Chapter 118: The Seventh Anchor

The Preservation Core was silent.

Too silent.

Dillan stood in the remains of the memory corridor, staring at the final notification.

[WHO WAS THE FACELESS AUTHORITY?]

His fingers slowly tightened.

"That’s what we’re finding out."

Evelyn looked at him.

"Dillan..."

"What?"

"Maybe you shouldn’t."

He turned toward her.

"You just said you don’t remember."

"I don’t."

"Then someone does."

Evelyn’s expression darkened.

"And that’s exactly why I’m scared."

A Memory Without a Face

The System opened another door.

This one was different.

There was no handle.

No frame.

Just a floating rectangle of darkness.

[RESTRICTED MEMORY DETECTED.]

[AUTHORITY SIGNATURE: PRESENT.]

[ACCESSIBILITY: 0%.]

Dillan frowned.

"Why zero?"

The residual version of himself answered.

"Because the Authority doesn’t exist inside your memories."

Dillan looked at him.

"Then where?"

The residual pointed toward the floor.

"It exists beneath them."

The ground cracked.

A staircase appeared.

It descended into darkness.

Dillan stared down.

"How far?"

The residual smiled.

"You’ve already been there."

Dillan’s face hardened.

"When?"

"Every time you dreamed."

Below the Core

Dillan descended.

Evelyn followed.

The residual remained above.

Dillan glanced back.

"You’re not coming?"

"I can’t."

"Why?"

The residual looked at Evelyn.

"She can."

Evelyn froze.

Dillan turned toward her.

"What does that mean?"

She looked away.

"I don’t know."

The staircase continued downward.

Step.

Step.

Step.

With every step, Dillan heard whispers.

Sasha.

Lyra.

Aurelia.

Dana.

Alina.

Then...

his own voice.

Nobody leaves.

Dillan stopped.

A second voice answered.

Then why did you leave me?

He turned.

Nothing.

"Evelyn?"

"I’m here."

"Did you hear that?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"What was it?"

Her voice became quiet.

"Your first regret."

The Forgotten Room

The staircase ended.

A door stood before them.

It was covered in children’s drawings.

Dillan recognized them.

The oak tree.

Five children.

Six children.

The black crystal.

A house.

A smiling girl.

And one drawing that made Dillan’s blood run cold.

It showed Dillan himself.

But behind him stood a massive shadow.

At the bottom of the drawing, a child’s handwriting read:

"He is watching."

Dillan touched the paper.

The drawing moved.

The shadow’s head turned.

Dillan immediately pulled his hand away.

Evelyn grabbed his wrist.

"Don’t touch it."

"Why?"

"Because it remembers you."

Dillan stared at her.

"What is this place?"

Evelyn swallowed.

"The room where you made the System."

Dillan looked at the door.

"Then why don’t I remember it?"

"Because..."

She hesitated.

"...you were never supposed to."

The Original System

The door opened.

Inside was a tiny room.

A wooden desk.

A chair.

A black crystal.

And an old notebook.

Dillan approached slowly.

The notebook opened by itself.

The first page contained one sentence.

I don’t want anyone to disappear.

Dillan turned the page.

If something disappears, I’ll remember it.

Another page.

If I can’t remember it, the System will.

Dillan stopped.

"The System..."

Evelyn nodded.

"It was your backup."

He turned another page.

If everyone forgets someone, the System must remember.

Another.

If even the System forgets...

The page was blank.

Dillan frowned.

"That’s it?"

Evelyn whispered:

"No."

A sentence slowly appeared.

Then I will become the memory.

Dillan’s eyes widened.

The room shook.

[ORIGINAL SYSTEM PROTOCOL DETECTED.]

[FOUNDATIONAL COMMAND: MEMORY PRESERVATION.]

[CREATOR INTENT VERIFIED.]

Then another line appeared.

[AUTHORITY ACCESSING.]

Dillan stepped back.

"Again?"

The lights went out.

A voice filled the room.

Calm.

Genderless.

Ancient.

"You finally came back."

Evelyn immediately moved in front of Dillan.

"Don’t answer."

Dillan stared into the darkness.

"Who are you?"

Evelyn grabbed his arm.

"Dillan!"

The voice laughed softly.

"Still protecting him."

Evelyn’s face went pale.

The voice continued.

