Chapter 3 – The Forgotten Door

The fog clung to the street like a veil, blurring streetlights into halos. Elira followed Kael in silence, the cold biting through her coat. She had no idea where they were going—but something in her gut told her it wasn't just a place. It was a memory. Or the echo of one.

He stopped in front of a narrow alley between two closed shops. Unremarkable. Easily missed.

But when Kael pressed his palm against the brick wall, the air shimmered.

A door appeared.

Not a regular one. It looked old, warped with time, its wooden frame pulsing faintly with threads of silver light that ran like veins across the surface.

"What is this place?" Elira asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kael glanced at her. "Where you left the first piece of yourself."

She hesitated. "This is mine?"

"Used to be."

The door creaked open on its own.

Inside, the air shifted—warmer, denser. The scent of old paper and static hung thick in her nostrils. It looked like a room carved out of memory: walls lined with faded photographs, notes pinned like constellations across a corkboard, strands of glowing thread connecting events and names she didn't recognize.

"This…" Elira stepped forward slowly. "It's like a... mind map."

"It is. Your original one."

She moved closer to a photo pinned near the center—a blurry shot of her, standing under a rainy streetlamp, eyes red and hollow.

Her hand shook as she touched it.

A flash.

—Elira screaming, "You said you wouldn't let it happen again!"

Kael bleeding.

Christine watching from the shadows, face unreadable.

Elira gasped and staggered back.

Kael caught her.

"Each fragment you recover brings you closer. But it also breaks something loose."

"Like what?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked toward a shelf and pulled down a thin, worn notebook bound with red thread.

"This belonged to you," he said, handing it to her.

Elira flipped it open.

The first page was filled with her handwriting—except she didn't remember writing any of it.

> Day 0: If you're reading this, you've reset. Again.

Kael is trying to help you, but you've been lied to before.

Don't trust anyone—not even yourself until you're sure.

Especially not Christine.

Elira's blood turned cold.

She looked up at Kael. "Why didn't you show me this before?"

"You weren't ready."

"And now?"

Kael looked at her, and for the first time, there was something fragile in his voice.

"Now, I'm not sure we have time to wait."

A faint creak echoed behind them. The door was still open—but now, someone stood in its frame.

Christine.

Smiling.

"Found you."