Takeshi stood still.
The air inside the Hollow pressed against his skin like fog made of thought.
In front of him, the door waited—huge and ancient, cracked open just enough to feel wrong.
From the gap, a cold sound slipped through.
Not wind. Not voice.
A whisper that didn't come from outside.
It came from inside him.
---
> "Do you remember what you buried?"
Takeshi flinched.
The voice sounded like his own—but twisted. Sharper. Older.
> "Did you hear that?" he asked.
Asami didn't look at him.
> "It's part of the Hollow," she said. "It knows what you hide."
> "I'm not hiding anything."
She gave him a look.
> "Everyone is."
---
The door creaked.
Just a little.
Asami stepped back.
> "We don't go any closer," she said. "That thing behind it—it remembers everything."
> "Even me?"
> "Especially you."
---
Takeshi's wrist tingled.
The mark glowed again, bright blue. His Drift wanted to respond, to dig deeper.
> "Let it talk," he said. "I can handle it."
Asami's face changed.
> "No. You can't."
> "I have to know—"
> "You don't even know yourself yet."
---
But it was too late.
The mark on his wrist flared. A wave of memory surged through him.
He saw—
A boy crying in a hospital hallway
A hand slipping out of his grasp
A reflection that didn't match his face
He staggered.
Fell to his knees.
The Hollow showed him his own lies.
---
> "You told yourself you were normal."
> "You said it didn't matter."
> "But you've been drifting since long before Nehvarra."
---
He screamed.
Then—silence.
Asami knelt beside him.
Pressed her fingers to the mark.
It dimmed.
The voices stopped.
---
> "I told you," she whispered. "It's not ready. You're not ready."
> "What was that…?" Takeshi asked, shaking.
> "Your truth. The first layer of it."
She stood.
> "You want to be strong. But Drift doesn't care about strong. It cares about real."
---
Takeshi stayed on the floor a while.
Breathing. Thinking.
Somewhere behind that door, something knew him better than he knew himself.
And it wasn't done yet.
---
End of Chapter 22.