Chapter Seventeen: Fractured Memories

Alex's vision blurred.

The world around him faded, his body numb, his strength draining away.

The last thing he saw was Mira's face—her expression a mixture of worry and something else.

Fear.

Then—

Everything went black.

Mira pressed a hand against Alex's unmoving chest, her fingers barely registering the faint rise and fall of his breath.

"He's out again," she muttered, her voice tight.

Roderic exhaled, his face grim. "Not surprising. He did… whatever the hell that was."

Mira shivered. The memory of the shadows twisting and moving as if they had a will of their own was still fresh in her mind.

Alex hadn't just killed those assassins.

He had erased them.

Their bodies remained intact, yet their Essence had been devoured, leaving behind lifeless husks.

It wasn't like any power she had ever seen.

And that terrified her.

Roderic knelt beside Alex, his missing arm wrapped tightly in bandages, his face paler than before. He was still recovering, still weak, but they couldn't afford to stay here.

More assassins could be coming.

More enemies.

More people hunting Alex—or whatever he was becoming.

Roderic met Mira's eyes. "We have to move. Now."

Mira hesitated, her fingers curling into fists. "And where exactly are we supposed to go?"

Roderic didn't answer immediately. He looked down at Alex, then at his own injured body, and sighed.

"There's a safehouse in the southern valley," he said finally. "It's abandoned now, but an old friend of mine used it before he retired. If we can reach it, we'll have time to figure out… whatever this is."

Mira nodded. She didn't have a better plan.

And right now, they needed answers.

They moved carefully, avoiding open roads, staying clear of settlements where rumors of Riverend's destruction were already spreading.The journey to the safehouse took two days, eventually reaching their destination safely. They set up camp in the abandoned cabin, hidden deep in the valley where few dared to venture. The structure was old but sturdy, its stone walls shielding them from prying eyes.

For a week, Alex remained unconscious.

His breathing was steady, but his body was colder than it should have been.

His dreams were a blur of shadows and voices that didn't belong to him.

Mira sat by his side, watching.

Waiting.

Dreading.

Then—on the seventh day—

Alex's eyes opened.

Light filtered through the cabin window, casting faint morning rays onto the wooden walls.

Alex stirred, his body aching, his mind hazy.

Something felt… off.

Like he had been asleep for far too long.

His mouth was dry as he blinked blearily, slowly taking in his surroundings. A room he didn't recognize.

A familiar face beside him.

Mira.

Her expression was unreadable, but her sharp green eyes were locked onto him, as if she expected him to do something unpredictable.

Alex tried to sit up, but his limbs felt sluggish, his body still not fully recovered.

"How long…" His voice was hoarse, weak. "How long was I out?"

Mira hesitated. "…A week."

Alex frowned. "A week?"

The weight of that sank in.

He remembered fighting in Riverend. The last thing he remembers is the Blackfangs leader attacking him. He should be dead.

But…

His brow furrowed.

There was a gap.

Something was missing.

He rubbed his temples, trying to focus. "What happened?"

Mira and Roderic exchanged glances.

Neither of them answered immediately.

The silence was too long.

Alex's stomach twisted. "Mira." His voice was more urgent now. "What happened?"

She took a slow breath, as if bracing herself.

"Riverend is gone, Alex."

His heart stopped.

"…What?"

"Destroyed." Roderic's voice was gruff. "There's nothing left."

Alex froze, his thoughts slamming to a halt.

That couldn't be right.

Riverend was his first home in this world. It wasn't much, but it was a place where he had begun to belong.

Gone?

He tried to force himself up again, but his body refused to cooperate. "How?"

Mira's gaze darkened.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us."

Alex's breath hitched.

He stared at them, confused. "I don't understand."

Mira hesitated before finally speaking.

"You… did something, Alex."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

She leaned forward, studying his face as if she were searching for something.

"When we were attacked in the forest, you weren't yourself. The shadows moved—like they were alive. You didn't fight like a warrior. You didn't fight like anyone I've ever seen."

Alex's blood ran cold.

Mira wasn't exaggerating.

The way she was looking at him…

Like he was something dangerous.

Something unknown.

"You killed them," she continued, her voice measured, careful. "But you weren't awake. It was like… like you were in a trance. And when it ended, you passed out, just like in Riverend."

Alex felt sick.

His hands clenched into the thin fabric of the blanket covering him.

A trance?

He didn't remember any of it.

But something inside him—deep, primal, wrong—told him it was true.

Mira and Roderic didn't move, watching him carefully, as if waiting for him to react.

For a long moment, Alex said nothing.

Then, slowly—he lifted his hand.

He stared at his palm, focusing.

He didn't know what he was looking for.

But then—he felt it.

Something stirred inside him.

Not Essence.

Not magic.

Something else.

Something alive.

He inhaled sharply as the edges of his vision darkened for the briefest moment, a flicker of something beyond sight, beyond reality coiling inside his chest.

And for the first time, he understood.

There was something inside him.

Something he couldn't control.

And worse—

Something that only woke up when he was in danger.

His fingers twitched as he let out a shaky breath.

"I don't know what's happening to me."

Mira and Roderic didn't answer.

Because neither did they.

But one thing was clear.

Alex wasn't the same as before.

And whatever was inside him… wasn't finished awakening.