Kanah Village lay still under the dying light of dusk, the colors of the sky bled out like a wound refusing to heal. Sunny sat alone near the edge of the forest, away from the whispers of villagers, the memory-games, and the eyes that saw too much. His mind echoed with fragments—not just of the illusions from earlier, but of memories that weren't entirely his own.
Ever since awakening his ability to peer into memories, the lines between truth and perception had begun to blur. The power drained him, but worse… every time he glimpsed into another's past, he felt something taken from him in return.
Tonight, however, something different stirred.
He wasn't alone.
A man stood in the shadows beneath a dead tree—tall, cloaked, and still. His face was veiled in a white mask shaped like a grieving face, and on his shoulder hung a curved, worn blade. He didn't speak, but Sunny felt the intent long before words were needed.
"You've been following me," Sunny said without turning.
The man chuckled, the sound hollow and echoing. "Or maybe I've just been waiting for you to reach the edge."
Sunny finally turned, eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"Information," the masked man replied, stepping forward slowly. "About someone you care for deeply. Ren."
The name hit like thunder.
"You knew him?" Sunny asked, voice cracking slightly.
The man nodded. "He's alive. But not in the way you remember. And if you wish to understand why, you'll have to make a choice."
"What kind of choice?"
"A sacrifice. Bring me Lysander's head."
The name hung in the air like poison.
Sunny clenched his fists. "Why him?"
"Because he's the thread that ties your past to the lies you believe," the man said. "He's not just a villain… he's a key. And unless that key is broken, the door you seek will remain closed."
The wind stirred as if reacting to the weight of those words.
The masked figure turned to leave, but stopped just once.
"One more thing. Kanah Village… it is a mirror. Look too long into it, and you will start to forget which face is truly yours."
With that, he vanished into the darkness, leaving only the hum of the night and the growing storm inside Sunny's heart..