— Age Six —
The clouds rolled in before noon.
The skies turned a soft, sleepy gray, and gentle rain began falling in sheets — tapping on windows, slipping down rooftops, turning Halewood into a watercolor painting.
At Caelum's house, the lights were dim and golden.
A quiet hum filled the air — the kettle boiling, soft instrumental music playing on the record player, and rain tapping steadily on the glass.
Lysia sat cross-legged on the living room floor, flipping through one of Caelum's big science books. Her tiny hands barely held the pages open.
Caelum sat beside her, silently assembling a wooden dinosaur skeleton model with exacting precision.
They didn't need to talk.
They never did.
Blanket Fort Afternoon
After lunch, they built a blanket fort beside the couch.
Soft cushions, fairy lights, and warm cocoa in little mugs with animal faces.
Lysia wore one of Caelum's spare hoodies — far too big for her — and had her hands tucked inside the sleeves as she sipped.
"I love rainy days," she mumbled, curled up with her knees to her chest.
"Mm," Caelum agreed, handing her a warm cookie. "They're quiet."
"Like us."
She smiled at that. "Yeah."
A Sudden Thought
Later, they lay side by side inside the fort, heads close, eyes tracing the patterns of light the fairy bulbs made against the ceiling.
Lysia turned slightly toward him.
"Cael?"
"Hm?"
"If I… ever remembered something important… like, really big and old and strange… should I tell you?"
He turned his head too.
She was watching him carefully.
He blinked slowly.
"I'd want to know," he said softly. "If it hurt you, I'd want to help."
She looked away.
Her voice dropped.
"What if it was something I didn't want to tell you?"
A long silence.
Then Caelum said something that surprised her:
"…Then I'd wait."
Lysia looked up sharply.
"Wait?"
He nodded once, eyes fixed on the ceiling again.
"If you're not ready, it's okay. I'll wait forever if I have to."
She stared at him.
Her heart ached.
Because she remembered.
Everything.
The war.The gods.The day he came too late.
And the moment he screamed in silence before eternity swallowed him whole.
He doesn't know yet.
And he never will.
Not in this life.
Soft Resolve
She reached out and gently took his hand beneath the blanket.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For waiting."
He turned to her again, expression soft, content.
"You're worth it."
System Log – Full Soul Awakening (Hidden)
[GENESIS CORE SYSTEM – OBSERVER MODE]— Subject: LYSIA GREY— Memory Recall: 100%— Cognitive Awareness: Fully Active— Disclosure Permission: Denied by User— Emotional Stability: Secure— Status: Watching. Guarding. Loving.
"She remembers it all. But she will carry that burden in silence, so his smile is never shadowed by the weight of yesterday."