Twilight is sinking, and the fog is like cotton, winding around the border of the town.
A group of children with tattered clothes and empty eyes appeared in front of the protagonist and Philos.
Their eyes were clouded and they didn't speak. They just looked at the protagonist quietly, as if they knew him.
"These children ..." The protagonist whispered.
Isaiah stood by, looking dignified:
"These are the children who lost their families because you carried out the memory purification order. 」
"At that time, you erased the memory of the whole community in order to stop the religious riots. 」
"They don't have a name now, they don't have a past, and they don't know why they are suffering-"
Astor stare big eyes. He seemed to see something.
On the face of one of the children, he saw a face that had appeared in a dream.
It doesn't belong to the child, but to the emotional memory he abandoned in the past.
Philos came up, tone is not as crazy as usual, but sink:
"I checked. These children are unstable and their consciousness will collapse. 」
"The only way is for you to use the ability of' memory reprogramming' and let them build a new self-framework. 」
"The price-obviously, you will forget the connection and emotion with these children. 」
The protagonist clenched his fist.
Isaiah looked at him:
"This is the way you-now you-must choose for yourself. 」
He was silent for a long time.
The notebook was opened and a blank page was lying quietly, waiting for him to write something down.
He knew this moment would come sooner or later.
[Inner monologue]
"If I save them, I will forget ... I loved them. 」
"But if you don't save, then I will deny my existence now. 」
"In the past, I chose to forget, in order to become a tool. 」
"Now, I want to choose ── in order to become a person. 」
He looked up at the empty eyes of the children.
The next moment, he held out his hand and the memory lines appeared in his palm.
Memories began to flow, covering those children-like fine sand sprinkled into the pool, with a layer of golden light.
Philos muttered:
"This guy ... this time really will forget all the ability of" love ". 」
"But he chose. 」
[in the process]
Astor saw ──
The images of him and his children building their homes in the ruins, the children laughing around him, and the process of his naming them one by one ...
These pictures fade like ink and wash.
He finally saw himself holding a girl, kissing her forehead and saying:
"Even if you forget me, I won't forget you. 」
And now-he forgot.
[Memory reconstruction completed]
The children's eyes are clear again.
They looked at Astor with respect in their eyes, but no familiarity.
The girl asked softly:
"Who are you ...? 」
Astor bowed their heads and smiled and answered:
"I ... just a passing knight. 」
Philos stood behind him and bit the energy bar:
"This plot is really unreasonable, to be honest. 」
"You just cut the whole' emotional module' by more than half. 」
"You don't even have the ability to like who now, you know? 」
Astor didn't speak, just quietly looking at the horizon.
There is no sadness in his eyes, only silent determination.
"This is the way I choose. 」
"I lost a heart, but I kept my right to choose. 」
[Notebook that night, a line appears on its own]
"A truly powerful person is not remembering all the people, but willing to bear the cost of forgetting. 」