chapter 25: the fragments beneath
morning came slower than usual, as if the sun itself hesitated to rise on a day filled with unease. ren stood at the edge of the forest just beyond the village. the same one he'd wandered into days ago, searching for memories that refused to return. the trees were tall, quiet — too quiet. they loomed like silent witnesses to a past he could no longer reach.
his breath hung in the cold air as he stared ahead, mind clouded.
**"why can't i remember?"**
his fingers brushed the bark of a tree, rough and real — unlike the shifting images in his head. faces blurred. voices echoed with no names. pain that didn't belong to the present.
a whisper rose from deep within him, one he'd tried to ignore since waking on that road:
**"maybe you're not supposed to remember."**
he gritted his teeth. **no.**
he *had* to. because not knowing meant being weak. and pride, twisted and bruised as it was, refused to let him stay weak. he had to know who attacked him. who stole his memory. and why.
footsteps behind him.
"maya?" he asked without turning.
"yeah," she replied, walking up slowly. "you didn't come back for breakfast. thought you got lost."
"just… thinking."
she stepped beside him, holding out a piece of bread. "eat. you need it."
he accepted it wordlessly, chewing slowly. the silence between them was oddly comfortable now.
"i've been having these... flashes," he said finally. "not memories. more like feelings. someone was there. someone hurt me. and they wanted me to forget."
maya frowned. "why would anyone do that?"
"i don't know." he looked at his hands. "but i think they knew me. and i think... i knew them too."
maya hesitated. "do you think they'll come back?"
ren's gaze sharpened. "i hope so."
"why?"
he looked at her, his voice colder now. "because i want to remember what it feels like to break them."
maya blinked. "you're serious."
"i don't care if it sounds cruel. they did something to me. they made me feel powerless. and i can't forgive that."
"revenge won't fix what they did," she said softly.
"i'm not looking for revenge," ren replied. "i'm looking for answers. if breaking them gets me closer, then so be it."
the wind rustled the trees again. far away, a raven cried out — harsh and alone.
"you're changing," maya said.
ren didn't answer. he just stepped deeper into the forest.
in the distance, a figure watched him from the trees. hidden. waiting.
and for the first time in days, ren's fractured pride — the source of his strength and suffering — began to hum. not with pain, but with **purpose**.
the fragments of his mind were still sharp.
and someone was going to bleed on them.