Chapter 14 Don’t leave

Infinity Haven, Ravenwick Theological Seminary, Third Floor of the Laboratory. Inside Room 3012, Liam and Daniel sat cross-legged on the floor, their voices hushed as they engaged in conversation.

"Let me start by sharing what I already know," Daniel said, folding his arms, his expression grave. "Before William passed, I visited him in the hospital. We had a private conversation. He told me that Henry's decision to adopt you was likely tied to a hidden secret embedded within your earliest memories."

"A secret?" Liam looked at him in disbelief. "How is that possible? I've never been aware of anything like that. My father never mentioned it."

"To be frank, I don't fully understand it either," Daniel admitted with a slow shake of his head. "By the time I saw William, he was already at death's door. This was all he managed to tell me. Before Henry was murdered, he had reached out to William, hoping to commission him to study your memories. But before that could happen, Henry was killed—and now William is gone as well."

Liam furrowed his brows. "You're saying… my father adopted me for a reason?"

"No. These things are not mutually exclusive. Eighteen years of raising you as his own is undeniable proof of his love," Daniel explained with sharp clarity. "But the fact remains—there is a mystery surrounding you. Otherwise, all these inexplicable events wouldn't keep circling back to you."

A heavy silence settled between them. Liam lowered his gaze before speaking in a quiet, contemplative voice. "Are you telling me that my parents and sister's murder, Sophia the AI caretaker's behavioral shift, Dr. William's sudden death, and my abduction to the dissection room in the middle of the night… are all linked to this hidden secret in my memories?"

"Sophia's case might just be a coincidence—there's no need to overcomplicate that part," Daniel responded after a brief moment of thought. "But everything else? Undoubtedly tied to your memories. You said it yourself—the man who attacked you used devices specifically designed to extract memories."

"Yes." A storm of emotions swirled in Liam's mind. He lifted his gaze, looking Daniel in the eye. "Then tell me… what should I do?"

"There's no rush," Daniel said calmly. "Since Matthew isn't here yet, I want to show you something first." With a mere thought, he manipulated his neural interface, conjuring a floating cluster of holographic data. His voice was solemn. "This is what William entrusted to me before he died."

Liam stared at the hovering stream of data, his pulse quickening. "What is this?"

"This is the memory data from Sophia—the AI who allegedly murdered your family that night," Daniel said, his brow furrowed. "Within this, there may be crucial information—perhaps the key to unraveling the entire mystery."

Liam's eyes widened in shock. "Sophia's memory should have been sealed long ago! It's supposed to be under judicial custody. How could Dr. William have accessed it?"

"You have yet to grasp the true influence and stature of Ravenwick Theological Seminary in society," Daniel explained patiently, his gaze steady as he regarded Liam. "Our institution exists to cultivate elite minds for the future, particularly those who will oversee AI governance and virtual crime enforcement. Because of this, our ties with the judicial system are exceptionally close. Furthermore, the case involving Sophia the AI remains highly contentious—it holds immense research and legal significance. That is why William had already obtained Sophia's memory data long ago."

Daniel finished his explanation, then asked solemnly, "Do you wish to see it?"

Liam's body trembled involuntarily at the question. He knew all too well that within this trove of memories lay the gruesome truth—the unfiltered horror of his family's final moments.

"Perhaps we should leave it be," Daniel suggested, sensing Liam's distress and beginning to retract the data projection.

"I want to see it," Liam responded, his voice strained but resolute.

"If it becomes too overwhelming, we will stop," Daniel said, nodding slightly before using his neural interface to materialize the memory sequence into a visible projection.

The image materialized—an illuminated living room, pristine yet filled with an ominous stillness. Sophia stood with a deranged expression, dragging Henry, his wife, and Liam's little sister toward the edge of the sofa.

Every detail was captured with unsettling clarity. After positioning the three victims, Sophia planted her hands on her hips, staring down at their terrified faces with eerie composure. Then, without hesitation, she turned and strolled toward the kitchen, retrieving a butcher knife, a serrated bone saw, and an array of other lethal instruments before returning, her steps unhurried, her demeanor disturbingly serene.

