Chapter 9: The Awakening of the Fragments

They had left Klinik-13 at dawn, exhausted, silent.

But something had changed in them. Not just memories. Not just visions. Something deeper.

Kelvin no longer slept.

When he closed his eyes, he saw that sterile corridor again, the gloved hands dragging him. A woman's voice, metallic, saying:

"Subject 17-B. Signs of controlled psychic rupture. Encouraging progress."

Memories. His. But stolen, buried.

Echo hadn't spoken since they left the Klinik. He wrote. With a nervous hand. Circles. Words. Unknown symbols, like from an ancient language.

Lila watched them both, growing more and more worried.

And one evening, in the heavy silence of their shelter, the boy stood up abruptly.

— Something's coming.

— What? asked Kelvin.

— They're coming for us. Not the Beasts. Others.

Lila grabbed her notebook, her fists clenched.

— Are you sure?

Echo nodded.

— They saw me use the Voice. The Archivist wasn't alone. Nothing is alone in this world.

They left their shelter two hours later, walking through deserted alleys, in silence.

And at the intersection of a forgotten avenue, they found them.

Three figures, hooded, masked. But not shadows.

Humans. Or almost.

One of them raised a hand.

— Don't panic. We are the Watchers.

Kelvin stepped in front of Echo and Lila.

— What are you? Another psychotic group crawled out of a nightmare?

The leader removed her hood. A woman in her forties, short hair, eyes of a nearly white gray.

— My name is Orane. I'm like you. A survivor of Klinik-13.

Kelvin flinched.

— Impossible. There were no survivors…

— That's what they want you to believe.

She stepped forward slowly. No sudden moves. Just an intensity in her gaze.

— You've awakened something. The Archivist only appears when a catalyst awakens. The boy… Echo, right? He is a Gateway. A living memory.

Echo didn't move. But his eyes shimmered. With black light.

— How do you know that? asked Lila.

— Because we've seen others. And all of them… die. Unless we act. Unless we guide them.

Orane pulled a small black cube from her jacket. She pressed it between her fingers.

A silent wave swept through the street. And the air seemed to calm.

— Psychic silence barrier. The shadows can't listen here.

She looked at each of them in turn.

— You need to come with us. There's a place. A sanctuary. Where shadows cannot enter. Where dreams are filtered. Where memory is a weapon, not a curse.

Kelvin clenched his teeth.

— Why now? Why us?

Orane answered without hesitation:

— Because you, Kelvin… you are the Missing Link. The child Klinik-13 erased. And you, Echo… you are the Key they could never control. And Lila… you carry the Voice of the Other, even if you don't know it yet.

Silence.

Kelvin felt his shadow… withdraw. As if something inside him recognized Orane's words.

— Take us.

A few hours later, they reached an old abandoned subway station. Behind a broken wall, a coded metal door. They descended. Endless stairs.

And there, beneath the city: a vast hall, lined with old servers, bookshelves, and strange symbols.

A place out of time.

— Welcome to the Sanctuary of the Watchers, said Orane.

— Here, we learn to resist. To think without being seen.

Kelvin froze.

On one of the walls… an old photo.

Him. A child. Standing in the middle of a group. All wearing numbers.

And below: Project ReGenesis — Subject 17-B: Kelvin Marel.