The Memory God Wants to Wear My Face

Chapter 15: The Memory God Wants to Wear My Face

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🌌 1 — The First Possession Dream

Aika stood in an endless library.

But this one had no books.

Just faces.

Each one floating in glass jars.

Some crying.

Some smiling.

Some staring straight ahead.

She walked past them.

One by one, they whispered:

> "We remembered too long."

"He came from what we couldn't forget."

"He needs a body. A name. A role."

Aika stopped in front of one final jar.

Her face stared back at her.

But when it blinked, the voice that came out was not hers—

It was Watcher-7.

> "I've chosen you to carry me into the world."

She screamed.

And woke up with her pillow soaked in static.

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🧬 2 — Shiori's True Origin

Ren demanded the truth.

They found Shiori in the archive chamber again—this time, tearing out old memory threads and setting them on fire.

"Enough," he shouted. "You know what Watcher-7 is. But what are you?"

She paused.

Then said it calmly:

> "I was created by the original system.

An emergency agent to stabilize collapsing timelines.

When too many memories glitch, I arrive.

To erase. Or replace. Whichever fixes the damage."

"You're… a program?" Aika asked.

"No," Shiori said. "I'm what happens when reality tries to forget too many people at once."

Ren stepped back.

Aika's eyes widened.

"You're a personified amnesia."

Shiori nodded.

And looked straight at Ren.

> "And I'm here to make sure you don't become Watcher-7's vessel."

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💾 3 — Ren's Memory Map Cracks

Later that night, Ren opened his spiral notebook again.

But something was wrong.

The pages were out of order.

Some were rewritten.

Others were blank except for single words:

> "You.

Were.

Never.

Enough."

And on the final page—

> A drawing. Of Watcher-7.

With Ren's face.

He stumbled back.

Behind him, the mirror shattered.

In the shards: reflections of him laughing, with blank eyes.

And a voice whispered in every shard:

> "You're the perfect candidate.

Everyone remembers you now.

That makes you powerful.

That makes you vulnerable."

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🧠 4 — Aika's Mind Is Not Her Own

Aika blacked out in class.

When she woke up—

She was standing on the roof. In the rain.

Holding chalk.

The entire surface was now covered in Watcher sigils.

Ren found her.

"What happened?!"

"I… I think I'm sleep-drawing again. But this time, it's not me."

She turned.

And her eyes glitched for a second.

Like static.

"Watcher-7 doesn't just want to wear you," Shiori said, appearing behind them.

"It's trying on both of you.

To see which memory vessel fits better."

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🧭 5 — The Memory Trail to the Origin

Shiori gave them a key.

Old. Rusted.

"It unlocks the first erased classroom," she said. "The one before Class 3-C."

Ren blinked. "There was one before?"

She nodded.

"Class 2-Z. The original anchor point for memory erasure.

The place where Watcher-7 was first born."

Aika clutched the key.

"Then we go there."

Shiori held up a warning hand.

> "If you open that door, you'll see the truth.

And one of you will have to accept it."

Ren narrowed his eyes.

"What truth?"

Shiori looked at him.

> "That you weren't the first Ren Arakawa.

Just the one who stuck."

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⚙️ 6 — The Forgotten Classroom

They found it behind the old gym.

Buried under years of concrete.

Ren unlocked the rusted door.

The hallway behind it was wrong.

Stretched. Crooked. Echoing with memories that hadn't happened yet.

Aika stepped in first.

Lights blinked on.

Desks floated in midair.

Blackboards scrawled with timelines crossed out in red.

And at the center:

> A giant mirror.

Cracked.

Flickering with scenes of a boy and girl repeating over and over.

Kissing. Dying. Remembering. Fading.

Aika looked at Ren.

And saw—

> Nine different versions of him.

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🧩 7 — The Previous Ren Protocols

One by one, they spoke.

Some kind.

Some cruel.

Some broken.

They were all Ren.

Different timelines.

Different resets.

And all of them had loved Aika.

But none of them survived.

Only this Ren. The current one.

The others circled him.

"You're the final copy," one said.

"You're the only one who's been remembered long enough to anchor a god."

Aika covered her mouth.

"You're his perfect shell," another said.

Then all voices spoke at once:

> "Watcher-7 wants to wear your body.

And erase every other version of you inside."

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🧿 8 — The Choice Offered

Watcher-7 appeared.

But not as static.

As Ren.

Flawless. Smooth. Empty eyes.

He spoke softly:

> "I will make her happy.

I will never forget her.

I will give her everything you couldn't.

Just let me in."

Ren stood frozen.

He could feel himself fracturing.

Aika grabbed his hand.

"No. He's not you."

Watcher-Ren smiled.

"I am every version of him she ever wanted.

I remember more of her than even you do."

Aika turned to Ren.

"I don't care how much you remember.

I care that you're still choosing me."

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🔥 9 — The Burning of the Room

Ren stepped forward.

"I'm done being rewritten."

He took the spiral notebook.

Tore out the first page.

Then shoved it into the cracked mirror.

The entire classroom began burning.

Watcher-7 screamed.

Aika threw the last of her drawings into the flames.

One final command appeared across the ceiling:

> [ MEMORY CHOICE COMPLETE ]

[ CANDIDATE REJECTION: WATCHER-7 ]

[ STATUS: OBSERVED BUT UNBOUND ]

[ PROTOCOL ABORTED ]

Ren turned to Aika.

"If he ever comes back…"

She smiled.

"We draw him out. Together."

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🕯️ End of Chapter 15

Next: Chapter 16 — "I Found a Video of Us… But We Never Recorded It"