Lucius didn't speak for a full hour.
The soul fragment had vanished, absorbed into him. The crater pulsed once, then went still—like it had done its job.
Velda, Zara, Claire, and Lilith waited nearby. No one pushed him. Not yet.
Then Lucius stood.
Eyes glowing not just with power—but with recognition.
He turned to them.
"There was a girl."
Zara tensed. "Who?"
Lucius shook his head. "I don't know her name… but I remember a garden. One filled with flame. And she stood there, holding my hand, smiling like the world hadn't already ended."
Velda stepped closer. "Memory from your first life?"
"No," Lucius said. "Before that."
Everyone froze.
---
> [System Alert: Ancient Memory Fragment Restored]
Name: Unknown
Status: Sealed Entity
Connection to Lucius: "She was the first to believe in you… and the last to burn."
---
Lilith whispered, "She's not just a memory, is she?"
Lucius clenched his fists. "She's real. Or was. Or will be again."
Claire asked, "What do we do?"
Lucius looked at the horizon.
"We find the garden."
---
Hours later, the group returned to the castle. The air felt heavier. Not because of the shard, or the Omen—but because Lucius had changed.
Claire could see it in his posture—straighter.
Zara could feel it in his aura—sharper.
Velda noticed it in his silence—he wasn't bottling it anymore.
And Lilith… Lilith was afraid.
Because the boy she betrayed once?
Was becoming something more than human.
---
That night, Lucius sat in his chambers, alone.
He lit a single candle. Not for light.
But for memory.
He stared into the flame.
And for one second—
He saw her again.
A girl in red.
A black ribbon.
A smile that broke him.
She reached out through the fire and whispered—
> "You promised you wouldn't forget me."
Lucius sat up, eyes wide.
And whispered back:
"I didn't."