Chapter 26: Echoes of the Unremembered

Elias hesitated, his heart pounding in his chest. The figure's voice carried a weight that pressed against his very soul, as if each syllable was laced with forgotten truths.

"Ready to remember?" he echoed, his voice barely above a whisper.

The figure stepped closer, and the mirrors around them rippled, as though disturbed by an unseen force. Elias braced himself, expecting a revelation, but none came. Instead, the figure simply watched him, waiting.

Frustration surged within him. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to remember!"

The figure let out a soft, knowing sigh. "Then let me show you."

With a wave of their hand, one of the mirrors shifted, its glass twisting and distorting until an image formed. Elias stepped forward instinctively, drawn to the vision within.

A younger version of himself stood in a dimly lit room, his hands pressed against the walls as if searching for an exit. The air in the vision crackled with energy, and Elias could feel the despair radiating from his past self.

"This…" Elias swallowed hard. "This is from before I woke up, isn't it?"

The figure nodded. "This is the moment you almost broke free."

Elias watched as the younger version of himself clenched his fists, his entire body trembling. Then, suddenly, the walls around him fractured like glass, and darkness swallowed him whole.

The vision faded.

Elias turned back to the figure. "What does this mean? What was I breaking free from?"

The figure was silent for a moment before answering.

"The dream."

The word sent a chill down Elias's spine.

"You were never truly asleep, Elias. Nor were you truly awake. You existed in between—trapped in a cycle designed to keep you from remembering who you really are."

Elias felt his breath hitch. "And who am I?"

The figure extended their hand, palm open. "Take my hand, and I will show you."

Elias hesitated. Every instinct screamed at him to be cautious, but something deeper—something beyond logic—urged him forward.

Slowly, he reached out.

The moment their hands touched, the mirrors around them shattered, and reality collapsed.

Darkness.

Then—

A flood of memories.

A city swallowed by mist. A name whispered through the void. A promise made under a dying sky.

Elias gasped, his mind overwhelmed by the sheer force of it all.

And then he saw it.

The truth.

And everything changed.