"Even after he forgot you."

Dillan’s expression hardened.

"You know Evelyn."

"I know all of you."

"Then show yourself."

Silence.

Then:

"I already did."

Dillan froze.

"What?"

"You simply didn’t recognize me."

The black crystal on the desk began glowing.

Images appeared inside it.

Celia.

Sasha.

Aurelia.

Alina.

Dana.

Lyra.

Evelyn.

And finally...

Dillan.

Seven figures.

Seven connections.

Dillan stared.

"Seven..."

The System flashed.

[HIDDEN STRUCTURE DETECTED.]

[SEVEN ORIGINAL ANCHORS.]

[CURRENTLY RECOGNIZED: FIVE.]

[RESTORED: EVELYN.]

[REMAINING: ONE.]

Dillan’s blood ran cold.

"There’s another?"

The voice answered.

"Not another."

A pause.

"The first."

The room began collapsing.

Evelyn looked terrified.

"Dillan, we have to leave."

"Who is the first?"

The voice whispered directly beside his ear.

"The one who existed before you made the choice."

Dillan turned.

Nobody was there.

Then the System displayed one final notification.

[SEVENTH ANCHOR: IDENTIFICATION ATTEMPT.]

[NAME: █████████.]

[STATUS: ACTIVE.]

[LOCATION: HOST’S ORIGINAL MEMORY.]

[WARNING.]

[SUBJECT HAS BEEN OBSERVING THE HOST SINCE CHILDHOOD.]

Dillan stared at the censored name.

Evelyn whispered:

"...It’s awake."

The room collapsed.

Dillan felt the floor disappear beneath him.

Evelyn grabbed his hand.

"Dillan!"

He held on.

The darkness swallowed everything.

Then the System appeared.

[EMERGENCY TRANSITION INITIATED.]

[HOST MEMORY STRUCTURE DESTABILIZING.]

[SEVENTH ANCHOR: ACTIVE.]

[OBSERVATION STATUS: CONFIRMED.]

Dillan stared at the final line.

"Who is watching me?"

No answer.

"Evelyn?"

She was staring into the darkness.

Her face had gone pale.

"Dillan..."

"What?"

"I think..."

She swallowed.

"...we’re already being watched."

A child’s laughter echoed.

Once.

Twice.

Then silence.

The Room That Shouldn’t Exist

The darkness peeled away.

Dillan found himself standing in a room he had never seen before.

Yet somehow...

he knew it.

A small bedroom.

A wooden desk.

A window overlooking the old oak tree.

A bed.

Two chairs.

And seven photographs.

Dillan approached the wall.

The first photograph showed himself.

The second showed Sasha.

The third showed Aurelia.

The fourth showed Alina.

The fifth showed Dana.

The sixth showed Lyra.

The seventh...

was completely black.

Dillan stared at it.

"Evelyn."

She walked beside him.

"That’s not a photograph."

Dillan looked at her.

"What?"

"It’s a memory."

He touched the frame.

The image changed.

A girl appeared.

Her back was facing the camera.

Long hair.

Small frame.

She stood beneath the oak tree.

Dillan’s heart began pounding.

"I know her."

Evelyn whispered:

"Yes."

"Who is she?"

"I don’t know."

The photograph suddenly cracked.

A voice came from behind them.

"You did."

Dillan spun around.

Nobody.

The voice continued.

"You knew her before you knew Sasha."

Dillan’s breathing stopped.

Before Sasha?

Impossible.

His childhood memories had always begun with Sasha.

But now...

something stirred.

A memory.

A tiny hand.

A voice.

Someone sitting beside him beneath the oak tree.

Someone telling him:

"If you ever get lonely, look at the moon."

Dillan touched his chest.

"Who said that?"

Evelyn looked at him.

"You."

"What?"

"You said it."

Dillan shook his head.

"No. Someone said it to me."

Evelyn’s expression changed.

"...Then I was wrong."

The First Memory

The room vanished.

Dillan was standing beneath the oak tree.

But this wasn’t the First Choice.

This was earlier.

Much earlier.

He was alone.

A little boy sitting beneath the tree.

Crying.

Someone sat beside him.

A girl.

Dillan couldn’t see her face.

"Why are you crying?"

Young Dillan wiped his eyes.

"I’m alone."