Liam sat rigidly on the floor, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His breath came shallow and unsteady as he gazed upon the familiar faces of his parents and his young sister—her innocent, delicate features frozen in fear. A storm of emotions raged within him, suffocating and unrelenting.

Then—

A sickening thud echoed through the projection.

Sophia drove the knife into his mother's throat with brutal force, her voice a frenzied snarl. "I've had enough of that arrogant gaze of yours! I'll carve you into pieces!"

The room filled with chaos. A frantic struggle, desperate gasps, and the wet, visceral sounds of violence.

Liam shot to his feet, his entire body shaking, his breath ragged and uneven. The sheer weight of his fury pressed against his ribs, making it difficult to breathe. Yet despite the rage clawing at his throat, he found himself utterly speechless, incapable of forming a single word.

…

In the real world, inside the academy's laboratory, Matthew was idly waiting for the staff to replace his malfunctioning neural interface.

"Beep! Beep!"

At that moment, a sudden alarm blared from the neural device strapped to Liam's head. His once-calm face contorted in a grimace of anguish, his muscles tensed with overwhelming distress.

This was a standard alert—an indication that intense emotional fluctuations were destabilizing the consciousness link. It wasn't uncommon. Even while playing highly immersive games, users often triggered similar warnings.

Matthew glanced at Liam, raising a brow. "Whoa, getting this worked up? What, watching adult content?"

…

Inside the simulated environment of Infinity Haven, Liam's breath came in ragged gasps, his face flushed with barely contained fury. On the screen before him, Sophia was mid-swing, her weapon cleaving down toward Henry with merciless precision.

The scene was grotesque, an unrelenting display of brutality. Amidst the sheer agony of being torn apart, Henry regained consciousness, his body drenched in blood. He mustered the last of his strength to roar at Sophia, his voice laced with venom and despair.

"You lunatic! You're insane! AI beings should never have been created! Your entire kind deserves to be erased, annihilated from existence!"

Sophia, gripping her bloodstained weapon, responded with equal ferocity. "And what about you? Aren't you just as mad? You adopted a child, never revealing the truth about his origins. You feigned affection, played the role of a caring father, when in reality, all you wanted was to study his brain!" Her voice quivered with rage as she spat, "Humans are the filthiest species of all—you're worse than anyone!"

"Bullshit!!"

Liam's fury exploded—his clenched fist slammed into the screen with a resounding thud. His voice trembled with raw emotion. "She deserves to die! She's a monster!!"

Without hesitation, Daniel halted the playback, swiftly retracting the data projection. Rising to his feet, he placed a firm hand on Liam's shoulder. "That's enough. It's over. Take a moment—breathe."

Liam's chest heaved as he struggled for air, sweat dripping from his forehead. His body was rigid, his mind still trapped in the whirlwind of rage and grief.

Daniel observed him intently, his gaze unwavering. "There was something crucial in what she said." He paused before continuing, his tone grave. "Sophia claimed that your adoptive father, Henry, wanted to 'study your brain.' It's likely she was referring to your memories. That means, during her time in your home, she must have noticed something—something significant."

"She was lying! Just making excuses for her crime! My father never hurt me—he loved me!" Liam shouted, his voice raw with emotion.

"I believe you." Daniel nodded slowly, his voice steady. "But if we want to unravel this mystery, there is something we must do."

"What is it?" Liam asked, his breathing still heavy.

"I need to access your memories—to revisit your childhood and search for any overlooked details. Only then can we hope to uncover the truth behind your past." Daniel's tone was deep and composed, carrying an innate sense of trustworthiness. "But for that to happen, you must unlock your secondary memory access, allowing me to enter and analyze the memories through synchronized playback. Together, we can piece together the clues."

Liam stared at him, momentarily speechless. "You want me to grant you access to my memories?"

