Chapter:14The Hidden Memory

Elias stood frozen, his heart pounding like distant thunder. The Echo's words echoed in his mind, heavy and suffocating. He could feel something shifting inside him—fragments of memories, blurred and incomplete, like a puzzle missing its final piece. Jenna's voice reached him, but it felt far away, like a whisper in a storm.

"Elias," she said urgently, gripping his arm. "What does it mean? What do you remember?"

He swallowed hard. "I… I don't know." But deep inside, something stirred. A flicker of recognition. A locked door, waiting to be opened.

Captain Grant stepped closer, his face shadowed with suspicion. "If you had a hand in creating these things, we need the truth. Now."

Dr. Lane shot him a warning look. "Forcing him won't help. Memories buried under trauma don't just surface on demand."

The Echo, still hovering in the containment pod, spoke again. Its voice wasn't sound—it was a presence in Elias's mind.

"The memories are hidden. Protected."

Elias exhaled shakily. "How do I unlock them?"

The Echo's glowing eyes intensified. "You must remember the Catalyst."

Grant stepped forward, tension thick in his voice. "What's the Catalyst?"

The Echo didn't look at him. It only stared at Elias. "He knows."

Jenna squeezed his hand. "We'll figure it out. Together."

Hours later, Elias lay on a medical cot, wires trailing from his temples. Dr. Lane adjusted the neural interface with steady hands, but her eyes betrayed the weight of the moment.

"This device will stimulate your hippocampus," she explained. "It might bring back suppressed memories. But… it won't be gentle. You could relive something painful."

Elias nodded. "If it gets us answers, I don't care."

Jenna sat beside him, her fingers laced with his. "I'm here. No matter what happens."

Lane flipped the switch. A cold sensation crept over Elias's scalp. The world around him blurred—then vanished.

The memory slammed into him like a wave of ice.

He was standing in a sleek, white laboratory, more advanced than anything in the present world. Scientists moved around glowing consoles, their faces lit by flickering holograms.

And in the center of it all was… it.

A floating crystalline structure, suspended in a magnetic field, pulsing with a soft blue glow.

The Catalyst.

Elias saw himself—his past self—at the controls. Around him, a team of researchers watched with a mix of awe and fear.

"We're on the edge of something extraordinary," his past self said. His voice was steady, but his hands trembled. "This will change everything."

Another voice cut through. Familiar, yet just out of reach. "Are we ready for what comes next?"

His past self hesitated. "We have no choice. If we don't evolve, we die."

The memory fractured—fear, ambition, regret—shattering like glass.

Elias jolted awake, gasping. Jenna's hand was tight around his.

"Elias!" she cried. "You're okay. You're back."

He sat up, his pulse racing. "I saw it. The Catalyst. It was a project… to push human evolution. We were trying to survive something." He struggled to catch his breath. "Something catastrophic."

Grant stepped closer. "Survive what?"

Elias shook his head. "I don't know. But we triggered something we didn't understand. That's what caused the Collapse."

Dr. Lane's expression darkened. "The Echoes… they're not just remnants. They're failed versions of whatever evolution you were trying to force."

Jenna's voice was soft but steady. "And you… you're the only one who didn't change."

Elias looked at her, realization settling over him like a heavy fog. "No. I did change." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Just… differently."

The Echo's voice hummed in the back of his mind.

"You are the bridge."

Grant straightened. "If we can find the original Catalyst device, maybe we can reverse this."

Elias stood, his resolve hardening. "Or finish what we started. The right way this time."

Jenna took his hand. "Then we do it together."

He nodded. "Let's find the Catalyst. Before it's too late."