Swoosh...
The world lurched back into motion.
Selene Veyra and Kael Draven felt the weight of time return, the stillness breaking like glass. Their lungs drew in a sharp breath as though they had been drowning. The silence shattered with the faint crack of wood.
Krrk...
The brush in Ean's trembling hand snapped in two. The calligraphy tool fell lifeless, drained of whatever force had surged through it. Before Selene or Kael could ask what had just transpired, Ean's knees buckled. His body collapsed as if his soul had been ripped out.
"Ean!"
Kael moved instinctively, catching the boy before his head struck the floor. Selene's fingers tightened around the Codex Memoria, the ancient tome trembling in her grasp. The runes etched within it flared for an instant, then stilled, leaving behind cryptic words across the page.
"They're free," Selene whispered, eyes narrowing.
Kael's gaze lingered on the unmoving family sprawled across the floor - the Bridens, or at least who they thought they were. His tone cut through the silence, sharp and commanding. "Who freed them?"
Selene shook her head. But as her eyes drifted toward the unconscious Ean in Kael's arms, suspicion shadowed her features. Somehow… it had to be him.
Kael Draven gently laid Ean on the bed, his breathing shallow but steady. Meanwhile, Selene moved the three Bridens onto the living room sofa. With a single gesture, she lifted the sleeping spell, and slowly, the family began to stir.
Sean Briden - father, or so he believed, was the first to blink awake. His hands pressed against his temples as fragmented memories poured into his mind like a flood breaking through a dam. He gasped, staggered, and his voice came rough.
"What… what happened here?"
Beside him, Melian sat up slowly, her arms instinctively wrapping around their daughter, Lira. The girl whimpered softly, disoriented. But as the haze cleared, clarity returned - painful and undeniable. Their true selves surged back to the surface, tearing apart the illusion that had bound them.
Sean's hands shook as he cupped his daughter's face. "Lira, are you hurt?"
The girl shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm fine, Father."
Their eyes haunted, frightened, but awake - shifted toward Selene and Kael, who stood watch with silent vigilance.
"Thank you," Sean said hoarsely. "Did you… did you restore our memories?"
Selene's lips tightened. She glanced at the Codex again, then at Kael. The book's verdict was absolute. "Their memories were altered. Now, they've returned. They remember everything, from beginning to end."
Kael stepped forward, eyes sharp as steel. "Then tell me. Do you remember who Ean truly is?"
Sean, Melian, and Lira exchanged a long, weighted look. Then, slowly, they nodded.
Kael's jaw clenched. "Good. Then tell us what you know."
Sean drew a steadying breath. His voice carried both relief and sorrow as he spoke. "Our true family name is Jhoen. I am Sean Jhoen. This is my wife, Melian, and our daughter, Lira."
Selene's expression sharpened. The weight of truth always carried danger.
Sean continued, "A year ago, a man came to my office. He claimed he wanted advice, but our conversation was trivial, forgettable. Yet somehow, there was… a connection. I invited him into my home." He glanced at Melian, who gave a small nod, confirming the memory.
"I remember," Melian said softly. "It was strange. Sean had never done that before. But when he introduced us to Ean, he was polite, warm... We welcomed him like family."
Her eyes grew distant, shimmering with emotion. "For the first time, Sean brought someone home. For the first time, our house felt… brighter."
Lira's voice broke the silence. Her eyes glistened with nostalgia. "I always wished I had an older brother. That night, when we ate together, I felt like I finally did. Ean was so kind."
Sean's shoulders tensed. His next words were heavy. "But after that dinner… it was as if a fog settled over us. We could no longer see clearly. And when the fog lifted, we were no longer the Jhoens. We were the Bridens. And Ean… was our son."
"Yes," Melian whispered. "And it wasn't only us. The neighbors, our friends - everyone accepted it as truth. For an entire year, we lived a life that wasn't ours. And it felt… real."
Selene raised the Codex, the runes glowing faintly as their identities shifted back into alignment. Their identification cards on the table shimmered. The ink twisted and reformed - Sean Briden fading into Sean Jhoen.
Selene's voice was low. "This is no ordinary sorcery. This is greater than anything a mortal mage could weave. Only Shadow could bend reality this way. And yet, even we never noticed."
Kael's expression darkened. "Do you remember the one who brought Ean to you?"
The family stiffened. Their minds reached back. They remembered the warmth of conversation, the sense of trust. But when they tried to grasp the man's face, his voice, his name - nothing. Blankness. Their memories slipped like sand through trembling fingers.
Melian covered her mouth, horrified. "I... I don't remember anything about him."
Sean's hands clenched, frustration burning at the same emptiness in his mind.
Selene exhaled sharply. "Shadow couldn't have left a trace so easily."
Sean's voice trembled as he turned to Kael. "But Ean... is he okay? Please, tell me."
Melian's face paled. Her hands shook as memories pressed against her mind. "Earlier... while we were waiting for Ean to come home, a clown came. He gave us flowers, and then... and then—"
Her voice cracked. Tears welled as the memory of their horrific act.
Sean's hand shook violently. He remembered gripping a kitchen knife. He remembered the madness that drove him to strike.
"Did I… did I hurt him?" Sean whispered, horror thick in his throat. "Did I stab that boy with my own hands?"
Melian grasped his trembling fingers, her own tears falling. "It wasn't you, Sean. It wasn't."
Kael's voice was steady, calm yet firm, as he reassured them. "He's fine. You didn't hurt him."
Relief washed over their faces, though guilt lingered in their eyes, heavy and unshaken.
Selene's gaze hardened. Her tone cut like a blade as she spoke. "Now that you remember... what will you do about Ean? He's a victim too."
The Jhoen family exchanged uneasy glances, their hands instinctively clasping together - seeking comfort, yet bound by doubt and uncertainty. They wanted to call him family, but the truth gnawed at them: their lives had been rewritten by a god's cruel hand.
Beyond the closed door, Ean's eyes fluttered open. He listened in silence, his heart twisting violently with every word that slipped through the cracks in the wooden frame. He heard guilt. Hesitation. Uncertainty.
His chest tightened. Warmth, betrayal, sorrow, and rage clashed within him, twisting his heart.
Screek, sreeek..
A faint creak echoed from the bedroom floorboards. Kael's sharp ears caught it immediately. He moved swiftly, opening the door in an instant.
"Ean—"
But Ean was already gone from his room, having slipped away through the window. His figure slipped into the night, shadows swallowing him whole.
Selene's eyes widened. "He's gone?"
Kael's voice was grim, laced with urgency. "He's running."
Behind them, Sean, Melian, and Lira froze.