WebNovels

Chapter 9 - Seal Memory Dive

The world outside blurs into streaks of neon and rain

Yuki follows Kairi across rooftops

Not asking questions

Just moving

Breathing

Surviving

They drop into a tunnel hidden beneath an abandoned train station

Old tracks eaten by rust

Wall markings written in a language Yuki cannot read

> Yuki

Where are we

> Kairi

A seal chamber

Built from someone else's memory

It is safe

For now

The tunnel hums with low energy

Memory signatures pulse like veins under the floor

Kairi kneels and touches a cracked tile

It glows

Then opens

A stairway descends

Not made of metal

But static

Flickering

As if time itself carved it

> Kairi

Once we go down

Your shard will react

Try to hold your mind together

If the seal resists you

It means you are not ready to see

Yuki swallows his fear

Nods

And steps into the static

The moment his foot lands

The air changes

Thick

Heavy

Saturated with emotion

Images flash around them

A child's laugh

A broken umbrella

A man screaming in silence

Then nothing

They walk deeper

Until a room unfolds from the dark

Perfectly round

Lit by floating embers

In the center

A door made of mirror shards

> Kairi

This is the sealed memory

One of yours

Or hers

Maybe both

> Yuki

What happens if I open it

> Kairi

You see the truth

But it might not be whole

Or real

Or safe

Yuki steps closer

The shard in his hand pulses

The mirror door breathes

Like it has been waiting

> Yuki's thoughts

I never wanted any of this

But if I turn back now

I will never understand who I was

Or what she died for

He touches the mirror

It melts into light

And pulls him in

Suddenly

He is standing in a park

Gray sky

Autumn leaves falling in reverse

His mother sits on a bench

Holding a baby

> Yuki

Is that me

She looks up

Eyes filled with fear

And love

> Reika

You are going to forget this

And when you remember

Run

A sound breaks the scene

Like glass exploding inside his chest

Yuki turns

A figure in black is approaching

Archive symbol etched across the coat

> Reika

They found us

The scene shakes

Memory unraveling

Yuki grabs for his mother

But his hand passes through

> Yuki

No

Wait

The baby version of him begins to cry

The Archive agent reaches for Reika

Then everything collapses

Yuki wakes up on the ground of the chamber

Sweating

Shaking

> Kairi

What did you see

> Yuki

The first day I forgot her

And the moment they started hunting me

Even back then

I was never safe

He looks at his hand

The shard now burned with a new mark

An old symbol

One he does not recognize

But it feels like it belongs to him

> Yuki's thoughts

If they want my memories

They are going to have to survive them first

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