Zis. He gritted his teeth and forced the thoughts aside.
Finally, the stairs opened into a vast underground chamber.
A crimson moon hung above, but there was no sky—just an endless dome made of molten glass. The ground was a polished mirror, reflecting the sky and himself. Around him, dozens of floating memory fragments hovered like shards of reality. They pulsed with magic—each one a vision, a moment he had lived… or forgotten.
The Hollow Flame’s voice echoed from above, though his body was nowhere to be seen.
“Face them. The memories you ran from. The lusts you suppressed. If even one consumes you, you will belong to her.”
Kaito stepped forward—and the first memory shard exploded in front of him.
---
Memory One: The Night of Betrayal