Chapter 62: A Memory Not His Own

The stars in that dream-sky flickered like code-glitches—constellations twitching in and out of shape. Darius stood on a barren cliff not of this world, but of some other—a realm written in ancient functions, predating emotion, time, and even death. Below him, legions knelt, nameless shadows awaiting his command. His voice, when he spoke, was not his own.

> "They will fall. Their gods. Their code. Their love. All of it."

He awakened with a violent gasp, the shadows of that voice still clawing at the walls of his soul.

Celestia was already at his side, her aura dimmed, concern flooding her violet eyes. "You spoke… as another," she whispered. "It wasn't a dream, Darius. I felt it too."

He rose from the stone altar, each movement stiff with tension. "It felt like a memory… but not mine."

"No," she said softly. "It wasn't."