"Yes." Daniel gave a slow nod. "Primary memory access will only retrieve surface-level recollections—those that your brain has naturally retained. However, forgotten or suppressed memories remain inaccessible. To retrieve them, we need to dive deeper. You must enter a more profound state of subconscious slumber to awaken these latent memories. It will take time, but I am certain we will uncover something crucial."

Liam's pulse pounded in his ears. The gruesome images of Sophia mercilessly butchering his family still played like a horror reel in his mind. He needed to know the truth—why this was happening to him. Without hesitation, he answered, "I'll do it."

"We'll start small today—no need to rush. We can take this step by step." Daniel studied Liam carefully. "Are you sure you're up for this? If you need a break, we can pause."

"No need. Let's do it now." Liam's voice was firm. "I want full secondary memory retrieval."

"Alright. Then let's begin." Daniel inclined his head slightly. "If at any point you feel discomfort, you can terminate the process immediately."

"Understood."

With their agreement set, both men once again seated themselves on the floor, preparing for the session.

In Infinity Haven, memories could be retrieved with precision—every moment of one's reality meticulously recorded by the implanted neural electrode chip. This advanced technology continuously archived a person's experiences, even those buried in the subconscious. As long as a memory had been stored, and the individual had once recalled it in their mind, it could be captured, reconstructed, and replayed in real-time.

Memory retrieval is classified into three distinct levels.

To put it simply, first-level memory retrieval operates much like the process Liam and Matthew had previously undertaken—where an individual extracts a segment of their own memory, converts it into data, and shares it for others to view.

Second-level memory retrieval is more immersive. It allows an external party to enter the subject's memory playback through Infinity Haven's data modeling, experiencing the recollection in real-time as a conscious observer. However, they remain mere spectators, incapable of altering any details, as control over the memory remains solely with the subject. Unauthorized access at this level is strictly illegal.

Third-level memory retrieval is the most perilous—it is akin to handing over the controls entirely to another person, granting them the ability to add, delete, fast-forward, or rewind at will. This level of access is primarily used in medical fields, such as when a terminally ill patient's consciousness must be downloaded and preserved in Infinity Haven for revival. Such a procedure can only be carried out with explicit consent from both the individual and relevant authorities. Under normal circumstances, no one dares to grant this level of access, as the holder of the controls would wield the power to erase memories—effectively committing cognitive assassination.

At this moment, Liam was about to open second-level memory retrieval—a process that required his neural electrode chip to synchronize with Daniel's consciousness, allowing them to jointly observe his childhood memories. However, this necessitated a deeper state of unconsciousness, plunging Liam into a profound slumber.

Lying side by side on the floor, their data synchronization completed, Liam's vision was soon filled with a system prompt, inquiring whether he consented to the activation of second-level memory access.

His gaze lingered on the message, then, as if on instinct, his peripheral vision swept toward Daniel. His sharp eyes rested momentarily on the professor's profile, scanning him with an unreadable intensity.

Then, without hesitation, he selected "Agree."

A deep descent into subconscious recollection began.

Liam's mind rewound to his earliest memories—the moment Henry and his wife brought him home, bathed him for the first time, dressed him in fresh clothes...

As a child, he had been frail and sickly. His mother, deeply concerned for his fragile health, had even raised a dairy cow in their backyard to ensure he had the most nourishing milk.

Every morning, as the golden sunlight streamed through their windows, his mother would rise before dawn—boiling fresh milk, preparing a perfectly balanced breakfast—all to strengthen his constitution.

For seven years, this had been her unwavering routine. Only when Liam finally grew stronger, when his small frame no longer caved under the weight of the world, did she allow herself the luxury of sleeping in.

In the depths of memory, Liam saw his father teaching him to ride a bicycle for the first time, buying him his very first toy, taking him on their first family trip, and standing up for him when he was bullied by classmates.

There were countless cherished moments—firsts that Liam could never forget. And as these fragments of the past unfolded before his eyes, he also witnessed the inevitable passage of time. His father, once strong and upright, gradually grew older—his back slightly hunched, silver strands beginning to creep into his temples.

