Lalin tried to suppress her fear, but the figure still stood before her, its shadow seeming to absorb the surrounding light. Suddenly, the dim glow shifted into blurred, shattered-like images, revealing fragments of memories she thought she had long forgotten.
One image appeared: a small girl sitting by a pond, tears streaming down her cheeks. The shadow of someone reached out to comfort her, but she couldn't remember who it was.
"Is… that… me?" Lalin whispered, her voice trembling.
The figure stepped closer, the dim light reflecting in its familiar eyes.
"Yes… and that is me… the one who has always been with you, even if you've forgotten."
The blurred images shifted again. This time, it was a scene that made Lalin's heart ache: someone's laughter, a pleading voice, and the tears she had tried so hard to hide.
"I… I've… forgotten everything… really…" Lalin whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
The figure leaned closer, its face almost within reach.
"No… you haven't forgotten it all… it was just hidden… by the fear… and the pain you weren't ready to face."
Lalin felt as if her heart was being tugged, drawn toward the figure by some invisible thread.
"I… I'm ready… right? To remember everything?" she asked, a mixture of fear and longing in her voice.
The figure smiled faintly again.
"If you're ready… we will begin revealing the whole truth… starting from the part you thought had vanished forever."
Lalin felt a strange warmth spreading through her chest, not painful, but heavy — as if every heartbeat was stirring something buried deep within her soul. The air shimmered; whispers of voices long silenced began to echo faintly, blending with the rhythm of her breathing.
Then, like an old film reel flickering to life, the memories began to emerge.
Faces. Laughter. A promise made under a dying sun.
And blood — crimson and cold — staining her trembling hands.
Her knees weakened. "No… this can't be real…" she whispered, her voice breaking as the image of that night burned vividly before her eyes.
The figure stepped closer, eyes calm and endless.
"It is real, Lalin. It always was. You only forgot because your soul demanded it."
The warmth turned into tears. She reached out instinctively — toward the faint silhouette glowing before her — and for a fleeting moment, she felt the pulse of another heart beating with her own.
And then, everything shattered into light.
The light around them gradually expanded. Amid the darkness, Lalin felt a strange warmth, and the true memories began to emerge, slowly becoming clear…