The girl smiled.

"No, you’re not."

He looked at her.

"Who are you?"

She pointed at the moon.

"I’m the person who stays."

Young Dillan smiled.

"Forever?"

The girl nodded.

"Forever."

The memory suddenly distorted.

Dillan watched helplessly.

Another voice entered.

"That’s enough."

The girl looked frightened.

"No."

"He isn’t ready."

Young Dillan stood.

"Don’t take her."

The girl’s hand slipped from his.

"Dillan!"

He reached for her.

"I’ll find you!"

Her fingers disappeared.

Then her voice echoed:

"You always do."

The memory shattered.

Dillan screamed.

"STOP!"

The Seventh Anchor

The System appeared.

[MEMORY RESTORATION: 68.2%.]

[SEVENTH ANCHOR: PARTIAL MEMORY RECOVERED.]

[RELATIONSHIP TO HOST: CHILDHOOD.]

[RELATIONSHIP TO FIRST CHOICE: PRE-EXISTING.]

[RELATIONSHIP TO PRESERVATION CORE: ORIGINAL.]

Dillan stared.

"Original?"

Evelyn nodded slowly.

"She was there before the Core."

Dillan looked at the photograph.

"Then she’s not an anchor."

The System flickered.

[CORRECTION.]

[SEVENTH ANCHOR IS NOT AN ANCHOR.]

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"What?"

The notification changed.

[SEVENTH ANCHOR: ORIGINAL WITNESS.]

Silence.

Dillan whispered:

"She witnessed the First Choice."

Evelyn shook her head.

"No."

"What?"

"She witnessed something before it."

The Face

The black photograph suddenly turned white.

A face slowly appeared.

Dillan stared.

His heart stopped.

He knew those eyes.

He knew that expression.

He had seen them before.

Not in a memory.

Not in a dream.

In the real world.

Recently.

Dillan stepped backward.

"No..."

Evelyn looked at him.

"You recognize her."

Dillan’s voice trembled.

"I saw her."

"Where?"

"In..."

His mind raced.

The playground.

The old house.

The Preservation Core.

Then it hit him.

The mysterious woman from Chapter 12.

The one who had explained the First Choice.

The one who claimed the current System was derivative.

Dillan’s eyes widened.

"She’s the woman."

Evelyn nodded.

"Yes."

Dillan stared at the photograph.

"Then why didn’t I recognize her?"

The answer came from the darkness.

"Because I made sure you wouldn’t."

The room froze.

The voice was no longer distant.

It was right behind him.

Dillan slowly turned.

A woman stood there.

No shadow.

No distortion.

No mask.

Just a calm expression.

And familiar eyes.

She smiled.

"Hello, Dillan."

Dillan couldn’t speak.

Evelyn immediately stepped between them.

The woman looked at Evelyn.

"Still protecting him?"

Evelyn’s hands trembled.

"Stay away from him."

The woman smiled.

"You don’t understand."

She looked at Dillan.

"I’m not here to hurt him."

Dillan finally found his voice.

"Then why have you been watching me?"

The woman took one step forward.

"Because I was the first person you ever chose."

Dillan froze.

Evelyn’s eyes widened.

The System erupted with warnings.

[CRITICAL DISCOVERY.]

[SEVENTH ANCHOR IDENTIFIED.]

[STATUS: ORIGINAL WITNESS.]

[AUTHORITY RELATIONSHIP: UNKNOWN.]

[FIRST CHOICE RELATIONSHIP: BEFORE FIRST CHOICE.]

[WARNING.]

[HOST HAS NOT YET RECOVERED THE MEMORY OF HIS FIRST CHOICE.]

Dillan stared at the woman.

"But I already recovered it."

She smiled.

"No."

Her eyes glowed faintly.

"You recovered the choice you remember."

A pause.

Then she whispered:

"Not the choice you actually made."

The System went completely silent.

For the first time since Dillan had awakened it...

there were no notifications.

The woman stepped closer.

"You want to know why Sasha disappeared?"

Dillan’s heart pounded.

"Why Evelyn was forgotten?"

Another step.

"Why Alina survived?"

She smiled.

"Then remember what happened before the oak tree."

The room disappeared.

And Dillan saw a memory he had never known existed.

He was five years old.

And someone was already calling him...

"Host."