Compared to the brutal scene of Sophia mercilessly slaughtering his family, these recollections were far too warm, far too comforting. Liam felt a profound reluctance to leave, his consciousness sinking deeper and deeper, immersing itself completely in the embrace of memory. He no longer wished to wake.

…

Reality. Laboratory.

Shrill alarms blared throughout the room, their piercing wails echoing off the sterile walls. Matthew stood frozen in bewilderment, staring at Liam's neural connection pod as red warning lights flashed ominously across its surface.

"Tap, tap, tap—"

Hurried footsteps rushed into the lab as several faculty members stormed inside.

"What happened?!" demanded a sharply dressed man, his tone edged with urgency as he turned to Matthew.

"I—I don't know! The alarms just went off all of a sudden," Matthew stammered, shaking his head.

One of the staff members immediately rushed to Liam's pod, scanning the system readouts before swiftly pressing several emergency wake-up commands. Yet, despite the manual override, Liam remained utterly unresponsive. A serene, almost blissful smile lingered on his face, while a single tear traced its way down his cheek.

"Damn it," one of the technicians exclaimed in alarm. "He must have activated second-level memory access. His consciousness has sunk too deep—he can't wake up!"

A tense silence filled the room before another researcher shouted, voice laced with panic, "This is dangerous. If he remains trapped in his memories, he could become permanently comatose—a living body without a mind! Go! Call Professor Finn—get him here immediately!"

Matthew wasn't particularly well-versed in neural interface technology, but his instincts led him to a simple conclusion. "Why not just yank out the neuro-link? Force him awake and be done with it?"

"Can you forcibly wake a comatose patient?" One of the technicians shot him a glare. "I already told you—his consciousness has fully submerged into memory recall. If you forcibly disconnect the neuro-link, you risk locking his mind inside permanently. He may never return."

"Then nobody touches him!" another staff member barked. "We wait for the experts!"

Within minutes, the lab had become a gathering ground. Professors, research supervisors, lab technicians, and brain-machine interface specialists from the academy had all assembled, murmuring anxiously amongst themselves.

Professor Finn stepped forward, casting a scrutinizing gaze at Liam before remarking with a hint of curiosity, "It's exceedingly rare for someone to willingly submerge their consciousness into past memories. Is it possible that someone guided him in?"

Matthew's expression darkened. "I don't care what caused it. The real question is—how do we pull him out?"

"This is a highly unusual case," Professor Finn muttered, rubbing his temple in thought. "Give me a moment to—"

"A moment?!" Matthew scoffed, shoving the professor aside. "By the time you figure it out, he'll have lived an entire lifetime in there, raised kids, and retired!"

Without waiting for permission, Matthew strode toward Liam's unconscious body, rolling up his sleeves.

"Wait, don't—!"

Ignoring the frantic protests around him, Matthew swung his arm.

SMACK!

A loud, resounding slap cracked across the room. Gasps filled the space as everyone turned, utterly stunned.

Matthew leaned in, his gaze piercing and voice sharp as a blade. "Are you back yet?! Good—because I'm not done with you!"

SMACK!

"You and your perfect little family—treating me like a slave all these years! Did you ever stop to think about my suffering?! Did you ever treat me as a person?!"

Matthew wasn't just acting—he was inhabiting the role. As someone from a criminal investigations background, he had read every word of the Sophia Case Files. Now, he was channeling the AI's demented, murderous fury.

His face twisted with simulated madness as he shrieked, "Look at her! LOOK! That's your sister! I slit her throat, and now I'll carve out her eyes, rip out her heart! Piece by piece, I'll tear her apart! You'll watch every second—every slice—every last shred of her being reduced to nothing!"

His shrill, venomous screams reverberated through the lab like the shrieks of a specter clawing its way from the abyss.

Suddenly—

Liam's hand jerked.

— —

Inside the world of memory playback.

A soft, ethereal voice whispered into Liam's ear:

"Wasn't childhood beautiful? Your parents loved you dearly… Stay here… Don't leave…"