13.Echoes of the Past

The figures emerging from the shadows stood motionless, their gazes locked onto Adrian and his companions. The flickering torchlight did little to reveal their identities, but Adrian's heart clenched with an undeniable sense of familiarity.

The silver-haired woman took a step forward, her ethereal presence sending a chill through the air. "You have forgotten us, Adrian," she spoke, her voice a blend of sorrow and reproach.

He swallowed hard. "Who... who are you?"

She tilted her head, a melancholic smile forming on her lips. "I am someone you once swore to protect. Someone you loved."

The words sent a ripple through Adrian's mind. Images flickered—glimpses of a life before this one. A promise under the moonlight. A battlefield soaked in blood. The warmth of an embrace long lost.

Seraphina stepped forward, her golden eyes narrowing. "Are these illusions? The abyss's test?"

The woman's expression hardened. "We are no illusion, Seraphina. We are the echoes of a past Adrian has abandoned. And now, we have come to reclaim what was lost."

A cold dread settled over the group. Maya gritted her teeth. "Why now? Why appear at this moment?"

"Because he is starting to remember," another voice spoke—a man's, deep and steady. A shadowed figure emerged, his armor gleaming under the dim torchlight. His features were obscured, but the weight of his presence pressed against Adrian's chest like an unbearable weight.

Adrian instinctively clenched his fists. "What do you want from me?"

The man stepped closer, his voice laced with regret. "To make you see the truth. To show you the price of your choices."

Lila tightened her grip on her daggers. "You expect us to believe that Adrian just forgot an entire life? That's ridiculous."

The silver-haired woman turned her sorrowful gaze to Lila. "And yet, he does not remember you either, does he? Not completely."

Lila's breath hitched, but she quickly masked it with a glare. "That's—"

Adrian interrupted, his voice sharper than he intended. "Enough." He took a deep breath, stepping forward. "If you are truly from my past, then prove it. Show me something I cannot deny."

The man nodded. "Very well."

Without warning, the chamber's walls dissolved into swirling mist. The air around them thickened, and suddenly, they were no longer in the dungeon.

Adrian blinked as his surroundings morphed into an open battlefield under a blood-red sky. The screams of soldiers echoed in the distance, the clashing of steel ringing in his ears. Smoke curled from burning villages, and the ground was soaked in crimson.

In the midst of the carnage, he saw himself—another version of him, clad in black armor, wielding a blade dripping with energy. He stood atop a mound of fallen enemies, his gaze cold, calculating. At his side were Seraphina, Maya, and Lila—each clad in warrior garb, their expressions hardened by war.

Adrian staggered backward. "No… this isn't real. This can't be real."

The silver-haired woman stepped beside him. "This was your past, Adrian. This was what you became."

The battlefield scene shifted. Now, he saw himself sitting upon a throne, a golden crown upon his head. The weight of it felt suffocating even in memory. At his feet knelt countless warriors, pledging their undying loyalty.

Adrian clenched his fists. "I was… a king?"

The armored man nodded. "A ruler. A conqueror. A destroyer. You reshaped the world through war, only to abandon it in the end."

Maya shook her head, disbelief etched in her features. "This doesn't make sense. If Adrian was truly this powerful… why is he here now, with no memory of it?"

The man exhaled. "Because he chose to forget."

Seraphina's eyes widened. "You're saying… he erased his own past?"

The silver-haired woman nodded. "Yes. And now, the past is coming for him."

The vision shattered, and they were back in the dungeon. The figures before them remained, their gazes filled with longing and sorrow.

Adrian ran a hand through his hair, his mind spinning. "If I chose to forget… there must have been a reason."

The armored man stepped forward. "And now, you must decide if that reason was worth it. Because what comes next… will demand the truth."

The air grew heavy with unspoken words. The weight of Adrian's forgotten past pressed upon him, an undeniable force.

"Are you ready to remember?" the silver-haired woman asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Adrian hesitated.

Then, with a steady breath, he answered.

"I have to be."